dr doc Chapter 4: Scholar of the Worm, a x-overs fanfic

Scholar of the Worm

Alright, let's start this off with a disclaimer. Firstly while this isn't the first thing I've written, it is the first for Space Battles. So I hope I'm doing this right. This is going to be a single cross story, Dark Souls 2 with Worm, with the focus character being an SI who knew about DS2 but NOT Worm, so he's going in fairly blind. As of right now, the SI is the only influence of the Souls-verse on Worm, though this may change as time goes on.

Also: if you feel like making an Omake or something, feel free to!

Now with that out of the way…

Chapter 1: A Dark Future

It's… warm. My eyes flutter behind clenched lids, a hand curling into a fist. But it doesn't hurt? That was decidedly new. Had something changed in the Throne? Was my time in this crucible at an end, the cycle come back around and a new Monarch getting ready to ascend? A bitter smile curved my lips at that thought - someone else had finished a journey like mine. Had they met the same people I had - Lucatiel, with her light and airy laugh when she watched me stumble through medieval customs and try not to make an utter ass of myself; Benhardt, who had chosen to walk beside me for reasons he had never told me, only to throw himself into the fight against Nashandra and then Aldia with a fervor that spoke of a personal vendetta; Rosabeth, Shanalotte, Chloanne? Or had the turning of the endless cycle of LIght and Dark brought new people?

Am I really about to let someone else suffer this fate? I… no. I can do this much, even now. I was weaker than I had been the last time I had conscious thought - the fire surged at times, and ebbed at others, sometimes reducing the pain and letting thought return to me. But even reduced, I was not going to let someone else be condemned to the unending fire that was the Throne of Want. Knowing that a Monarch still sat upon the throne, was still keeping the fire going, should ensure that this new person would not feel the need to sacrifice themselves as I had. Light brightened, and I opened my eyes for the first time in years that I had lost track of.

What.

It took nearly a solid minute for my brain to process the sight in front of me. Instead of a dark, gloomy chamber, filled with ash and soot, I was apparently sitting on a wooden bench, under an overcast sky. The light brightening had not been the door to the Throne opening as I had thought, but rather a cloud passing away from in front of the sun, leaving the bright rays to shine down unimpeded. But the real shock, the thing that had me completely dumbfounded and gaping, was the fact that the bench I was sitting on was in a city - a normal, American city from what I could tell. Cars hummed by, and people walked along chatting amongst themselves with nary a care - or at least, that was what I thought until I saw a couple of women look in my direction and shy away. Though why did I hear them say I was a merchant? I don't look like Melentia or something, do I?

Considering I had spent the last few years fighting for my life, or unlife I suppose, in a world that had been a video game to me before I woke up in the Forest Betwixt, with only a message pinned to my chest that just told me to have fun and be ready for what comes after, I forgave myself for being a little stunned.

Had.. had that been a dream? I didn't remember where I was before all of that, but I didn't think it had been on a park bench. I closed my eyes again and focused inwards, searching for the well of strength that I had become so accustomed to drawing upon. Upon waking up in the forest by the Firekeeper's Hut, I had beelined for them and for a Human Effigy. THeir laughter had been….. Unsettling, as they asked me for my name, which I hadn't been able to give. The Effigy that they gave me wasn't the customizable thing it had been from the game, instead showing me who I would be. A Sorceror, soul-mage and scholar, and my magic had carried me through many trials.

And it was still with me. The fires of the Throne, or maybe coming here, wherever this was, had reduced me, attenuated my connection with my magic, but that source of strength was still there. I opened my eyes again and looked down at my body, and immediately felt a blush creep across my skin. Whatever force was responsible for my arrival to this place had not seen fit to give me clothes, leaving me dressed in the burnt, charred remnants of the attire I had worn into the fight for the Throne against Nashandra.

Right. First order of business, figure out where the hell I was, since I could be wrong about this being America, could be any English speaking country I suppose. Then, figure out a way to get my hands on some money, since I doubted the pouches at my hip held too much, and I had no way of knowing if there was a Bonfire anywhere for me to reach the things I had stored in the 'stash'. Then, clothes. I stood up, blinking down at my feet when I kicked something made of wood that had been at my feet.

Witchtree staff. My eyes softened in fond remembrance. Lucatiel had heard a rumor drifting around Majula about a magical staff near the well entrance to the Gulch, and gone searching for it while I was studying with Carhillion. The staff had been her gift to me when I finished a rather arduous training session, and I knelt down and curled my fingers around the grip she had wrapped around the mid of the staff with a smile on my face. At least I had something to remind me of the place that had become my home for…a long while.

The sound of an engine revving nearby made me look up, a frown erasing the smile that had crept onto my face. That had sounded way too close for the road -

What. The. Fuck. Alright, so I hadn't somehow gone home. While I hadn't known one way or another, unless I had been gone for a lot longer than I thought, there was no way the scrap-heap tank thing in front of me should exist. It looked like someone had thrown together several wrecked vehicles in a mockery of what a tank should be - but I had fought against mockeries of what things should be before, and I knew just how dangerous something that looked like it shouldn't work but did could be.

That was when my mind caught up to the fact that the people who had been quietly enjoying the peaceful day were now screaming and running in terror from the vehicle that had suddenly appeared in their midst.

"WHOOO FUCKINGHOOO!" There was a thoroughly disagreeable man standing in a hatch that had opened up on the front of the tank at the top, and he was waving what looked like an incredibly cheap megaphone back and forth. "This is the fucking LIFE bitches!"

What… what is he on about? I frowned looking around, trying to see if there was someone that this oddball had focused on. But his eyes were unfocused, and he didn't seem to be looking in any one direction as he slung his arm around. That.. that is a beer bottle, not it was vodka, and sweet Flame did he just knock back three quarters of a full bottle in one go? There was a sickening belch as the dark-skinned man dropped the bottle to the ground, where it shattered.

"More booze! And turn on the torch you promised!"

"Sure thing sweetie! These fuckers are going to know that the Merchants are the best! Invisible firetank GO!" An irritatingly high-pitched voice called out from somewhere in the depths of the tank, amplified by speakers that were crudely slapped on in random places. Who the hell puts speakers on a tank - Wait invisible WHAT?

My question was answered when the tank shimmered, disappearing and taking the lower half of the drunken man out of sight. The effect wasn't complete, but it did show how they had gotten the monstrous contraption into the park without it being spotted. My eyes narrowed in thought - there had been a panel of some kind, about a foot below where the man's torso was hanging, that had sparked just before the tank vanished. My thoughts were interrupted when a gout of flame shot out of the front of the tank, seemingly appearing from nothingness.

The screams around me picked up in volume as people now ran from the burning tree that had been the target of the 'torch', and from the tank that had caused it. I suppose it would have been too much to ask to stay unnoticed at this point, considering I was the only person not moving as everyone else ran screaming. The drunken man's gaze focused on me, and he leaned forward, almost falling out of the tank as he peered in my direction.

"The fuck you looking at cockstain? You look like one of ours, had a bad day though. Shit, you need a hit?" Without waiting for a response, the man dropped down into the tank, his head the only thing remaining visible as he searched for something. I grimaced as I realized what he had been asking about - a 'hit' of some drug probably. I doubted it was an Amber Herb or something along those lines, so I'd have to decline their offer. "Well, how bout it? Got the cash for this?" He rose back up, waving a baggie in my general direction.

"I'm…" The rasp in my voice startled me, pain lancing through my throat as I tried to speak. I swallowed a few times, trying to wet it, and started again. "I am sorry, but I will have to deny your, ah, generous offer."

"The fuck? My shit ain't good enough for you?" Apparently telling him no was not something he liked. "Hey, main bitch! Ready that torch again! Fucker looks like he didn't learn his lesson when we tagged him earlier!" Tor- Did he think he had burned me? I looked behind me, but no, the bench was fine. So why did he think he had hit me with his 'torch'? "Though how the fuck did you live through the trial you little shitwipe?" Alright, that was enough.

"You are not the party responsible for my state. Though it is quite deplorable that you apparently burned some of your own as part of a test." I brought up my staff and began focusing my will into it. I was reduced, but not to nothing. And someone who hurt those under their guidance did not sit well with me - I may not have been a Monarch of a true Kingdom, but those I had gathered in Majula looked to me for guidance, and the mere thought of hurting one of them burned my soul in a way that the Throne of Want never had managed.

Sharpen. Twist. Layer. Ethereal blue light coalesced between the branches of the Witchtree Staff. I aimed at the spot where his crotch would be if he was standing on a platform - conveniently, on level where the panel that I was guessing was the source of the invisibility field was.

"HAH. Little bastard thinks he can hurt my tank with his little stick? YOU CAN'T HIT WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE!" That annoying voice again, and I shook my head.

"I don't need to see you to do this. Soul Arrow." Naming the spell brought it forth from my soul, powering the arcane working. Bright white-blue launched forward, shrieking through the air with an oh-so-familiar cry, and smashed into the spot I had aimed for. "SKIDDY~! GET INSIDE, HE CAN STILL SEE YOU!" A pole-axed expression hit the man's face as the woman inside the tank - I was guessing it was a woman with how highly-pitched the voice was - yelled at him, and he dropped back inside. Not in time though, as the panel crackled under the force of my spell. The thing broke, and with it the invisibility field. "NO!"

Cue the tank charging at me, as the woman continued yelling 'no' over and over again. I leapt to the side, rolling across the ground out of the way, watching the flamethrower-tank spin around in far too tight a radius for a vehicle that size.

Fine. This isn't the first time something this big has been faster than it should be. It charged at me again, forcing me to dodge to the side once more, drawing another scream of anger from within the tank.

"You little shit! That invisi-generator was a prototype!" Good. Someone like you does NOT need the ability to go around unseen. Twice more I rolled to the side, avoiding the charges of the tank, and I had to admit, the woman was a decent driver, though I didn't know if that judgement was just because I hadn't seen a vehicle of any kind being used since I fought against the Skeleton Chariot. And that had been on a closed track, not an open field like this.

Another gout of flame, another tree burning and some of the grass. I responded with another Soul Arrow, cracking into the treads on one side. Reducing this thing's mobility was my new step one. Back and forth we went, my rolls getting less and less clearance as the driver got used to my movements. Shit. That's… not good. I couldn't just burn spells against this thing, I still had to deal with the driver and the man, and there was no telling what they were capable of. Case in point, where did that blue field on the ground come from? I rolled across it as I tried to get out of the way of the tank again, and frowned as the treads of the vehicle came dangerously close to my leg. The field, whatever had caused it, had pushed against me, slowing me down. While not enough on its own, the fact that it did that just in time to hinder me avoiding the tank….

Another engine revving made me freeze up, at the worst possible time. I looked in the direction of the new engine, to see a man in deep blue armor getting off of a customized motor-bike. But my distraction cost me, as the trash-tank smashed directly into me, sending me bouncing across the ground, rather painfully.

"Shit, we don't need to deal with the blue dipshit! Let's get out of here!" The tank skidded and took off as I tried to pull myself up, only for the movement to trigger a wave of pain from my chest. Oh. Broken rib. I dropped back to the ground as the armored man walked over to me, carefully keeping his halberd loosely pointed away from my position.

"Name and - damn, you're not one of theirs." One of theirs?

"N-no." I rasped, chest heaving and sending another wave of pain. "We had a disagreement about how to treat those under you, and they chose to… ah…. Chose to initiate some hostilities." The man frowned and looked along my body, his eyes hidden behind a half-mask that looked more like a visor.

"You're wounded. And show signs of malnutrition. I won't ask how you survived being run over by Squealer's tank, yet." He tapped the side of his helmet before speaking into it. "I need an ambulance at my location, and a fire truck. One injured at this moment." Right. Help was on the way, and there was someone who knew what the fuck was going on around this place on hand. I let my head drop back, and let sweet oblivion wash over me.

Well. Hopefully this isn't too horrid.

Last edited: Feb 9, 2017

453

Reytac

Jan 29, 2017

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Threadmarks Dark Future 1.2

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Reytac

Feb 1, 2017

#24

Chapter 2: Dark Future 1.2

Waking up in the hospital was a drastic change from waking up next to a Bonfire, which is where I had always woken up before when I 'blacked out'. Though I suppose that might have to do with the fact that in Drangleic, if you ever passed out in the field, some wandering Hollow was invariably going to kill you, invariably shunting you back to the Bonfire. I looked around, wincing as I realized that there was a needle in my arm, connected to an IV drip. I couldn't tell what was inside the bag, because it didn't look like any saline drip I recognized. Along my chest and arm there were also sensor pads, little rounds things hooked to wires that led to a computer nearby, which was beeping in a steady rhythm.

A few minutes passed in silence - I wasn't about to go ripping the needle out, that way lay pain and blood and questions. Instead I waited until someone came to check on me, which I figured would happen quickly considering the sensors that were strapped to my frame. I didn't have to wait long, as a doctor strode in, flipping through a clipboard that had several sheets on it.

"Well now, our mystery man of the hour is up! Hello there, my name is Doctor Rodgers, pleasure to meet you when you're aware." That was a tad more… enthusiastic than I remembered doctors being. I tried to sit up, and the man shook his head and pressed me back down with one hand. "Ah ah, sorry there lad but you're not in a condition where I want you moving too much. Now then, what can you tell me about your injuries?" I frowned, tilting my head to one side as I looked down. "Look, if a parahuman hurt you like this, you can report it to the PRT."

Parahuman? PRT? He must have seen the confusion on my face and mistaken it for fear. "Don't worry lad, really. You've already got Armsmaster looking after you, I'm sure whoever hurt you like this will be prosecuted to the full extent of the Protectorate's ability. Look, uhm, let's start with an easy one eh lad? What's your name?" Prosecuted. When was the last time I heard that as a method of dealing with someone who attacked you? It took me a moment to catch on to the fact that he was waiting for a response.

Right. I doubt calling myself 'Monarch' will go over well. Shit. Uh, damn, what to go with? Soul-smith is too wordy for a name… but … Arch, Archie? Archie Smith. But before I could answer the doctor, he slapped his forehead looking apologetic. I raised an eyebrow at the action, though he didn't seem to notice my expression.

"I'm sorry, here I am talking a mile a minute, asking questions, when Armsmaster said you may not even be able to understand me. Sorry, we don't get a lot of Case 53's coming through Brocton Bay Memorial." Again, another term I didn't understand, and a reference to someone I didn't recognize, though this time I could guess that 'Case 53' was referring to me by the way his eyes focused on my face at that point in his rambling. Surely he didn't mean others had shown up? Hoping against that, I cleared my throat.

"Why, pray tell, do you think that I am one of these 'Case 53' individuals? And to answer your question, my name is Archibald Smith, though I prefer to go by Arch." The doctor - Rodgers, right that was his name - stared at me with a poleaxed expression, prompting a scowl to creep onto my face. I started to open my mouth to respond, but before I could he jerked back a step.

"Wh-who. Uh. Right, sorry it's ju-" Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the tromp of heavy boots coming to the stop outside the door to the room we were in. Doctor Rodgers opened the door almost before the person outside knocked, cracking it open just enough to slip outside before closing it behind himself. I could hear him speaking, but the door and wall were thick enough that I couldn't make out what he was saying. I dropped by head back onto the pillows with a snort as I waited for whoever the doctor was speaking with to come in.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait for long. Less than two minutes later the door swung open, revealing that the blue armored man I had seen at the park just before passing out. He strode in, boots clacking on the tile of the floor; close behind him was a dark-skinned woman with an American flag bandana covering the lower half of her face. The man marched forward and came to a stop next to the head of the bed, his visored gaze flicking to the machine that was giving a readout from the sensors on me. Then his head swiveled to me, inscrutable behind the half-helmet.

"Doctor Rodgers informed us that not only can you understand us, but you remember your name. This is correct?" I frowned slightly - I could swear I had spoken to him at the park, but my memory was slightly fuzzy about the last minute or so before I blacked out so I could be wrong. I stared at the brusque man for a moment trying to remember before nodding.

"Indeed, the good doctor did not lie. My name is Archibald Smith." The woman looked back and forth between the two of us before snickering and muttering something under her breath. It sounded suspiciously like "There's two of them?" But when the armored man turned to look at her, her eyes crinkled upwards, indicating a slight smile. The man stared at her for a moment before swinging his gaze to me again.

"Thank you for verifying that. My apologies for needing that confirmation, but while you are not the first Case 53 that we have seen, you are the first that remembered even their name." I blinked twice, feeling the creeping edge of panic nibbling at my mind. I wasn't the first Case 53, this time directly referring to me, and the others couldn't remember their own names? Had I succeeded, beaten back the Curse, only to sit on the Throne of Want for so long, burning away, that the cycle continued into a facsimile of modern day? How many Undead and Hollows were there now? I pushed away the babbling questions that yearned to be free and spoke quietly.

"Doctor Rodgers was interrupted before informing me why he thought I was one of these Case 53s. Can you enlighten me?" The two of them shared a look before the woman stepped forward.

"Have you, ah, looked at yourself sir?" I flicked my eyes downwards, taking in the condition of my body. Nothing out of the ordinary, pale blue-black skin, gaunt and looking fairly worn. It actually took a full minute for me to process what it was that was unusual, and only when I looked to the two of them and back to my own body. Damn. I'm partially Hollowed. That confirmed my fears - the Darksign was thriving once more, and I was thrown back into the crucible that was going to be the arduous slog to link the First Flame. She must have seen my eyes widen in shock and spoke quickly, trying to reassure me. "Now don't worry sir! You aren't the first parahuman who has triggered and become less than human. In fact, you are lucky in that you're more humanoid than seen." I froze at that, turning to stare at her.

"More... human? You mean, the others are not like me - like this, decaying and looking like they should be in the grave?" Another shared glance, and this time both shook their heads. I sank back, only now realizing that in my shock I had sat upright, my mind tumbling. The others aren't Undead? Or they're so completely gone that they've lost any vestige of Humanity - but no, they didn't seem to even think of that. But... if it isn't the accursed Darksign, what is going on - wait, there's that word again, 'parahuman.' "Then... well. I can handle it, so long as I'm the only one to suffer like this. Ah, now, something that has slipped my attention til this moment - who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

"Sorry, I'm Miss Militia, and this is Armsmaster. You ah, aren't going to worry more about what has happened to you?" I shook my head dismissively.

"Nay, this is a state I'm familiar with. Righting it will take some doing I believe, but I've looked like this - and worse - before." That got a strange look, but I was tired of being stuck in this bed, this room. "Would it be possible for me to get out of here?" Even as I spoke, I started pulling the sensor pads off of my torso, ignoring the slight sting as the adhesive ripped away hairs that came loose a bit too easily from semi-rotted flesh. Miss Militia tried to stop me, but her gentle touch didn't hinder me as I pulled the needle loose.

"Ah... but you're not... well sir. From what the doctors reported... you ah..." I put on a lopsided smile.

"I should be dead, correct?" She gave a slight nod, and the man - Armsmaster, must remember that one - gave a firmer one. "I am... shall we say, 'differently living'. As I mentioned, this state is not new to me. But, can you two answer me some questions that have been plaguing me? Namely, what do the terms 'parahuman', 'PRT', and 'Protectorate' mean? And where is Brocton Bay located?"

"Subject seems to retain some memory, though memory loss is indicated by questions. Retains motor skills and personal memory, but not general knowledge." This was quite quiet from Armsmaster, but not quiet enough to slip past my ears. I shot a glance over Miss Militia's shoulder at him, but focused my gaze on her as she tapped a finger against her bandana. Before she could answer me though, a loud beeping rang out from her pocket and Armsmaster's helmet. "Report!"

"Armsmaster! We have multiple confirmed sightings that Lung is running rampant. He seems to be looking for someone, or chasing someone, we can't quite tell which yet." Armsmaster jerked his head towards the door, then quickly moved out. not quite a jog but close enough to it that if he wasn't so dignified and stiff, it would have been. Miss Militia looked after him for a moment before seeming to deflate.

"I'm sorry, but we need everyone who can handle this to respond, I have to go too. I'll let the doctors know that you can leave on your own recognition if you're used to this state and familiar with it already, your things should be at the front desk lock-up." With that, she jogged out, and just before she left I could see a green flash by her right hand, flickering as she moved out of sight. I stared after the two of them, frowning as I stood up. My legs ached, but nothing that I was unfamiliar with after so long in Drangleic, and I looked down at my body fully now. I was dressed in a hospital gown, and I was lucky to see that my clothes - tattered rags that they were - were folded into a neat pile on a chair next to the door. I closed the door and changed, feeling slightly better in the familiar clothes. They kept me decent, and someone had been kind enough to clean them for me and sew them up a tad, so that there weren't gaping holes anywhere.

Once dressed, I made my way down the hallway, following signs that led the way towards the front lobby. By the time I reached the front desk, there were dozens of paramedic teams rushing back and forth, empty stretchers pushing out through the doors; while full ones were carried in. The nurse at the desk was extremely harried, and barely looked in my direction before thrusting the Witchtree Staff at me. I took it and slipped outside, to find out that it was night - and bright. Fires were roaring, and I narrowed my eyes as a fresh conflagration sprang up in the distance.

Once more, I find myself in a place of conflict. What in the name of the First Flame is going on here? There was an easy way to find out the answer to my question. I gripped the Witchtree Staff tight and took off, breaking into a light run as I moved through the streets.

Ehhhhh. This feels a bit wonky. I may rewrite this chapter at some point. For now, I hope y'all enjoy.

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Reytac

Feb 1, 2017

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Threadmarks Dark Future 1.3

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Reytac

Feb 2, 2017

#46

Proving more readable than I expected. Well, keep on keeping on!

Chapter 3: Dark Future 1.3

Running through the streets towards the source of the fire and screaming just drove home how similar this place was to the world I grew up in. I passed fast food shops and cars that would have fit in perfectly well back there, alongside stores that made no sense whatsoever - what did it mean that a place boasted of 'Aleph-quality imports and electronics'? I tucked that question into the back of my mind to be dealt with later as a fresh wave of heat rolled over me.

I turned a corner to see something that would have fit more closely with the world of Drangleic as opposed to America - a dragon was running rampant, burning everything in its path. Clouds of darkness - definitely lower-case darkness as opposed to the stuff I had been working with - kept popping up near its head, but the beast just retaliated by breathing swathes of flame around. Harrying at the dragons heels were overgrown dog-beasts, each nearly the size of a car.

A second glance nearly made me swallow what spit had survived the heat this close to the dragon. There were people on the beasts that were attacking the dragon! What's more they all seemed to be dressed like wannabe super heroes, with funky outfits and masks on covering their faces. One figure was apparently the source of the darkness, as I watched it gesture as a new cloud of shadow appeared near the dragon's head. The group of riders seized this opportunity to break from the dragon, three of them jumping off of the monstrosities backs to run down side alleys.

I slapped at a bug that flew too close to me and turned my gaze back towards the dragon. With the darkness-creator breaking and running the beasts that were trying to slow it down were now the focus of its attention. I watched as it batted two rider-less dog things away and sighed.

So. I'm in a world where superheroes exist - come to think of it, Armsmaster and Miss Militia are probably heroes themselves they had that whole face-obscuring thing going on too. And now there's some group of kid heroes who are fighting against a fucking dragon and what the hell is with these bugs? As I watched the decidedly one-sided fight, several more bugs had flown at me, almost suicidally smashing themselves against me to get my attention. I swatted a mosquito and twisted my head in the direction it had come from and stared slightly stunned.

A thin, gawky figure a little shorter than me was standing at the edge of a rooftop, pointing down the street the way I had come. Apparently seeing me looking at them, the person jerked their arm several times, trying to indicate that I needed to go that way. I frowned and shook my head once, sharply. There was a dragon running loose, and there were enough fires that it was a serious threat. I'd worry about how exactly a dragon had made it into the heart of a city without being noticed later, for now, I had a dragon to fight.

I pushed through the veritable swarm of insects that were flying around me, breaking through only when they all seemed to stop moving as a scream ripped through the night. This one was different from the shouts of fear and terror that had been plaguing the air already; this scream was laden with loss and rage. It was a sound that I'd heard before, the scream of someone who had lost something precious to them.

The beast-rider had been thrown against a building while I was distracted by the rooftop person, and the creature she had been riding was shrinking rapidly in size - and it was with a start that I realized that it was apparently a dog that had been under some kind of transformation the animal was barely moving now, and the other three dogs had gathered around the injured duo, snarling as the dragon slowly, tauntingly approached them.

No, that is quite enough of that! I brought up my staff, truly back in my element now as I tried to draw a dragon's attention away from someone else to give them a chance to recover. Layer. Sharpen. Twist. Swell. Twist. I thrust the business end of the staff outwards, the mnemonic action reinforcing the motion of the spell. "Great Soul Arrow!" My spell split the night air, its shrieking scream drowning out the sounds in the background. The dragon didn't deign to notice the spell, arrogant as the wyverns ever were in Drangleic. So I was smugly pleased when the blinding blue-white shape of energy smashed into the dragon's wing near the base, punching a hole through the meat and bone and shearing the wing off. Hm, that was easier than I expected.

I was understandably shocked when the dragon's mouth opened and he let out a human bellow of anger and pain, masculine and infuriated. The head swung towards me, and I felt a chill run down my spine - human eyes in a dragon's body. This is what that damned fool Aldia wanted Shannalotte to become! I didn't know if this was a false dragon, or a real one, or some kind of were-dragon, but whatever it was, I had pissed him off for injuring him. His attention was now fully on me as I sprinted to his wounded side, drawing his attention from the hero that was now trying to cajole the hurt dog into motion.

I threw myself forward, clear of the spear of fire that the dragon spat at me, and I couldn't help but judge it against the wyverns and lesser dragons I had fought before. For all that it was impressive and terrifying - especially juxtaposed as it was against a fairly normal urban environment - this thing was more on the level of some of the things I had fought against in the Wyvern's Peak, rather than like the Ancient Dragon that Aldia had made. Which meant, it was beatable. Though, I did seem to have a problem with the fact that now that it's attention was on me, the dragon was growing. And healing, as I watched the flesh at the base of its injured wing begin to bubble, before bone started to spike outwards.

Right. I don't know whether to be pissed that this thing can heal, or fucking ecstatic because holy shit, renewable Dragon-mat farming. My rambling was cut short by the beast lunging forward, one arm-leg lashing out pin me in place. But judging by how tough it seemed to be, I let it happen, bowing my head to hide the dark grin.

"You should not interfere with a Dragon's judgment little man." Huh. Apparently the dragon-speak was still something I could understand, because even though in my ears I could hear him growling and hissing, I translated it without even a breath of a pause. "I will be a benevolent ruler though, and allow you to leave with only a mild maiming for the wound you dared inflict upon me. I think broken bones will suffice." The dragon started to tighten its grip around me.

I looked up into his eyes, grinning madly as I pressed forward and dug bony fingers into the base of one of the claws of the hand around me. I was weaker than I had been when I sat upon the Throne of Want, though I was recovered from whatever weakness had stolen over me just after my arrival here in this world.

"And you, drakeling, should remember that wizards are tricky bastards, and only caught after a long, drawn out battle.. Or when we want to be because we have a trick up our sleeve. For your arrogance, I think I shall take this." And I ripped.

The claw came loose with a surge of blood, and the dragon-man screamed, bathing me in fore as he reeled back, bringing his hand up to his chest. In terms of how painful that was, losing his wing had probably hurt more - but my real blow there had been to his mind, defying him when he thought me at my weakest.

Strangely, the flames didn't hurt at all. Maybe after unknown ages on the Throne regular - or unnatural - flames couldn't hurt me anymore. Or maybe he was just so shocked that he didn't put any true effort into burning me to a crisp, relying instead on the fact that humans tend to be flammable. Whatever it was though, I stood up, leaning on the Witchtree Staff as I waited for him to recover.

The fight was interrupted then, before he could collect himself and attack me again. A somewhat familiar engine revving clued me in to the fact that Armsmaster had arrived, his cycle skidding to a stop even as the dragon reared back. He twisted one of his handlebars, the grip popping loose as a fucking halberd telescoped out, the blade locking into place as he placed himself between me and the dragon. Though, I doubt he realized he was protecting the dragon more than me at this point.

"LUNG. STAND DOWN NOW." Even as he spoke, I heard a muffled crack from somewhere nearby, and I spotted a small glint flying forward and burying itself into the still-healing flesh where I had ripped the claw off. Two more cracks, and two more small slivers of metal - darts of some kind, carrying some kind of chemical agent? - thunder into raw flesh, on both his hand and on his recovering wing, embedding themselves wherever no scales protected the tender flesh beneath. It was a solid tactic for dealing with dragons if you couldn't pierce their armor, and one I would have used if I had any poisons on me.

The dragon - and this was the Lung they had been talking about on their radios at the hospital? He was named for being a Chinese dragon, when his form was distinctly Western, what? The dragon staggered backwards as whatever had been in those darts worked on him, and finally the beast collapsed. I was somewhat be used to watch the form of the dragon shrink away, to reveal an Asian man who was curled around one hand as he lay on the ground. I thought he had been killed, until I saw his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

They knocked him out instead of killing him? What in the name of the Flame? I didn't get an answer to my question though, as the blue-armored man spun around, leveling his halberd at my chest. I raised an eyebrow as I dropped the dragon claw into the pouch at my hip, thanking whatever God was listening that the enchantment woven into the sack was still working even in this new world.

"Can I help you, Armsmaster?" The man kept his weapon pointed at me as he gave one sharp nod.

"Yes, you can. How is it that I left you at the hospital, and yet you beat us here? And what's more, this is the second time you have shown up in conflict with a gang leader. What is your agenda?" I could see, and hear, his grip on his weapon tighten, even as armored vehicles that looked like they were suited to SWAT teams pulled up around us. I tilted my head, watching behind him as men with large flame-thrower looking contraptions piled out of the vehicles, clustering around the unconscious man. The devices were apparently foam sprayers of some kind, as the men wasted no time in hoisting the man unto the back of one of the vans and spraying him with the foam, which I could see rapidly harden and congeal. I focused my gaze back on Armsmaster, who had stepped forward and seemed rather displeased with being ignored.

"My apologies, I haven't seen something like that happen before and I was rather fascinated by it. Now, in answer to your questions? I simply ran here directly from hospital, and I have no idea who these 'gang leaders' are nor what gangs they lead, ergo I have no agenda. Well, other than that I cannot abide someone attacking innocent people and getting away unchallenged." And that's true, too. I could have just hunkered down in Majula like the others, just played at being a prophet or something for whatever Undead woke up next. But no, I had to see those damn raven kids being attacked and get involved. I shook myself from my thoughts as Armsmaster frowned, though now his helmet was tilted downwards slightly. "Yes?"

"Where did that claw go?" I had hoped he wouldn't notice that. Wait where did the wing I blasted off go? I hadn't seen anyone picking it up after this man arrived.

"To the victors go the spoils do they not? The dragon challenged me and came out the worse of the situation even before your somewhat unnecessary intervention." The man scowled at that.

"Lung is a significant threat, we were not about to let an unknown parahuman deal with him." Hmm, that parahuman term again. The man's helmet chirped again, a far more subdued tone than the one at the hospital had been. Whatever was being said I couldn't hear this time, and from the way his face twisted, he wasn't happy to hear it. "Very well. I will tell him." His helmet swing to face me directly. "I am needed to escort Lung back to the PRT. I cannot force you into this, it if you would please report to the nearest PRT office, or come out to the Protectorate base to give a report, it would be greatly appreciated." He nodded curtly and stormed off, putting his halberd away and following the vans on his motorcycle. I stared after him bemused, wondering if he remembered that I had no idea what any of what he just named was, or where it was located. I shook my head and started looking around for the missing dragon wing, since I was sure I hadn't seen anyone pick it up, and the claw hadn't shrunk when the man did the wing shouldn't have either.

Hm. Wonder if that small swarm of bugs flying near the spot where I'd seen the wing land earlier had anything to do with it.

Slow morning at work. Read and enjoy, I hope!

Last edited: Feb 2, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 2, 2017

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Threadmarks Dark Future 1.4

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Reytac

Feb 3, 2017

#64

Chapter 4: Dark Future 1.4

I had to admit, seeing a young figure standing next to a dragon's wing was mildly disconcerting. More so, when they rushed towards me and started bouncing up and down on their feet. I took a half step backwards, bracing myself, only for the precaution to be proven pointless when the person stopped a few feet away and wrung their hands, rocking back and forth on their feet. I raised an eyebrow and leaned on my staff slightly, waiting for this insect-controller to speak.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize until just now that you don't have a mask. Uhm, sorry - I uh, don't know what to do in a situation like this. You're the first superhero that I'm actually meeting directly, but I don't think we're supposed to see each other's real identities unless we know each other already." It took me a moment to parse out what the girl - and her young voice definitely indicated that she was a girl - was saying, and I tilted my head to one side as I considered her. She wrung her hands again, and I shrugged lightly.

"In all honesty, I have no idea what you are talking about young lady." I lifted one hand and scratched my cheek, watching her. "Could you perhaps tell me why a dragon was attacking? And where exactly we are?" I couldn't see it, but I swear she stared at me in unblinking shock for a minute, then shook her head rapidly. "By the way, you can -" She cut me off before I could say my name, or rather my assumed name as the case may be.

"No no, not your real one!" I felt my eyebrow climb higher on my decaying flesh. "Uhm. Sorry. I just, I read a lot on the web and stuff, and I don't think we're supposed to say our real names. Just like we shouldn't see each other's faces - though since you've got a Changer or Stranger state going on, I guess that isn't a problem for you. Oh darn, I don't have a name to give you, this is my first night out and oh wow you were so incredible, fighting Lung like that! Oh wait, you asked a question. Right. Lung - that's the dragon guy's name - is the leader of the Azian Bad Boys. I don't know why he was fighting, he said that he was going to kill some kids, that's why I came here, I had to try to stop him from doing that. Uh, the more he fights, the stronger and more draconic he becomes." I clenched my fingers around the Witchtree Staff and frowned. So, the dragon I fought earlier was him presumably not at full power. Interesting. I'd have to find him for another fight later, and see who came back better - his regeneration, or my Unlife?

Wait. Do Bonfires even exist here? Can I come back? That was a thought I hadn't had in a long time. A very long time. As I was trying to wrap my mind around that, the girl spoke up again. "So, uh, what can you do? I saw the blasts of light and you apparently have extra strength, so you're a Brute and a Blaster, but what else?" I held up one hand, letting out a soft laugh to try to stem the flow of information. It was apparent that if I hadn't, she would have kept off spouting questions faster than I had any hope of answering.

"Peace girl, peace! Give a scholar a time to answer questions and I assure you they will be. Now then. I don't know what 'brute and blaster' are, but from the terms they likely imply enhanced physical strength and some way of attacking at range?" When she nodded, placing one hand over her mouth to indicate she'd be quiet, I continued. "Then yes, I suppose I could indeed qualify for both of those. My… unique situation," and how much more unique in a world that didn't have anyone else like oneself hopefully could the ability to absorb the souls of defeated enemies be, "has granted me enhanced strength, durability, and speed. While I know of others where I came from that could easily out match any single one of my, ah, attributes, few indeed could compete with the wide diversification that I held." Heh, that was one way of putting the advantage that Monarch Candidates had over regular Undead. While anyone in that twisted world could take the souls - sheer life essence perhaps, I hadn't gotten to do as much research on that as I would like - from others, only someone who had Shannalotte's favor could use those souls in a directed manner to increase their capabilites directly, instead of in a general manner. I'd gone a step past that by the end of my journey, reawakening the ability to enhance myself at a Bonfire instead of needing to find the Emerald Herald wherever Shannalotte had wandered to at that point in time, but perhaps that was because I had all but claimed the Throne of Want at that point?

A soft throat-clearing grounded me from my musings, and I flushed slightly in embarrassment about being caught rambling in my own head like that.

"Apologies, I went off on a tangent. " the girl shook her head quickly. "Now, where was I? Ah, right. That 'light' you mentioned was one of my spells and… what?"I stopped, watching the way the insect-controller was fidgeting like she disagreed with what I had said.

"Uh, magic isn't real. Everyone mostly just humors Myrrdin, parahuman abilities are usually understandable, with only really Breakers going beyond that and breaking the laws of physics outright. I mean, Tinkers seem to do it too, but that's because they have ridiculously advanced and weird technology." Alright, this was getting ridiculous to try working around. I tapped my fingers on my staff and shook my head.

"Alright. What exactly is a 'parahuman'?" The girl's head reeled back in shock. She rubbed her hands together, craning her neck back and forth like she was trying to find someone else to answer the question. But here her apparent need for solitude betrayed her - there was no one else on the rooftop except for us and the bugs under her control.

"Uh, Uhm. I'm not the best person to explain, but uh, I can try and when you go meet your friends, " I snorted, knowing full well no one I could consider a friend was here on this world, "they can tell you what you've forgotten. So, about thirty years ago or so, people started to get super powers? After a guy named Scion showed up." OK, so, this might actually be the Earth I know, just thirty plus years after my disappearance? Disconcerting that the world could change so much so quickly. "And people pretty quickly started working for various organizations - I think the Chinese have most of the parahumans of their country working for the government? Or it's a terrorist group, I'm not sure which." Right, not my world. Russia would have been the largest antagonist if that was the case. Though maybe the advent of super powered people screwed that all up.

"So, superheroes and supervillains are a legitimate thing here." That was strange news. "And I take it those words you described me with earlier are types of 'parahumans'?" She nodded.

"There's Brute, Mover, Blaster, Shaker, Tinker, Changer, Breaker, Striker, Master, and Stranger." Interesting. But as interesting as this was, the night was getting cold, and I could see her shivering even in her costume.

"Right. Well, I can learn more about this later, perhaps meeting up another time or finding someone else to ask. For now, it looks like you should be getting home." And I needed to figure out a place to stay. The girl's body language bristled at me, apparently taking offense to something I said. Before i could ask what I had done, she deflated and twisted her head away from me.

"You're right, he's probably getting worried about me." I tilted my head to one side. "If, ah, you have question- wait I have another question for you! Well, two, maybe three? But they're connected." She swept a hand forward, and a wave of insects carried the dragon wing forward. "Why isn't this dissolving like parts from Lung normally do? Scales don't tend to last very long if someone got them free. And the same for the claw I saw you rip from his hand - where did that go?" I shrugged slightly to the first two questions.

"I have not the faintest idea why the parts didn't fade, though I am glad that they didn't. As for where the claw went…" I picked up the wing, hefting it in both hands as I adjusted to the weight. "Here." I slipped the edge of the wing into the opening of my pouch, and I grinned when her jaw dropped as I shoved the entire wing in. "Like I said young lady. Magic. Oh, and by the way? I've had my abilities for longer than thirty years. The world I was on… well, time was strange there. I'm fairly certain I've had them longer than that, but I could also have only had them for a few months." I bowed to her. "If you end up needing help, do take the time to look me up later. Assuming I can get a stable place to work from. My name.. Hm. I think I'll go with…" I grinned, remembering a something I had read long ago, on my first world. "Paracelsus." My grin just widened when the girl kept her head trained in my direction for a long minute.

"He was a philosopher." I lifted a finger and wagged it at her, chuckling.

"And so much more. Now, while I am thoroughly impressed that a teenager actually recognized the name that quickly, you do still need to get home. Now scoot, scoot. " I brushed my hands in her direction, and I swear I heard a giggle before she left, sliding down the ladder and disappearing from sight. The unnatural swarm of bugs remained for a few minutes, before dispersing as well. Once I was sure she was gone, I let out a long sigh.

"So. I am to all appearances, really in yet another world that isn't my own. I have to figure out what the hell is going on though, since so much is different and yet the same." I grumbled as I slowly sat down on the rooftop, pulling my pouch around to the front of my lap. "First off, I have to see what survived the Throne of Want's flames. That the bag did is a miracle in and of itself." I started rummaging through the bag, identifying things based on feel. I had stood most of my belongings back with Shannalotte and her bullshit chest of holding, only carrying the essentials with me to the fight against Nashandra and Aldia. I could feel Life Gems, precious orbs that were the condensed remnants of souls that could heal the user; along with some of the Herbs - Amber, Twilight, and Wilted Dusk - that could restore my magic. Fighting the two 'bosses' had been easier than I anticipated, and most of my supplemental items still remained.

Then my fingers touched a very, very familiar glass bottle, and I froze in shock. Had it really survived? I would have thought that it would have broken under the heat - but maybe the enchantments placed on this bag to enhance its carrying space had protected the contents? With trembling fingers I pulled out my Estus Flask, and stared at it with wide eyes. The bottle was even more ornate than it had been when I fully restored its splendor with Shanallotte, and there was one other major difference.

When I had last put this wonderful item into my pouch, a single swallow of Estus had remained within its confines, the dregs that I always left in case of a dire emergency. Now though, the bottle was full to the brim - and the golden liquid within glowed with an unusual level of inner light, far more than I had ever seen. For a long minute I stared at this bottle, completely dumbfounded by the liquid's existence. By all rights, it shouldn't exist - and then I realized what would be the cause of it being restored.

Estus, wonderful, magical healing item that could restore an Undead's vitality with naught but a single drink, was replenished whenever someone carrying an intact Flask rested by a Bonfire. The resting points were more than just warmth, they served as a means for an Undead to return to life if they still possessed their will to live when they died, and healed the wounds and aches that we suffered as well. Estus itself was a liquid form of that rejuvenating energy. Why then, was my Estus flask fully restored and looking stronger than ever? I had sat upon the Throne of Want, what was essentially a world-strength Bonfire! The Throne had reset the world, restoring it from its dying, decaying state, at the low low cost of my unending torment. Only that torment had ended, which was a thought that niggled at the back of my mind as I rolled my Estus Flask back and forth between my hands.

Even though it was such a potent healing item, I couldn't afford to use this whenever I was injured, which was the first reaction of most Undead who had the blessing of carrying one of these. So far as I knew, there were no Bonfires here in this world, not as I knew them, so the Estus in my Flask was the only amount of it to exist at all. It would have to be for emergencies only, and I would have to rely on other means of healing myself if it came down to it. I stashed the Flask back in my bag, refusing the temptation to take a drink now to fix the pain that I had incurred from letting Lung grab me.

But not I had a question on my mind. Where had the Crown gone? I'd gotten used to slinging the overgrown chunks of deification made manifest over my shoulders, only for them to form together into one object when I stopped the Ivory King. But my flesh, rotted and decrepit, seemed to indicate that the Crown's hold over me was gone,and I needed to find out what had happened to it. Feeling through the bag, I pushed past the wirey feeling that probably came from loose threads within the bag, trying to find the cold metal that made up the Crown.

Fifteen minutes of searching revealed nothing. I had other random objects, like my old staff, the thing I had carved off a tree and used as my first catalyst, and the mace that I had used for so much of my journey - weapons I had forgotten and lost within the depths of this bag - and a veil, which I pulled out and tied around my face, the shifting black material obscuring my features. But no Crown. The other real prize that I recognized easily, my hand curling around a familiar haft, was Craftsman's Hammer. The enchanted weapon had served me fantastically well, and I couldn't bear to leave it behind even if thought I was about to die.

So. I had no money, looked like a zombie, and was a sorcerer in a world where superhumans existed. I cracked my neck and smiled grimly. "I can make this work." I stood up, reattaching my pouch to my hip and picked up the Witchtree Staff. The night had grown quiet after the chaos that had been Lung's rampage, but I was sure if I hunted around I could find some trouble to involve myself in. Oh, and people were probably going to think I was a superhuman - parahuman, they were called here - because I had magic. Hmph. I'll have to see about visiting a public library and seeing if there were any magic-users to emulate or avoid.

Knocking these out at work. The slow days should end soon though. Hope y'all enjoy!

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Feb 3, 2017

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Threadmarks 4.5 Dark Future Interlude

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Reytac

Feb 4, 2017

#76

Chapter 4.5 Dark Future Interlude 1: Armsmaster/Taylor

Colin did not know what to think of the man who had shown up twice now, throwing himself against parahuman gang leaders with nothing more than a white staff. From all appearances, he was a Case 53, one who had triggered and apparently taken on 'zombie' characteristics. Beyond just the decay that his body displayed, there was the fact that the tests run on him by the doctors had all come back with one very conclusive report: the man, Smith, was dead. He had no heartbeat, no internal body heat, no breathing, no metabolic processes. Yet to observation, he was breathing, his chest rising and falling, and manual checks could detect a faint pulse.

More than that, he had somehow survived an encounter with Lung after injuring the dragon. While living wasn't that unusual, as Lung tended not to kill just everyone he ran across, the fact that Smith escaped uninjured, and tore off one of Lung's claws with his bare hand. While other Brutes could have accomplished the same thing, Lung didn't usually grab people like that because they'd already made it apparent they had increased physical strength.

So how was it that Smith deceived Lung into getting that close to him and just grabbing on to him? Even in his battle rages the dragon was rarely that impulsive. It probably had something to do with his staff, but he still had that in hand when Lung grappled him.

But a bigger question the one that he had gotten ignored on at the end - namely, where had that blasted claw disappeared to? The claw at the time was about the length of a person's forearm, and looked quite sharp. Yet the bag that Smith had put it in didn't even bulge in the slightest. Some kind of Tinkertech, a dimensionally expanded space? But there have been no reports of a Tinker with that kind of specialization. And that was a problem in itself - was the man a Tinker and Brute? Or did he have access to a Tinker with some kind of dimensional focus?

Colin had many questions about Archibald Smith, but precious few answers. The prototype lie detector in his helmet had picked up on the fact that he had been lying when he said that. At the time though, he couldn't call the stranger out on it simply due to the fact that Militia had told him antagonizing someone in a hospital was extremely bad form, and told him to keep observations like that to himself until later.

That raised the question of why exactly he had lied though - and if the prototype could even be considered viable with the fact that the man was partially decayed, which would have skewed his readings. Muttering a curse under his breath about unknown variables, Colin turned his attention back to the report on his desk.

The ABB had been worryingly silent after Lung's capture. While their projections had indicated that the second largest gang in the city would quiet down with their leader in jail, the entire gang seemed to have gone to ground, even going so far as to ignore minor incursions by the Empire 88 and the Merchants into their territory. Large pushes had been responded to by Oni Lee with a vicious zeal, but it was a strange contrast. He would have to try to plan out what the gang would do to attack when Lung's transport was on the streets, but he didn't have enough information - the gang had recently acquired a new Cape, a Tinker named Bakuda. And wasn't that great news, with how literal Lung's naming schemata tended to be.

-Taylor

Across the city someone else was thinking about the newest arrival to Brockton Bay, only her thoughts were far more favorable than the annoyed ramblings of the Tinker on the Rig. She lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she made spiders and other bugs twist and scurry in varying patterns on the surface. But her mind was distant, on the man, Paracelsus, who had driven off the dragon that was rampaging. She hadn't known how she was going to stop the dragon from hurting the kids, but she knew she had to, to prove herself as a hero. And then he had shown up, running in, a man who looked so injured already, and she had tried to get him to leave by swarming him with bugs, but he had kept going, pushing through them. Even when he saw her, and she pointed for him to leave, he just had this strange little smile, confident in a way she hadn't seen before, and ignored her, but not in a rude way, he had seemed more like he was amused by her attempt to help him.

And then, in front of her shocked eyes, he had attacked Lung. She didn't hear what he said before the first attack, but a blast of a bright blue-white light launched itself from the white wood staff that he was holding, and crashed into the dragon's wing. Whatever it had been, that attack had actually hurt Lung, shearing the wing from his body. Obviously Lung hadn't taken the attack lightly, turning his attention from the Undersider to deal with the person who had dared to hurt him, but even that hadn't seemed to bother the man. He dodged a few times, avoiding strikes, only to seem to think of something and stand still.

Her heart had nearly jumped out through her throat when he let Lung grab him, deliberately standing still long enough for the dragon to catch him and pin him to a wall. Her bugs had caught their conversation, the casual way he had turned the Asian gang leader's words back on him, and ripped a claw from the beastly form. But before the fight could go on, Armsmaster had arrived and he and someone else - probably Miss Militia - had stopped Lung with darts of some kind from what her insects had seen.

Questioning him hadn't given her many answers really, other than the fact that like Myrrdin he considered himself a magic user. Though from what she'd seen on PHO the established hero usually argued when people told him magic didn't exist, and Paracelsus just moved on from the discussion, asking his own questions. She wanted to meet him again, he had been …. Different from what she saw of most heroes. More like New Wave, he hadn't hesitated in trying to tell her his name, only stopping when she told him not to do it. He also hadn't covered his face, but she was sure that was because he was under the influence of a Changer effect so hadn't cared if someone saw his face.

But where had he come from was the real question on her mind. From the confidence he exuded, to the ease with which he fought Lung, it was obvious he had a lot of experience with his abilities. But if he had been around long enough to get that kind of skill and power, then wouldn't he have shown up on the news before? Nothing she'd seen had ever mentioned another 'sorcerer' type coming to prominence any time recently, and his Blaster power was really obvious. But maybe he had other abilities that could be hidden? She rolled over on her bed and sat up, drumming her toes against the carpet, trying to stay quiet enough not to wake her father up. He had been worried about her when the reports of Lung attacking had come on the news, but she had convinced him that she had been in a library and safe away from the fighting.

She huffed and ran her fingers through her hair as she sat back. It would be strange and really weird to go back to school after tonight, her first real taste of cape-life. She'd have her bugs searching for him, so if he came into her radius at any time she'd make it a point to follow him so she could try to talk to him again. Maybe, if he was a new hero, he wouldn't be adverse to working with her? That seemed better than joining New Wave - she valued her secret identity too much to let the bitches at school find out about her power - or the Wards, where the idea of being under governmental oversight just rubbed her the wrong way. But she'd have to find him before she could hope to ask him about it, and she had no idea where he was during the day. She paced around her room for a bit as she tried to calm herself down from the events of the night, finally managing to get tired enough to get at least a few hours of sleep before the next day.

I am bad at writing teenage girl. I probably won't write from Taylor's point of view again. I don't think I do it justice.

Also, side note: When trying to post from a laptop, try not to have airplane mode turned on. You'll just worry yourself when the posting doesn't go through.

Last edited: Feb 4, 2017

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Threadmarks Interment 2.1

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Reytac

Feb 5, 2017

#85

Interment 2.1

Right, this world is absolutely crazy. It seems fairly calm on the surface, similar to mine in terms of geography and political structure. But that was where the similarities ended.

Thirty years ago, a golden man showed up, named Scion. Who in the name of the Flame named this guy and why? What was he the Scion of? Bah, I'd figure that out later. But what he had indicated was the advent of supe-no, parahumans. This world had never really gotten superhuman stuff going, because of parahumans showing up. Scion had been the first, with a group showing up soon after - four heroes, Alexandria, Eidolon, Legend, and Hero. They had been heroes, the real kind, until the Siberian showed up and killed him. Now there were heroes and villains, with the Parahuman Response Team - the PRT that the doctor at the hospital had mentioned - the initial government response, leading the way for the Protectorate which was the parahuman hero force. The biggest supervillain group here in the US - and I had finally confirmed that Brockton Bay was in the US, on the East Coast - was a group called the Slaughterhouse Nine, led by a man named Jack Slash. The Siberian had joined them, but something about the reports about that fight bothered me. What it was, I couldn't place my finger on just yet.

In any case, my immediate situation. The city I was in was at war with itself, in a bad way. Three gangs were ripping the Bay city apart, Nazis - Flame-damned Nazis - were fighting against Asians under the lead of the dragon man that I'd fought last night. At the same time, the gang known as the 'Merchants' were picking at the edges, snapping up the injured and the weak, giving them cheap drugs to get them hooked then driving the prices up. The police were embattled, while they could fight against the normal members of the gangs any time a supervillain showed up they lost drastically. There was an opposing force to the supervillains in the form of the Protectorate, the heroes of the America. This branch was known as the 'East-North-East' group, but they were outnumbered by the villains. So, that had led me to ask why the heroes didn't just kill the villains, to stop the problem from getting worse?

A truce. Known as the Endbringer Truce. These things were outside of anything that normally showed up even in this world where Parahumans existed, beyond even what they considered most 'S-class' entities. In all honesty, these things were more like Lord Soul carriers from Drangleic - monstrous entities that were responsible for the devastation of cities and in one case a Flame-damn island. And that was a huge realization to come to - parts of Japan were just gone. So the heroes couldn't put a more permanent end to the villains, because they needed every warm body they could get to fight against those monstrosities. Lung especially was known as one of the few to fight on an even keel with one of these beasts after he'd been going long enough.

So. This world was crazy. I guess I'd fit in well enough, though I had to consider whether I wanted to stay under the radar or go for extravagance. Though the big question was, how could I find a way of figuring out where their powers had come from? Nothing I could find with the available resources could say where and how powers had begun appearing. In my experience, nothing came without a price, and the greater the power the higher the price. My own power had come at the cost of learning how to manipulate my own soul - and nearly losing it in the process a time or two. And the power of others, that had come with the advent of either the Gods or the Dark, and one of those led to the corruption and downfall of everything, while the other led to its stagnation. But it seems that no one had really done any deep studies into where the powers had come from, so for now research into that would have to wait until I built some kind of reputation.

For now, I did have to start doing something to build a reputation. Fighting Lung wasn't something most people knew of - they'd probably let Armsmaster take the credit for this one, and I couldn't blame them - he and Militia (I still didn't know if it was her actually) were known characters, and I most certainly wasn't. So I'd have to decide if I wanted to be known or not. I stood up and headed outside, nodding to the kind librarian who had allowed me to come inside despite the fact that I knew I looked rather homeless. She gave me a smile before looking back down at whatever paperwork was occupying her time.

Outside, I stretched out my arms, popping my neck. The librarian had rather poor eyesight, so hadn't appeared to notice the state of my body, for which I was grateful. Figuring out a way of disguising myself was going to be a goal for the near future. I knew it could be done by some sorcerers, so with enough work I should be able to figure out a way of managing it myself. For now, the veil was hiding my face well enough, and the tattered robes I was wearing kept people from seeing the majority of my body. That has served me well at night and in the dim light of early morning, but now the sun was up in full force, and I would have to avoid people to keep out of scrutiny.

Right. While some people would obviously attribute my body condition to one of these super- no, no, parahuman, that was going to be a hard habit to break - parahuman abilities, it still looked like I was only about half a step from being a zombie. I snapped my fingers as a realization came to me. It wouldn't be pleasant, nor that clean, but I could go dumpster diving to get some 'new' clothes. Specifically, a wide brimmed hat of some kind. With a new objective in mind, I set out, heading along the streets towards the sounds of people - after all, people meant stores, right?

Ok so I hadn't been wrong, people meant stores. I'd just neglected to consider how many people would be active even in a city on its last legs like this one was supposed to be. I felt I could be forgiven of that fact, because Drangleic had never had that many sane residents in the time that I lived there - even when I gathered as many survivors as I could to Majula, there were barely thirty people, and some of those were so close to giving up and Hollowing that they didn't spend much time with the rest of us.

So I had to stick to the back streets and alleyways, skirting around groups of people they were some of the more annoying creatures that I had gotten used to avoiding back then. I know people saw me once or twice, but by the time they would have already gotten to where I was my pace had carried me around another corner. That was another benefit to my body - not just a so called 'brute' rating, I was easily faster than a normal human, so unless I caught a parahuman's attention no one should be able to keep up.

But thankfully at one point I was able to find a clothing store that apparently carried novelty and joke clothes. At least, I think it was that, or some kind of costume store, since in their dumpster I was able to find a plain black robe that would cover just about all of my body, and a rice paddy hat like you'd see on TV for the people who were working rice fields day after day. This, plus my veil, should keep me covered up well, though I was definitely going to wear my clothes under this since I quickly found out why this robe was in the trash despite being in one piece. It was itchy as hell.

Beggars can't be choosers, and right now I had nothing to my name, whichever one I went by. Now though, with my body hidden, I could try going to a lawn shop and selling something from my bag. I wouldn't be able to sell a weapon here, those were apparently well tracked at pawn shops, but maybe some of the minor trinkets and rings that I wouldn't use could be worth something. I headed out to the main street, only to be met by a rather large, imposing figure.

"Your kind isn't welcome here." I started at him in a stupor from beneath my 'new' hat, trying to figure out if he meant as a parahuman, or if he somehow knew what I was. "Get lost street rat. The Boardwalk is for people with money only, wretches like you don't belong." Ah. My eyes narrowed and I felt one hand twitching reflexively as I pushed down the urge to punch this thug. So destitute people were the dregs of society even here. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, they had a whole damn gang preying on just that group here; but after coming from Drangleic where the only person who really cared about wealth of any kind was the damn armorer, it was just one more slap in the face that my circumstances had changed.

"I was actually looking for the nearest pawn shop, if you could give me directions there it would be greatly appreciated and I would be out of your, ah, way, sooner." The man stepped forward, slamming a hand down in my shoulder in a move that was probably meant to send me to my knees. I could see his eyes widen behind his sunglasses when I didn't even flinch from the motion.

"I said, you aren't welcome here. Get out beggar, and go scrounge with the rest of the damn Merchants. Drugged out idiot." I have to give him credit, he recovered well and tried to push me away, but I haven't been someone to take being pushed around nicely in a long while. I felt him shove at my shoulder, and my hand snapped up, gripping his arm, and my other hand darted forward and grabbed hold. Of his clothes at the waist.

"I don't care for being manhandled." Before he could recover from his confusion, I pulled, flipping him over my shoulder and sending him to the ground behind me. Something most people trained in martial arts could do, I just had the added advantage of being a lot stronger than I looked by an order of magnitude. The thug landed on the sidewalk with a heavy thunk, and I could hear his breath rush out of him.

Great, just great. Now I've got to get out of here before other people get involved. And sure enough, I could see that the crowd nearby was reaching to the altercation, people recoiling backwards as I reset from defending myself. Worse, I could see other men dressed like the thug breaking into light jogs in our direction, and I had to bite back a curse. Of course the thug was part of some organized group that was keeping this area 'undesirable' free. My luck didn't run any other way these days. That's when the screams started.

"Oh God, that villain just threw that poor Enforcer!" It was a woman's voice, though I noted in the back of my mind that whoever she was, she sounded more bored than scared. I saw two of the other uniformed men start herding people away from where I was, while a third spoke into a phone, and I couldn't make out what he was saying. FLAMING FANTASTIC. So I had two choices now: stick around and fight the other Enforcers and whatever heroes showed up, or beat a hasty retreat.

Since I did not want my debut as it were to the general public to be beating up people they actually trusted to keep them safe, I ran. It irked me since I hadn't run from a fight in a long, long time, but there was a distinct difference between fighting against Hollows who wanted to claim your souls in a mindless attempt to reclaim Humanity, and demolishing guys just doing their job, literally. I sped through back alleys, hurtling low walls and taking sharp corner turns to throw off anyone who was pursuing me, then came to a stop near a restaurant rear area. I slumped against a wall and pulled out a Rusted Coin, flipping the old good luck charm back and forth in my hands as I tried to think of what to do now.

This was beginning to be a problem. As long as I remained partially Hollowed, I was going to stick out like a sore thumb anywhere people could see my flesh which was most places. There were four places where that wouldn't matter, maybe five if I stretched it. With any of the three gangs, and I would rather destroy the damn things than work with them, with the Protectorate, or with the group known as New Wave at an extreme. That last group wasn't even worth considering though, since I was an unknown entity and they were by and large a family group; and the Protectorate didn't seem like a viable choice as getting bogged down in the legality and such would just piss me off. I'd been fighting for my life, and other's lives, for a long time, in a very lethal manner, and having to restrict myself would just cripple me, removing my strongest spells and weapons, if I could ever find out a way of getting those back.

Then again, until I had actually fought against one of these 'Endbringers', I couldn't really risk killing any of the villains even on my own, could I. Never mind what the death of even one of the capes in this city would do to the power structure, parahumans on both sides of the divide banded together whenever an Endbringer struck. The truly heinous villains, the ones who no one could trust to actually heed the call, we're thrown away into an 'inescapable' prison that details on were scant to say the least. So. I had to begin to make a name for myself as a hero, as one of the good guys, enough guy of one that if someone saw my face they wouldn't immediately need to run away. Damn.

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Reytac

Feb 5, 2017

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Threadmarks Interment 2.2

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Reytac

Feb 6, 2017

#94

Interment 2.2

You know, when I figured I would be needing to make a name for myself in this fairly crime-ridden city, I thought it would be a quick process to start finding people who were getting up to no good in the neighborhoods. After all, with Nazis, an Asian group that thought the Yakuza were too tame, and the drug runners, finding someone villainous should be easy right?

Dead. Wrong. Sure, I had already interrupted three attempted muggings, but each of those guys just turned and ran when they realized I was a 'cape'. It was honestly getting frustrating to have people just run instead of trying to fight. I also had to work out a better strategy for finding crimes to interrupt, as my current method of sprinting around the alleys and back streets was just impractical in the long run.

Maybe I could just stake out a bank or something and oh flaming fuck why is that overgrown dog-beast slobbering at me?! I came to a skidding halt, throwing up gravel, as I tried to get my brain back online from the sudden shock of seeing this massive beast panting happily at me. A black skin-tight suited teen - and yes, I could tell she was a teen because the damn suit hid nothing - wearing a domino mask slid off the back of the dog who flopped down. Despite looking like Cerberus' lesser known cousin it acted just like a normal dog a fraction of its size, it's head twitching back and forth between the two of us.

"You are a hard Cape to find wizard. We've been all over this city twice trying to find you - the dogs keep picking up your scent and losing it." This girl seemed frustrated by me, and considering this was one of the heroes I had helped to save from the dragon last night - how many overgrown dog beasts could exist in this city - I might as well apologize. Before I could though, she held up a hand, shaking her head. "Look, we just wanted to thank you for saving us last night, we didn't know it was Lung's casino when we robbed it, and he was ready to kill us all for it. So we figured, here." She went back to the dog and grabbed by what I could now see was a saddle, and pulled off a duffle bag and tossed it to me. Processing what she had said, I opened the bag, then promptly closed it.

"This is money." The girl nodded. "Stolen, money. So, your group isn't heroes." OK, I had to figure out how people with domino masks got the damn eyes to widen like that. "Hm. I thank you for the consideration. A word of warning - I am a hero, trying to make a name for himself. I don't abide by the restrictions that the Protectorate does, so, if you see me while committing a crime, I warn you now to just drop it and run." I smiled behind my veil as she trembled.

"You...you would have no problem killing. But you want to be known first, and won't kill as a first response. You're confident you could stop or kill anyone in this city." I raised an eyebrow. "My power - I'm a psychic. I can re-"

"Ah. No, you are not young lady. I won't ask what your power is, but I am a true sorcerer. I can feel when people get into my mind." And the damn things did it all the time. So many creatures had no normal way of talking, so just butted their way into my mind to make themselves heard. Shalquoir was particularly bad about it, barging in as soon as I arrived in Majula. And don't even get me started on the way I could feel Shannalotte digging around in my mind and soul to 'level' me up, that was a distinctly unsettling feeling.

The girl's eyes widened and narrowed. "You're telling the truth. It isn't a parahumans power you have at all." My hand snapped up, Witchtree staff glowing blue, and she froze.

"Now, how exactly do you know that?" She shook her head rapidly.

"I don't! I just know it's what you believe!" That didn't answer anything, really. Hm. I dropped my staff back down, grounding the glow against the pavement beneath us, and leaned in it.

"Now, I did say I wouldn't ask what your power is, so don't just it in me so blatantly. Kindly keep that bit of knowledge to yourself though or we will have problems in the future, and I assure you that you don't want that." I smiled again, though she couldn't see it behind my veil. She shank back, nodding vigorously, and I bowed to her. "And if you find yourself in need of help don't hesitate to look me up. I go by Paracelsus." The girl kept nodding, pausing long enough to get back on her mount. Before the two left, she looked over at me.

"My name is Tattletale. We're the Undersiders." I tipped the brim of my hat to her, and she took off, the dog blitzing down the alley and around a corner, out of sight. I chuckled and turned my attention to the bag she had gifted me.

This was an unexpected turn of events. While the money in the bag didn't do anything like set me up for life or solve all my financial woes, it did give me options. Like, for example, buying actual clothes instead of this scratchy ass robe. And with where one inopportune hole was, that description was literal.

So. Clothes. Food, to see if I could eat it now. Then, finding a hotel or something where they wouldn't ask questions. That sounded like a solid plan. Thankfully I was near a thrift store, so I pulled out some of the money - carefully not looking at how much was actually in the bag because then I'd feel guilty- and shoved the duffel bag into my porch, then put the money I'd removed in on top of that so it was closest to the opening. Then I headed to the thrift store to find some clothes.

You'd think that people had never seen a zombie-man shopping for clothes before. I had pulled the hat and robe off after buying a t-shirt and jeans that would fit comfortably, then changed into those behind the thrift store. I don't know why the ability to flick clothes on and off had stayed with me, but I wasn't going to complain. Now that I was shopping for some changes of clothes and people could see me though, but this store had emptied out quite drastically, the only person remaining inside at this point other than me the cashier that had rung up my purchases earlier. I dumped my arm load of clothes in front of the slightly spaced out young man, who himself looked like he was only fifteen or sixteen. His name tag read Greg or George or something, though I couldn't tell too clearly since he kept fidgeting and trying to keep his head craned away from me.

I easily ignored the twitchy teenager, paying for my purchases with the rescue money. I picked up a jacket and a baseball cap that had a "DWU" logo on it, though I had no idea who the DWU was, and kept those out as I cheerfully shoveled my new clothes into my porch, enjoying the way the boy's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as all the clothes disappeared inside the small bag. I slipped the jacket on and tucked the scraggly remnants if my hair into the hat, then gave him a jaunty wave before walking outside..

Of course the store being visited by a zombie would be cause for the cops to show up. And I guess it shouldn't be surprising that some superheroes showed up as well, since a obvious parahuman would be a source of concern. The obvious hero at the front was a man in gold and white armor with a Spartan helmet, holding -

Alright, alright world, you win. He's holding a Flame-damned lightning bolt. In. His. Hand. What else have you got that can top this? I was almost afraid to ask at this point. While I could cast miracles - if I had remembered to put a divine talisman in my bag, I'd have to check… and would miracles, which called on faith in the gods to get power from the gods, even work here? Rambling, right. I could cast a lightning spear or two myself, I didn't go around with a damn bolt in my hand casually! Then there was the fact that there were three concentric lines of crackling lines of electric light around a buckler on his left arm, which I didn't even want to go into thinking about because how the fuck were they contained without any - stop. thinking. about. it.

I shook my head to dispel the daze my thoughts had pulled up as the gold and white armored man cautiously approached me keeping the spear of light in his left hand pointed away from me. He pressed a button on the side of his helmet, disguised in the filigree that decorated it, and a small visor slid up, revealing deep blue eyes that studied me warily. I lifted up my hand and waved as he approached, and I swear to the Flame, he nearly tripped over his feet.

"Are… are you OK sir?" That wasn't what I had been expecting him to ask. "Did a parahuman villain do this to you? If you tell us I'm sure we can help you, Panacea is a healer who can fix anything, I'm sure she can solve your problems." Now that was an interesting thought. These parahumans powers tended to break the laws of reality at least a bit. So maybe she could cure the Darksign because of reasons? Nah, I wouldn't bother - besides, I'm fairly certain I was biologically dead, and I'd rather not have that be confirmed and Oh he's waiting for a response.

"I'm quite fine, and no one did this to me. Well, I suppose that dragon fellow is responsible for the injury to my rib." I could see his eyes widen as he figured out who I was. Ah, so Armsmaster had talked about me, enough that it clicked with this fellow. "But in truth, I'm fine and already recovered from that." Thank you ring of Restoration. "I was just buying clothes, as you can see. My apologies for causing a disturbance but my normal method of restoring myself to my previous appearance is, at this time lost to me." Ah, Human Effigies, where could I find you in this world? Nowhere, probably.

He shifted, looking slightly uncomfortable though that might just be my impression of him through the armor. I gave him a smile, and he looked even more uncomfortable - oh right I look like a zombie. I was used to seeing partially Hollowed people and ignoring that state, and was most definitely used to ignoring it for myself, but people here wouldn't be ready for a zombie not to be trying to eat their brains. If I was more of a prankster I'd start chasing people, moaning about brains or something like that, but alas, I am not. So instead I just kept smiling, waiting for this gentleman to relax.

"Ah… right. Uh, well. Nothing to see here folks!" This was said to the crowd behind him, and he started waving his lance of lightning around to disperse them. "Go on, just a man trying to go clothes shopping!" I pulled my brim down slightly, obscuring my face from casual observation. People started to drift away from the crowd, slowly at first, then more and more as the man stepped backwards and placed his shield arm around my shoulders. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he spoke softly, the sound muffled by his faceplate.

"They want not to be afraid. Showing I'm comfortable around you will speed that up." An astute young man,this. "By the way, the name is Dauntless. Nice to meet you, though I have to admit I hope this isn't a regular occurrence." Hah. No, I think I'd be going for obscurity through sheer what the fuck now. If I was always going to cause a scene wherever I go, I might as well use it yeah?

Finally most of the crowd was gone, and I got a chance to do something I was curious about since I saw it. I reached out and poked one of the dancing lines of electricity, expecting a mild shock - and pulled my hand back, staring at the lightning.

That felt like a lightning Miracle! OK, that raised questions. A lot of questions really. How the fuck did these parahumans have a power that mimicked Miracles from Drangleic? I bet if I put on the right gear, that spear that Dauntless was holding would barely tickle me. Speaking of the man, when he saw me jerk my hand back he stepped away from my side, raising his hand in a placating gesture.

"Sorry, sorry! Most people. Know that my lightning I use is real." I shrugged, shaking my head a bit.

"No, no, my fault. I should know better than to poke sparking electricity." Even if I hadn't picked up on that tidbit in Drangleic, it was basic knowledge from my old world that had held true now through three different worlds. I would have to ask my questions later, because the hero was now busy talking with the police that had clustered nearby, though thankfully they had all put their weapons away. I shook. My head and walked away, humming a tune under my breath that I think I recall Melentia humming from time to time.

Hm.

Last edited: Feb 8, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 6, 2017

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Threadmarks Interment 2.3

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Reytac

Feb 8, 2017

#111

Didn't think I'd be writing nearly a chapter a day but wow work is slow for me in terms of mental engagement. Shadowing a warehouse worker when you can't do the paperwork and shit he has to is frustrating.

Interment 2.3

Finding a hotel that would rent a room to me was harder said than done. Well, actually it wasn't, once I found a hotel clerk who didn't run into the office screaming to lock the door. This guy though seemed to be drugged out of his mind, since I had to prompt him to take my money for the room when he gave me the key. I headed up to the room, realizing just why the guy still had a job when he was so high - this hotel was an utter shithole. The walls were patch and poorly repaired on places, the carpet was threadbare and worn, and several doors that I passed had holes in them where termites had chewed through the wood.

My room was in a marginally better state. And in that, I mean the door couldn't be seen through. I sized and looked around, grumbling to myself. Ah, well, until I could figure out a way of making myself Human again, I was stuck in places where people didn't notice or didn't care that I was a lively corpse. For now, I had to deal with the grime and gunk that had accumulated here, since unlike most of the people residing here I actually did care about cleanliness. Well. To a degree.

I started rummaging in my bag, looking for my Pyromancy flame. I had found out early on in my life in Drangleic that the flame was actually a small Fire Seed embedded into a specially woven glove, since only people who were… a bit psychotic wanted to actually put the Seeds directly into their flesh. Rosabeth and Carhillion had known the proper way of embedding extra Fire seeds into the glove without disrupting the enchantment, which was the whole reason that Lenigrast hadn't been able to enhance the mystic item.

I finally found the glove and pulled it out, taking a moment to run my fingers along the Seeds I had found and gotten added into it. Since I focused more on Sorceries as opposed to Pyromancies, I hadn't tried hunting down all the Seeds I had knowledge of, and ended up with only five or so. I had also left the Dark Pyromancy Flame - which I had only boosted once - back with Shannalotte, since going into the Throne fight I had decided to go fully Human, which reduced that glove's potency.

I shook off the memories and slipped the Pyromancy flame on, flexing my hand as I re-accustomed myself to channeling my will into the fiery catalyst. Then, carefully, very carefully, I started cleaning away the grime and in some cases literal sludge - and no I do not want to think about what this sludge was made of - away with the fire.

This process quite literally took hours. I didn't dare use more than an inch or two of fire, just barely emitting from a finger, to work, and several times I had to quell the flames that caught on some flammable oil or something in the mess that coated many surfaces. I had already given up on anything that had fabric of any kind - the single, low bed primarily- as a total lost cause, since there was no way to clean those without access to facilities that I just didn't have. Finally though, I had cleaned the studio room that was both 'living room' and 'bedroom' to a point where I didn't feel like I was back in the grotto leading to the Rotten.

Now with a place that didn't feel like I was going to die of infection just from walking in, I sat down, pulling up my bag to start emptying out all my clothes. The pouch didn't have an unlimited carrying capacity like it had in the game version of Drangleic, so I wanted to make sure I didn't clutter it up with piles of clothing that I could just as easily leave here. I made sure to leave both a change of clothes in there, though I did pull out the robe and hat that were going to be the basis of my hero outfit. Then I started rummaging around in the very bottom, pushing past weapons and Estus Flask and wire - why was that feeling familiar, Bah I didn't have time for that. To the very bottom of the bag, looking for what I know I always just left a couple of.

Beautiful, two Titanite shards. I had I think a few others down there, but two would be enough for what I was doing. I grabbed the Craftsman's Hammer and the dense metal plate that I had for just this goal and set to work… oh, what was I doing? Grinding the Shards, condensed metal and magic, into a dust state. Well, granular state. Look it was going to be very small pieces alright. I had spent a long time, months, years maybe, learning this skill. I got the basics of it from Lenigrast - sweet Flame it took a long time to convince him I wasn't trying to put him out of a job, and a lot of Souls - then refined it later under Ornifex and Straid. I had tried to learn from Steady Hand McDuff, but in the end he was too close to Hollowing for me to do more than sit there for the gods know how long, observing him.

So. Now that the Titanite is ground down - and it took a few hours, Titanite is a tough substance if you can't full throttle smash it - and I have what my teachers called 'Titanite Dust' I could get to work on my actual project here. Enchanting my robe and hat to provide me buffs. I already knew I wanted to work on enhancing my connection to my magic, which thankfully for me, as a sorcerer, was the easiest form of enchantment to place on a piece of gear.

My mind wandered as I went through the tedious motion of slowly pressing Titanite dust into the material, pushing it in with two fingers that were coated in a soft sheen of magic. Enchanting at its simplest, what I was doing, requires three elements: object to enchant, Titanite to power the enchantment, and something that carries the impression of whatever it is you want the enchantment to be. Since I wanted to enchant this robe simply to boost my magic, using my own magic to aid in the process was enough. If I had wanted to boost a resistance of some kind, I would need enough of the appropriate Burrs to grind in with the Titanite Dust. Stamina recovery needed Green leaves, at least weak stamina recovery did. I hadn't yet figured out what was needed for health recovery - though, thinking about it, it probably needed Life Gems, didn't it?

Something to test later. For now, the robe was enchanted, or at least, it was close. Now that my magic and the Titanite Dust was buried in the fabric, I had to hold it under a haze of general sorcery, like I was about to cast a spell but not quite, in order to… well, Lenigrast had likened it to baking the enchantment in. There was an added benefit to enchanting - gear treated in this manner was generally easier to wear, and tougher than non-enchanted clothing. By personally enchanting it, this clothing would be even more comfortable for me. Apparently everyone who knew how to enchant wore clothes that they had personally worked on, though because he didn't really have too much magic Lenigrast had done his best, and his clothes did suit him better than stuff he hadn't worked on.

That was one advantage Undead held over Hollows - when a person Hollowed, and was Hollow for a long while, the clothes they wore began to wear out. The weaker the Hollow, the weaker the ambient soul-energy they carried, and the weaker the enchantments on their gear got. That was why 'bosses' were so tough - even the Hollow ones were strong in soul-energy, so their gear was tougher… if they wore it. Now, if I could get my hands on a high quality soul…. No, that wasn't going to happen here in this world, not just yet.

In any case. Rambling done. The sun has gone down, I knew hours had been passing,and the enchantment process was finally done. For at least my robe. It was no longer anywhere near as scratchy, and it had pleasant, faint swirls that caught the light and shimmered, growing both white and blue because of the Titanite Dust and magic embedded within it. I stood up and stretched out, getting muscles that had locked up to move again, and looked out the window. It was strange, really, to be in a place where time actually flowed in a linear, traceable fashion. I pulled the robe on, grunting in satisfaction as the enchanted fabric settled about me. Now then, with slightly glowing robe, I seemed far more magical than I had yesterday. Or at least, I hoped. The I stared at the rice-paddy hat for a moment then tossed it away - it wasn't tough enough to survive the enchantment, so I would just stick with my veil and my new robe.

I put away the Craftsman's Hammer and the grinding plate, and slipped my Pyromancy glove on. I could use the hand for other things, so long as I didn't focus any energy on that hand. I also brought out the Witchtree Staff. This done, I slipped out the window and dropped down, flexing my knees and absorbing the impact. Now then, let's try to find some ne'er-do-wells!

OK you know what just fuck this world. Specifically, fuck whatever it is that decided to give a Flame-damned Nazi a power that made him into Father Anderson's wet dream. I was currently catching my breath, having skipped around a corner from where the lunatic hunting me was looking.

So, quick recap. I go hunting for bad guys, and finally, finally manage to follow one of the cowards that were running from me back to some kind of hide out. Now, they didn't seem to care that a guy in street clothes walked in, so I swapped to my regular clothes and followed after.

Only to find out that this hideout also doubled as a dog-fighting pit. And a gambling den attached to it, probably largely about the dog fighting. I had to fight back a snort - well, I had been looking for criminals, and I bet this was a decent chunk of them. I slipped into the bathroom and switched back to my hero outfit, glad that everyone was focused on the dog fight going on. So, how to start this… these guys would probably if I hit them with even a Soul Arrow, so I would have to break that spell down to something else to make it useful. Standing behind the crowd, I closed my eyes and concentrated.

Sharpen. Twist. Split. Split. Twist. funnily enough, what I was trying to do took more effort than just launching a normal Soul Arrow did. I opened my eyes, noting that a few of the crooks nearest to me had begun to turn around, looking for the source of the glow coming from behind them. Too little, too late. My staff flew forward, a cloud of blue-white sparks surrounding it.

" Soul Dart Spray. " A flurry of tiny bolts flew out, smashing into the crowd at chest height. Thankfully no one was punched through, though I did see some spurts of blood as some people were cut by glancing impacts. The ones closest to me, the people who had noticed the light and turned around, were knocked to the ground. Before anyone could recover I cast the spell again, scattering the crowd and catching more people with the thin blue-white darts of magic. This is when people began to run, screaming - and I finally saw the guy I had chased to this place, coming out of a back office. He pointed at me - and a man behind him launched at me, sprouting blades from Flame-damned everywhere.

So. Here I am, ducking through the hallways of this building as a guy who would make Shirou Emiya drool chased me. So far he hadn't proven able to launch any of the blades at me, but this was the first chance I'd had to breath, having slowed him down by finally catching him in the chest with a Soul Arrow. I had tried slowing him down with a dart burst, but he ignored it and kept going, so I had had to resort to heavier spells.

Right, this was going to be a dodge show - huh. Where had my shield gone? And why had I not thought of this until now?

Fuck fuck, now is not the time for introspection! I ducked as a blade sliced into the wall I was leaning against, the metal cutting into the corner and nearly reaching me. I threw myself backwards as I unleashed a wave of flame from my off hand and sent the blade-beast reeling backwards as the metal closest to me began to turn cherry red under the surge of heat.

"Augh! Little interferer, you made a huge fucking mistake." OK. Men made of metal should not have voices like that. Or be able to speak at all. "See, you're a nobody." I very well was not! Ass hole, I'm the fucking Monarch of Drangleic! Not that this beast would know. I rolled back, avoiding furious swipes and pelted him with another pair of Soul Arrows, knocking him backwards and off balance, but he quickly recovered before I could try to take advantage of that.

Back and forth we went, me dodging swords emerging from where swords should not be on a person, and this guy getting toasted whenever I managed to catch him with a Fire Orb. I was deeply regretting not memorizing the spell for the Chaos Fire Orb, since being able to pelt this guy with fire and then have him walk over magical lava would tilt this in my favor a lot more. Still, the fire was weakening him, as he seemed to be slowing down a bit with each subsequent burst of flame that crashed into him.

Thank the Flame I had enchanted this robe or it would have been shredded. As it was, he had caught me once or twice with glancing blows that became dull impacts against my body instead of the wounds that they should have been. I was quite pleased to see that that aspect of enchanting had held true even in this new world.

Shit, he's adjusting to the temperature and moving faster again. Now, was that just because he was dodging more of the - yup, tagged him with another, and he slowed down again at least for a few seconds. OK, so both of can learn the patterns of the other. There was just one, teeny, tiny, problem.

Unless I wanted to pull out the heavier artillery in the form of a Heavy Soul Arrow or a Great Soul Arrow, I couldn't put this guy down, and he was not giving me time to pull out my Hammer to give me a melee option. And I couldn't use the stronger spells without killing him - why the fuck is he becoming a wolf. I swear, no, I was in Dark Souls 2, Drangleic, not Bloodborne this did not follow me! No, OK, this was probably part of his power, though what the shit kind of power lets someone become a wolf made out of various jagged bits of blades?!

He lunged, far faster than he had been moving before, and I cursed myself as I felt a blade sink deep into my chest, impaling me and pinning me to a wall. I coughed, wetly, blood spewing out of my mouth as the monstrosity before me slowly became. More human, having apparently accomplished what he wanted to.

"And I get permission to kill nobodies that think they can challenge the Empire… and me. Goodbye, little nobody." I felt more than saw the blade that came for my neck.

Hookwolf, hope I did him justice.

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Reytac

Feb 8, 2017

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Threadmarks Non-canon Omake;

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Reytac

Feb 9, 2017

#175

Alternative Title: Sword and Board and Dragon's Tail

"Miss Militia?" Armsmaster's voice was as level as ever, though after years of working with him Hannah could hear the faint tone of confusion in his tone. She didn't blame him, what she was seeing was just so out there that it didn't make any sense.

"Yes?"

"Do I need to schedule myself for an ocular examination, or is this really happening?" Their heads turned as another building was smashed through. This part of the city had been evacuated when Lung started rampaging, so thankfully no one should be inside of it. Still, it wasn't every day that the dragon was this destructive.

"No, not unless we're under a shared hallucination, along with everyone else here." They watched with wide eyes as Lung took to the air again, wings flapping frantically. But even this proved futile for the dragon - there was a massive twang, and a massive spear shot through the air, punching through one of his wings. With a startled shriek, Lung crashed back to the ground. "That spear was the size of a person." Her voice was flat with shock.

Then Lung's pursuer came into sight again. He was a tall, sturdy man, clad in charred plate armor that looked like it had been hewn from solid rock. In one hand - one bloody hand - was a massive sword that looked like it was something Leviathan might wield, casually leaning on one shoulder. In his other was an enormous shield, easily as tall and wide as the man carrying it, and again looking like it was made of solid stone.

Lung got up, and ripped the spear from his wing with his jaws, then turned his head and unleashed a gout of flame, brighter and hotter than anything that they had ever seen him use, at the armored man. Everyone watching sucked in a breath.

When the flames abated, there was a collective jaw drop. The figure - and could he even be called human at this point? - was standing uninjured, crouching slightly behind his shield. When the last of the flames petered out, he lifted up his helmet Ed head and seemed to stare at Lung. Then he heated his shield off the ground and began sprinting at the dragon again. The Asian gang leader promptly turned tail and fled, claws gouging at the asphalt beneath him as he ran as fast as he could for the observing PRT and Protectorate members.

"'e's mad! S've e!" Whatever he shouted at them was heavily garbled by his non-human jaw. A few moments later, the armored figure charged past them, and they heard him shout as he ran after the dragon.

"GET BACK HERE AND GIVE ME YOUR TAIL!"

Armsmaster stared after them for a long minute, watching as the two smashed through another hopefully empty building.

"I need a drink."

Last edited: Feb 9, 2017

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Feb 9, 2017

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Threadmarks Emergence 3.1

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Reytac

Feb 8, 2017

#132

It was cold, and dark. Darker than the depths of the Undead Crypt, colder than Eleum Loyce. More than anything else though, was the fact that the silence was deafening. No matter where, or when, sounds had always been somewhere - skittering movements of insects, the faint moans of distant Hollows, the pleasant sounds of the people of Majula bustling about their days, carving out a place for themselves as the world died. This, this cold, dark, abyss, was painfully silent, and so terribly, terribly, lonely. Ever since meeting others there, they had been drawn to me, working as companions and friends, always at least one by my side through thick and thin. Now though… I realized something that I had never realized before, never had cause to. I hate being alone. And it hadn't occurred to me before, wrapped up in how similar the new world was to my old, original one… but I was alone there. And I had paid for it. I curled up, a strange sensation without being able to actually feel my body, and screamed.

I don't know how long I screamed. I cried for those I had left behind, the ones I would never see again. I screamed for the pain of being ripped away from everyone I knew - something I had done when I awake in Drangleic, but never fully grasped in this strange new world. I screamed my rage at my idiocy, for falling to a beast that was no more terrifying than some of the undead monstrosities I had faced and slain before. And as I screamed, I finally felt something other than the soul-numbing cold. Fire was burning in my chest, a blazing heat of rage and defiance. I was the Monarch. Death held no hold over me, and I wasn't going to let a man of blades be the thing that beat me. I reached inside myself and gripped that rage, that fire burning within and pulled.

I came awake coughing and cursing, and hating myself with a virulent passion. I had underestimated this world, underestimated what parahumans were capable of, and I had paid for it in blood. I fell to my knees, coughing, and looked around. I faintly recognized this place from my travels yesterday, or the day before, or whenever it was that I had been in this city. I was close to where I had first woken up, the park was only a block or two away. The major difference to the last time I was here was the fact that there were fires clinging to the buildings around me, and fading away from the pavement beneath me.

So. I didn't have a Bonfire. And I had no idea how long had passed. But. I was back. Sure, the blade bastard had killed me. He wasn't the first, and I doubt he'd be the last in all honesty. But he was the last to get a cheap kill like that. And I held a distinct advantage over the people he had killed in the past. I didn't stay dead.

I pushed myself to my feet and looked down. Robes, still on. Pyromancy Flame glove, Witchtree Staff, all good. I picked up the staff and curled my gloved hand into a fist, then peeled the glove off and tucked it away, my eyes narrowed.

So. It should have been obvious the moment that the psycho blade nazi was hacking up walls, but he apparently doesn't mind killing. Which means, the villains don't abide by the Truce the same way heroes do, which ends up crippling the good guys, when they won't kill but their enemies will. Fine. I pulled out the Hammer, spinning the enchanted weapon around in my hand a few times. It has been the height of stupidity not to go in with a melee weapon, I knew better than that. I hadn't always had an ally at my side, some fights hand to be handled alone - I knew what to do when by myself. I got cocky, arrogant, thinking that nothing in this world where the heroes played with the kids' gloves on would be a threat to me. I tightened my hand around the haft of the Craftsman's Hammer, watching with grim satisfaction as a coruscation of electricity danced along the head. I may not have a chime to throw out lightning miracles, but that didn't mean I didn't have an option.

They wanted to play to kill? Good. So will I. Collateral damage will be my nickname I suppose. I began the age-old tradition of sprinting back to what had killed me, murder on my mind.

Getting back to the dog-fighting den was easy. The real problem was, the place seemed to be deserted. I sat outside, watching it for a long while, and finally my patience was rewarded. A man came out, wearing the colors I was already coming to associate with the Empire 88 group - and more important, he was carrying boxes. It made sense, the running fight had wrecked most of that first floor, so the building wouldn't be stable, and they had to relocate. I followed the guy to a car and started to run after him as he left, keeping to the shadows as much as I could.

Mostly though that attempt was to keep from worrying normal citizens. I wanted this guy to see me. And he did - not long after he left the abandoned den, he swerved a few times, taking sudden turns that were attempts to either lose me, or see if I was following him. Not long after, he pulled away from the normal streets into an area that was positively covered in Empire gang markers. He drove past an alley, and I skidded to a halt as the man that had killed me walked out of the alley, staring at me in wide-eyed shock.

"I don't know how you managed to come back little nobody. I felt your blood on my blades, and I watched your head hit the floor." His eyes narrowed, and I could swear fucking something glinted in the air in front of them as he crouched down, dropping to all fours as he let out a snarl of rage. "I'll just have to put you down again!" He charged at me, blades emerging from Flame-damned everywhere on his body as he tore across the street towards me. I calmly waited, tapping my fingers on my staff until -

There. Far faster than I knew he thought I could achieve, I spun to one side, neatly avoiding the outstretched claw that he tried to sink into my chest. At the same time, the Craftsman's Hammer swung around, the heavy, lightning enchanted head smashing into the side of the wolf-like form and sending him skidding across the street. The beast let out an unnatural howl of pain, like a thousand swords grinding against each other, as electricity crackled across his form. Where the hammer had hit, I could see the metal that formed his body had been dented - and before my eyes, the damaged metal sank into his flesh, with new blades and metal plates emerging to replace them.

Hm. He could regenerate his armor. But the electricity definitely did damage to him, the figure was now struggling to its feet, eyeing me warily. We began to circle each other, my eyes flicking every so often to make sure he didn't have reinforcements waiting to ambush me when my back was turned. I got tired of waiting though, and began charging a spell. This was a trick I had picked up from Straid - if you almost completely cast a spell, but hold off on using the final mnemonic trigger to launch it one could hold a spell in abeyance for a few seconds - critical in a fight. This was one reason why the sorcerer had been so feared in his time, among other things that I had learned and hadn't learned.

Sharpen. Twist. Layer. Twist. Layer. Layer. Spin. I could feel my magic surging as I focused my will, watching for an opening. The spell could only be held for a couple more seconds - yes! The blade-wolf was impatient, and charged at me again, his mouth open for a biting attack as he stretched his arms wide trying to cut me off. Too bad for him, I wasn't trying to dodge this attack.

" Great Soul Arrow." The same spell that had blasted through so many of my enemies flew out, the heavy burst of magical energy aimed for the wide open mouth. This close, this fast, there was no way for him to dodge it. Blue-white energy met gaping blade maw, and the spell won. The top half of the wolf's head was shorn off, evaporating under the burst of potent magical energy. The wolf took a few more staggering steps before collapsing around me, arms still outstretched as if for a hug.

I stepped over to the body and grinned. Well, even if souls did not exist like they did in my world, this would be quite the bounty of metal to work with! I switched the Hammer to my right hand, the dominant one, and began to smash away, using brute blunt force to sever one giant blade arm. When it was clear of the body, I scooped it up and dropped it into my porch with a smile. It was as I began working on smashing metal plates free from the body that the thing shifted, and I froze.

I leapt backwards, bringing my staff to bear again, as the metal shrank, leaving the figure of the man once more. His eyes went to me, wide, as he started to try to stand up. He seemed… uninjured. Great. He was a Flame-damned three stage boss equivalent wasn't he. Before he could get going, I launched a Soul Arrow into him, and my jaw dropped when completely unlike before, the much weaker spell blasted an arm clean off. That was the kind of damage the spell did for me against normal Hollows - or, I think, what it would do to normal humans. So. He was normal now? Had whatever his power was exhausted itself in bringing the bastard back from the dead? I watched as he screamed, a human sound this time, and clutched at the stump where his arm had been.

Then he started trying to run, tripping over his own feet, backpedalling rapidly as he tried to get away from me. I shook. My head and watched him for a few moments, then shot him with a single Soul Dart. The weakest spell I had punched a hole through his leg, and down the bastard went.I strolled forward, shaking my head in disbelief.

"I cannot believe that you killed me. I suppose I should thank you, actually, for teaching me what the villains of this world are like. I had thought you to be like the heroes, restricting yourselves to avoid bringing about the end of the world, but no. You were ready, more than ready, to kill a new face, no matter that that person might have held the key to defeating the monsters that are destroying this world. No, you were wrapped up in your bigotry and your short-sighted rage, only seeing a challenger and an easy kill." I brought my hammer around and ground it against the hole in his leg, watching dispassionately as he screamed in pain. I leaned onto the hammer, putting more weight into the wound and crouching down to put my face on level with his.

"So now, I have to ask myself. Do I kill you, or let you live?"

"You're ...you're a hero. There's no way you'd have the balls to do it, race traitor." I narrowed my eyes and set my staff down, watching the way he tracked the movement. I reached up and grabbed my veil, pulling it down to reveal my face.

"Little wolf, I have lived, and died, and killed, for a long, long time. Killing you won't even register." His mouth had dropped open at the sight of my face, and I let a smirk stretch my decaying features as I stood up and spun my hammer a few times. Showing that he still had some modicum of survival instinct, and a will to fight, he rolled over and… grabbed my staff. I paused, watching as he swung it around to point it at me.

"Great Soul Arrow!" The look of confusion on his face was actually hilarious. I started to laugh, and watched him shake it a few times. "No, no no no! Soul Arrow!" Again he jabbed it in my direction, and again, nothing happened. Sheer panic replaced confusion, and he trembled slightly as he looked up at me.

"You're… not a Tinker." What, he thought my staff was like a fucking voice activated Ray gun? Still laughing, I shook my head.

"No. Now, if that had worked, I would have been.. Well, dead. But let me let you in on a secret." his eyes flickered to the side as I lifted the Craftsman's Hammer up. "I'm the Sorcerer King." And down the hammer fell. I won't describe what the heavy sledge, coated in lightning, did to his human body, but it wasn't pretty. In fact, I heard a scream nearby, of rage, and looked up to see a teenager on a chunk of masonry shoot away from where we were. Huh.

Then my eyes went wide. I had felt a rush of souls when he died. I had felt a rush of souls when he died! By all logic that shouldn't have happened. But more, I could feel it within me - a grand soul. A soul that was what would be considered, if I was in a game, a 'Boss Soul'. What on earth are these Parahumans?.

I was wondering whether or not to hold this, but eh. And you're right there Dusty, the darkness is a large part of Dark Souls. I just need to get the first chapters out of the way... And set things up like the end of this chapter. What do you think knowing the he can get souls from

Last edited: Feb 8, 2017

342Emergence 3.2

So for some reason, killing a parahuman had garnered me a grand soul. I could feel it, crystallized within me in a strange way that I could never fully comprehend. The things didn't sit in the bag like they did in the game version of the universe, but instead sat somewhere within my very being. I could pull them out, yes, just like I could pull out regular souls but it was always so strange.

But the bigger question was, what could I do with this soul that I had gained? Grand souls could be used to make weapons, armor, or spells… but before I could do that, I would need some kind of space to work. This kind of crafting needed more to it than the simple enchantment I had done on my robe and - OK, I was not expecting the blade-man - wow I needed to learn what his name had been - to dissolve into a strange goop before evaporating. I could swear, for a second there, I felt like something immensely vast was looking in my direction, but whatever it was faded before I could focus on it. I straightened up, storing my hammer in my pouch - and of course, that was when the authorities showed up, after everything was done and finished.

This time, it was Miss Militia, the woman arriving with a group of PRT officers - logos, thank you so much. She swept a rifle around, a worried expression on her face until she saw me. Then her eyes went wide in shock as she ran over to me.

"Mr. Smith!" I raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, I appear to be in costume now, so allow me to introduce myself as Paracelsus." She came to a stop a few feet away from me, and this time I saw what the green flash of light was. The rifle at her side exploded into light, and when the light faded a small dagger was in her hand, which she promptly tucked into a sheath on her belt. Seeing that we were both unarmed, I felt it safe to bow. "And what can I do for the Protectorate today Miss Militia?" She fidgeted slightly, looking around, and paused at the dissolving sludge that had been the blade man.

"We got reports that Hookwolf was fighting someone here but that isn't important. Mr - Paracelsus, we got reports from informants within the Empire that you were killed!" Hmm, they had informants within the gangs. To be expected I suppose, I certainly wasn't surprised. Still, she needed some kind of answer, even if it wouldn't make sense to her. I gestured to my body.

"I told you before this state is not an unfamiliar one to me, Miss Militia. Death and I are… companions, but she deigns not to take me just yet. I suffer for it, yes, but only partially, and I can recover." she was still staring, and I brought a hand up to realize that my veil was still down. Hm. So why we she -

"Uh, Paracelsus… did Hookwolf do something to you? Give you some kind of drug, or have a woman touch you?" Why the hell would a woman touching me do something - wait they probably had like touch killers or something in this world. Still, my confusion must have shown on my face, since she pointed at my hand. I looked down and at it, then back up at her, not processing what was strange. Then I looked back down.

Huh. Guess I should have expected this, since I got a grand soul from that Hookwolf - thank you Militia for his name - bastard. I was human again. My flesh had filled back out, and grey, rotted and pallid skin had become tanned, healthy and whole. I flexed my hand a few times before blinking and looking back to Miss Militia, who was still staring at me, and smiled pleasantly.

"No, no one touched me. Rather, no one touched me tonight. Pray tell, do you know when I was killed?" Militia shook her head, not quite grasping something.

"You, or, ah, your projection, 'died' two nights ago Paracelsus." My what? "Now… Would it be possible for us to really meet you? We should have figured it out when your projection was alive without any actual vital signs, but we attributed it to a Breaker State, and I'm sorry about that confusion." What in the name of the Dark was she on about.? A projec- she thinks I'm a Master and my body is just a projection.

"No, no you are quite wrong Miss Militia. In terms that might be familiar to you, I am a Lich. An undying Sorcerer." She didn't react. Damn, there goes my hope she was a need. Right, take two. "How about, a zombie?" Ah, there we go, she took a half step back. "And when I killed Hookwolf, his soul restored me to a living state." Ah, may have gone to far. Funny, I didn't really seem to care actually. In any case, she had taken another step back, and her hand was now resting on her knife again.

"You… killed Hookwolf? Where is the body? Or the proof?" Disbelief, I wonder why. I tilted my head to indicate the pile of organic sludge that was still evaporating away, and her eyes flicked to it again before paling.

"He was a villain after all, one of the Empire gang members. And as if I needed more reason than that, he - did- kill me, as you were told." She shook her head, her eyes narrowing as the knife slid out of the sheath. I could see the urge to transform it inside of her, her fingers twitching around the hilt. "Now now, I am a good guy. Well, compared to a Nazi blade psycho I am." The gun became a pistol, pointing at me, and I raised an eyebrow. That thing was no drsgonslayer greatbow, wielded by one of those bastard Alonne knights, so I doubted a simple pistol - a nine millimeter Glock from what I could see - could do much to me, unless it was enhanced by her power.

On second thought, I had underestimated one of these parahumans before and died for it, and I wasn't about to do that again. I reached into my bag, noting her twitch at my movement, and brought out my staff. Militia seemed a bit strained when I brought my weapon out.

"The 'good guys' don't kill people here without due process! If you do that, you're no better than the villains." Oh, how I wished it was so simple. But this world didn't have Superman, the invincible Man of Steel who could ignore everything that tried to stop him and just do good. I crossed my arms over my chest and simply stared at her, drumming my fingers against my staff. The decidedly non-confrontational stance seemed to throw her off.

"Miss Militia, please. The man who I killed literally killed me. It is only due a quirk of my history that I didn't stay dead, and from the way he talked before he killed me, I am not the first 'new' hero that he has just killed. I do not want to think about how many potential heroes have died to him over the years." She didn't seem to know how to respond to that. I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not about to go out slaughtering villains, but when they are willing to kill, and the heroes aren't, you are at an inherent disadvantage. I, for one, refuse to be at such a disadvantage." The heroine seemed to think about that, turning it over in her mind.

"And also, villains who continually get away with villainy do not stop! Why should they, when the worst they have to fear is… being kicked up for a few weeks before they are freed by their allies? I will not say all villains need to be killed, but men like this Hookwolf? The world is a far better place without him continuing to draw breath." She slumped down. "Besides. He was, once again, trying to kill me. If my powers work like he thought they did, you'd be cleaning the street of my remains, not his." I wiggled my staff at her. "He thought I was a Tinker with a voice activated weapon, and tried to use this against me. If he was right, he would have blasted a hole through my chest." Now, granted, I would have just come back again and killed the bastard without slowing down if he did that.

"I… no, I won't try to arrest you." The gun became knife again, and she put it away, prompting me. To just lean on my staff as I watched her. "Just… be careful now. It would be best if you joined the Protectorate - we can help you with Kaiser's retaliation." I snorted.

"That implies that I am afraid of his retaliation." Her eyes narrowed at me. "And I am not. I have no close ones for him to target, my 'home' is a small apartment in a shitty part of town, and that is it. That is what I have in this world." The woman did not seem convinced from her body language. I simply smiled. "Now, unless there's something else you needed?"

"Just a reminder that since you're going to be operating as a hero, you need to at least register at a PRT or Protectorate location, and if you can, come to the Rig for some Powers testing. Otherwise, you'll be labelled as a villainous rogue instead of an independent." Hm. Well, that was something to take care of when I had some free time in the next couple of days. I bowed to her, pushing my veil up as I stood back up.

"Well now, I shall be off. Do take care Miss Militia, and I shall see you around." I turned and started walking away, pushing through the crowd of stunned PRT officers with a smile on my face though I knew they couldn't see it.

So, you'd think that after becoming human again - or as human as an Undead could be - I would go and move to a more upscale hotel room, right? No, I didn't do that at all. Instead, I headed back to my room, intent on reaching privacy so I could examine the grand soul I had acquired from Hookwolf.

Thankfully my room was still secure, still quiet, and I switched to my normal clothes before walking inside. The stoned clerk barely grunted at me as I walked by him, his eyes only slightly flicking in my direction. I ignored him, walking up to my room, and once inside closed and locked the door behind me.

Now that I was human again, instead of partially Hollowed, I felt like my mind was clearer than it had been, which bothered me since that had never been an issue while I was in Drangleic. I could already tell there were a few things that I would be doing differently now that I was Human. But, I'm not going to let myself get distracted - I wanted to examine this soul, and see if I could figure out anything about the blasted thing that would give me a clue as to who, or what, the parahumans were.

So. I blockaded the window, covering it with clothes so no light would leak through, and pushed a dresser in front of the door. No easy interruptions, or way for someone to sneak up on me now. I sat down in the middle of the area that I had scoured clean earlier and closed my eyes, pressing one hand against my chest.

This part was… trickier than it ever seemed in the game. Flexing my soul was always a strange sensation, pushing against the confines of my body. As time had progressed in Drangleic, and I had grown stronger and stronger, this part became easier, as if my soul wanted to reach beyond my flesh. There! I ignored the sight/notsight of my fingers sinking into my flesh for a moment, before I pulled my arm back - holding a gleaming black Soul-crystal. Souls always had a unique quirk, the grand souls did at least - some weird way they were shaped , maybe a coloration or something, or the texture was weird. For this one, it felt smooth, as many usually did, and by and large it was actually from what I could tell, a bog-standard soul, worth several thousand souls perhaps, but not on par with what I would usually see from a grand soul. So why did it have the metaphorical weight that those did? Blue-white energy crackled around my fingers, shimmering at the edges with darkness as I pulled my soul forth to begin examining this soul in depth.

Soul of Hookwolf

The soul of an angry man, raging against a

world in which he does not belong.

Long has he roamed, always fighting, never resting.

Loyalty cries in his veins, to fight with his pack.

Even now, his soul yearns for combat and for comrades.

There is a fragment of something greater locked within,

Promising strength beyond measure to who unlocks it.

I snapped my head back, breaking the connection that I had formed with Hookwolf's soul, my eyes , so that was depressing. Viewing a soul was always a touchy business - strong souls held memories, potent and sharp. At first, the memories that I had been skimming across in this one were tame, memories of watching dog fights, fighting against the Protectorate, the Merchants - and a guy in a demon mask who kept exploding? - the Azn Bad Boys.

But then, I had touched something else. Something that was… was a soul, but was not his. It was close to his, though, so similar that at first glance I had missed it. It was a tiny thing, a shard of a soul, a fragment of something greater that had broken apart and was now resting within Hookwolf's soul. If I didn't know better, it was almost like the way the Old Lords' Souls had clung to their reincarnations much later on in life. This though, was when something else had happened. I had seen…

I had seen death. I had seen brothers, close friends, cut down while I was helpless to stop it. I felt rage at betrayal, that someone who had promised to lead us and guide us, someone we trusted, had turned on us, betraying my brothers and me in cold blood. A knife, used to slit the throats of the men under my command, as I was held helpless, forced to watch. The same knife, turned on me - and then, nothing, for a few moments, blessed nothing - and then rage. Anger, vicious defiance. The knife was nothing to my blades, as I ripped apart the ropes holding me, barely noting the blades that had sprung from my arms, not even caring as the dagger sank into my neck - and I gouged out the eyes of the man who had betrayed me, and cut out his heart. Never again would I let someone betray me like this - I would be the one who kept my pack safe.

Sweet flame, even now, whatever this shard was, sought to bond to me. It had pushed the memories of when it had awakened within Hookwolf's soul onto me, trying to make me more like him, so it could leave him and join with me. I would have to be extremely careful about handling any souls of Parahumans, especially if they all had soul-fragments like this one buried within them. I stared at the Soul in my hand for a long while, lost in my thoughts as the midnight hour claimed the city.

Ok, so this seems to be my most prolific day to date, with what, three updates in one go? And wow, the discussion today was popping, fantastic!

I will say, some of the comments since I was last on made me laugh, but I won't divulge any ideas I have about ah, Royal Relations, so to say? Heh. Keep on keeping on y'all!

Last edited: Feb 9, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 8, 2017

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Threadmarks Omake 2

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Reytac

Feb 16, 2017

#431

Omake 2: return of Havelkit

The Endbringer Sirens had been going off for over an hour now. On any other situation, Militants was sure that the Endbringer would have already landed, and be wreaking devastation on everyone who had assembled to fight it. But… she shot a glance to the side, at Armsmaster, who was currently chugging down what looked to be a full point of hard whiskey, the man pointedly looking in every direction except towards the bay.

She turned her gaze back to the… show… that was occurring in the beach. It was actually fascinating to watch him work, once people had explained to him that Lung was a human who had become a dragon. Well, after they had convinced him that didn't mean the Asian gang leader was a renewable resource of 'dragon tails' like he had begun cackling about.

Crime had plummeted at a rapid rate when he started killing anyone who tried to fight him - he had torn through Bakuda and Oni Lee without even noticing their attacks, blitzing right through them with his heavy stone armor. Then the Merchants had fallen next, when Mush made the mistake of showing up to fight him, the armored man had shouted "GIANT!" and proceeded to attack him with a blitzkrieg of strikes that had demolished a large section of the city.

People had started nicknaming him the 'Bay-Ender', as he had gone through the Empire like a lawnmower through dry grass. The only major villain remaining in Brockton Bay was Coil, and that was because the mysterious mastermind had completely gone to ground, his activities coming to a total halt. The city… was recovering, they actually had hope. . And then the Sirens had gone off, and everyone feared it was at an end when they saw that the target was their city.

At least, they had feared, until the man, who still hadn't given a name to anyone, had gone out and stood at the beach. He had pulled out that ridiculously sized bow and shot at Leviathan several times, each arrow - the size of a normal person's body- plowing into the aquatic End bringer and sending showed of electricity along its body. Now the two were fighting on the beach, the Endbringer being held at bay by the Knight who was switching impossibly fast between a massive club that looked like nothing less than an enormous tooth, and the absurd greatsword that he normally wielded.

The crowd around her gasped and several people began crying when a water echo finally caught him, the surge of water ripping an arm and a large part of his torso off. They all knew that it was at an end, that hope was doomed to die in this world - Militia and the other heroes were scrambling to get out there, trying to save him.

Then he pulled out a small, glowing gold bottle, and poured a portion of the strangle golden liquid into his mouth. It looked like liquid sunlight, and actually stung the eyes of anyone who had stared at it from close enough. Then before everyone's shocked gazes, his flesh grew back, even still holding the sword he had lost to the echo in the hand! he nodded once, then pulled out a strange sheet of paper that he rubbed onto his sword - then started charging towards Leviathan.

The monstrous being, the terror of the seas, stumbled backwards, not knowing how to deal with someone like this. It tried blasting him with a torrent of water, only for the man to literally carve the wave in half with a pressure wave from a swing of his sword. While the watchers were trying to wrap their heads around that little move, the armored man brought his blade down - chopping off Leviathan's tail.

The tail disappeared, vanishing when the man got close to it. Then he turned to Leviathan and let out a dark grin as he hefted his sword onto his shoulder. The beast froze, it's head locked onto his.

"Hey. Beastie. I gotcher tail. Your teeth are next. C'MERE!" And now the assembled group was witness to the man charging into the waves as Leviathan tried to flee. Without a word, Armsmaster poured Militia a drink from his flask of whiskey, and they knocked a slug back together.

203

Reytac

Feb 16, 2017

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Threadmarks Emergence 3.3

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Reytac

Feb 10, 2017

#201

Emergence 3.3

OK. This mystery could sit for a minute, now that I had a preliminary answer about it. I had another, larger issue that had been plaguing my mind since I became human again - namely, why on earth had I decided to Link the First Flame by sitting upon the Throne of Want? I knew what the result would be - the world restarting, refreshing to a new cycle, hundreds of years of Light and Flame again. But, I also knew that that cycle was artificial, begun by Gwyn aeons ago because he was scared of the Dark that was Humanity - the dark that was the next natural step in the cycle of that world.

Nothingness gave way to Flame, which in the end gives way to Dark - and some would argue that Dark gives way to Deep, but that's a tangent that no one has proven yet. However, Gwyn, first Lord of the First Flame, sacrificed himself to Link the flame, beginning the artificial cycle. I know that when I was in Drangleic, I wasn't going to sit on that Throne, since I was content with ushering in the Age of Dark with my friends at my side.

So, why had I gone to the Throne? And why, why did I not remember Nashandra and Aldia fighting me? Conceptually, I knew they should, since both of them sought the Flame for their own reasons, so my half-Hollowed mind had been sure that they did. But now… now there was a large blank gap in my memory, where nothing existed. I had gone from laughing and talking in Majula, working with Lucatiel to forge a government for Undead that could exist safely in Drangleic… to sitting on the Throne with the doors closing ahead of me.

What was missing? What happened in that gap that gave me the grim determination, the futile hope, to Link the Flame? It was the world's reset button, it would have wiped out everything I accomplished, wipe out the progress that was made… so why? And it wasn't like I had a convenient clue in my bag that would let me know, I had checked a few times now to see if there was anything important - huh. Wait. A wirey feeling? Was that…

I dug into my porch, fingers searching for the 'wire' that I had felt before - and I let out a groan when I pulled out a Human Effigy. How the fuck had my Hollowed state prevented me from realizing what I would have in my bag that felt like wire? I knew the bloody thing was enchanted to be durable, and there wouldn't have been any loose thread to feel unless those enchantments were dying - and if that had been the case I would have had far bigger problems than just that.

So. I had a new conundrum, one that had just coalesced in my mind. This coincidence was too much, since I know for a fact that Hollows, even partially Hollowed Undead like I was, are instinctively drawn to Human Effigies. We can feel them in a short radius, and seek them out, trying to reclaim our Human form once more. The only reason I would have disregarded the Effigy, and not noticed it, was if something was preventing me from noticing it. And there was a very, very short list of beings that could manipulate my mind in such a subtle manner. In fact, with the amount of power I had when I would have gone to the Throne… only one. The sole surviving God that meddled in Drangleician affairs.

Velka. The Crow Goddess, the Forgiver. She survived through all three chapters of the Souls Saga, showing up in each. She and I had… met… while I was in Drangleic, but it was always through her Pardoner acting as an intermediary. And always to give me praise for the work I was accomplishing in creating a safe nation for Undead, even before I knew that was what I was doing. She was the only one of the Gods that I knew of to have a hand in Drangleic at all by the time the End would have come around, but I didn't know why she would interfere with my mind and push me to ignore a Human Effigy. There was more to this, but… but it was under that damn blank stretch in my mind.

Whatever had happened was so impossibly traumatic that I forced myself to forget. But considering I had been regularly dying until I got skilled enough to survive my fights the first time through, it wasn't death that would be holding me back. And some enemies were brutal in the way they killed you - dogs, for example, the wild beasts, didn't kill you right away. They had learned that Undead would disappear on death, so they would cripple you before… well. Enough of that. But, yes. Something happened, and I had to figure out a way to recover my memories. Did whatever happened have something to do with why I showed up on this world? I knew what sitting on the Throne of Want did - if you survived the process, you became a Lord of Cinder.

I… was not on that level. Becoming Human had restored some of my lost strength, but nothing like the power I had wielded at the end of my active memory. While I was no 'god' per se, that was simply because I had instead devoted myself to trying to make a working government, something close to what I could remember of American government back from my original world. If I had dedicated myself to garnering sheer strength…. Well that would have been a different matter. As it is though, even that power was distant, leaving me on par now with the wrecked remnants of the world like Raime.

Time marches on, and I was reminded of the fact that I am no longer the focal point of an entire world. In Drangleic, things had gotten to a point where only Monarch Candidates changed anything, and everyone else was usually stuck in an endless loop of a single day, repeating something over and over again until someone like me came along and changed things. Here though? Here villains still attacked even if I wasn't involved, and heroes went about their business of keeping the peace.

I was shaken from my meditation by a knock on my hotel room door. I frowned and stood up, wincing for a moment as I rushed through the effort of forcing my soul back within the physical confines of my body. I flicked the dresser back out of the way, wincing as wisps of blue wrapped around my arm and strengthened the motion, making the dresser thump against the wall to the side violently. My eyes closed as I tried to corral the force of my soul back further, pushing it down.

The knock came again, and I opened it up to see a man in a modest suit standing, looking impatient at the door. I raised an eyebrow at the individual, who merely looked me up and down with a critical eye, though his perusal did pause at around where my hands were hanging. I looked down and wanted to slap my forehead - I was still holding Hookwolf's soul, not that anyone here would recognize it as such. A quick motion had the crystalline object shoved into my hip, restoring it to its temporary resting place within my soul.

"Can I help you?" The suited stranger took a second to recover from that one, his eyes wide as he gave his head one sharp shake. Then he looked up to my face, his gaze fastening in mine.

"Indeed. My employer would like to meet with you sir, to discuss potential employment." I felt a shiver - not in my body, but in the very air. Almost like I had passed through a fog gate. Was someone fucking with space and time here? Why? The stranger lifted one hand to his ear, and though his facial expression didn't change I could see the way his body tensed. Ah, there was an earpiece there, someone was talking with him. "My apologies for misinforming you sir. It seems my employer actually wished to simply pass along an offer of non-aggression between yourself and himself." He started to say something else, but cut himself off again.

This was decidedly… odd. I hadn't dealt with cloak and dagger bullshit like this in Drangleic. There, if someone had an issue with you, they bluntly informed you, usually by means of a sword coming for your soft parts. Underhanded dealing like this wasn't a method there, beyond the occasional poison user. But even then, they had the courtesy of trying to stab you with the poisoned weapon. I opened my mouth to ask who his employer was, but before I could the man turned and hurriedly walked away not glancing back in my direction even once. After a few moments, the feeling of being trapped within a fog wall dissipated, leaving me standing there scratching my head in confusion.

That was one of the strangest encounters I had had since coming to this city. And worryingly, the one I felt I garnered the least from. Whatever had happened there, I had not been the one to learn from it. Damn.

The next day dawned bright and early. I had slipped into another meditative stance, trying to let my unconscious mind work its way through the events of the last few days. Undead didn't really sleep per, sometimes we would pass out and collapse due to fatigue, but that was an extremely rare condition for the undying victims of the Dark Sign. Meditation though, was still an option, as both Carhillion and Straid had pounced into my head over and over again while I was learning from them.

But, my subconscious hadn't really picked up on anything that I hadn't already. I was refreshed, renewed, but still at something of a loss. I was no closer to figuring out what had led me to change my mind and Link the Flame, or why I had been pulled from Drangleic to this world. There was one thing though, that I hadn't paid attention to. Why was I still feeling that inner fire and warmth that I had when trapped in the darkness of death, when I had no Bonfire? I didn't want to risk pulling on it now, since I didn't think this room would survive being bathed in flames like my surroundings had been last time I did that.

Now then. New day, new you, as I heard someone say. And today, I could be considered new - my first full day as a regular human, as opposed to a lively corpse.

So. Some of the things I couldn't do when a partial Hollow… well, Militia had said I would need to register. I could do that, and return to the shopping bazaar area that I had had to run from before. There were a few more purchases that I wanted to do, like some electronics and such, so I wasn't dependant on going to the library to get on the Internet. I pulled my duffle bag of cash - and sweet Flame that was a strange statement to think - out and removed a larger amount. This time I did take the time to count it out - I wanted to know what I had to work with.

Why the fuck did that Tattletale girl give me something like two grand? That was counting the hundred dollars I had spent at the thrift store the other day, but still. That was enough to buy a decent phone - at least decent in this world - and a working laptop to get on the Internet with. So. I shoved the money into my pocket and headed out, aiming for that boardwalk area I had been on before.

Getting onto the shopping strip while looking completely human and not dressed in robes and a rice paddy hat - seriously what in the world had possessed me to try wearing one of those - was far easier than my last attempt. This time, the Enforcers didn't even glance in my direction, ignoring me as they scanned the crowds for threats… or the homeless, which to them were the same thing apparently.

This is when I learned just where on the timeline of tech development this world was compared to mine. Earth Aleph seemed to be an analogue to my home world, technologically advanced and peaceful. This world was about twenty years behind, and in places where they couldn't just get examples of Aleph-tech to derive from it showed. However, I was able to find a solid phone, one that reminded me of the older smart phones, built durably, and produced by a 'Dragontech'. That was a new one on me, I'd have to look up who they were later when I wasn't shopping. At the same shop, I had also purchased a laptop that was nothing fancy, but would let me take notes and search the web for things.

That was when the world went decidedly weird. I had felt something in the air, like an unnatural stillness, though most everyone around me didn't seem to notice the feeling. Before I could do more than push my new tech toys into my porch, a swath of area ahead of me exploded, the people and ovjects within it turning into crystal versions of what they had been. My eyes went wide - that looked like someone had blasted an area with a Flame-damn Crystal Soul Geyser! I sprinted towards the afflicted area, switching to my 'hero' outfit between one step and the next, not that anyone noticed as they all started to run screaming.

Before I could reach that spot though, another explosion ripped through the air, followed by more and more. Someone was attacking the city, and I was at ground bloody zero. I pulled out my staff and headed into the crystal zone, terrified of what I would find. It didn't take long to reach the epicenter, and I paused for a moment on seeing it.

A person was standing there, arms stretched like he had been holding onto his chest. I say 'like' as I couldn't tell for sure - his hands were simply gone, his arms ending halfway between elbow and where his hands should be. His chest was blown open, and I could see scattered crystalline fragments that had likely come from the poor man. His face, frozen forever in terror, showed that he knew what had been about to happen.

But who had the power to do this? Why hadn't they before? And why now? I shoved the questions down and reached out with my magic to one of the people nearby, a person who was transformed into crystal but seemed otherwise uninjured - no. There was nothing alive in that to save. My eyes narrowed. Whoever was responsible for this would die.

Big badda boom. Time for things to ESCALATE. At least a little.

Edit: Jesus. Looked at my alerts, 151 of the bloody things all about people liking posts! Holy he'll, thanks for the support y'all!

338

Reytac

Feb 10, 2017

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Threadmarks Emergence Interlude

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Reytac

Feb 10, 2017

#215

Bakuda

Things had been going so well until now! First she triggered - and what a mess that had been, overly aggressive ass hole professor who was both sexist and racist who wouldn't leave her alone, insinuating the only way she'd succeed was... Bakuda wouldn't think about it now, that was so far in the past it didn't matter. What did matter was that Lung had recruited her from that, promising that she would flourish under his guidance.

And she had. He had held nothing back, giving her everything she needed to make the designs that entered her head, his only requirement that she give him the products so that he could have them out to use for his cause. And when she had met Oni Lee, who could use her bombs without worry because of his power, she had been ecstatic. Without reservation, she made bombs for Lung, feeling a wash of glee whenever she heard about the explosions she caused.

But then that bastard had ruined it! Oni Lee had been watching the fight, watching their glorious leader put those wretched brats that had dared to steal from them in their place. So he had seen when that bastard had shown up, had seen the bastard so casually attack their leader. He had told her of the strange blue-white energy that had shorn a wing off of Lung, and then ripped a claw off of Lung's hand.

And Bakuda had been furious. Her savior had been captured because that bastard had wounded him, shocking him for daring to raise his hand against the glorious leader. The accursed Protectorate had taken advantage of Lung's obvious disbelief and interfered in their fight, poisoning the great dragon, weakening him and capturing him like craven cowards.

So she knew what she had to do. Oni Lee was strong, no doubt of that, but he found it hard to take the initiative. So she had to take charge, handle this situation and get Lung freed. And she had just the idea for it: when she heard about the strange blaster attack that the bastard had used, she had had a surge of inspiration: a bomb, using a strange crystal shard she had found, planted near one of the few places the bastard had been seen: near the boardwalk. After all, how many freaks that looked like living corpses were there?

And that bomb was just the start! She could cause chaos, bomb the whole fucking city! She'd show them why Lung was important - he grounded her! So what if a few of the lesser races died? Then, in the confusion, she would lead an attack on the Protectorate holding cell where Lung was being kept and free him, like he freed her from that damm university!

She cackled and set to work. Soon, the whole damn world would know and fear her! And she would have Lung, her glorious leader, at her side once more!

-Bakuda, pre-3.3

195

Reytac

Feb 10, 2017

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Threadmarks Chaos 4.1

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Reytac

Feb 11, 2017

#224

Surprising no one, least of all me, searching for the lunatic responsible for blowing up parts of the city was not an easy task. I had gone to each of the nearby explosion sites, and found a repeat occurrence at each one I could identify the remains from - a human being was at the epicenter, used as a living bomb. The only reason I wasn't thinking it was what the world called a "bio-Tinker" was in that in two of the ones I could find enough body parts for, I had found scraps and pieces of metal. Someone had implanted bombs into these people, making them just as much victim as anyone else who died in the blasts. More maybe, from some points of view, as they became mass murdering weapons as well when they died.

Of course, making my search for the parahuman responsible for the attacks was the fact that I was currently being held at gunpoint by a group of nervous PRT troopers. I had been following the trail of one of the bombs, since whoever had inserted the actual bomb into the person had done a shoddy job of switching them back up, and the living weapon had been dropping a faint trail of blood on the ground until they exploded. Strange, unidentified parahuman, following a trail of blood away from an explosion… I wonder if they thought I was following a victim?

Whatever thoughts were running through their heads, they had stopped me and held me here while they called for support. I hadn't heard who was responding to the call, so I was stuck here tapping my foot impatiently while I waited for them to arrive. I wasn't just going to run - I didn't want to give the officers and heroes an impression that I was guilty, especially considering I was a relative unknown at this point.

Finally, someone arrived. This time, dealing with me had apparently been delegated to Armsmaster, whose mouth was set in a hard, flat line as he pulled up on his motorcycle.

"Paracelsus. What are you doing here?" Short and blunt. I raised one hand to point at the trail that I was standing beside, wondering if he could see it with that visor.

"Following a blood trail that led to one of the bomb sites. I was at the first explosion, and I realized that whoever started this is putting the bombs in people. This one wasn't sewed up properly, so I'm hoping the blood trail will lead back to wherever they were dropped off." The blue-clad hero kept his head pointed in my direction, though he did turn it slightly to look at my feet when I indicated it. Finally he nodded to the PRT officers around me, who all relaxed slightly.

"I will come with you. Best lead we have had on a source of these attacks." I watched, jaw dropping, when his motorcycle folded up into a large backpack looking thing that he slid onto his shoulders, the hilt of his halberd jutting over one shoulder. That… that shouldn't be possible. At all. But considering I had a bag that could hold a lot more than one motorcycle, I guess I shouldn't complain. The two of us began walking, Armsmaster keeping a short distance from me. For a half block we walked in silence before he spoke up.

"You said you were at the site of the first blast. Anything you can tell us about it?" I chewed my lip beneath my veil, wondering what I should say. But if my fear was right, they needed to be aware of what was going on. No need to keep secrets from the people who were nominally on my side.

"A crystalline blast, it converted everything within its radius into a crystal version of itself. The effect was completely indiscriminate. People and objects were all crystallized within a few seconds - I reached the detonation point within a minute or two at full speed, and nothing within that radius was untouched." His mouth turned downwards in a frown, and I pushed on. "That's where I found out that this was someone using people as living weapons. The first victim was still mostly intact - the bomb didn't destroy his body before the crystallizing wave transformed him. I would suggest we not let the media see his remains. Poor man knew exactly what was happening to him." I had several fragments of the crystal within my bag, to examine it later, after dealing with the monster that was responsible. Something about it was familiar, and it made me uneasy.

Armsmaster's helm-com crackled to life, and we both froze. "Armsmaster! Oni Lee is attacking Protectorate holding cells! He hasn't narrowed down which one we're keeping Lung in yet, but he's already bombed several!" I could see tension pile up on the hero's face. "Two of the blasts from his suicide clones were identical to damage reports from the explosions across the city!" Well. We had a culprit. But…. who was making the bombs?

"Damn. That means it's Bakuda." Ok, hadn't caught this name before, and my confusion must have shown in my eyes. Armsmaster clicked off his helmet for a second to explain to me. "Tinker, focuses on explosives. She was a high-priority suspect, but this is far outside the scope of anything she's done before now, so we were hoping it was a new trigger that had also triggered on bombs." He depressed the button to resume speaking to the dispatcher.

"Right. Push this to Director Piggot. She needs to know. Tell her Scenario B-L 17 is in effect." This time, the man didn't satisfy my curiosity right away. The comm device clicked off, and he turned his gaze to me, his lips set in a hard line.

"We need your help. We will be putting units on guard at every holding cell, but we don't have enough heroes to cover them all without giving away Lung's location. Will you help us?" Help protect the city, or go hunting for someone I had no way of actually tracking? Besides, if Oni Lee attacked where I was… well. I nodded sharply.

"Just tell me where you need me." He nodded and gave me directions to a nearby holding location, already turning back on his helm-com. Before I took off, the blue-clad hero held out a hand to stop me.

"If Oni Lee attacks you, do whatever you can to take him down. He doesn't care about casualties, though normally he doesn't engage without Lung's authorization." So, had taking Lung down freed a suicidal maniac? Or was something else happening? I nodded, pulling out the Witchtree Staff, and took off, following the directions he had given me.

The building that doubled as the holding cells was innocuous, its only indication of what it really was the squad of armored PRT troopers holding up in the lobby. And I was willing to bet that even they weren't normally visible, only coming forward because of the chaos in the city. I tightened my grip and pushed in, keeping my staff low as several of them trained rifles on me. A voice came onto a PA system, cutting off the tension.

"Relax boys. He's an independent, Armsmaster sent him to reinforce us. Mid level Blaster, Brute, and Mover, so try not to get on his bad side m'kay? Sweetie, where are you going to post up?" This last was apparently directed at me, as several of the troopers fidgeted.

"Uh. I was thinking outside. If this guy is attacking at random, I'd rather engage him outside where his blasts won't be amplified by pressure being trapped. Doubt that would work out well for anyone else in the building, even if he doesn't directly hit anyone."

"Aw, thanks for thinking of the little guys. Right boys, you heard the man! He's our first line, and let's hope that we don't need more than that. Or that he can hold long enough for support to arrive. Right sweetie, quick rundown on Oni in case you don't know. He's a short-range teleporter, leaves a clone made of ash behind whenever he teleports. These things last only a few seconds, but that's long enough for him to leave a grenade with them and ditch. Fantastic at hit-and-run, so try to stay mobile yourself mkay? Velocity is on standby, so if you can hold him off for more than a few seconds we will have someone ready to back you up." I nodded, and the woman on the PA gave a sigh of relief. "Off you go."

So back outside I went. That had been odd, she seemed almost nervous when talking with me. But I wasn't stupid enough to pass up free intel about a potential hostile target. Someone hurried outside behind me, and I raised an eyebrow at the trooper as he held up a hand.

"Comms device, to keep you in the loop. Need it back after." I shrugged and took the thin black band, looping it around one ear. Part settled comfortably into my ear, and I found a mike that tapered against my jawline. I nudged it into place and fiddled for a second, finding a button that turned it on.

"-tard just hit North and 7th! How the fuck do they know where so many of our bases are?" That was a frantic male voice. "Bomb was normal this time, but it took out most of the first floor lobby and the top level of the cells. When he saw Lung wasn't here, he took off towards the south."

"Understood. Next holding cell in that direction is -"

"FUCK! He's HERE!" I tightened my hold on my staff. This was… unpleasant, hearing people in danger and not being able to do anything about it. "Shit shit shit! Watch your flank, he just - DAMN MOVE!" There was an explosion. Silence echoed through the line.

"Grana? Report!" The operator's voice was steady, though concern was clear. There was a cough, wet and sucking, before there was a response.

"This is Mobile group 8. We were outside of the blast radius. Smaller explosions first, then the floor cracker like we've seen him using. Whatever the fuck he dropped as he left was new though. Blastwave that caught our car and flipped it. I have eyes on the building - it's frozen in some kind of bubble. Fragments of the building are literally just hanging in the air. Dispatch, pass the message to everyone, Oni Lee has some kind of time-bomb." Fuck. Time magic was tricky, and I didn't have a close spell to use yet. It took high levels of strength and focus to even be able to move in a fucked up timeline - though… if the Ashen Heart was still with me, would that provide some kind of protection?

"Understood Mobile 8. If possible, fall back to -"

"You." That voice was not over the earpiece, it was near and immediate. And said with the kind of hate that Creighton had reserved for Pate. I spun around, to see a man wearing a demon mask staring at me from down the street. So, this was Oni Lee? I did see a pile of ash drifting to the ground a short distance behind him, a few yards at most. He lifted one arm - holding a Flame-damned katana - and pointed the blade at me. "Bakuda will be most pleased to know I have killed you." That was all the warning I had as I felt the air behind me displace. I spun, catching the blade against the Witchtree Staff, and I could see his eyes widen at the fact that his blade didn't slice right through the wood. I kicked him, pushing him backwards, and he snarled and pulled out a grenade, flicking the pin on it. Before it went off, he stepped back, while standing in the same place - then there was a pop, and I threw myself away from the explosion that shredded the street.

Fragments of shrapnel pelted my robe, one cutting a thin line under my eye and I grunted at the sudden sting. Still, I was alive, and that blast had been paltry compared to some of the other things I had survived. I rolled to my feet, sweeping my staff around. I saw him, staring angrily at me, and shot a Soul Arrow in his direction. The fucker just left an ash-clone behind to take it, and I knew he was going to try getting behind me again. I jabbed my staff backwards, and felt a satisfying impact, before the feeling of resistance lessened. Damn, he can use those clones with a tiny refresh window, huh? I tossed the staff to my other hand, and blasted at him again with another Soul Arrow, keeping him moving rather than giving him a chance to hit me with another grenade.

My empty hand dug into my pouch, searching out and sliding into my Pyromancy Flame. I pulled it out, and released a wave of fire behind me in the process, forcing him to abandon another clone. This time, whatever grenade he had been about to use did go off - a wave of heat washed over me, comfortable and soothing wait what?. It was an incendiary grenade, i could see the fires licking at the streets, but what had pushed through my spell hadn't even bothered me in the slightest. Maybe that was because Pyromancies didn't hurt the caster, and the fire that hit me was just displaced from my spell by the pressure of the grenade?

I didn't have time for thoughts though. I had to focus on the fight - but I had an idea. Two spells were needed here, and I needed a few seconds of peace to get them going. I tossed a Fire Orb at the ash-clone - ok that was seriously getting annoying - and brought up my staff, focusing on it.

Warp. Guide. Sharpen. Split. "Homing Soul Mass." I waved my staff around my head, creating five glowing blue-white orbs of light that hung in the air around me. Oni Lee teleported in - and three of the orbs immediately blasted him. I could see a furrow appear on his face before he teleported again, so at least one of those had actually caught him. Good, he couldn't instantly stack teleports on top of each other. I cast the spell again, replacing the Soul Masses around my head, five orbs of light hanging around me once more.

"Tricky. You do not fall into the same patterns that most Blasters do." He wanted to take the time to talk? That was fine with me, it gave me a chance to marshal the inner focus that was necessary for my other spell. It would be the most powerful I had tried since arriving in this world, less for damage per hit, and more for the fact that it covered such a wide area. Before my opponent could get tired of waiting, I responded.

"I long ago learned that patterns can be… detrimental to your health." So, so many of the grand foes in Drangleic, so accustomed to their power, had fallen into simple routines. More than enough to handle the normal Undead and Hollows that stumbled into their territories, those patterns were my advantage - a death or two, and I would start to learn. Hell, even here, that was proving true - Twice now, the first time he teleported after running a short distance away, Oni Lee would teleport behind me. A problem to deal with for people who weren't used to rapid movement, but there were several creatures and foes in Drangleic that liked to move fast. Not instant teleport fast, but… other than his teleportation, Oni Lee's speed and reactions were normal human levels.

Gather. Gather. Gather. Raise. Disperse. Crash Down. The mental mantra for this spell that I used was longer than most. It was also draining, I could feel my reserves dip a bit, the first time I had noticed it since coming back really. Oni Lee seemed to be content keeping his distance - the bastard was probably waiting for something himself, some kind of reinforcements of his own. Shit, which would arrive first? Velocity, whoever that was, or Lee's support?

"Hm. True. Shame that you dared to raise your hand against Lung, I'm sure he could have found a place for you. Somewhere low, as you are a lesser race, but they do have their places serving us." My eyes narrowed. Fuck. That. I had served Carhillion, Straid, Rosabeth, and Ornifex because I was a journeyman under them, and they deserved the respect from their long years of magical study. But because of the color of my skin? Despicable. My anger ignited the fire within, and I could feel heat surging through me. The spell I was creating started pulsing, scraping at my control as it tried to break free. That was worrying, sorceries never did that. But my control was slipping, and the spell had to be released now or never. I just had to hope that Velocity didn't run into it.

"SOUL SHOWER." A potent spell, one that Straid had taught me in exchange for a grand soul. He had also shown me, as his journeyman, how to enhance the spell, increasing the range from which the masses could home in on a target. Blue-white light shot up into the air in a massive orb, arcing into the sky above us - and shattering. The spell remained true to its name, dispersing into the air and falling downwards. But the spell wasn't just an area-denial attack - the scattered fragments of light, each only a slight bit smaller than a Soul Arrow, closest to Oni Lee homed in on him, twisting in the air to shoot towards him. The teleporting bastard flicked twice, each time he landed getting hit by another magic blast that had oriented in on him. Before he could recover from the second hit, I acted, lashing out with both hands.

"Fire Whip!" The fire whip forced him to teleport again - and yes, the bastard was slowing down after each teleport, it took him a little longer to pull up the next one. The fire whip had caught the edges of his clothes, scorching the chest armor he was wearing. But that was just the final step in the set-up of hitting him with a sorcery. Blue-white light surged down my staff, blasting forth. "Heavy Soul Arrow!" Less powerful individually than a Great Soul Arrow, but stronger than their normal variant. I compensated for the decreased power by sending the Homing Soul Masses out as well, the smaller darts of magical energy spiralling around the Heavy Soul Arrow. The homing spells hit first, four of the five crashing into Oni Lee -

DAMN HIM. Just before the Heavy Soul Arrow would have connected, the bastard teleported again, flicking out of the way of the heavy spell. I started to cast another spell - only to pause as a red-clad fist crashed into Oni Lee's face. The Flame-damned Flash? No, the outfit wasn't right - but sweet Flame, if this was Velocity, it was a good thing this world had never really gotten super-hero comics off the ground! Oni Lee recovered, and tried to teleport away - but as soon as he appeared again, I was there, blasting him with a Combustion wave of flame. Again he teleported, but this time the red-clad hero intercepted him, smashing his fist into the villain's nose. While the punches themselves didn't seem to do too much damage themselves, it was enough to disorient Oni Lee - and my follow up Soul Arrow punched through his hip, tossing him to the floor. He tried teleporting away again - but that just moved him a few feet away, still with his leg crippled - so his teleport didn't heal him, good to know.

Velocity, now moving at a speed I could visually track him, appeared above Oni Lee, and smashed a taser down into the center of the villain's back, triggering the flow of electricity into his body. The villain convulsed a few times before slumping over, his chest rising and falling slightly as I watched. The hero's shoulders rose and fell as he calmed himself down from that, and I raised an eyebrow. "Huh. He's out cold. Might want to have them patch him up." The man muttered under his breath, looking to the taser in his hand for a moment before shaking his head.

"Hey. Name's Velocity, speed is the game! Thanks for helping put this sociopath down." Then he was in front of me, holding up one hand to shake. I took it, and he shook it quickly, grinning widely beneath his face mask - I could see the material stretch as he did. "So! Welcome to Brockton Bay, where Dragons and psycho suicide bombers abound. Pleasure to meet you, hope you stay around, we need the good ones! Now i've gotta get back on rescue duty - let the guys in the cell building know they can take him in. Put him in a cell, fix his leg, all that. Later!" Aaaand he's gone. Well. That was a thing.

Last edited: Feb 12, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 11, 2017

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Threadmarks Chaos 4.2

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Reytac

Feb 12, 2017

#266

The troopers almost hadn't believed that Oni Lee was down. Two of them were on 'bedtime duty' as they called it - every time it seemed like he was starting to wake up, one or the other would stick him with another tranquilizer, keeping him completely sedate as they stripped him of everything that didn't keep his modesty and carried him inside. Another had slipped an anklet onto his leg - shooting me a short explanation that it was a tracking device, and if it jumped too rapidly or was tampered with it had a syringe with a dose of a powerful paralytic that would administer the drug into his system. Then they carried him inside the building, out of my sight.

One took the earpiece back from me, thanking me for my help, and I was left standing outside, looking mildly bemused. Well, if they didn't need me here anymore - and it didn't seem like they did at the moment - I was going to go back to looking for the person responsible for the attacks - Bakuda, at least I had a name now.

So back I went, crossing over the city - I had taken to the rooftops eventually, using my increased speed to leap from one to another. This was something I had enjoyed doing immensely in Drangleic - actually being able to climb and jump had been fantastic, and let me see so much more of the world than had been included in the games. Over gaps and around chimneys I went, my eyes scanning back and forth for anything out of the ordinary - oh hey, that's the bug-controlling girl.

The girl hadn't seen me yet, her attention in the other direction on something I couldn't see. I landed on the rooftop behind her with a pair of light thus, and sue seemed to start and look around. I heard her let out a light gasp when she saw me, and she waved me over to where she was. Curious, I strode over, leaning my staff across my shoulders.

"Yes?" She bounced back and forth on her feet again.

"I'm really happy to see you Paracelsus! Uhm, and that you aren't hurt or anything, you aren't are you?" I shook my head, remembering the almost frantic way she spoke. "Right, so. Sorry, I haven't come up with a good name yet to use, everything insect or spider related just gives me heebie-jeebies, and I don't want to come across as a villain you know?" She still didn't have a hero name? Hm. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. No, she's right. Most insect or arachnid themed names were ominous - when you were in a world that didn't have Spider-Man at least. But I doubted she'd like to be known as Spider-Woman, it didn't have the same potency in this world that it did to me. But… from Drangleic perhaps.

"How does Tseldora sound?" She tilted her head to one side, and I could almost feel palpable confusion from her.

"Uh, it's a pretty name but what does it mean?" Well, fairly safe to guess that this world didn't have the Dark Souls games, that name would have been recognizable to most from the second game.

"It's the name of a researcher from my world. A great man, he went a bit… Funny near the end of his life. Had a giant pet spider, the size of a small building really. He loved that thing, called it his "Dear Freja". I figured, that as it doesn't have any connection to something people in this world would know, it won't have any connotations but what you give it." Her stance shifted, stiffening up.

"I knew it! I knew you weren't from around here! I mean, it wouldn't be completely obvious, but everyone these days who has memory knows about parahumans. And you knew too much to be one of the special ones, who don't have memory, so yeah! But… that doesn't make sense… I mean, you obviously know about people in this world's history, since you came up with Paracelsus for a name so easily?" OK this kid is adorable. Her intuition that I wasn't from the same world was fine, since I hadn't cared too much about indicating as much to her. Instead I merely watched as she turned information over in her head, and it was amusing to watch as the bugs that she had subconsciously pulled closed swirled in circles around her.

"You… have traveled worlds multiple times." I tilted my head to one side. "You probably started on Earth Aleph right? Or something close to it. That's why you know about our history figures - go back before Scion's arrival, and our worlds are the same. But… then did you get world shifted at the same time that parahumans began appearing? Maybe an early one hit you with a power before it was understood? No, not if you were on Earth Aleph, unless maybe it was someone who was bouncing between worlds. Right that doesn't matter. So, you woke up in a new world, with your parahuman power, and… with no one else who was a parahuman, you started calling it magic because that's what everyone at first thought cape powers were." she was definitely a smart young girl. I lifted up a finger to interrupt her flow of thought - only for another explosion to rip through the air.

Damn. In talking to her, I'd managed to forget for a few moments that there was a bomb maker that was attacking the city. She had as well apparently, as she jerked and the bugs around her dispersed, scattering to return to scanning the area. The insect controller nodded sharply.

"I'll use Tseldora, it works better than Bug. Uhm, I was going to ask - you really seem to know your powers and how to be a hero. Can I… can I be your support? I don't want to work alone, and I don't want to join the Wards or reveal who I am… So please?" I had to resist the urge to reach out and rub her head with the waver in her voice.

"I don't think I'll be much good as a mentor, but sure you can tag along with me for now… Tseldora. After you see how I fight, then we'll see if you still want to work with me. Heh. Right. First order of business, I'm looking for the person who is starting this. Bakuda, the bomb Tinker for ABB. Any clues?" She drummed her fingers against her arms as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

But before she could answer, I noticed something that had been bugging at the back of my mind. In the distance, about three blocks away, was a dome of a grey, wispy, and oh so very familiar. Why the hell is there a fog gate dome here?

Fog gates, in Drangleic, were the result of an immensely powerful individual laying claim to an area, and disconnecting it from normal flow of time and space in the area. You could enter their territory, but it was a one way trip unless you could overpower them - or they let you out. But they were unique so far as I knew to the Universe of the First Flame - the force of a soul was what created the barrier. I narrowed my eyes in that direction - almost unanimously, the beings that could create such a barrier were possessive, and refused to let others out - often injuring anyone who came in.

"Hold that thought. Something seems to have come up." She tilted her head to one side and turned around to follow my gaze, only to completely ignore the fog gate. There was no sign of recognition, or confusion when she looked in that direction. So. Why could I see it, but she couldn't? "Come, follow me. As we get closer it may become more apparent." I took off, jumping across the rooftops in that direction, and I heard her following a few moments behind. Good, she didn't have reservations on being fast to respond.

Well, even when we were right up on it, she didn't seem to notice the fog wall in any regard. In fact, I could see people moving back and forth without any kind of issue. Was this just some kind of territory claiming, someone who thought of this area of their own? But no - when I tried to move through it, there was the same weight and resistance to my progress that a fog wall that I was familiar with would offer. Curiouser and curiouser. In fact, Tseldora moved through without noticing the I had been held back, and I shrugged - maybe this was just holding me up because I was an Undead? So forward I moved, pushing past the barrier with a familiar ease.

Only to freeze in my tracks. On this side of the barrier, everyone who had been in the area was gone. Even my new cohort had vanished into thin air, leaving me alone on the rooftop we had been standing upon. I frowned and looked around - fog wall behind, empty area around me… yeah, this felt like a grand foe. Damn. Experimentally, I pressed on the this fog wall - and coughed in shock when I was able to pass back out. That was… different.

Tseldora was standing where I had been, and her masked face thanked thunked against my chest as I stepped back out. She stumbled back, and I fell against the fog wall, nearly sinking back through it before catching myself.

"What?" She sounded so… Small there. "I thought you had just…" She shook her head and looked at the spot I was standing by. What had she taught I had done? "So is this what you noticed? Your power works like Myrrdin's? Dimensional stuff?" I filed the name away mentally, and nodded.

"Indeed, though I've never really treated it as such. It isn't full dimension traveling - that I know of - but rather, pocket dimensions that exist nested inside of another normal one. I was shocked to see an indication of one here, especially one that uses the same indication the ones in my world did. Come, hold my hand for a moment, I wish to test if you can enter." The girl gripped my outstretched hand and I walked back through the fog wall.

Thankfully, contact with me did allow her to travel through unhindered. Once in she staggered, one hand coming up to her head. I steadied her, keeping her from falling over.

"There… there are barely any insects in this place. And all the ones here are clustered up in one place…" Suddenly she stiffened and jerked her head to me. "The ABB is here!" She hissed, and my eyes narrowed. So, that's why none of the heroes could find her, Bakuda was hiding within a Fog gate area. But how did she get in here? Or worse how did she create it? "So is Bakuda… but there are no bugs on her, and the gang members are talking about her like she's not even close to normal anymore.

"Well, that solves the issue of where she is. Guide me there please?" And this was one reason that the girl was invaluable. Her tracking of targets could be phenomenal. Through the streets we went, able to avoid any random patrolling gang members - even here they didn't seem to be paying too much attention probably feeling safe in this dimensional pocket. Finally we reached a building that she indicated was where they were hiding - a Depot of some kind, since we could see trucks departing. So they had some way of entering and leaving this place that didn't require me.

We singled out a truck - or I did, and Tseldora followed me - and two Soul Darts knocked out the drivers. When the guards in the back came out to investigate, I smashed both of them in the face with the Craftsman's Hammer before they could react, dropping them to the ground. Finding the small devices that emanated a bit of fog themselves was weird, but…. No, the issue was the four people, huddled in the back, looking terrified. I could see bandages around their chest, the operation was already done on them. My voice steady, I tossed the eight tube-like devices to Tseldora.

"Go back out, these should get you through. Take these to someone in the Protectorate, tell them Paracelsus found a way into where Bakuda was hiding. That will link you to me so should give you enough legitimacy to explain to someone who can actually do something."

"What...what are you going to do?" I smiled grimly underneath my veil.

"Start dealing with the problem. Now, go." She grabbed my arm, trying to pull me away.

"No no, you have to let me take them out! We can save them! Armsmaster is one of the best Tinkers around, I'm sure he can figure something out!" Hm. She really is a smart girl. I shook. My head slightly, and I saw the person in the truck closest to me close his eyes.

"Sorry Tseldora, but that isn't going to happen here. Bakuda has already implanted the bombs in these people. If my suspicion about this area is correct, the bombs going off in here won't damage the real world. Now, go." I pushed her away, and for a moment she stood there, probably internally debating with herself before she turned and ran, heading away at a quick pace. I turned back to the people in the truck and closed my eyes. "I'm sorry. I will kill her." Four Soul Arrows, and four more bodies. Before walking away though, I smashed the hammer down on each of the gang members' heads - no way was I killing four innocents whose only crime was to be caught by these bastards, and not kill the gang people.

None of the bombs went off when the people died - strange. Probably a restriction put in place by Bakuda, so nothing accidentally went off in her little domain. Still, that worked out for me, since I didn't have to worry about recovering from getting blown up. That now known, I turned and faced the wall of the building that Bakuda was hiding in and began gathering my will. Time to use something I knew could bust walls. I could take my time here, more than I had been before, and use what in all honesty was one of my favorite spells.

Gather. Layer. Twist. Layer. Extend. Hone. Swell. Gather. Layer. Sharpen. I could do it faster, had done it faster in so many fights, but this time, I could use the full chant. In Drangleic, this spell had blasted apart solid stonework, demolishing walls and whatever else was in its way. More powerful than the game showed, but many things had been different. I grinned savagely, knowing there was no way she would be ready for this.

"Soul Spear." A massive bolt of blue-white light ripped through the flimsy barrier known as 'existence', emanating from the end of my staff as I brought the powerful sorcery into reality. Larger than a person, surging and crackling as if it were fire, the enormous bolt of energy smashed into the building - and went through the walls like they were tissue paper. People were starting to realize I was here now - and having seen me blow apart… at this point most of the building, they were all flat out running.

Over half of the building was in ruins now, pieces falling apart where their support had been removed. My eyes were scanning through the rubble - and my eyes locked on something I would never have believed existed in this world. The woman, and I use the term loosely, was mutated, deformed. But it was what she was deformed by that was a problem - half of her body, which had grossly swollen and distended, was covered in crystalline scales. Scales that I recognized - after all, Duke Tseldora had long been studying the things, and I had found the cache. But they were tainted, twisted artifacts that carried a portion of mad Seath's soul, and the powerful Lord Soul was dangerous. Left unchecked, it could drive people holding it mad as Seath's Soul whispered to them, driving them into obsession and lunacy, to further extents than they would ever consider normally.

A piece of Drangleic was here, I could feel Seath's Soul pressure even from here. But why- a flash of pain tore through my head, sending me to one knee. I gripped my head, my mouth opening into a silent scream.

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Reytac

Feb 12, 2017

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Threadmarks Chaos Intermission: Memories

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Reytac

Feb 12, 2017

#276

Death. The world was burning, in a way that had never happened before. My lungs ached and burned, and I could feel the vestiges of my maogical well running completely dry. Majula was the last place that I knew of that was untouched and even now, I could see Shannalotte's body straining from the power she was using to hold the -thing- back.

It was a massive beast, formed of crystal and moving in ways that would hurt a normal person's brain. I would have thought that it was an experiment by Seth or Tseldora that had come back to wreak havoc finally, only I could feel nothing of the Crystal Sorceries about it. And I had been fighting the damn thing long enough to know very well what it could do.

And Shannalotte and I were the only two left who could even do anything. The others, warriors and sorcerers, pyromancers… everyone had died. The invasion had begun at the outskirts of Drangleic, as if whatever this thing was had taken its time getting here. So some of the outliers of the new Kingdom had gone off to fight the thing, thinking it nothing more than some new Grand beast.

Benhart of Jugo was the first one to make it back from fighting the beast, and he had managed to gasp out that whatever it was had killed him over and over, holding him in place as it literally drained the souls from him. And he was seriously Hollowed, so far along the path of Undeath that I was astonished that he still had his mind about him. But then he began repeating what he said, over and over again, and I realized the truth. My friend had Hollowed, but with the mission of getting this information to me, to his King, so that goal had kept his rotted body going.

So we had gone out, trying to fight this thing away from where we were living. That battle… had gone poorly. Sorceries were the best way of dealing damage to it, so Carhillion, Straid and I were the best to fight it. We learned that the hard way, when Lucatiel, dear Lucatiel, tried to fight the thing - and we saw her attacks being completely negated. A tendril of Crystal had appeared out of nowhere, and my eyes, so much more than normal now, saw a ripple of a fog wall around it. The tendril pierced Lucatiel, and she drained and withered right before my eyes. I felt a tug, like I had over and over again without noticing, and she was Human again - only to immediately die and Hollow again, the process repeating over and over until a Soul Spear from my Staff of Wisdom blasted the tendril apart.

I had rushed to her, not willing to believe she had Hollowed. The crystal beast had pulled back, retreating through a fog wall that sprang into existence behind it, and we retreated to Majula.

Even now, Lucatiel wasn't fully recovered. Whatever the entity had done to her had echoed into her very Soul, affecting her across multiple resurrections. And the rest of the world had suffered - entire swathes were eaten, gone and unreachable by any means. And whoever went out would die unless at least Carhillion went - until he died. That was the story again and again - only Sorceries and Hexes could damage this thing, and it was learning, slowly, to target them first. I was the only one to have survived every encounter to date.

Now, the monstrosity was here, at our last safe Haven. Shannalotte turned to me, a sad smile on her worn out face.

"Dear Monarch, I am sorry. I cannot hold against another attack. You must flee, to the Throne, and reset this world. It is the only way I can think of to resist this entity. Go now, before it consumes you too. Please." I closed my eyes, feeling the prickle of tears in my eyes. She was right. But this… This shouldn't be happening. Whatever this thing, this monstrous entity was, it didn't exist in the Souls games. This was an outside event, the first I had seen since I had arrived in Drangleic so long ago. I curled my hand into a fist and nodded, heading to the Bonfire to Warp near the Throne of Want.

Even the Castle was damaged, but apparently the enchantments and guardians here had managed to keep it from being destroyed. I made my way across the cavernous chamber's bridge, to the Chamber. No fog gate obstructed my access tonight, Nashandra and Aldia had perished in the fights against this monstrosity themselves at some point.

Into the Throne of Want I strode, clad in my robes and armor. Already I could feel the warmth of the First Flame locking at me, seeking to consume my strength to reset the world once more. The doors rumbled closed, cutting off the light outside.

Oh sweet, dear Monarch. I am sorry it has come to this. A voice echoed inside of my head, rumbling in a way I had only heard from the Ancient Dragon. I had hoped the entity wouldn't come here, as our world is so barren of people it could not feast the way it normally does. It must have been drawn here by the First Flame. But no, it came, and the world dies for. It. I am sorry dearest Monarch, but not even Linking the Flame will save this world now. The First Flame is too weak, already lost so much of its strength without being Linked in time. You must flee, away from this world, take the First Flame with you. You cannot kill it yet, not as you are now, and I am not to reduced to do it myself. Go, to a place where this entity, or others like it, will strike again, and save them. But you can not grieve dear Monarch, not until you are ready to stand and fight. So these memories, memories of loss, will be taken, until you have another to rely on to keep from going Hollow. This was a God - Goddess actually. But what… what was she saying? The world was dead - so what, it died all the time, I just need to Link the Flame and reset it back. Yes, it would suck and I don't know if I would actually exist in the revival of the world or if someone else would take up the mantle of Monarch. But so what? That was better than... Than this, this wanton devastation. Not even the Dark Soul did this, nor the Deep!

No, dear Monarch, it is not that easy. The entity has taken too much of this world into itself - Linking the Flame will just feed the fire directly into the thing, which is what it wants. It has consumed so much, dear Monarch, and you have not the awareness to claim it back. No! We have no time, I must send you away now! Goodbye, dear Monarch, farewell. I will do what I can to give you aid, but know not from whence it will come. Now GO. Go, and fight. And everything twisted, fell away, fire reaching into me and pushing inside, burning me from the inside out. And it was so…..

It's… Warm. But it doesn't hurt?

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Reytac

Feb 12, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 12, 2017

#293

My mind snapped back to the present as another piece of rubble fell, and my eyes hardened. So. My world was dead. Consumed by that entity made of crystal, along with everyone I knew. I could feel my sanity slip, aching with grief. Every single person I had grown to know and be friends with had died, and this, this fucking bitch had taken the only scrap I had of my world, and used it to murder innocents.

Twisted, mutated Bakuda was still trying to recover from devastation that I had wreaked on the building. My trip down memory lane had taken mere moments, but it had changed so much for me. This world had Endbringers - hah. This world was on a time limit and didn't even know it.

I forced myself to my feet, rage burning in my chest. My Witchtree Branch - I would figure out where the Staff of Wisdom, which I now knew I had carried into the Throne with me, had gone later - came up, and three Heavy Soul Arrows shot forward, crashing into the demented woman. I didn't care what she had to say, this was nothing more now than fighting the Duke's Dear Freja or something, and I refused to see it as more. She screeched, and there grenades at me - explosions buffeted my form, ripping away at my body.

I ignored it and kept walking towards her. She backpedalled, dragging her way across the floor, deformed crystal scales scraping against the ground. A Great Soul Arrow shot into her body, gouging out a long, deep furrow, and she bellowed out an unintelligible string of words - hm, the crystallization is progressing even as I injure her. Wonder if she was trying to create a bomb that would let her mimic Lung's transformation? It doesn't matter.

By now I had reached her body, and her slow, sluggish strike was easily avoided - she had no idea how to use her new body, and I wasn't going to give her a chance to get used to it. I brought my Hammer down, smashing through crystal scales and sending lightning coursing through her body. She screamed, even as I planted the end of my staff into the open flesh. A Soul Spear was unleashed, plowing through her body unimpeded, until it exploded out her back, tearing her body asunder. The deformations began to recede as I strode to where her torso and head were lying.

"You… you bastard." Impressive, she's still alive. I narrowed my eyes at her. "I don't fucking care. You took my glorious leader from me, what does it matter that you kill me? Hah…. I… I'll take you with me. Every Goddamn bomb in this place is linked to my heartrate, this whole place will go sky high when I die! Haha hahaha!" I knelt next to her head, my cold, flat eyes boring into hers.

"I. Don't. Care. Dying won't stop me you stupid woman. You have no idea what you were fucking with, what you could have unleashed. I'm the only person who can handle the crystals you detonated, and I will not give you a chance to use anymore. So, this place will explode if you die? Good." I put my staff away and put on my Pyromancy glove, flexing my fingers as I pushed my will into it, making the red gloves burst into flames. "I'm counting on it." I grabbed her face and began concentrating. She began screaming as the smell of cooking meat filled the air, but it was a stench I had long ago grown accustomed to. "I am not risking someone who has been exposed to Seath survive. Which means, when you die, I have to go kill every single member of your gang that has been here since you found whatever started this. Fuck. You. Combustion. "

One of the weakest Pyromancies, this spell just unleashed a burst of flame directly in front of my hand - in this case, unleashed it straight into her head. For a moment there was silence after her screams cut off abruptly, then I closed my eyes as the explosions shredded the building, ripping away the entire structure. I felt the Grand Soul slip inside of me, along with vestiges of Seath, and then blackness claimed me as the entire area was coated in destruction.

Peace, away from the pain.

"Oh God, Paracelsus!" I felt warm hands grab onto me and lift my shoulders up, thin arms so thin, it isn't healthy to be that thin, are you OK? wrapped around my shoulders. "It took me so long to find you - oh no, your Changer state is active again. Oh God, what do I do?" Calm down, please? I hurt, and my heart hurts, but.. You care. No one here should care, they all died. That thought helped, helped ground me from the pain in my chest.

My eyes creak open, to see Tseldora's masked face hanging above mine. Moisture was seeping into the fabric of the mask, and I reached a trembling hand up to pat her cheek as I coughed, roughly.

"He… hey Tseldora." She shook her head violently and buried her face in my chest, those painfully thin arms tightening their hold on me. I patted her back a few times, rubbing it as I tried to figure out what had happened.

Obviously, I had died when Bakuda's bombs went off. And I still hadn't made a - wait. Made? Why did I forget I can make the damn things? OK. First order of business, make one of the damn Bonfires so I stopped burning a random street every time I died.

"What… happened?" OK, talking why she's clinging to me is a it difficult, but she seemed terrified.

"By the time I got to Armsmaster, and explained everything, and got back… bombs had gone off all over the city. Instead of like, timed attacks like they'd become, it was like every… every bomb everywhere went off. A lot in ABB territory, which made the Protectorate think that something had happened to Bakuda. And they were right - the dimension shift thing was gone, but they found… They found her body. Or her torso and head...they were burned pretty badly… but you weren't there! " A sob tore through her body, and I patted her back again.

"Hey, hey. Death can't hold me down." Overwhelming grief at the fact my world was dead, maybe. But the fiery rage that was burning in my chest, at the monster that had consumed my world was keeping that from happening right away. And apparently there was someone here who cared, even if she had no real reason to.

"I've been searching for you for a week and a half now. At first the Protectorate was helping, but they gave up two days ago, convinced that everything that happened had kept you from reviving." I shook my head - while I didn't know how long revivification normally took with a Bonfire, but a few days wouldn't be enough.

"Hey. I die, and I end up looking like this. Don't you worry though, I will keep coming back. In fact, so long as they don't find a body, you can count on me coming back. Come on, on your feet and help me up, I'm stiff, I don't know how long I was laying here." She sniffled and got up, then helped me to my feet. I looked around, frowning. The city seemed… different.

"What's been happening while I was gone?" For a moment she didn't meet my eyes, but then she deflated.

"Not too much yet. The Empire and the Merchants have been gobbling up ABB territory, but the PRT isn't letting them just take it, so it's pretty much a running battle along the streets the ABB held. No one can really go out doors anymore, the city is in a constant curfew. My… my dad is trapped." A tremble ran along her frame, and I frowned before she continued. "Outside heroes, a few, have come in to help try restore peace. Uhm. Myrrdin is here too! He was actually helping me look for you even after the rest gave up. " Huh. That was… who?

"Uh.."

"Myrrdin is a hero from the West Coast, he believes he's a wizard like you do. He's really powerful, and was eager to meet you." That was… good to know. Powerful allies would be needed considering what I know knew. I stretched out an arm, working out the kinks in my upper back before I nodded.

"Well. My apprentice doesn't need her father trapped, that's just bad form. So. Let's report to the Protectorate so they know I'm back, and then we go free your father." I felt her stiffen beside me, and I snorted.

"The nearest PRT office is this way." Her voice was subdued, but if her father had been a prisoner somewhere for a week or more, that made sense. And it was why she'd clung to me so hard, if I had to guess - someone she knew was alive and safe.

The officer in the building had looked frazzled, and kept a wide distance between himself and me. Bah, cowardly little man, I was an established - well maybe semi established - hero. I let Tseldora handle talking with him, and she wasn't someone making the poor man shit himself in terror. He nodded rapidly to whatever she said, and hurried to make a phone call.

Tseldora came back to where I was leaning against a wall. "He's going to call them and inform them you recovered. My… The man we need to help is over at the docks." So she was OK with me knowing about her father, but again the division of keeping your personal life and Cape life separate reared it's head. I nodded shortly.

Having a goal, someone to help, was keeping me going at this point. If not for my insect-controlling companion needing help, I might have just gone mad. I followed after the teen as she headed along the streets.

The streets themselves were quiet. There were a few people scurrying back and forth, but everyone was furtive, watching everyone around them. They'd relax when they saw Tseldora, but would immediately stiffen up when they noticed me near her. So, my apprentice had been helping people - huh, I keep calling her that, I'll need to see if she has any ability with sorcery or pyromancy. But, she's been helping people, that was good.

The docks were to the north end of town and already I could see what the problem was. The number of normal people had dropped off, and the number of Merchants had increased significantly. The gangers gave us a wide berth, fleeing like scurrying rats - and I responded by pelting them with soul darts, injuring and crippling many. Tseldora gave me a look for a moment.

"Even mighty individuals can be cut down by a thousand blades, no matter how weak. Better to reduce their numbers now. Here." I sent a Soul Arrow into the sky. "People will come to investigate, and arrest them. Let's continue." Before we departed, a wave of insects crept out of the surrounding areas. They swept onto the moaning druggies, covering them.

"I can do that too. You're right, the more we take down, the better it is for the normal people." So we went, Tseldora taking out most of the gang members who got too close - her insects were fantastic for quick takedowns, as she could just swarm people, and many would freak out and collapse just from that. I was beginning to wonder why she needed my help to rescue her father.

Then we reached a long, low wall along the water front, and it became clear. There was that damn tank that I had seen my first day in this world, along with some kind of massive trash golem. The tank was sliding back and forth, pelting the wall with fire, and there were crackles of light arms fire, and I could see people on top of the wall, shooting at the assembled Merchants.

"Come the fuck on man, your shitty Dock Workers Union is done here! Just give up and leave, and we promise not to hurt you fuckers… too much at least." Ah, it was was that thoroughly detestable man that I had encountered on my first day here. His voice was once again broadcasting out of that tank. Which means, three foes. Tank driver, Skidmark, and the golem. Right. That was why she needed my help. She didn't feel confident in taking down the villains that had assembled.

Well. Time to introduce myself to the villains. I aimed for the tank and let loose a Heavy Soul Arrow, blowing off one of the treads of the tank. It spun around sluggishly, trying to orient on the threat suddenly at its rear.

"Afternoon gentlemen and Lady. My name is Paracelsus, and this is my apprentice Tseldora. Unfortunately for you, we have business with the individuals that are in that building." The man in the tank popped out and spat at me, the disgusting spittle barely getting clear of the tank before hitting the ground.

"Fuck off corpse-fucker, and fucking corpse!" My eyes narrowed as I processed the insult to Tseldora. "This is our territory now, the ABB ain't around to keep us stifled anymore! Merchants are going to rule this fuckin city man!"

"Skiddy, baby, he blasted my tank! Don't just let him leave!"

"Right bitch, right. Sorry. Mush! Go flatten these little FUCKS and then break down the wall! I am tired of waiting and being a nice guy!" at his words, the lumbering golem started stomping in our direction. This thing was positively snail-like in speed compared to the Giants. I took off, sprinting towards him, acting on a suspicion. I dove between his legs, wisely, as with a deceptive burst of speed an arm of trash smashed down, trying to catch me. But I had anticipated that, having been caught off guard before by things of this size pulling similar tricks.

Now I was behind him, and I tossed a Great Soul Arrow into his back, blasting away layers of debris and trash. Another Arrow, and more trash flew away. I risked a glance away from my fight, to see Skidmark slapping at every inch of skin. Good girl, taking advantage of the distraction that was this scuffle to launch a sneak attack.

I rolled out of the way of a fist of trash, one that legitimately had a Flame-damned dumpster for a set of knuckles, and responded with a Heavy Soul Arrow. Another lumbering swipe avoided, and this fight really was like the Giants. Then he ripped a light pole out of the ground, and it was like I was fighting the Last Giant all over again. I remove between his legs, bringing out the Hammer as I made the move, giving myself the tried and true melee option.

He turned around, only to get a Great Soul Arrow directly to the 'face'. The trash heap head was blown off sending the golem staggering back. I took the opportunity to smash into the lower leg with my Hammer, but for the first time something I hit didn't scream with pain on electricity coursing through it. Who would have thought, trash makes for a rubbish conductor.

As I chuckled to myself, I cast another Great Soul Arrow, this time gouging out part of the debris that comprised the golem's stomach. It slumped backwards - and I could see blood soaking into the trash as it tried to push itself up.

So. It has a core, a fleshy core, somewhere near the chest and stomach. Well then, time to pierce it. As it stood back up, I gathered the force for a Soul Spear. The heavy spell - one of the strongest normal sorceries- plowed into his form, and this time a spurt of blood shot out as I struck the vulnerable flesh within.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then I felt a rush of souls, including another Grand Soul. Then slowly, the debris and trash that was making up the golem fell apart, chunks hitting the ground - ah, there is a human body in there. Hm. A shrill scream sounded.

"THAT FUCKER KILLED MUSH! GET HIM!" Then the tank was barreling at me.

301

Reytac

Feb 12, 2017

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Threadmarks Chaos 4.3

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Reytac

Feb 13, 2017

#311

Dodging the tank was almost embarrassingly easy. It was swerving back and forth rapidly, probably because of insects attacking the driver and Skidmark. On top of that, it was missing one of its treads, slowing it down significantly. I jogged to the side, only to have to throw myself forward to avoid a gout of flame from the turret. That kept me from doing anything but watching as it crashed into a building behind where we were - and kept going.

My eyes narrowed. Once again, the druggies in the tank had fled, though this time I had to wonder how much had to do with Tseldora's insects attacking them in the safety of the tank. It was also at odds with what the screaming voice had just said, but then again, maybe Skidmark had said something to her without the speakers on, causing her to drive away.

Either way. I would chase them down later. For now, Tseldora was approaching the gate to the Dock Workers compound - huh, guess they were where the DWU on the hat that was part of my civilian attire came from. I folded my arms - noting absently that with the death of another Parahuman, I was fully human once more - and waited for them to react. I could see several guns, pistols and a couple of shotguns, leveled in my direction, so I wasn't going to antagonize the people we were here to help.

Finally someone came to answer her. I couldn't make out the features, but I did see the way the person relaxed when he saw it was her. They spoke rapidly, and the man went back into the compound. A few moments later most of the guns on the wall retracted - though a few did remain trained on me, but considering they had just watched me blast apart 'Mush' I couldn't blame them. As I waited for whatever it was that Tseldora was waiting on, I kept my eyes trained on the surroundings, not trusting that Skidmark and Squealer had really fled.

"Paracelsus! Come here, come on!" I turned my head to the girl, and saw her waving at me. I shrugged and looked around one last time before walking to the girl and the person she was talking with.

"Hi there. My name is Daniel Hebert. Tseldora here tells me you're the one responsible for stopping Bakuda?" I nodded once, wondering where this was going. "Thank you, and thank you for helping out I'm with this. Don't feel bad about killing that bastard - he has injured several of my boys, and it was only a matter of time before someone died." I wasn't feeling bad, except for making the mistake of thinking that he was a construct rather than a person in a strange armor thing, but I was not going to say that. I followed him and Theodore inside, watching the way several people shifted to follow me with their guns nervously.

We finally reached an office, and Mr. Hebert was turning to look at us when Tseldora slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his chest and squeezing tight. Ah, so this was her father. And apparently he didn't know who she was, because he was looking extremely uncomfortable. At least, he did at first but then he looked down at the girl, and tentatively wrapped his arms around her.

"T…. Taylor?" The helmeted head twitched, enough of a nod for us to notice it but not to move from where it was. "Oh my God, Taylor. You're a Cape? How long? Why didn't you tell me?" I held up a hand.

"Mr. Hebert. Sorry, but wouldn't it be better for all of us to get out of here? I can't stay here indefinitely, and I don't know if Tseldora can hold off those two Merchant capes if they decide to return." He looked aggrieved, but nodded sharply. One arm snaked out and pressed a button on his desk, and I heard a click as he spoke.

"Boys, gather up in the central courtyard. Paracelsus is a local Hero, and he's here to get us out of this waiting death trap. Gather up anything you don't want to leave behind or the druggie asses to get their hands on. Let's go home, boys!" I gave him a nod.

"I'll wait outside, in the courtyard. Tseldora can let you know when everything is gathered up, Tsel, leave a bug on me for it?" Her head twitched again, and I felt a spider drop onto my shoulder from the ceiling. I suppressed my instinctive reaction to smash it away, and strode outside, heading back the way we had come to reach the courtyard by the gates.

Outside, I could see dozens of men gathering up. When they saw me, the ones who hadn't watched me blast apart Mush gave a ragged cheer which the others eventually picked up. I gave a sheepish wave of my staff as I went to stand by the gate, watching as more people trickled in.

"Hey, you're getting us out of here? What about those damn Merchant villains about out there?" One of them had come forward to me, and asked. Before I could respond, another spoke up.

"Dude's like a Goddamn wizard from a game or something. He blasted Mush into… well, mush. The other two high-tailed it out of here instead of trying to fight him." That remark came from one of the ones who had been on the wall. I pointed to the man who shifted slightly.

"Your friend has the right of it. The louts were terrified of dealing with a wizard, paltry villains always are. Now, how many of your group remain gathering things?" The two men looked around at the crowd that had swelled up and shrugged.

"Might be a couple stragglers, but this is most everyone. Well, Danny isn't out yet." as he said that though, Daniel and Tseldora came out of the building we had been in , walking a few paces apart. They came up to me just as a last couple men came out. Daniel glanced across the crowd and nodded.

"Alright boys! Let's get going!" They pushed the doors open and I walked out, watching the streets. Thankfully the idiots in the tank hadn't returned while we were inside, so the streets were. Mostly clear. Strangely enough, Mush's physical corpse had dissolved into the same organic sludge that Hookwolf's had. While the others all gave it a wide berth, I walked over to it and scooped a sample up -

Oh sweet Flame this stuff is self-adhesive.

The goop was clinging to itself, and I ended up having to pull a small dagger out of my pouch to cut some free. I wrapped the sludge up in a loose t-shirt - I really am terrible about hoarding, aren't I? - and tucked that back into my bag before catching up to the rest of the group. They had slowed down, several. Watching me nervously.

"Strange reaction, should not be happening. I need to examine this and figure out why. " Tseldora nodded slightly, accepting the explanation, or choosing to ignore it for now. Not sure which. Either way, we left the embattled portion of the docks, leaving behind the pock marks where the tank had been driving, the scorch marks, and the small divots where the dock workers had shot back.

Like I had thought, the police had come to investigate the flare I shot into the sky. They had slapped bandages onto the small wounds from my Soul Darts, and gathered up the incapacitated men. So they got a first hand look at Tseldora and me leading the procession of men out.

Once we had gotten to that point though, it became obvious to the group we were shepherding that they were safe to start dispersing, as we were in a place that the police weren't busy in combat. So they started trickling away, small groups leaving together for safety, saying their goodbyes to Daniel before they left. Eventually, we reached a street where the last man who had been walking with us said goodbye, and leapt up the steps to a house that he pounded on the door of. The three of us stopped to watch as the door crept open, to a woman who stared in shock at the man, before wrapping her arms around him.

As he picked her up in a bear hug, Daniel prodded us to keep moving. "This is their time. We shouldn't intrude." With that said, he walked over to a house nearby, and unlocked the front door. Tseldora was only a few steps behind him, and I trailed after them feeling bemused.

Inside what was obviously a very lived in house, Daniel turned around to stare at me. I shifted nervously - I hadn't been stared at like this since I talked to my last girlfriend's father back on my original world.

"You have no idea how much what you did today means to us, and this city. Thank you. I cannot say that enough. Now. What the hell are you thinking taking my daughter into being a hero in this damn city? " I blinked and took a slight step back at the vehemence in his tone. There was something raw there, raw and painful, like a wound that hadn't healed. Tseldora jerked upright herself, her head locked onto her father. "I only just got her out of the hospital, and you want to throw her back into it? " I had no idea what he was talking about, though the teens body shifted from foot to foot.

"I assure you sir, I have no intention of letting Tseldora get hurt. I would be a poor master indeed if I let that happen. I actually encountered her… two weeks or so ago? From what I've seen, she is a smart, cautious girl." OK why is his face turning redder?

"Master?" Ah, fuck. I forgot there was an entire category of powers with that label, and they had a negative connotation. I held up my hands quickly to forestall the rate building.

"Yes! Sir, I am a sorcerer - she is my apprentice. She asked me to work with her, help her learn to be a hero!"

"Dad, he isn't controlling me." Tseldora's small, calm voice cut through Daniel's anger. "I did ask him to work with me, since he's forgotten so much, but he's really good at stopping villains. I figured I could work with him, help him re-learn Brockton Bay, and he'd help me figure out how to be a good hero. He hasn't asked me to do anything ridiculous, and in fact I asked him to come help get you free and he agreed without even thinking about it." Well, not entirely true. I thought about it for maybe what, half a second? Not long, that's true. Daniel dropped his head into his hands and cradled it, and I recognized the signs of someone with a headache.

"How… how long Taylor?" His voice was soft. Tseldora seemed to shrink slightly.

"Since the locker. I met Paracelsus the night Lung went on a rampage - he fought Lung off long enough for Armsmaster and Militia to take him out. " The man's head snapped up.

"Right. Why aren't you with the Wards? They've got to be safer than… well, a stranger, no offense." this last was directed at me, and I shrugged a shoulder. Couldn't really argue with that.

"I don't think so Dad. The Wards here don't work like other towns - I was doing research, and ours is one of the few cities where the Wards go out pretty much unsupervised by a full Hero. The other cities that have Ward teams? Always have a Ward or pair of Wards working with a full Protectorate member. If I stay teamed up with Paracelsus, I'll always be working with a fully capable, adult hero." She nodded and me, and I bowed slightly.

"Ah. Yes. Though we will need a way of contact each other when…"

"Your mask, off." Tseldora froze, then her head whipped to her father.

"Dad! You can't just ask a Cape to unmask!" The man sent a hard look to me.

"If you want me to even think about being okay with you working with someone, I want to know who he is. So I know who to come for if you get hurt." Ah, over-protective fathers. At least I had no qualms with revealing myself, unlike most heroes here. I reached up and smoothly pulled my veil down, smiling pleasantly at him.

"Name is Archibald Smith Mr. Hebert. Here, let me leave my cell number with you - you two can hash this out, since this seems to be edging more into a personal discussion than an outsider should be present for. I will let you know, if Tseldora - Taylor, stays as my apprentice, I will be starting to instruct her in some of the mysteries I know. So she will be growing and learning, not just… fighting." Though this offer seemed to be for her benefit, I had a far more practical point of view.

Whatever that Crystal beast had been, it had had no defense against Miracles, Sorceries, or Hexes. Pyromancies of the more Chaos variant worked quite well, and the normal ones did… well, better than physical attacks that didn't have some kind of enchantment. So, if I could start training more people in magic, that meant I would have more people to help me fight the damn things when they came here.

"Wait. What." Daniel was giving me a strange look. "You can train people in your ability?" I nodded slowly. "You're certain." Now Tseldora was staring in my direction too.

"Just about. I have not tried yet, and there's something else I want to confirm first, but it should be quite possible. Why are you both so shocked?" l looked back and forth between the two.

"You aren't the first Cape to claim to be a wizard. But Myrrdin couldn't train anyone else to do what he does, so he had no proof. If you could train people, that would be completely unprecedented."

"Wait, really? No one has been able to duplicate a parahuman ability? Ever?" They shook their heads, and Tseldora responded.

"Sometimes the effects can be mimicked, like Brutes, low level ones at least, can be matched by a human with exceptional training, Movers can be matched by Olympic athletes… but even that is just rank 1 or 2 capes. Above that, and you start hitting things humans just cannot match." Huh. That was… odd. "Now sometimes people who trigger together, or family members, will have related powers, but never the same thing expressed the same way." That made no sense. I mean, the powers not being expressed the same way made sense, spellcasters in Drangleic would talk your ears off for hours about the differences individuals experienced when casting anything. But, you'd expect powers to replicate themselves at some point, or be something that could be copied. I shelved the thought for pondering later and instead turned to bow to them.

"Well. I'll be off, you've given me much to ponder. You've a pad of paper and a pen?" Tseldora ran off for a moment and brought me some. I quickly wrote down the number for the phone I purchased… for me, yesterday, for them a week ago. "When you've need of me, call. Until we meet next." with that I headed outside.

Now then. Time to find a private place where I could make a damn Bonfire.

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Reytac

Feb 13, 2017

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Threadmarks Chaos Interlude

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Reytac

Feb 13, 2017

#331

Myrrdin:

The dimensional wizard had no idea what to make of this situation now. There was someone else who claimed to be a sorcerer - and from talking with the second in command of this division, in fact claimed to be similar to a Lich. Only he had died, and been gone for over a week now. The remnants of the bomb Tinker had shown that he had another trick up his sleeve - some kind of pyrokinetic ability, one that demonstrated little relation to the blue white blasts which had, according to Armsmaster, had no thermal element to them.

He had hoped to question the man, find out if he was a 'grab bag' Cape like a few had been, but then no remains had ever been found. And now, his apprentice - his apprentice was saying that she had found him again, alive and well. Well, as close to alive as he got just after a death. If she was serious, then… then he really might be a Lich.

But he had been working for good. Killed a few people yes, but they had attacked him first, and every wizard knew you didn't take insults like that calmly. So here Myrrdin was now, pacing back and forth as he tried to figure out a way of contacting the other spell-slinger, to hopefully trade notes. He sat down at his work station, pulling up the recent news reports.

Myrrdin's jaw nearly dropped. The other sorcerer was definitely around still! Brockton Bay police department had been sending in reports for the last thirty minutes about finding Merchant gang members in the Docks district all with wounds that matched the 'dart' spell that Paracelsus used, along with people who were screaming about unending bugs. The most recent report was that Paracelsus and another Cape, named Tseldora, had just come from the DWU facility, with the men who had apparently been trapped there. They had been a low priority for the PRT and Protectorate, because they'd just been getting hounded by unpowered Merchants.

But apparently the Merchants had decided they were done with that scuffle and their capes had slipped away to attack the group. Only to be stopped cold by Paracelsus and Tseldora. And apparently, according to multiple eye-witness accounts, Mush had been slain. This was going to tip the balance of power even more heavily in the Empire's favor, as Mush was the mobile heavy hitting Cape that the Merchants had.

He started pulling up logs of where Paracelsus had gone after getting the men out of danger - meeting and talking with him was looking more and more informative by the minute now!

Coil:

Nothing was going to plan and it was beginning to be quite tiresome. Ever since that new Hero had shown up, his ability hadn't worked right - it always, alway,s, centered on him, showing what he was doing, and the one time he decided to directly apply it and try to learn about the new hero…

Well. Showing his hand in any way invariably led to death. Killing the hero didn't work - a zombified version would show up, unerringly tracking down whoever killed it, then leveling the base by itself. Trying to negotiate didn't work either - they worked at first, but the man quickly became imperious. He was obviously used to getting his way, giving commands more than taking them, and not in a way that the man could work around.

Trying to sabotage him was ignored, as he didn't seem to eat, had bought clothes once but didn't seem to actively use them, and only associated with other Heroes loosely, in distant interactions. Attempting to injure the girl who had begun to show up, the hero Tseldora, was even worse. If she died, entire swathes of the city would begin to burn, devastation - and then nothingness. Not death, since he could tell when he died in a path, but non-existence, like his power abruptly ceased to work.

It was simply infuriating, not being able to operate as he normally would. Already he could tell that there were problems in his organization - what had once been prided on efficiency, was now suffering hindrances and losses.

Then there was the fact that the gang was that had erupted wasn't of his own devising. The city should have been torn in three, with Oni Lee and Bakuda devastating the Empire with specially made bombs, while the Tinker was safe in her dimensional barrier. But somehow, that had been ruined, and now both were dead or captured.

For a moment he tried to split again, to allow himself an indulgence like he normally would to relieve his stress, but once again, the alternate path was simply swallowed in fog, a gray, opaque blanket. The only times it didn't, is if he was throwing his alternate path against the new Hero. It didn't make any sense. Which just infuriated him more.

He hadn't even been able to ensure that the girl, his precious precog, was kidnapped successfully! The fight against Lung had been to short to properly distract the Protectorate, and then the Tinker's bombs made sure that he never had an opportunity to send his agents in to retrieve the girl!

He had to figure out a way to deal with this damn Paracelsus without incurring the repercussions. But how?

Last edited: Feb 13, 2017

259Finding a place to set up a Bonfire had been a challenge in and of itself thanks to the gang war. The repercussions of the Merchants losing one of their capes hadn't yet trickled down but I had a feeling when it did the Empire would make a large push to overwhelm any resistance left. But that wasn't my main problem, that could be dealt with when they started poking their noses near me.

No, my problem was finding a relatively safe place that hadn't been shot to hell and back. Eventually, I ended up finding a viable option in an unlikely place. I had fears I would need to delve into the sewers to find somewhere I could rest and set up safely, but I managed to avoid that fate. Instead, I had found a garage that looked fairly well abandoned - the fact that the front half was caved in, demolished by one of Bakuda's bombs no doubt, probably had something to do with that.

Still, I had made my way through far worse situations than a bit of rubble - nothing was actively on fire, and no one was shooting massive arrows at my head. I climbed through the ruined entrance and made my way through the first floor, finding the basement level of the garage. I headed to the far back, as far from the entrance as I could get - this wasn't going to be a Bonfire to make a quick run to a Grand fight, but a safe Haven where I could recover from death.

At the back, I sat down in an alcove hidden from sight of the entrance by an SUV that was abandoned down here. This was a good enough spot for what I needed to do, and I was quite glad no one was here to witness the next part. They would think me quite mad.

I pulled out my dagger and an Amber Herb. I shoved the Herb into my mouth and bit down to muffle the screams that were coming, then drove my dagger into my shoulder, digging the point into the socket. My sight went white with the pain for a moment, but this was just the beginning. With a hard pull I started ripping the dagger in a circle, cutting through the flesh. Once that was done, I shoved the dagger further in, then used it as leverage to pop the bone out of the socket.

When my eyes cleared - sweet Flame that hurt - i set my severed arm down in front of where I was sitting and got to work. I carved away the flesh, trying hard not to think about what I was doing, then when most of the… meat… was clear, I scoured it clean with a burst of flame. Then I popped all of the bones apart, ignoring the pops and snaps as I yanked. Soon enough I had a decent pile of bones in front of myself, but anyone who had played the games would be able to tell you it wasn't enough.

Most Bonfires were made with a full Undead Skeleton, the kind of stuff that was rare as all get out. An arms worth of bones? Nowhere near sufficient. But I had a substitute ready. A few lengths of Drake bone, and one part of the Ancient Dragon's tailbone, and I had a much more respectable pile.

Why did I use my arm if Dragon and Drake bones could substitute? Because they were just that, a substitute. Even if everything went right here, and I still didn't know if it would, then this Bonfire wouldn't work for everyone who was an Undead. It would work for me, because of the connection we shared - my fucking arm - and for people who had a close, personal connection to me… of which, I think Tseldora was the closest thing in this world. In Drangleic, maybe one of my companions or my teachers would be close enough to work, but I wasn't sure. By removing the full Undead skeleton, the efficacy of the fire was drastically reduced.

But I didn't need a fully working Bonfire. I didn't think I could go through this process again, and I was the only Undead in existence here. There were also no other Bonfires, so I didn't need something that could act as a Bonfire Hub for me to warp with. No, a personal, limited use Bonfire was enough for me for now.

Now came the test step, to see of lighting this thing would even work. If not, I'd grab my arm bones and chug a dose of Estus. I pulled out a longsword and shoved it into the ground, piercing the bones. Once it was buried in the concrete, I tested it around, channeling magic into it to keep the blade from just snapping. With that accomplished, I gripped the hilt and sent a surge of flame over it, bathing it in fire and igniting the never-ending bones. Then I closed my eyes and waited, waited for the sweet rush of warmth and healing that came whenever resting at a Bonfire.

But… it didn't come. My eyes slowly opened, bitter disappointment swelling in my chest. I don't know why I had thought that would work, really. I was the only survivor of my world, and the one fragment that had escaped that I had seen had ended up corrupting the person who encountered it. I dropped my head into my hand and let my shoulder sag. It had been for nothing.

Because of course it would - Shannalotte wasn't here to be a Firekeeper, with her draconic nature. Worse, Bonfires operated off of linking to the First Flame, resetting an area around them and within their territory. And the First Flame didn't exist here. Just me, one lonely Monarch, a Sorcerer cast adrift from a destroyed world. Anger began to churn in my gut. Was i truly stuck here by myself? Doomed to an unending life, where everyone I knew would end up dying, while I kept being reborn in a swathe of flame, until I lost my grips on Humanity and went Hollow?

No! I refuse to accept that! My hand curled into a fist. I had a reason to be here - the damnable entity that had consumed my world, or something like it, would be attacking here. I could claim my revenge on the thing then. And figure out a way of getting home - or finding a new one where I wouldn't be damned to an eternity of solitude and eventually madness. The fire in my gut began to burn hotter as I stood up and lashed out, sending a burning wave of bright yellow sorcery out. Rage kept me from noticing that though as I turned and blasted again, punching a hole clean through the SUV behind me.

I don't know how long I spent down there working through the anger and grief, pulverized vehicles that had been abandoned and trapped in this dark hole. The entire time the bonfire - and I refused to acknowledge it as anything special other than a fire that wouldn't go out - crackled and burned merrily in the corner I had made it in. At some point, I came back to my senses enough to calm down and stop myself from destroying the walls that supported the building above.

I slumped down by the bonfire, staring into the dancing flame. My mind was in a whirl. Something had occurred to me when I calmed down. There was something that was at work, some variant of the First Flame. That was why instead of just having my body claw itself back together - and I had seen that happen with some worse off Hollows - I was being reborn in a wash of flames. So what was happening?

No, I remembered now. While it had been more subconscious the second time, I could remember the feeling so very clearly from the first time. There had been the burning sensation in my chest that I had somehow pulled on, which had preceded my revival. But why would that happen? When… when I had first died, and awoken via the Darksign, my soul, so human and normal before had been twisted, becoming a part of the greater Dark Soul. But one thing that I had learned about the Dark Soul, and the Hexes and Abyss that were associated with it, was that it was… cold. Calm. Not this churning, burning fiery thing that filled me now.

And now that I was consciously aware of it, I could feel that fire surging in my veins, ebbing and flowing like a river. I had noticed these same sensations before, when I was first learning sorceries; they were what a Soul normally did when a person who was capable of using magic was paying attention to it. Did… did this mean that I had somehow… no, that was insane. No one before had been able to contain that. Use it, yes, but not hold it within themselves. Unless… had anyone tried? The Lord Souls came from it, that was true enough - and I had collected those in my journey to become Monarch.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. I reached into myself, and touched that fiery sensation - and it practically leapt to respond, roaring forth and out through my outstretched hand. The fire around the Bonfire swelled, surging in strength, the fire going from a normal red hue, to something that was a blazing red-white, closer to white than red. My eyes began to water from the brightness and I looked away.

Well, damn. That was something that explained a few issues that had been rumbling in the back of my mind. Fire since arriving here hadn't been actually hurting me - not even the Dragon, Lung. I had felt the warmth, that was true, and moisture around me had evaporated, but I myself had not actually been injured. More than that, even when I was at my most distracted, I had never had a problem casting Soul Shower, not like what I had had when fighting Oni Lee - almost like my magic hadn't been reacting like I was used to it to. I closed my eyes as I sat by the Bonfire - my Bonfire. So. I was not Human, not in the same way that Humanity as I had known it to be in Drangleic was. Was that why Velka had sounded so fond of me there at the end - I was closer to her level, than to my friends that I had been working with? But… my body had not begun to mutate into what the other Gods' had been like - I was no massive being, enormous and imposing, towering over all those around me.

But… maybe that was because my Soul had started out like this? And my transition to this state had been slow, more gradual, done when my Soul had been strengthened by thousands, if not millions of Soul fragments - and was stronger than the Lord Souls that I gathered? I held up one hand and stared at it, my eyes not really looking at it, instead, my gaze was turned inward, trying to see if I could find the manifestation of My Soul.

Burn baby, burn.

Last edited: Feb 14, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 14, 2017

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Threadmarks Enkindling 5.2

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Reytac

Feb 15, 2017

#398

It was so, so warm. Like sitting next to a campfire, it was comfortable and secure, warm and protective. And yet, at the same time I could feel it yearning to break free, to run wild and wash over the world around me - and I knew instinctively, that if I let it do that, it would burn everything around me indiscriminately. This Flame wanted to be used, wanted to run rampant and force change.

And yet. And yet it could not. For around this burning Fire, this Flame Soul, was two things: my will, drawing strength from the very flame that it encased; and my Dark Soul, the collection of millions of fragments of the Dark Soul that I had gathered. In a strange twist, the interaction between the Dark and the Flame was not working like I had come to expect - the Dark fueling the Flame. It was, but at the same time the Flame Within was creating more Darkness, replacing the Darkness that was consumed to burn it. I felt my metaphorical jaw drop - was this what was supposed to truly happen when the Age of Fire ended? The Dark inheriting the Flame, the two coexisting?

Or was this only possible because of the impossible turn of fate where the First Flame had been forced inside of me, with nowhere to go when Drangleic was destroyed? I didn't know - and it wasn't like I could exactly run an experiment to find out, or ask someone else who had gone through this.

I reached out with my will, my magic, and tried to pull just a small portion of the Flame out, a tiny fragment. It was only when I had it in my hands that I realized just how powerful the First Flame was. The fragment of the Flame that I had pulled loose was easily on par with the strength of any of the Lord Souls I had gathered - and this was only a fraction of the power that I held within now.

It made sense in a way. The Flame, when properly strengthened and Fueled by Humanity - by a willing sacrifice of millions of Souls - was strong enough to rewrite the world. It reset it each time, creating new versions of old Gods, reshaping the world and the timeline itself. And now, all of that Flame was contained in one shell, and it was only because I had gathered enough of the Dark Soul to balance it that I was not burning to cinders on the spot, or worse.

I pushed the fragment of Flame back into the greater one, and watched as it swelled for a moment. In response, the Dark Soul around it deepened in hue for a moment, becoming a shade Darker. Astonished, I reached out and pulled a sliver of the Dark Soul away learning two things in the process. One, the Dark comes apart into far smaller pieces more easily than the Flame does, and two….

Two, I could feel the Darksign that was pulsing with malevolence within the piece of the Dark Soul that I had separated. It was a hungry thing, actively trying to chip away at the Soul around it. This, this was why Men went Hollow, their Humanity fading over time, with every death. Unanchored by a living body, the Dark Soul wouldn't be strong enough to resist the hungry curse, and would be consumed.

Undead returned to life fast enough that not all of their Humanity was taken in one go - why, when we died our vitality decreased in segments until it reached a critical threshold. And why taking in Humanity - raw Humanity in the earliest iterations of the world, processed Humanity in the Human Effigies I was most familiar with - could restore that: you were replanting replenishing your own diminished Dark Soul with that which you consumed.

But this raised the question in my mind, as I let the fragment sink back into the greater mass - and the Flame brightened as more fuel than the balance had indicated was present, even for a fraction of a moment. Where had the Dark Sign come from? Because the malevolence and hunger that I had noticed had not been natural - it had been directed, and was actively seeking to consume the Soul which housed it. It was like a parasite, something that had been embedded into the Darkness by an outside agent.

Why did I know that? Because the great Dark Soul that I had, the collection I had amassed, did not have one massive Dark Sign to go with it. To it had hundreds, thousands, millions of the individual Dark Signs, each working independently, trying to leach away at all of the Soul around them - and in the process, stealing Soul away from each other. I could feel them now because now I knew what to look for, and it was an… odd sensation.

I would have to experiment with this later - and find out if these fragments could be put into individual objects safely. For now, I needed to focus on dealing with events in the real world. And with a mighty pull of will I jerked my attention away from my Soul.

I sat upright, not knowing when I had fallen over. As I sat up, I noticed the fading light that had apparently surrounded me - the same light that swelled whenever someone rested at a Bonfire. Slowly I got to my feet and looked down at my hand - hands. My right hand, was normal, Human. My left arm, which had been the one I cut off, had grown back - but has grown back Hollow. That was… unusual. Every other time, when you revived your body would all come back the same, no matter what happened. Limbs chopped off, body parts crushed, impaled, incinerated… you always returned in one contiguous state.

There was something else odd about my arm. It didn't feel quite right - like it was missing something, or not… something. It was hard to explain, like an itch that needed to be scratched that was inside my bones. I pushed will into it and I watched, in shock, as a surge of darkness swept over my arm, and when it faded the arm was Human and whole.

And now, all over my body, it felt like there was an aching, gaping hole. I pressed into it - I don't have a better way of describing it, almost like I was using my Darksign to return to a Bonfire? And I watched as the skin on my arms rotted, turning pale gray and grungy. I had… Hollowed? But it seemed to be only superficial? I pushed on the Dark within me, and watched as my body returned to Human again, unaided by an Effigy. Well. Fuck.

Just what the hell have I become?

I finally noticed that I wasn't alone. Two people in fact were with me, though one showed signs of only having just arrived - he was brushing dust off of his outfit. The man was literally wearing a burlap robe, and slung on his back was a wooden staff engraved with nonsense runes. I turned to the person who had led him here - Tseldora, her bugs flowing back to her side as she stared at me.

"Paracelsus… what on earth was that?" I tilted my head to one side. "I… I had my bugs on you,just a couple… the person I was with at the time thought I had gone mad, until I told him I had just watched you chop off your own arm then flay it so you could light the bones on fire! Then you're comatose for days, and no one can get close to you because of some kind of physical wall of golden fog? And now you're sitting here next to the fire that you made with it and the other bones, and your arm is back? And we both just saw you activate and release your Changer state - I thought you couldn't do that unaided?" Said like that I could see why my potential apprentice was seriously concerned. I pointed to her companion.

"Perhaps an introduction first before I go spilling secrets?" Hm, I'm getting better at reading her emotions even through that mask. She'd tensed up like she was, like she was afraid or ashamed maybe?

"Ah, allow me to introduce myself, from one Wizard to another! My name is Myrrdin, Wizard of the West Coast! A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The man was grandiose, and his manner of speaking reminded me almost of Carhillion. "When I Iearned of another granted the gift of magic here, I came as soon as I could. However, I seem to have had a problem these last few days. At first I thought it unrelated, but now, I can see that it is in fact connected directly to you. Perhaps you could help a fellow Scholar out?" I raised an eyebrow. Maybe more like Straid than Carhillion, though either of my sorcery teachers liked to hear the sound of their own voice.

"My name is Paracelsus, Sorcerer Monarch." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tseldora's head snap up. She stayed quiet though, letting me continue. "It is nice to meet another spell-caster, though what is this problem you refer to?"

"Well. My magic is normally something that draws its strength from other dimensions, letting me create various spells from those. I am a channeled, in essence. However, since arriving in Brockton Bay, I haven't been able to use my magic at all - when I try, all I end up casting is gouts of fog. I was greatly confused, but able to use these columns of fog to some effect, as the spells did have force behind them. But when I am used to creating vacuums, banishing my foes, and manipulating the fabric of reality, it is rather… lackluster. Now however, I have a reference - the fog is highly similar in nature to that which you used as a defensive mechanism. " He demonstrated, bringing his staff forth and gesturing with it, much like I had seen wizards in media do. From the end came a wave of fog, like a fog wall or gate, tinged with a faint hint of gold.

My attention was only lightly on that though - instead, I was focusing on the fact that when he had tried to use his spell, I had felt a slight pressure, like something was trying to push into my… territory? How did I know that was the word for it? I frowned and rubbed my cheek in thought.

"Try again, would you kindly good sir? I think I may have a clue." Again he cast, and again I felt a gentle pressure - but this time, instead of refusing it like I had before, I allowed the pressure to push through - and instead of a wave of fog, out came a gentle arc of ice crystals. Myrrdin's eyes widened.

"That is the first time in days my spell has worked properly? What was the problem? And my apologies, for not asking what you are the Monarch of?" I blinked. He did like firing off rapid questions.

"The answers are tied to each other as it happens. I am the King of… well, now, a dead land, called Drangleic. In that land, powerful individuals have what is referred to as a territory, a place where they hold dominion." No, I was not going to go into detail about the fact that it was the weight of our Souls that created those territories. "I am, on the scale of things from my world, on the upper end of that scale. Apparently, unnoticed to me, that trait carried to this world as well, and I hold a dominion here as well. These territories remove our claimed area from the normal flow of dimensions and time - if we so wish. If not, they simply resist those who would alter the flow of time and space, unless they are strong enough to break through our potency." I have to admit, it was nice to be talking with another magician, even if I didn't really trust that his power came from magic and not another of these parahuman powers. The reason it was nice? He seemed utterly fascinated by my discourse.

"Most intriguing! So then, if I had tried pushing harder, and channeled more of my magic into the attempts?" I could see where he was going.

"Yes, it is indeed possible that a concerted effort would break through my dominion. However, now that I know what the problem is, I can easily allow you to access your powers. " He shook his head. Out of the order of my eye, I could see Tseldora sitting down against the ruined SUV, after staring at it with a tilt of her head.

"I wish to make an attempt at this now. I am curious." Rapidly, he waved his staff again, and I could feel another pressure. I ignored it, not actively refuting it, or allowing it to go through - and a column of smoke came out of his staff. Without warning, he thrust a hand towards me, and I had to twist out of the way as a shard of ice sprang forth, blasting past me and melting in the heat of the Bonfire.

Bugs swarmed him, wrapping around him and almost biting him before I could respond. I held up a hand, and Tseldora, now on her feet and halfway back to us, paused. Myrrdin gave a slight tilt of his head.

"My apologies. I had a suspicion, and it was proven right. You said that powerful individuals had these barriers of magic. I reasoned then, that the reason they might, is to suppress the magic of those around them., and that you would most likely know this having encountered others before. As you were unaware of your own, you were not accustomed to it… and had likely had to fight in this situations. So, if you were able to become one of the stronger individuals of your world, you had to do more than fight, you had to win. Hence, my supposition: Directed attacks meant to fight the one who holds the territory, work. " OK, wow,. That was some seriously impressive reasoning. He had fragments of data, and next to nothing to work off of, yet had figured out that his magic would work if he was trying to fight me? We're parahumans in general smart, or was this something that I was only noticing due to a limited interaction bias?

"Hm. Indeed. Now, now that your problem has been solved, might I have some privacy to talk to my apprentice? I wish to allay her concerns, potentially on the fact that she might think I may be suicidal." As I spoke, Tseldora came up next to me and nodded emphatically. Myrrdin looked between us and nodded, deflating slightly.

"Oh, very well. Do look me up when you are free though, I most certainly wish to discuss with you more. " He started to leave - and I could see he was used to liberally using spells to get through his days, as he quickly moved away, disappearing around the SUV and other cars, rapidly moving out of sight. I had to admit, he had seemed reluctant to leave, but I think the bugs that had clustered around him had dissuaded him from staying around. Once he was away, I turned to look at Tseldora..

"So. What do you want answered first?" She shifted back and forth on her feet.

"Why did you do that?" I rubbed my left arm, since she was staring at it intently. I sighed and shrugged.

"Bonfires, something quite special for me, are made up of several components. Humanity - the Dark Soul of my world, which was in my arm and the meat of my arm, the Bones of an Undead - my bones, again. And finally, a fragment of the First Flame - the kindling flame. Now, as for why I was stuck there, I learned something… unsettling about myself. No, I'm not ready to talk about it just yet - it… it isn't too pleasant, but I can adjust and cope. As for the 'activating and deactivating' of my 'Changer' State…. Well, I learned how to force the change. It isn't normal, but neither am I, and it is tied to what I learned about myself." I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

"The… well, I suppose, good news, is that I am now even more certain that I can instruct others in magic. The problem is, and will be, making sure that the method is safe. If I wanted to, I could just brute force it." I could actually, somehow, see the process in my mind. It was simple enough : Reach out and examine a person's soul, and I could see what they would be well suited for casting. I did just that to Taylor - damn, the girl is smart enough for Heavy Soul Arrow, the force of her intellect impressive. But her Faith was almost non-existant. This wasn't the brute forcing part, though it was easier that she could actually meet the requirements for a spell or two.

Brute forcing would be changing a person's soul to the point where they could grow at the twisted rate that I had. I could see it, the way to manipulate a person's soul, to implant a portion of the Dark Soul - which would then grow and overwhelm the original soul, consuming it to fuel the new Dark Soul. I knew, knew that this was what had happened to me, before I even awoke in Drangleic. This would alter the person if their soul wasn't well-developed enough to retain its own individuality. Taylor - and here, gazing upon her soul, I couldn't refer to her by the false name I had come to know her as, not when her soul screamed her name to the world, desperate for anyone to hear it and acknowledge her.

Taylor was not old enough, not yet, to survive the process of having her soul become a Soul. Yes, the person would survive, as a living being, but the girl in front of me, who had suffered some trauma, and refused to give in and instead became a hero, would change, and I didn't know if it would be in a good way. And worse, as I had learned when examining My Soul - every fragment of the Dark Soul I broke off would carry with it the Dark Sign. And I could not bear to consign another person to the fate of Undeath, not yet when it was suffering if you didn't have the tenacity for it.

So. For now, I could begin the process of training her in magic. I grinned and brought myself back to bear on the real world, noting that she looked slightly unsettled by something.

"So, good news Taylor." Her head jerked back and I pulled my veil down to show my smiling face. "So! Calm, calm. It's a side effect, and I will explain. I can examine.. Well, souls is the best word for it. And it created a somewhat… well, close examination. I am now convinced that you can learn Sorceries at the very least, though Miracles will be at a loss. For the time being, that is. No brute-forcing necessary. Are you, and your father, OK with you being my apprentice? " She bit her lip. "I can tell you now - I would be thrilled to have you for one. But, you don't have to answer now, it can come later, now that we know that it can be done. Tell me, what has been going on in the city the last few days?" She seemed a bit disoriented, but shrugged a shoulder.

"Uh-uhm. Well. The Empire is holding firm, keeping the Protectorate at bay, but they aren't gaining any new ground now that the reinforcements from the other teams have arrived." Considering I was primarily the one responsible for upsetting the balance of power here between the gangs, I would have to do something about it. And start establishing myself as a force to be reckoned with. Now that I was aware of what I was… well. I needed to be recognized so people would be willing to learn from me, and work with me, against the Crystal beings that were coming.

"Other than that, there's rumors of a new Cape? Someone who's a prankster, that's for sure." I tilted my head to one side, raising an eyebrow at her. "Oh, nothing much. Just that they're having fun throwing their voices, asking for smooth and silky, but no one can figure out what the person means." That was on., kinda silly things to - Wait. Wait. I felt my hand and voice tremble.

"They…. Is it two voices?" Slowly Taylor - Tseldora, gah, have to not make that mistake - nodded, watching me. I stood up. "Can you lead me to where?" She nodded again, and held out a hand to me, indicating we should go now. I did not have any problem with that.

So. Monarch didn't eat just the First Flame - hope this doesn't seem too ridiculous here. The important thing to note: He isn't used to his power yet, and his power doesn't work like a typical 'God''s would. God's in Dark Souls are about power. They were different from Humans in terms of sheer strength, and a few unique things like healing magic, or lightning magic. They didn't usually have outright reality manipulation. Though they did have some irregularities in terms of like, one could cast potent illusions, etc. So, quirk of the individual. So the Monarch's power, will likely revolve around Sorcery, expression thereof, and Fire/Dark. Where that goes… well, stick around. Hope y'all enjoy!

Also: probably obvious, but this story isn't going to last too much longer. There's one big arc coming up after Enkindling finishes, then a bit of down time, and then I'm fairly certain it's going to move into endgame time.

Last edited: Feb 15, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 15, 2017

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Threadmarks Enkindling Interlude

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Reytac

Feb 16, 2017

#413

Taylor:

It was strange, she thought, how Paracelsus was acting. The man was always so confident, so self-assured, but nothing like the bitches at school had been. He never felt a need to brag about it, never threw it in anyone's face - even when Myrrdin had been talking with him, her mentor had been calm. And very matter of fact, like what he was explaining wasn't anything important. He had fought Lung without batting an eye, had taken out Mush without even slowing down, the man had literally chopped off his own arm in order to make something work.

But that, at this point, was what she was coming to expect from him. He was a straightforward man who plowed through obstacles and let nothing faze him. Not even Myrrdin, one of the admittedly strongest, if a little crazy, capes in the world, attacking him had bothered him in the slightest. She had seen evidence he was dead, and came back without an issue…

So why, why was he nearly in tears as he knelt next to an empty crow's nest? She had guided him here, and ignored the way her skin crawled when the two voices asked for them 'smooth and silky' things. It was creepy, if a little endearing, but there was never anyone around. She watched as Paracelsus reached out with trembling hands, and actually picked something up.

As his hands left the immediate vicinity of the nest, her eyes widened. Cradled carefully in his hands was a tiny little crow, one that looked like it had been caught in a fire. It's feathers were patchy and regrowing, but even now she could see scalded flesh. Silently she watched as a tear rolled down one cheek as he shifted the crow-kid to one hand, then reached down and lifted up a second one. The voices, she noticed, had gone completely silent.

"Dyna… Tilo. You two… you survived. Heh. Hehehe. " That laugh hurt to hear, like he was laughing so he wouldn't cry. Unexpectedly - though at this point her mind was tossing all expectations out the window when dealing with Paracelsus - one of the two voices piped up.

"Yes yes! Mother saved us, saved everything she could. We were the smallest, so we could come the easiest!" Taylor's jaw dropped. The crow in Paracelsus' right hand had been the one to speak!

"So you two know, then, that this isn't Drangleic?" There was a strange tone in her mentor's voice as she looked between the tiny crows and his face. This.. This was confirmation of his story in a way she hadn't believed possible. In the back of her mind, Taylor had been humoring the obviously powerful Cape, but thought him along the lines of Myrrdin: a parahuman who truly believed in a story, and reasoning, behind his power, but still a parahuman.

But this? Other survivors from his world? Even more so, these two had shown up while he was trapped within that golden fog stuff around the bonfire he had made in the parking garage, so it was extremely unlikely that he had had anything to do with their arrival. It made her want to believe the snippets of information he had given out about his past.

He had then set the crow-children on his shoulders, then without hesitation lifted up their nest and put it on his head. It would have looked absurd, except that Paracelsus seemed entirely unconcerned about it - and the fact that the crows hopped up into the nest and vanished again. Then he stood up and looked to her.

"Well. Do you want to speak with your father again, or start to learn some magic?" And now Taylor was torn. Her father had been hesitant to give his okay after Taylor had told him - she had forgotten to go back and let him know that Paracelsus wasn't insane. Woops.

"Dad. Gotta go - I'll call!"

- Kaiser

Maxwell Anders considered himself quite the intelligent entrepreneur. So when Lung had been forced back, then captured, thanks to the actions of a new Cape in town, Max had seen an opportunity. He'd put the world out to his lieutenants, that if they saw the man they should offer him a position.

Then Hookwolf, damn the bloodthirsty fool, had gleefully informed him that he had already met the new Cape - and killed him. It had taken Max a full thirty seconds of forcing himself to calm down, else he would have killed the idiot then and there. Instead, he had restricted his privileged, moving several of the dogfighting rings over to other lieutenants.

And more so, he had instructed Rune to observe Hookwolf, telling her to report to him if the idiot screwed anything else up. He had thought that the end of the matter and focused on preparing to move in and replace the ABB, knowing that now was the time for his organization to claim the city.

That was, until Rune came to him and told him that a zombie man with blasts of blue-white light had killed Hookwolf - and that Hookwolf had been convinced that it was the man he had killed. This was a problem. A heroic Blaster Cape who could, given time, return from the dead, and had little compunction against killing, was something that would rapidly grow into a problem. He had been getting ready to hunt the hero down, only for Bakuda's bomb craze to wreck any plans that had been in motion until then.

Dealing with the attacks had been aggravating - Bakuda herself never emerged from where she was hiding, and Oni Lee had stuck to throwing a couple grenades then running. Worse, any random citizen could be a potential bomb. Max couldn't remember a more dangerous time to simply go out in the streets.

Then two reports from his plants in the PRT had reached him. Oni Lee had been captured by Paracelsus - the damn hero- and Velocity working in conjunction. Then, mere hours after a simultaneous set of explosions that devastated half of the city, it had been confirmed: Bakuda was dead, killed by a touch pyrokinetic of some kind - and according to the best source they had, her opponent had been that damn Paracelsus again - who had gone missing after the fight.

Now Max was seriously regretting not pushing harder to find and recruit the Cape when he first showed up. That kind of power on his side would have been truly formidable - and would have made taking over the city after the ABB's implosion a walk in the park. Instead, he had to fight a running battle against the Protectorate and their heroes, including many out of town capes, along with dealing with the low level fighting against the Merchants and the BBPD. It was enough to drive a sane man to drink.

The clincher though, that Paracelsus needed to be dealt with, was sitting in his hands. Another report: this time, that in a short fight against the Merchant Capes, Paracelsus had killed Mush, without even taking a single hit in the process. At the same time, the hero Tseldora had distracted and prevented Skidmark and Squealed from interfering. So not only was the annoying hero back from wherever he had gone - knowing how Bakuda had been a vindictive little bitch, rigging the bombs to go off when she died, she had probably had a suicide bomb implanted in herself and killed Paracelsus in the process, meaning he had come back from death twice now - the hero was building an independent, effective team all of his own.

He had to be dealt with. And soon. Max's attention was brought to the present by one of his underlings knocking on the door. "Boss? There's a representative from Coil here, he wants to speak with you. Says it's about a mutual problem you two have." Max shifted his stance, dropping into the Kaiser persona as he nodded. Coil was, while not an equal, at least a somewhat known entity. He had a feeling that he would be interested in seeing what the other villain had to say.

Last edited: Feb 16, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 16, 2017

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Threadmarks PRT Interlude

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Reytac

Feb 17, 2017

#448

Piggot stared at the report sitting in her hands with disbelieving eyes. She flicked them up to Myrrdin and Armsmaster, the two Protectorate Heroes gazing at her with steady expressions on what she could see of their faces.

"This is an accurate estimate? This is a ridiculous list, even for a grab-bag Cape. Blaster 7,Brute 3, Mover 3.." these numbers, they weren't the part that was generating doubt in her mind. She moved her gaze to Myrrdin, who stood stock still. "Shaker 5 and Trump 7?" He nodded briskly.

"Indeed. I have verified with a few of the other heroes who operate via some kind of dimensional manipulation, or in fact time-based abilities. Most have reported that when they try accessing their power base or using their power, it fails in some way, and usually has a side effect of producing a gray fog. Even your Wards have been affected - Clockblocker has apparently been complaining that every time he tries to freeze someone or something, it ends up trapped inside a bubble of this fog." And she knew that - she'd seen the files on it cross her desk a couple week ago but most 'experts' had chalked it up to the boy having what they referred to as a 'second trigger' which changed how his power operated.

"Vista has also reported a change - her power is easier to use, more instinctive, and yet now outside of the area she is directly affecting, everything is shrouded in this fog." It was probably the strangest interaction they had seen anyone's power having here.

"Then why isn't his Trump rating higher, if he can cancels or changes the powers around him without him actually being present?" Piggot set the papers down on the desk and frowned as she felt a lance of pain. She'd have to have the dialysis moved up again.

"That I will answer Director." Armsmaster took a half-step forward. "Paracelsus "dominion" as he referred to it, extends for several miles - it does seem to be anchored on him from what we can tell, so if we need to find him we can set up a search off of triangulation the effect he has on other capes. Now, corroborating what he told Myrrdin, if a Cape puts in a significant amount of effort, they can break through the effect he generates, though we do not know how that will correlate to him now being aware of the situation and either allowing or resisting other's attempts. Secondly, there is the crucial, and strange, limit he has: attempts by capes to use their power directly on him or against him, while within his dominion, work exactly as intended." He shifted, pulling a page from the report on her desk out of the stack and indicated it.

"A precog Cape from out of town came in, and confirmed this fact: while she was outside of his range, she could not make any predictions about what was going on with him or within it. Once inside, she could make predictions again - but only if they directly tied to him." Piggot turned to red the report more thoroughly. The "predictions" - precogs were almost always the most finicky powerset - mostly seemed to indicate some kind of ambivalence from the new Rogue. However, the last one indicated a smell of burning, roaring fire that left tremendous amounts of smoke. For this particular precog Cape that indicated danger, and lots of it.

"What question was she trying to answer when she got the fire response?" Armsmaster had the grace to look disgruntled when he answered.

"What would happen if the Protectorate declared Paracelsus a villain and put out a kill order on him." Piggot sucked in a sharp breath.

"Who the fuck came up with that? We have had no indication that he has any villainous intentions and certainly no reason to put a kill order on him even if he was!" This was one of the stupidest decisions she'd ever seen them make! And they hadn't actually made it!

"It… was on the suggestion of Thomas Calvert ma'am. He seemed most distressed when he got the answer, too." She could feel her teeth grinding together.

"And why, pray tell, was he there at all?" At that Armsmaster and Myrrdin shared a look of shock.

"He said you'd told him to come to hell gather information about a new potential threat." Emily Piggot felt a burning in her chest that had nothing to do with her illness claiming her one day at a time. She snarled, and both men took a step back.

"I did no such thing. Inform everyone, quietly, that Calvert is to be brought in for questioning about misusing PRT and Protectorate resources." Damn him, if he was a bad seed now, confirming her dislike after so long… "Keep it in the Heroes and confirmed trusted PRT personnel. If Calvert has been compromised, there's no telling who he has taken with him. If there is nothing else?" Armsmaster shook his head, but Myrrdin stepped forward.

"Director - Paracelsus seemed quite convinced that he could handle me in a straight fight. than that - the Hero Tseldora? As we were trying to reach him, she indicated that he is convinced he can teach others to cast magic like he does." She stared into his eyes. There were only a few parahumans that could affect other people over a period of time. Masters, some Strangers, and Tinkers - especially Bio-Tinkers.

"Did she seem changed or under his control?" The 'wizard' Cape shook his head.

"No - she seemed terrified for him, but if what she said was true about what she witnessed that is understandable. Other than that, she seemed like a perfectly normal Cape." She grunted.

"Keep an eye on her then - if she is changed, we need to know why and how. And if… if he can teach his magic somehow that will push his ratings up, and how valuable he is. If you can meet again, try to find out how he feels about joining the Protectors team - he may be inclined to it now. Dismissed." the men nodded and left her office, and Piggot sat back. If he was some new kind of Cape - one that could permanently affect people without Mastering them, or changing their biology… what would that mean for the world?

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Reytac

Feb 17, 2017

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Threadmarks Shine 6.1

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Reytac

Feb 22, 2017

#504

I didn't know what to think. I wasn't alone - I wasn't the only survivor of Drangleic. I could feel the children rustling in my head in their nest, chattering at each other softly as I walked back to my 'base'. It was strange - I had already been resigning myself to having to start over, a brutal slog where I knew no one and could trust no one… but already that wasn't true. Tseldora - Taylor- obviously cared, even if she shouldn't by all regards. And now, the crow-kids were here.

Dyna and Tilo, energetic little scamps that they were, loved to go around scavenging, using their normal invisibility to hide away from the creatures that could have hurt them. Then they would take their finds back to their nest and trade them for what they really wanted - soft, silky, smooth things. I had wiled away many an hour trying to find the best little trinkets to catch their eyes, not for trading but just because I found the little rascals adorable.

But… more than that, they had indicated that their mother had saved everyone she could. Their mother - Velka, if I had to make a wild (totally based on foreknowledge) guess. Though if she was actually their mother, or just their 'mother' in that she was the goddess associated with crows, I wasn't sure yet. Time would tell, as they got older.

Anyway. Other people may have survived - the kids did, but were just the smallest and easiest to get 'through'? Through what? And how many people had been rescued? I had tried asking the two crows, but they didn't know how to speak too clearly. I had the feeling that Velka had coached them on what to say when I found them.

So, I had to figure out what had changed, to allow the kids to come through. And I could think of only two things: my own realization of who, and what, I was… and the Bonfire. And the two events were quite closely linked at this point, but I felt it was a bit more likely that the Bonfire, serving as a point of connection, was responsible. This raised a new problem: if I wanted to strengthen the Bonfire to full capacity, I would need to either horrifically mutilate myself to get the bones necessary, and carefully peel parts of the Dark Soul away to serve as the fuel for it… or, somehow find an Undead, and kill them, and use their body for it. Seeing as I was the only Undead in this world, that second plan gave me a few problems.

Joy. That meant that even more dismemberment and such were in my future, along with whatever I would….. Nope. I can't really get my skull and spine out, and those are necessary. Damn. So, enhancing the Bonfire was a no go. That meant, for now, my companions and reminder of the world I lost, we're the two corvid kids on my head.

Setting the nest down by the Bonfire created a new problem, but thankfully one that was quickly solved. As soon as I'd set it down, Dyna and Tilo started hopping about and screeching, until I'd moved it further from the fire. Who knew that the kids would have issues with being near a Bonfire? In any case, now that I had the two safe and sound, I was OK for the mom…. Who the hell has my phone number that isn't Tseldora?

I pulled out my phone and fumbled with it for a moment, pausing long enough to see that it was an unknown number. I frowned and answered the call.

"Ah, good, I didn't get a defunct number!" That was distinctly a man's voice, and not one I recognized. "I have to be quick, before they trace this call. I'm a concerned individual, who works in the PRT. Listen, you're in danger. Just yesterday, the Protectorate brought a precognitive cape in, one who told them that you're a major threat. You have to watch out, they're probably going to come for you and those near you soon. If you need help, go to For-Faultline's Bar, there will be people who can help." Before I could put a word in edgewise, the person speaking hung up.

I stared at my phone for a moment before frowning. There was something off about that call. It had felt like the man speaking was in a hurry and trying to get me to be needlessly hostile to the Protectorate. It had also sounded like he'd been about to say something other than 'Faultline' there, but what it was I didn't know. Hmm.

Why would someone want me at odds with the heroes? That doesn't make any sense - I've been trying to establish myself as a heroic Cape. Have the deaths under my name painted a different picture to someone? If it had, well, there was nothing I could do about that really. I'd just have to roll with the punches, and be a villain. But still, I would prefer not to have to do that if I could avoid it. And it's not like I disagreed with the analysis; I was rather dangerous, and they didn't really know me. Hell they thought I was an amnesiac at first!

I also doubted they were going to come after me in any way - if they thought I was dangerous, they'd probably be more likely to try to get me to work for them, or work with them. You don't antagonize the being who can do things you don't understand - getting them to help you was a far better option. No, it seemed like whoever this caller was, they were either panicking because of something I didn't know, or trying to set me at odds with the PRT and the Protectorate. If I'd been a more aggressive individual it might have worked, too.

I pushed the thought aside, except for a mental note to check out the bar he had mentioned later - strange phone calls from people I didn't recognize weren't exactly high priorities on my list of things to look in to. For right now, I had something else I wanted to experiment with. I just hoped this didn't go horrifically wrong.

I now had three of these 'parahuman' Souls. Considering that I hadn't been receiving and kind of 'souls' from the normal humans in this world, there was something really peculiar going on here. I sat down next to the Bonfire and settled in, focusing inwards. Though this time I wasn't trying to view my own Soul, but one of the ones I had acquired from my other two kills. I pulled out the Soul of the trash-giant parahuman that I had fought and looked into it.

The Soul of Mush

The soul of a forlorn man,

who failed to improve his life.

Born to a poor lot in life, he longed for more.

But not all are fortunate enough to put their trust,

In someone who will look out for them.

There is a fragment of something greater locked within,

promising strength beyond measure to who unlocks it.

This time, I knew the shard buried inside the Soul would try to pull me in, and was able to avoid the attempt. Becoming Hookwolf for a few moments, at the worst point in his life no less, had not been pleasant - I didn't want to see what had befallen this man. Instead, I focused deeper inwards, and pulled a single portion of the Dark Soul loose, pulling the Humanity and its Dark Sign up to the forefront.

It was time to see if what I thought about the Sign was right. If it was placed there by someone else, then it should be possible… to….

The sound that was not a sound but a feeling, echoed in the confines of my being, and my eyes began to water in the real world. I could feel blood trickling from my nose and ears, and my head was pounding. That process… it wasn't one I would want to repeat carelessly - whoever had implanted the Sign into the Dark Soul had known what they were doing, far better than I do. But I had power, a lot more power available than they had, and in the end, brute strength won out over ancient ingenuity.

I now had, a single Dark Soul - a single essence of Humanity from Drangleic - in my possession. One that was torn, jagged, and mending even now; and more importantly, it was free of the Dark Sign. And, I had a free floating, unattached Dark Sign - and I could feel it's ravenous hunger, seeking desperately for essence to consume. It was a nasty thing - and now, strangely, that it was free, I could feel a faint connection between it and the First Flame.

Before I could start to go down that rabbit hole, I decided to continue with my experiment - I wasn't going to let this pain be for nothing. Carefully I drew forth Mush's Soul, into the palm of my left hand, then extruded the barren Dark Sign into my right. Immediately my fingers, both real and metaphysical, closed around the sign, preventing it from leaving out to devour whatever was nearby. Instead, I slowly brought my hands together, until I could see and feel the tendrils of the Sign's energy latch onto the Soul.

It was gone in moments, the Soul being devoured by the Sign - much like I had suspected would happen. It was a hefty soul, large and strong for this world - but it was still only one soul, trying to feed something that had consumed hundred, or thousands. What was strange - and partially expected - was that the shard was left behind. As a matter of fact, the Sign was latched onto it just like it would have a normal Soul from my world - and I could sense, feel, that it's hunger was abated, a trickle of energy constantly feeding it through the Shard.

I sat back, staring at the Shard in shock. That I hadn't expected - I had thought that it would either be consumed like the soul, or flat out reject and ignore the Sign. I wasn't sure what to make of the fact that it was operating like a Soul from my world - did this mean that the 'fragments', Shards, were from something far greater, and were in fact pieces of something being? Was this being, something similar to the Dark Soul or the First Flame from my world? I slowly turned the Shard over in my hands, staring at it intent.

It was… crystalline. I nearly dropped the damn thing in shock. I hurriedly pulled one of the other Parahuman Souls forth and stared at it, terrified. But no, the Shard buried within the Soul wasn't consuming it over time like the Dark Sign would - if anything it was inert. I now had a huge conundrum on my hands. These Shards were crystalline, but didn't mutate people to the degree crystals from my world would have. Instead, each shard… was responsible for the Parahuman power? Did that mean they were granting one single, beneficial mutation?

And was this what I was here to prevent? No, that wasn't right - I was told that the thing which would eat the world was still coming, and I had time to prepare - not that my foe would already exist within the world. So…. What? Was this like a precursor to the attack? Some kind of intelligence gathering thing? What? Gah, I needed more information - but I could garner it from these fragments!

I put the Shard/Sign away, leaving the unaltered Soul out. Now it was time to see if I could actually work with these Souls do anything with the, instead of driving myself mad trying to answer questions I didn't have the data for.

Soul-smithing isn't something that just anyone can do. You have to have a high magical capacity, a strong will, and certain training in how to directly manipulate Souls. And even then, you had to have an understanding of what a Soul could be used to make - not just any Soul could make everything, each had its own tendencies and abilities that it leaned towards. Thankfully, with the revelation of where these parahuman Souls were getting their strength, I had an idea of what they could be used to make.

Hookwolf, funnily enough, was expressing itself in an attempt to defend him and strike out at the same time. Armor was what it was best suited for, a chest plate of some kind, something barbed and bladed. Thankfully, once you knew what it wanted to be, you could modify that somewhat - I didn't really like barbed armor, I had a good feeling I would cut myself on it. Bakuda's was a bit trickier - explosive rage wasn't easily defined by a weapon or armor - but it could be by a spell… or by a ring or gemstone. Hm… I looked at the Soul in my hand - it was hers, something I hadn't paid attention to earlier. Good, I could try my luck with this one first.

I set to work, drawing forth my magic and Soul to pressure hers into the shape I wanted. I had to make sure to only directly touch her soul with either my bare hands or my magic, always keeping magic between the two Souls - neither Straid or Ornifex had had any idea what contamination between Souls would cause during this process but they were both certain it wouldn't be good.

Slowly, under my watchful eye, the Soul condensed, shrinking down and coalescing into something that anyone could see. It became a small, fiery red and gold gem, sparkling with an inner fire that somehow always seemed to emit light, even when cupped between my hands. This is what she should have been like, fierce and independent, if the crystals that she had found from my world hadn't corrupted her and driven her into a mad obsession.

Finally it was done the gem resting in my hand as a smooth oval. I rolled it back and forth between my hands - then had to quickly grasp it when one of the two crow kids hopped out of their nest, trying to pluck it from my loose hold.

"Give us smooth!" I flicked my fingers at the small bird, making him - Tilo I think - hop back a little.

"Not this one little friend. I have a feeling it would ruin your nest, and you don't want that." He let out a little shrieking caw and stumbled back into his nest, disappearing into the invisibility it granted. I chuckled - I would have to find them some nice stones to line their nest with.

That distraction dealt with for the moment, I turned my attention back to the gem. I could feel its power thrusting beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed. But before I could, I would need something to place the gem into - I didn't want to just spontaneously explode because I didn't know where the gem was.

With that in mind, I put the Shard-gem - I really had to come up with a good name for those, since I doubted hers would be the last that worked best for me as a gem - and brought out Hookwolf's - and then grabbed the Craftsman's Hammer. Since I was going to be making armor, I felt that having the Hammer along, even as nothing more than a symbolic representation of the crafting, couldn't hurt.

I coated the Hammer in magic, pushing my Soul into the weapon - which made the damn thing crackle with electricity since it was in effect super charged - and began to work, slowly pounding the Soul into the shape I felt it wanted to be. Unlike Bakuda's, which had shrank as I worked, the man's actually began to grow and swell, expanding up and outwards as I worked. Each strike of the hammer made it expand, turning more and more silvery and shiny.

I flipped it over and began to hammer out the curve of the… shield? Huh, guess I was wrong on it wanting to be a breastplate, but I wasn't going to complain. Until I had strengthened my Bonfire I wouldn't be able to find out if the mystical connection to the storage space had survived, so I was missing a vital, standard piece of my equipment, so this would fill that need. Even as my mind had rambled, my hands had continued working, working the amorphous blob of Soul and Magic into a cohesive shape.

Eventually I finished - not needing to sleep or eat really saved time - and I was left holding a slightly over-large kite shield. I hefted it up, noting that like many shields in Drangleic, the thing was far lighter than it really should be. It felt like it was trying to connect to my magic, so I pushed some energy into the he shield - and watched as it shimmered and twisted, making my eyes water - and the design of the shield had changed, becoming more of a round shield, like the Leather Shield I had found in the Forest so long, long ago. I frowned in thought and pushed another pulse of magic into the shield, keeping a mental image of the Drangleic shield in mind - and the shield in my hands mimicked the shape and design perfectly.

Huh. So I had a shape-shifting shield. Cool. I let more magic flow into it, this time making only a minor adjustment - a depression on the back, one that would fit the gem in my bag. Almost eagerly the shield responded, creating five depressions that matched that. I pulled the Shard-gem out and placed it into one, and watched as the metal of the shield flowed over it, securing it in place. And now, I could feel a minor split - like I could channel magic into something else in the shield, rather than just the metal. I figured that was going to be the explosive gem, and I didn't want to test that underground.

I stood up, groaning as my stiff joints protested the motion. With a proper shield, and a new toy…. It was time, I think, to go Nazi-hunting.

Last edited: Feb 22, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 22, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 23, 2017

#524

It turns out hunting down Nazis in an American city is harder than I thought it would be. Not because finding the idiots was hard - I came across more than one group of skinheads actively tagging places with an overly large 'E88' sign. But because the little shots ran as soon as they saw me, and they almost always had a look out. Five or six times, I was able to only get one of them as the others disappeared down alleys and side streets, like rabbits vanishing into burrows. It was rather frustrating, to say the least. Still, Soul Dart was enough to injure the ones I could catch enough for the police to come by to pick them up.

My luck turned around when I came across a battle - and I hesitate to call it any less. I had been hearing the sound of gunfire for a couple of minutes, and had finally tracked it down to a pitched shootout between the police and regular Empire members. I say regular - but there was something else on the field, and the police were slowly and surely being pushed back by this extra force. It was only as I got close to a police car that I could hear what was going on.

"-peat, Crusader is on the scene! We need Cape support ASAP!" The frantic voice crackled over the comms as a police officer crouched behind his car door. I narrowed my eyes, using a trick I had picked up in the Shrouded Woods. Magic flowed into my eyes - a fraction of a trace, but enough to sharpen my eyesight. I could see them now, ghostly figures clad in armor and carrying spears. There were only a few on the street but wherever they were the Empire 88 was doing far better - the figures seemed to strike with impunity, jabbing at the police that were firing from behind cover through said cover as if it wasn't there! It was right about there that I called bullshit, since these things were actively hurting the police despite stabbing them through metal.

These things weren't human, and were hurting those who were human. A slightly savage grin crept onto my face as I stepped forward and clapped the officer on the shoulder, making him shriek slightly.

"Paracelsus on site. Moving to support the boys in blue. Soul Dart Spray." A barrage of small blue-white darts shot out from the Witchtree Staff, pelting both Empire 88 members, and two of the ghostly figures that were close by. The living people were mostly behind cover, so only one got hurt by the spell - but I caught two of the images in the attack, and both vanished abruptly when the magic punched through them.

The officer sitting by me - Huh, when had he sat down? - was gaping at me. I ignored that, I'd ask about it later, and strode out from behind the car, releasing another two Soul Dart Sprays at the other figures that were attacking the police. Another one popped, but by now they were realizing I was there, and were doing their best to avoid being hit by the flurry of darts. I heard a cry of rage from behind an overturned car, then six more of the figures leapt out from behind it and charged at me.

Gather. Pressure. Surge. I slammed my staff down as the figures approached, their spears raised to stab me. "Shockwave!" A rush of magical energy cascaded across the ground, crashing into the figures feet - and as the energy hit the constructs, each one vanished. One had managed to get close enough to punch his spear into my shoulder, and I could feel blood seeping into my robe, but in truth it was a minor wound for me and I shoved it aside to be dealt with later.

"YOU BASTARD! WHY WOULD YOU HELP THESE NIGGER-LOVING RACE TRAITORS?" A man, clad identically to the figures, came out from behind the car, his face red and his hand trembling in his spear. He pointed it at me, but didn't come a step closer. "And after Kaiser thought you would join us, for killing the lesser race gang and the despicable Merchants! Your insult cannot go unanswered! HAVE AT YOU!" What is it with these villains - at least these Empire 88 ones - and monologuing at me before attacking? Bakuda at least had a reason, she'd literally gone mad…

I raised up my shield and blocked the strike, shoving the idiot off balance as he apparently wasn't ready to be deflected. I slammed the shield forward into his armor, shoving him back, and swept my staff at his legs, cracking into one and making him flinch as he tried to recover. A twist to the side had me avoiding his swipe with his spear, the blade only cutting a thin line across my robes, not getting through them, and I reset myself, stepping back and rolling my shoulders as we circled each other.

"I have an interesting bit of news for you." I could see his eyes narrow behind his helmet. "The last person to tell me your 'Kaiser' wanted me to join you, I killed." He spat at me.

"We already know this you fool, Rune saw you strike him down." So, she was a Nazi. I'd have to deal with someone who had Flame-damned telekinesis. Fine.

"Mm, good. But you're the first to know this: my shield here?" I wiggled it a bit, and his eyes narrowed. "It's rather special you see." I pushed magic through it, distorting the face of the shield into a wolf's mouth, with a hole opened up to the Shard-gem inside of the metal. "See, it was made with his power. Isn't that grand?" It was cruel to say it like this, but I had used powers against people that would be familiar with them before. I had taken an almost evil glee in switching to Velstadt's chime bell and chasing Raime around - until he killed me that is, but hey I didn't say it was always wise.

Crusader had frozen though, his stance completely pole-axed. "Yo…. You're another Glaistig Ulaine! NOnonononononono" And he ran. OK, that I wasn't expecting. I had thought a furious rage would come, or grief-filled anger, not sheer fucking terror. And it wasn't even about the shield - who the fuck was Glaistig Ulaine? Wait, why the fuck am I not chasing this shit? I took off after him, unleashing a Homing Soul Arrow at his legs as I ran.

He heard the unique sound of the spell, and tried to dodge to one side - well, ran slightly more at an angle for a second or two, but it was an attempt - but that didn't help against the homing version of the spell. It shifted, and by the time he looked back to see it, it had already angled down and was about to hit his legs. This was when I learned that not all parahumans have 'Brute' ratings - the spell blasted a leg clean off, and he crumpled, letting out a cry of pain.

I reached him not long after, and switched my Witchtree Staff for my Pyromancy Glove, and heated it up with my magic. When it was glowing hot I grabbed the stump, cauterizing the wound - I didn't want him to bleed out when I could prevent it… even if I didn't care if he lived or died, it would be mildly easier for me to be trusted if not every villain I fought died. Crippled, and prevented from ever being an effective villain again? That I could work with, or around.

My fight with Crusader had ended the fight between the police and the gang members - the Empire 88 side had fled shortly before Crusader charged at me. Anyone who had stuck around had bolted for the hills when he started to run, so now the police were just cleaning up the area, gathering up their wounded. They studiously ignored any whimpering Nazis, and I couldn't blame them.

I waited for a few minutes as they did that, until two groups of people arrived at nearly the same time. Velocity came barreling onto the scene, grinding his feet to a halt when he saw me standing by the moaning Crusader, the man's severed leg laying at my feet. Behind him, closer to the police, a woman and a ball of light were flying in, with another figure being carried by the woman. I didn't recognize any of them, so I shrugged and focused on Velocity, who was cautiously approaching me.

"Ah, Paracelsus, uh, good to see you again. Uh… OK, he is alive yes?" I looked at the man by me who had curled up on his side, his hands grabbing at his injured leg. I kicked him once, and he let out a loud groan, and I turned my head back to Velocity. He had grimaced at my action, but nodded.

"Sorry, yes, he is. And he isn't going to bleed out, I cauterized the wound so that isn't a worry."

"Riiiight. So, can you tell me your side of what happened here?" My side? I tilted my head to the left, staring at him, and he shifted on his feet.

"Well, I was out trying to disrupt the gang war I heard was going on. I heard a lot of gunfire, followed it here where I came up behind the police. They were saying something about Crusader - come to think of it, is this Crusader? I just figured he was." Velocity stepped over and rolled the man onto his back, then nodded at me. "Good, then I didn't miss one. Anyway, they were saying he was present, and they needed Cape support, so I stepped in to help. I disrupted some of his cloned, then he came out, spewed some racist Nazi bullshit at me, and we fought. He lost, ran, and I cut him down before he could escape, and now here we are."

"Oooookay. So, you weren't trying to maim him when he was unarmed or anything like that?" In response, I peeled down the collar of my robe, ignoring the way the sticky material tugged at my skin. Velocity took a step back at the wound in my shoulder.

"Jesus!" I blinked, and he was gone. A half second later he was back. "OK, don't cauterize that, Panacea is on her way over to heal you." I looked at my shoulder, not seeing what the fuss was over. It was a clean through and through, had scraped some of the bone and cut some stuff… right, they still haven't fully grasped what exactly I am. And I was in no hurry to really educate them on that fact. "OK, so we can definitely chalk this down to self-defense if someone tries to give you grief over this. Ah, do you have any problem with turning him over to the Protectorate?" Before I could answer, Crusader apparently gathered himself enough to throw himself towards the red-clad hero's feet.

"Take me with you, please God take me with you! He's a monster!" Velocity stared down at the man, dumbfounded. I guess it wasn't every day a villain asked a hero to take them to prison.

"I certainly don't have any problem with it, I've no way of holding anyone prisoner. I doubt he'll be able to run away from you all at this point either."

"Do I have your permission to heal you?" OK, that was one of the most tired, rote repetitions of a memorized line I had ever heard. I turned to look at the girl who had spoken. She was small, and seemed smaller with the way she was trying to disappear into the white medic-themed robes she wore. Frizzy brown hair escaped from the confines of her hood. Behind her stood a woman in a white outfit, with orange trim.

"Sir. Do I have your permission to heal you?" She now sounded a bit irritated. The woman gave her a reprimanding glare, which she didn't notice. I shook my head.

"Thank you, but it isn't necessary. I have my own healing capabilities." Now she was staring at me, her eyes narrowed. Figuring she didn't believe me, I pulled out my Estus Flask and took a swallow of the warm golden liquid. Before their eyes, the wound in my shoulder healed, the flesh knitting and pulling back together.

"What." Hearing the flat disbelief in one word from three separate people about that was amusing.

"Hold on, can that be replicated?"

"How did that work? Can you take another drink while I'm watching your biology?"

"Why the hell aren't you sharing that with the injured police?"

Curiosity came from Velocity and the girl, while the woman's came out as an accusatory demand. I focused on the last person speaking first - the woman in white and orange. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared steadily at her.

"I'm not sharing it because it would probably do more harm than good to unaltered humans." She let out a sharp gasp. "Now, it can be replicated, Velocity, but as I said to the orange woman, I don't believe it would be beneficial to anyone but myself. And yes, I suppose I can take another drink. How would you observe my biology though?"

"i just need to touch bare skin." I shrugged and held out a hand. She lightly placed her hand on it, and she seemed startled by the way her body tensed. I ignored that for the moment, and took another swallow of Estus. It wasn't necessary but the warmth was pleasant enough.

"How..greatly increased cell division but no change in telomere length? And it seems to apply to everything equally, refreshing you to a perfect state? But the liquid itself seems inert, barely has the minerals in it that water would?" Confusion was evident in her eyes, and those of the woman behind her. I grinned, not that she could see it, and laid a finger against my nose.

"I'm a wizard, dear lady. I can't go giving away my secrets, now can I?" She grunted at me and pulled her hand back. "Now, you need a little magic in your life it seems. What do I have…" As I spoke, I reached out carefully and brushed against her soul.

Whoa. I had thought, as a healer, that she'd be fairly high in Faith… but that 'stat' was utterly abysmal. In fact, while her int was fairly high, her Faith was nearly zero. I had never seen someone in that state - even just some belief in herself would have given her a few points. I dropped my hand back to my side and stared at her for a moment then flicked my eyes back to the rude woman, who had barged forward and interposed herself.

"She won't take anything from you. I heard how you mutilated Bakuda." I stared at her, deadpan.

"Bakuda... Who had a plan that involved destroying most of the city, so she could free the rage-dragon guy that she was obsessed with. That Bakuda? Psycho woman tore herself in two by using a bomb she didn't understand, couldn't understand... Though i did kill her by burning her face." She flinched, and I looked to Panacea. "If you need some help or advice, or a friend, try to find my apprentice Tseldora. She could use a friend who's willing to help people like you are." And the headstrong girl would probably be good for the healer. I turned to Velocity.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going to go hunting more Nazis. I'll give you guys a call if I stop anyone else." I strode off,giving a parting nod to the speedster.

An hour later, my temper had cooled back down, though I was back to being frustrated about the gang members running as soon as they saw me. I hadn't happened across more than three or four of them at a time, and they were running as soon as they saw me on the street. For someone who was used to mindless Hollows charging him on sight, it was a drastic change. And not one I liked.

I noticed the street getting colder and frowned - wisps of fog were rolling across the street familiar in an uncanny way I couldn't quite place.

"Ah, there you are dahling. You vere hard to find, for a dead man walking." I turned to look behind me. A tall, thin woman was calmly walking down the street, a sweeping black and purple dress that was rather puffy from her waist down trailing behind her. I took a step back, trying to place why this woman was setting off chimes of familiarity to me so strongly. "But now your little crusade is at an end. I, Hela, shall put an end to your unnatural life, and send you to your resting place." Her voice was tugging at my ears, achingly close to realization, so much so that I didn't even process what she said. Then she brought her arms out from behind her back, pulling a scythe out from nothingness.

The scythe was the clincher, what made me realize who she was - or who she was unconsciously emulating. A twisted black thing that looked like it was forged from bones, the shaft of the scythe smoothly transitioned to a curving, arced blade. She swept the staff through the air, leaving dark tendrils of fog behind.

"Ah, hello, Nashandra."

Funny thing I realized today while double checking that Shockwave was a sorcery... Soul dart and soul dart spray don't exist in DS2, so I've been unknowingly using ds3 magic since the Oni Lee fight. Woops.

Last edited: Feb 23, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 23, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 24, 2017

#546

The woman looked mightily affronted at my words, and pointed the scythe at me with a dark scowl on her delicate features.

"My name, little worm, is Hela. I hold dominion over the dead corpses of the world. When noble Kaiser told us of his plight, of an accursed walking corpse disrupting his attempts at taking his rightful place in command of this cesspit of a city, I was sent to set the situation to rights." She slammed her scythe's shaft into the ground and brought it up - and a damn skeleton rose out of the ground behind it! OK, that's just great. She didn't have Nashandra's powers thankfully - we did not need a fragment of the Abyss of Manus running around this world unchecked! - she had something arguably as bad. Fucking necromancy.

This world would probably quantify it as a 'Master power' of some ilk, with a Blaster rating if she could lash out with that dark fog. She imperiously waved her scythe in my direction, and the rattling collection of bones began to shamble towards me.

"Yes, quiver in fear of my undead! This will be your lot in life once I have claimed your corpse!" OK, no. Just, no. I frowned and lifted my my left hand - holding the shield still, as I was so accustomed to- and pushed magic through it, into the gem encased within the wolf's mouth.

We were both treated to a strange sight, of a small explosion bursting against the shield - then a shard of ice launched forth, exploding against the skeleton and smashing the bones to bits. Hela scowled and waved her scythe, sending three more skeletons, who dragged their way out of the earth, towards me. Another pulse of magic, and this time the explosion that shot out was almost invisible, a shimmering in the air its only indication of existence.

This explosion was either concussion, or sonic, or some effect that I had no way of recognizing. It did however, shred the two skeletons caught in the blast, and sent the last one flying backwards to strike the ground next to where the necromancer was standing. Before she could continue her offense, I struck out sending a Soul Arrow screaming through the air towards her.

She didn't seem to think twice before swing her scythe through the blast, probably trying to dispelled it. So when it struck and knocked her weapon off course, her eyes widened behind the ornate face-mask she was wearing.

"What vile power is this, that the dead can strike against their Mistress?" She seemed legitimately disbelieving, like it shouldn't be possible for me to attack her. Oh well, her loss. While she was trying to wrap her mind around that fact, I spun my staff through the air above my head, leaving five glowing orbs behind as I cast Homing Soul Mass. When the orbs didn't shoot at her, Hela seemed disconcerted.

It's impolite to leave a lady waiting I suppose. " Heavy Soul Arrow!" The javelin of blue-white energy, surrounded in rings of more light, shot towards her, with the Soul Masses following after a second. Her summoned skeleton threw itself in the way of the main spell, absorbing the energy and shattering - but the Homing Soul Masses pelted the woman, buffering her around and making her cry out in pain.

That was apparently her cue to get serious. She slammed her scythe against the ground, and six damn skeletons and some kind of armored being - I couldn't see what was contained within that armor - tore free from the street. The sky had turned almost midnight black at this point, and dark fog was rolling all around us, cutting my visibility to almost nothing. I was almost reminded of my frantic fight against the Lost Sinner now, only this time I couldn't light trails of oil to ease the visibility problem.

I felt the blow coming and brought my shield up in time to block a clawed swipe from one of the skeletons. I sent a surge of energy to the bomb-gem, and this time the explosion that went off was a brilliant surge of light - which acted more like a flash bang than anything else but it did kill the skeleton that had reached me, and let me see where the other creations were. Worryingly, I couldn't see Hela at all now.

I sent out a Shockwave, slamming my staff into the ground. The energy wave knocked two of the skeletons of their feet, and staggered the armored being. It let out some kind of horrendous screech, that sounded like nothing a human throat could ever make, and threw itself towards me, one gauntleted hand swinging a massive axe at me body. I blocked the strike with my shield, the force of the blow knocking me back several paces. My arm stung from absorbing that strike - I could not afford to get hit like that too many more times.

I threw myself to the side, only narrowly dodging a jet of black fog that was crackling with some kind of sickly green light trapped within. Even dodged, it was strong enough that I could feel the effect - for a moment I felt weaker, slower and heavier. I had a feeling that if I hadn't dodged it, that effect would have been longer lasting. Great, so armored brute, fast little bastard skeletons, and a caster supporting them. And here I was, with the Soapstone Sign in my pocket completely useless - I had never even seen another summoning sign anywhere, and I doubted I ever would. I growled, and stopped holding back.

A torrent of magical energy swirled around me, the fog dissipating as the bright blue-white light coiled around my feet. It surged up into a thick band of light that wrapped around my staff and I let out a vicious grin. She wanted to play sorcerer? She would see who the best spell-caster here was.

"Soul Spear Barrage!" The biggest brother to my Soul Dart Spray, such a wonderful fast and heavy spell. A succession of Soul Spears, none quite as big as the normal spell created, shot forth, their brilliant light cutting through the dark fog and shrouded night with ease. The armored foe managed to weather a few of the spears before one punched a hole through weakened armor - and I saw a gout of thick black sludge spray out before it collapsed. The remaining spears, now unimpeded by the armored being, crashed through the skeletons, blowing them apart with ease.

"Miscreant! That Death Knight cost me much to summon! You will spend the rest of your unlife atoning! Be Mine! " While I was dealing with her minions, I hadn't realized that she had circled around behind me. One hand clamped down onto my head as the scythe curved around my neck, the jagged edge drawing blood. I could feel something try to push its way into my body.

But whatever fragmented power she was wielding, it was nothing compared to the combined might and fury of the Dark Soul and First Flame that resided within me. Darkness and fire responded, burning red entwined with darkest black blasted her away, evaporating her arm in the process.

She let out a wail, an unearthly sound that spoke of agony, and clutched at the stump where her arm had been. I ignored the burning in my throat - when she'd flown backwards, her scythe had torn a jagged rip in my flesh - and stalked towards her. She dragged herself to her feet, sneering imperiously at me even now, with black sludge dripping from where her arm had been.

"Your fate… will be worse… Than you possibly know. In striking me down, you will bring the whole of Empire 88 and Gesselschaft after you." I stepped in close to her, close enough that our blood was mingling on the ground as it dripped from my neck and her shoulder. I could see the shiver run across her body.

"Lady Hela, you and yours have no idea what you have stepped into. To you I say, let them come, let them all come. The world doesn't have the time for you and yours to try splitting it apart - there are far worse threats than your feeble mind could possibly imagine coming for it. So if killing you, then exterminating the rest of those like you, who seek to put the world beneath them, no matter the costs of war… so be it." This world would need every advantage it could get to have a hope of surviving the crystal beings. And if a bunch of idiot Nazis wanted to keep throwing themselves at someone who has proven he will kill them, fine by me. It meant more Souls for me to experiment with. Suddenly she grinned, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you are certainly not lacking arrogance… or confidence, I suppose, he who calls himself King." Strange, I didn't recall ever saying that to anyone who survived, other than Myrrdin and Tseldora I suppose. But I doubt either of them would have given that name to the allies of the E88. "Someone in this city may have a way of stopping Cape-based observation, but that does nothing to stop mundane efforts." She tilted her head to the side - ABYSSFUCKER SHE IS WIRED?

"My lords have heard what you said, and will consider it." It was a Flame-damn test? The darkness around us evaporated. "Will you let me have my leave, Sorcerer King? I've harmed none within your city." She stood there, unnatural sludge dripping from her arm, and I snorted in disgust.

"Leave? No Lady Hela. You tried to strip from me my own mind and being, placing me under your control. Anyone who believes that that is permissible, to have another living being enslaved to their will… well, I will not let them live if they attack me." I saw the calm acceptance in her eyes before she closed them. I placed the end of my staff against her head, and ended her life.

Her Soul, when it flowed into me, was a pale green color, laced through with streaks of black and bone white. I stood quiet for a minute, then switched to my Pyromancy Glove and cast Warmth. The soothing, healing heat emanating out from the orb of light eased my wounds gradually, as well as banished the lingering traces of the Necromancer's fog that remained in the area.

It was strange, I now realized, that no one had shown up to investigate the fight - it was the longest I had been involved with, I think. But looking around, I could see why. Literal ice had coated every building nearby - probably as the woman had used her fog and brought in the darkness, it had sapped the heat from the area around us, trapping normal people inside. Capes would have been hesitant to engage if they didn't know what was going on or who was involved, I guessed, and with the darkness that had kept anyone from just watching the fight.

Within a few moments though, Armsmaster and Myrrdin showed up, the two Protectorate leaders looking around in shock. The wizard approached me first, as Armsmaster went about breaking the ice with a short Flame-thrower he took from his bike. Seriously is the man the world's oldest Boy-Scout or something? Always prepared?

"Paracelsus!" Myrrdin was entirely too jovial for someone walking up to the scene of a battle. I leaned on my staff and nodded to him. "So you were victorious my friend, excellent news! Can you tell me who it was that attacked? This power is not one we immediately recognize." I looked around and shrugged.

"If you're trying to guess off of the ice, you are looking in the wrong direction. I believe it was side effect of her power. She was using dark fog and undead beings." The joviality vanished in an instant. He stepped forward and looked at the body on the ground behind me - strange, had he not noticed it before? "And she called herself-"

"Hela." The name was a breath, disbelief nearly strangling the single word. He turned his gaze to stare at me, jaw dropped. "You managed to kill the Necromancer." I tilted my head to the side. "She was a terror agent for Gesselschaft - very effective, as it took a low-level Brute to kill her skeletons, and if she summoned any of the armored demons it was cause for most to disengage. This fog of hers was well known for sapping the life from people it struck, weakening them to a near death state where she would then 'claim them'. Normal people served as fuel for her skeletons, while any Parahumans she killed became fodder for however she created the armored things. I can't believe you managed to get the drop on her like this!"

"Get… The drop? Dear Myrrdin, if anything she got the drop on me. Her skeletons were easily dealt with though, and while the armored being struck hard, it went down too. She was a potent necromancer, I am sure but she became too assured in her power over me, and got too close." If she had kept throwing those Death Knights at me, it might have worn me down eventually - assuming that I couldn't just refresh myself with a cycling of the Dark Soul and the First Flame.

The hero took a step back, leaning heavily on his staff as he stared at me. Twice he started to say something, but stopped before any words formed, then he shook his head and slipped slightly with a sigh.

"We must learn not to underestimate you. There is a bounty on her head, put there by the Meisters. I will give you their contact information when I get my hands on it - and put in a good word of verification for you." The wizard went silent as Armsmaster strode up, the armored hero nodding his head to me.

"Scene is clear Myrrdin. You've found out who was responsible and taken Paracelsus' statement?" He nodded. "Good. Paracelsus i am glad to see that you continue to strive to be force for good in this city. Have you considered what you could do with Protectorate backing?" Was this another job offer from them? I chuckled and shook my head.

"I have, and for now I will continue to go my own way sir." I looked between the two of them and frowned beneath my veil. These two were leaders of the Protectorate forces, intelligent and capable men. Could I tell them about the crystal entities? No - not yet, I was improving my standing with them, true, but I didn't think it was at a level where they'd believe me about there being a worse threat than the End-Bringers.

"A shame. Ah, a side note, a more personal issue. Velocity wanted it passed along that he was able to clear up Brandish's misunderstanding of the situation around Bakuda, and the woman wishes to apologize to you when you have some time to meet. Her number." He pulled out a business card and handed it to me - OK, so Brandish was this world's Matt Murdock or something, a parahuman(superhero) who was also a lawyer… and apparently didn't believe in the whole "keeping your identity secret" thing that most of the heroes did.

"My thanks. I'll speak with her after I've set a time then - I am sure she is a busy woman. Tell me - has there been any unusual motions by the Empire of late?" They looked to each other, and Armsmaster nodded.

"Yes. Approximately a few minutes ago, we began to receive word that they were falling back to their previously held territory. Why?" I frowned and gestured to the body behind me.

"She was, from what I could tell, wearing some kind of transmission device during our fight. I've no doubt that whatever was being sent was going to Kaiser as well as Gesselschaft." The men nodded slowly. "Well! Myrrdin, I look forward to hearing from you about the Meisters. Armsmaster, good day - I think, gentlemen, that it is time I retire. Taking on two of their capes in one day is enough for me." And I wanted to get home and experiment with Hela's soul, see if I could learn anything from it. The heroes nodded and went back to helping with the clean-up, Myrrdin creating gouts of flame to clear large pieces of ice while Armsmaster did finer-detail work with his handheld flamethrower. I left, heading back towards my base of operations.

Last edited: Feb 24, 2017

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Feb 24, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 27, 2017

#594

Partway there, my cellphone started ringing again. I frowned and pulled it out of my pocket, only feeling a trace of relief when I saw that it was Tseldora calling me, not some unknown number. I answered and tilted my head to the side as her voice came through - whoops, volume was up too high.

"Paracelsus, are you near your base? I can meet you there if you are." Her voice was bright and chipper as she started the conversation. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, I'm heading there now. Is something wrong?" Last I had known, the girl was heading to talk to her father about actually being apprenticed to me, for the last time (I hoped).

"No, no, nothing is wrong, just trying to make my way over there now. Things have quieted down a lot in the last half hour or so, no one has seen any Empire goons outside of their old territory for a while. It's weird." Well, what had happened in the last half hour that I knew of? There was my fight against their capes, which was the most likely cause of this.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Alright, I'm getting strange looks from the people around me, so I'll meet you there." I heard her laugh before hanging up, and shook my head. I could hear tension in her voice even now - I would have to get her to talk about it at some point soon, because inner conflict like that could mess things up while trying to learn magic. Rosabeth had been a good example of that - she never talked to Carhillion about how good she was at Pyromancies so her teacher hadn't felt safe taking her to Drangleic - and she had followed him anyway and gotten lost then trapped in stone. Not to mention the struggles she had learning Sorceries.

I gave a small wave to the people that were still giving me side-long looks and picked up the pace, heading back towards the abandoned garage that I had claimed for my base. I did notice thing, that several people were hurriedly tucking their phones away - not that I had any idea why.

Inside the garage, Tseldora and I settled in by the Bonfire, the girl shifting slightly as the warm golden mist spread out around us, banishing the last traces of spring chill from the air. She fidgeted a few times, and I watched her for a few moments before reaching into my pouch and pulling out my Sorcerer's Staff. The simple wooden staff was an apprentice's tool from my world, and one of its functions was crucial for starting the girl in her training.

"Alright. Mask off - I need to be able to see your face, in case something starts to go wrong." She hesitated for only a second before pulling her face mask off, her black hair spilling forward to frame her now revealed face. She fumbled at a pouch and pulled out glasses, slipping them on. Dark brown eyes came up to meet mine, and for a second I thought I saw a slight quiver in her lips before the wide mouth flattened into a line. I raised an eyebrow and pulled my veil down, baring my own face, then tossed the staff over to her.

"Right, good. Now, learning magic can be very, very dangerous depending on what branch you are learning. First off, some basics. Magic from my world is divided into three categories. Pyromancies: Both the easiest and hardest to use, these are spells that are based around the concept of 'fire'; learning them is easy, as is using them - however, many carry a risk if improperly used of backfiring and injuring you as well." I watched her rub her hands against the staff, her fingertips trailing along some of the symbols etched into it.

"Second are Miracles. These are spells that draw on the power of the Gods of my world, usually to either cast some kind of healing spell, or to manipulate lightning in some way. The hardest, in my opinion to learn, as knowing the words aren't enough, nor is having the will power necessary to cast it. You must also have Faith and belief in the power of the Gods - it deepens the connection, and allows you to cast stronger Miracles. This one we won't really touch on on your training, because as far as I know only one of the Gods of my world have any sway here and he isn't anyone to worship." At least, I think that whatever I was now counted as a 'God' by the definition of Drangleic. Imbued with the First Flame, immensely powerful…

"Third, and what I primarily practice, is Sorcery. To cast these spells, you require intelligence, knowledge, and willpower. This is also the category I believe you are most suited for. Now, learning any spells will be difficult, as learning how to manipulate your own energy will take time to get the hang of." I frowned, thinking back to my earlier remembrance of Rosabeth's problems. "I will, once you have learned to manipulate your inner energies, attempt to teach you at least one spell from each school of Magic. If one of them seems to come more easily than the others, I want you to tell me right away - it is entirely possible to have a natural predisposition to a particular school of magic that can circumvent normal restrictions. " She stared me in the eyes for a moment before nodding hesitantly.

"I don't want you thinking you're a failure if it turns out you can't learn Sorceries, Taylor. There was a girl, back in my world, who was studying under one of the more accomplished Sorcerers of their land. And sweet Flame she was terrible at using them herself. However, what she didn't tell anyone because she was ashamed of it, was that she was amazing at using Pyromancies - to the point that almost no one I met could match her natural skill with them. She nearly died though because she hadn't told her teacher about it, and he left her behind instead of taking her on a journey because he thought she wouldn't be safe. She followed him anyway, without letting him know and got lost…. And nearly died." I didn't think trying to explain that she was petrified for some unknown length of time would be believed. "So of one of the spells I teach you just clicks, makes sense and works easily, let me know. I may primarily be a Sorcerer, but I know the other schools." And if I was right about what I had become, I was going to be very, very capable both of them. She did seem a bit more relaxed now.

"Now. I want you to start focusing on that staff - much like you're doing now. You may want to remove the glove but it's up to you. Lose yourself, follow the flow of the patterns. As you do, breathe in and out in a set rhythm - the goal here is not to stop thinking or blank out your mind, but to wash the world away in the flow. The patterns will help with that."

She wouldn't know it yet, but the designs etched onto the staff were actually an approximation of the symbols needed to start learning Soul Arrow. Some ancient sorcerer had figured out that by having students practice meditating while actually following the symbols of a spell, they found it easier to tap into their pool of will than unaided meditation. I sat back, knowing that this process would take a while. This would be the final test of whether or not I could teach people from this world magic as I knew it.

It was strange, watching the process of starting to learn magic from the other side. I had never properly learned like she was, not until much later in my journey. I had done what most Undead in Drangleic do, and cheated my way through magic by using Scrolls in conjunction with a staff to cast the spells. While the process was effective, and would let you use the basic spell so long as you had the mana to charge it, that was all it would let you do. Hence why so many people used exactly the same spells, despite there being so many variations used by proper Sorcerers and other spell-casters who had spent time learning the right way.

It had been Carhillion who forced me to start learning magic the right way, engraving the patterns of will to put mine through to channel mana into the various spells. I had almost resented the old Sorcerer at the beginning, until he had explained exactly why - and demonstrated. He had taken one of my spell scrolls and cast the spell using it - a Heavy Soul Arrow, bright and exactly what I was used to, shot out across the waters by Majula. Then he had contemptuously tossed the scroll aside and cast the spell without it.

The difference between knowing a spell and being able to cast it with a scroll, was simple. Knowing the spell, as he did, as Straid did… it let you change the very foundations of the spell, altering it into something else, something new and unique. Carhillion's Heavy Soul Arrow roared through the sky, a blinding maelstrom of blue-white light that I couldn't look away from. Surrounding it, instead of the rings that I was used to that indicated the slower, more powerful variant, were a series of slender spikes that told of elegance and control. I had been shocked - especially when, instead of fading away as the spell I used did, the blast exploded outwards, sending those spikes out in a kind of shrapnel grenade. It was glorious, and convinced me then and there of the need to learn the spells myself instead of relying on scrolls.

I was shaken from my reminiscence by a faint blue glow appearing in the staff. I narrowed my eyes, peering closer. Sure enough, she had already started to subconsciously learn the trick of manifesting her mana and will into the physical realm. This was what the runes did the best - following the preexisting flows made the mana flow, and would help draw it to the surface. I didn't say anything though - doing that would break her concentration. Instead I pulled out an Amber Herb and a Life Gem - the first item would almost definitely be needed, considering she was draining what was likely a limited pool of mana and will at the moment. Hopefully the healing item would be unnecessary, but if she injured herself then it was best to have the rapid heal available.

Now prepared for a mishap, I settled back, pulling out the fragment of the Dark Soul I had cleaned of the Dark Sign. The Soul was oddly familiar, and after a few minutes of studying it closely I had it. This was almost exactly what Humanity from the first Dark Souls game had looked like! A wispy shade that loosely resembled a human in shape, swirling black, purple and silver some coalesced into a coherent shape. I had forgotten what they looked like - so long in Drangleic, where Humanity for an Undead was regained by using a Human Effigy had taken that misty memory from me. It as different though, purer black than I remembered the fragments of Humanity being, and fuller, thicker. Was this what it should look like without the Dark Sign parasitizing it?

"Master Paracelsus? What's that?" I looked up, to see Tseldora's inquisitive eyes peering at the Dark Soul piece in my hands. I rolled the object back and forth, feeling it as a cool mist against my skin before answering.

"This is a part of the Dark Soul. In my world, it was known as 'Humanity' though not many people knew that each Dark Soul was actually connected and part of a much larger whole." The wisps of silver that were mixed into the darkness were something I recognized - they were the wisps of energy that came to someone when another being died. This then, was the basis of the Souls that Undead collected.

"Wait...your world actually had proof of the soul? That's… whoa." I blinked and looked at her. "They… that's a tenet of the church here." I tilted my head, then leaned back and closed my eyes.

"Time for a history lesson then, to explain some differences between our worlds. Long, long ago, further back than anyone can possibly comprehend, our world was a single uniform place. Massive trees - taller than any mountain you have here - known as archtrees covered the world, and at their base was a timeless land that knew only grey and mist and sand. There were husks, Hollow beings that had nothing, and were just moving chunks of meat really - and they served as food for the beings that really lived in that timeless, space less land - the Old Stone Dragons." I opened my eyes and looked at her.

"Lung had nothing on the Old Stone Dragons. Those beings were as big as cities themselves, and they didn't need to lay waste to anything - it was them, and the husks, and that was it. They were immortal beings in a timeless land. But then, something changed." I drummed my fingers against my leg. "No one knows how it started, what created it, but deep, deep beneath one of the Archtrees, something new came into existence. The First Flame. Four Husks found it - three of which took pieces, tiny fragments of that Flame, into themselves. They became the first Gods of our world. Gwyn, Lord of Light; Izalith, Queen of the Witches; Nito, Gravelord of the Dead. The fourth took something else, the furtive pygmy husk who took a different Soul. Then the Lords struck down the Old Stone Dragons - Gwyn destroyed their armor with his lightning, the witches weaved massive fire storms that brought them down, and then Nito claimed their lives with his miasma of poison and disease, and Seath the Scaleless betrayed the other Dragons. Thus ended the timeless age, and in came the Age of Fire - the First Flame brought time to the timeless place, and birthed the Lord Souls, which gave life to that which had had no life and death to those who had never known it." I took a deep breath.

"Tales of the Gods and their works are what power Miracles - belief and faith create a connection that lets one draw upon them, casting lightning or healing yourself, as they were said to do with the power inherent to them. Pyromancies draw on fire, the same thing Izalith used, and are more primal, instinctive. Sorceries draw on intelligence and wisdom, allowing you to manipulate your will and mana into a tangible substance." I frowned. "There are also Hexes, which draw upon this." I held up the fragment of the Dark Soul. "The Dark Soul - that which the furtive pygmy, Manus, took into himself. This Dark Soul which scattered to the rest of the husks in the newly created world, giving them their own life and individuality. But it is a tricky thing - uncontrolled, the Dark Soul can generate that which is known as the Abyss - an unending plane of darkness. Some believe that plane is that which will usher in the next Age."

Tseldora's mouth had dropped. I wondered if I should keep cracking her mind, letting her know of the Cycle that Gwyn had created, and why… but no, now was not the time. I chuckled and tapped the staff. "Now, focus on your lessons. Look down." She did, and her eyes widened. The grooves in the wood had filled with blue over time, a simmering almost liquid that glowed with an inner light. "It looks like you can learn to control your will, your mana. Which is good!" I stood up and stretched out, absorbing the fragment of the Dark Soul back into myself. "It means, that once you've rested, I can begin trying to teach you a spell or two. Now, it's been a few hours, you should probably head home to your dad before he starts to worry." She scrambled to her feet and held the staff out to me. I shook my head.

"No, that's yours now. Whenever you have some free time, you can practice again like you did tonight. But try to keep it to about ten minutes or so if you can - set an alarm, call me, whatever. Unmatched, you can fall into a trance and drain yourself too quickly and injure yourself. Now shoo, shoo. And Taylor? Mask up, I don't care about people seeing me but I know you do." she nodded and fidgeted a few times before looking at me, then shook her head.

"Thank you so much." Her words were a soft whisper, and I almost didn't hear them as she took off into the night, slipping out past the rubble in moments. I frowned - why in earth was she thanking me? I mean, yes, I was teaching her, but as an older 'hero' wasn't it kind of my duty to teach and guide the younger ones? I nearly slapped myself on the head when I remembered how skittish she was, and how painfully thin she was. She might not be now, and it almost certainly wasn't Daniel… but someone had been abusing my apprentice. Had probably wrecked people's confidence in her, made others distrust her. And here I was, disconnected from all of that, and showing trust and belief in her. It was probably a balm to the young girl.

I would have to look into that if I could. Maybe now I should practice my Chameleon spell? It would certainly be useful.

266

Reytac

Feb 27, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 28, 2017

#604

Armsmaster:

Armsmaster frowned slightly. Something seemed… off about the area he was standing next to, but he couldn't place it. His visual hud was also chiming that something had changed, a counter-Stranger measure he had tried to implement but never really got working properly. Deciding to act on his equipment and his hunch, he paused where he was, watching for movement with his peripheral vision, and played back the last few seconds of his visual recording.

It was on the second play back, being deciding to be safer than sorry that he realized what it was. Disbelieving what his eyes were telling him, he scrolled back to when he turned to look down this alley, captured the image, then compared it with what his visual equipment was telling him right now. Sure enough… a trashcan had moved. And not just a few inches, like it might have in the wind, or onto its side like an animal had knocked it over. No, this trashcan had apparently moved several feet, crossing the alleyway unaided, between his first and second glance down here.

Slowly, carefully, he reached down and extended his halberd. Steady steps carried him towards the trashcan, which even watching it now, he could swear shifted slightly as he looked at it.

"Come on now, show yourself. I promise I won't hurt you." He'd gotten a few lectures about diplomacy recently, along with Militia, so he was trying for a softer approach than he once would have used. The trashcan quivered once - then took off, shooting away at a fast pace. For a moment Armsmaster stared in shock. Even knowing that the trashcan had moved, he hadn't expected it to run like that. His brain caught up to what had just happened, and he took off after it. As he ran, he clicked his comm unit on and spoke into it. "This is Armsmaster I am in pursuit of either a Changer or Stranger, who is able to make it appear as if they are a trashcan." There was dead silence on the other end of the line.

"Can you repeat that for clarification sir?" He could hear the disbelief in the person's voice, and didn't blame them. He turned a corner - and spotted the can settling into position again next to a dumpster - but when it saw him, it took off again. Armsmaster bit back a groan and ran after it again, trying to keep it locked in his vision at all times.

"I… I am chasing a Parahuman who has taken on the appearance of a trashcan. Height of one meter and 75 centimeters, circular and metallic grey in hue." He could hear the clack of keys as the operator entered that information in. The trashcan skittered around a corner, and he stifled a groan as he realized that it was trying to break line of sight on him.

He ducked around the corner after the Parahuman and frowned, scanning back and forth in the alleyway that he was now in. There - the can was just reaching the far end of the alley and turning a corner. That was a little absurd - the Parahuman most likely had at least a low Mover rating as well. He charge after it, trying to get it back in line of sight, but by the time he got there…

It was a dead end alley. He frowned and panned his vision back and forth across the alleyway. There weren't any people around here - but there also wasn't a trash can that matched what his visual recording was of. He frowned and played the recording back, trying to see if he could in point any tell-tale features that might give it away…. And his eyes tightened. Somehow, his visual recording had gotten corrupted - specifically, the segments where he had line of sight on the trashcan. That shouldn't be possible - at least not under normal circumstances.

"Damn. I need to be put in for Master/Stranger protocols." And oh, he did not want to say those words. This meant days of observation, to make sure he hadn't been contaminated in some way, or mentally affected somehow. He sighed - it was probably nothing malign, just a new Parahuman playing with their power - but it could also be a major problem. If it wasn't benign. He could almost feel whatever Parahuman this was taunting him - they were probably still here watching him, but he wasn't going to sit here and investigate each object that a human might possibly squeeze to fit a rough height of - he didn't even know if that was a restriction that this power had.

Armsmaster clicked his halberd back into its resting travel position and left the alleyway, grumbling about piles of boxes, shoes, and abandoned piles of wood.

Paracelsus

Despite Chameleon and Hush being in use, it was kind of odd trying to move around the city like this. Mostly because it was rather odd to see whatever random object I had transformed into moving around on its own. At least once, I had to sprint like a madman to avoid Armsmaster grabbing onto me - he'd seen me - as a trashcan- move, and he was not one to take any chances. This led to a damn half hour chase before I broke line of sight long enough to change into something else, which he apparently didn't anticipate.

After that, in my new shape - no, I will *not* say what it was. - I made my way to Tseldora's house and camped outside. Thank the Flame that people in this city had become so inured to weird, random sights popping up - Brockton Bay had a disproptionately high rate of Parahuman triggers - or I think even my current form would have drawn attention - despite being a hallmark of 'stealth'. Once I made it there, it was a matter of sitting around outside, watching and waiting for her to wake up and go to school.

Again, my Undead nature served me well. I was able to stay up all night, loosely recombinant and thinking up variations for spells, and not suffer from lack of sleep or mental fatigue. The warm sun eventually rose, and I watched as Daniel came outside and hopped into his truck - now that the city was somewhat calm, the industrious man was getting right back to work. I could respect that. I watched him go, the truck chugging back down the roads towards the DWU facility that I had rescued them from.

It was an hour or two later that Taylor came out of the house - and seeing her in civilian clothes, not in her armored suit, was a bit jarring. She had a bag slung over one shoulder and a determined one on her face as she marched her way through the streets. Refreshing my Hush spell, I followed after her, slinking along in the shadows as I darted between alleys and quiet lots. Once or twice the girl paused and looked around, perhaps noting that something seemed off, but unlike my mess up earlier with Armsmaster, so far I had managed to keep her from realizing that I was following her.

I did have to stop at one point and switch Chameleon spells, losing the appearance that I had taken on earlier to avoid Armsmaster. This time I nearly felt like throwing up my hands in aggravation when I saw what the masking spell had turned me into - another Flame-damned box, this time smaller than the one I had become before. Was it too much to ask for there to be a decent clay pot for me to emulate?

The school sign proclaimed itself as 'Winslow High' and it was probably one of the worst cesspits of a school that I had ever seen. The outside of the building was grungy and decrepit, like whoever was meant to be keeping up on it was fighting a war that had already been lost. What was worse was the students I saw trickling in - Taylor was in somewhat of a minority in that she wasn't wearing something affiliated with one of the gangs. Though the kids who were wearing the colors of the ABB were keeping very, very quiet and to themselves. That wasn't to say she was the only one - I did see other students who were obviously unaffiliated, and just going about their own things.

So. If someone was bullying her, it was probably going to be one of the other students. If it was a teacher… well. That'd be one teacher the world would be better off without. So I now needed to follow her - and seriously people why is a box that moved when no one is looking at it not drawing more attention here? - and figure out which of her erstwhile peers had decided to take out frustrations on my poor apprentice. I grimly settled in for what I hoped would be a long wait.

I was wrong.

It was now easy to see why Taylor had latched onto me, and I think now seeing what I have that she may actually may be more dependent on me than I am on her. I had already realized that part of what kept me sane and stable here in this world was her presence - though that was changing as I got more comfortable and learned more. But Taylor…

She wasn't just bullied - she was ostracized by the other students here at this school. Aside from a precious few isolated incidents where someone gave her attention - primarily a gawky, gangly boy that Hey, that's the teen that was working at the thrift store. What in the Abyss was his name? Ah, doesn't matter. Aside from him, not even the teachers seemed to may attention to her. Well. Attention that was positive.

Nearly every time someone interacted with her, it was some mild form of abuse. Denigrating comments, shoves in the hallways, trying to trip her… these were what I had termed her secondary antagonists were up to. The primary two that I saw were a redhead girl, who seemed particularly vicious, and the leader of it all. A tall, athletic black girl who practically screamed "fit and built to run" with every motion. Tagging along with them was a third girl, but she seemed to mostly get in with whatever one of the other two was doing, only rarely initiating something herself.

This was absurd. I saw a teacher flat out ignoring as the athlete shoved Taylor around, while another told her to take her seat when there was some kind of sticky syrup coating it. It was clear that this abuse had been systematic for a long while, ignored by everyone who should have taken a hand in stopping it. Taylor probably had never told her father - which meant that getting her to open up to me about it had about as much chance of working as I did of somehow finding my way back to my original world… or hell, as much chance as I did of even wanting to go back there. I was not the same person I had been back then.

So. My apprentice was being abused by schoolmates, quote vigorously and without respite. She even took shelter in the bathroom to eat her damn lunch! Though not that she knew it, but I slightly… blocked, the way into that bathroom. Once in the school I had become a custodial sign, the 'cleaning in progress' kind of thing. So at least she actually had peace in there, as ridiculous as it was that she needed it.

And it was a good thing that I did that too. While she was in there, the redhead strolled up, looking around. She started to push on the door into the bathroom, only to realize there was a 'sign' in the way. Another quick glance around showed her that the hallway was currently empty, so she tried to grab the sign and move it to the side - breaking my damn illusion. Thinking fast, I let a swirl of flame surround me, forcing my form into a completely Hollow appearance at the same time. So when the flames died down, the redhead was staring face to… well, my neck, but hey to her it was rotted flesh. She screamed, loud, and ran down the hallway.

I calmly recast my Chameleon spell, this time becoming a mop bucket, and sat next to the doorway instead of in front of it. A few moments later, Taylor poked her head out of the bathroom, but by that time the redhead was long gone. The black-haired girl quickly left the bathroom, heading towards a classroom door, and I decided it was time to move to - I didn't want to be just sitting there if anyone came to investigate the redhead's claims of a monster in the school.

After the schoolday's end, I decided to follow the athletic girl, considering I had already at least slightly traumatized the redhead for the day. I would probably have to wait outside the school tomorrow to follow her home, but for now getting a first measure of vengeance against the other girl called priority. A new Chameleon spell, and away we went.

This girl was, if anything, more aware of her surroundings than Armsmaster had been. Only the fact that I had seen her checking out of the corner of her eyes at least twice kept my movements from being seen, and at one point she stopped near a window shop for nearly ten minutes, 'looking' into the window. But I knew what she was doing - or likely doing since she didn't seem the kind of person to look into a bicycle shop for that long. She was scanning the crowd around her, looking for someone follow her. She was sharp, I'll give her that - but she clearly didn't expect it to be an inanimate object that was trailing her.

Then I found out why she was being so suspicious. Not long after the 'window shopping' she headed down an alley, and climbed up the fire escape with an almost supernatural ease. Moments after Disappearing into a cracked open window, the same figure slipped out - but was now vastly different. Gone were the civilian clothes - she was now wearing a large, deep cloak in dark grey hues, and had on form-fitting black body armor and a metal facemask. If I wasn't used to how wildly different people could look in armor, I might have been thrown off.

So. Athlete bully was a Cape. And with the crossbows that she was carrying, she was likely either a vigilante or a villain. I did lose her, finally, when she became Flame-damn smoke and went up to the rooftops. I waited for a good fifteen minutes before moving again, heading into the same decrepit building that the Parahuman was keeping her stash in. Once inside, I discarded the illusion, and surged the Dark Soul within me, regaining my normal Human appearance.

But, I needed something… else for this, in case she came back. After all, couldn't have this linked to the 'good guy' image I was trying to build. I equipped a hodgepodge of clothes, building up layers upon layers of normal clothing until the majority of my body was obscured. I took out a long black scarf and wrapped it around my head several times to hide my face, leaving only a thin gap for my eyes. Then I brought out my flanged mace, the first weapon I picked up on Majula still ready to serve me well.

That done, I headed upstairs to the room that she had gone into. The door was predictably locked, and if I had to guess it was also likely trapped on the inside. But that was a problem on her end - the door being locked in a run down, abandoned building like this just gave it away. I went into one of the nearby rooms and out onto the fire escape, and made my way in the same way she had.

The room was sparsely decorated - and was likely only one of several such stashes around the city, looking at it. There were a few replacement pieces for her armor scattered around, nothing that was incriminating - though I did pick up one of her facemask and put fiddled with it, trying to see if there were any identifying marks. I stopped still when I heard a soft click from behind me.

"I don't know how the fuck you got in here, but you're dead now." I slowly turned around, to see the black-clad athlete standing, framed, against the window. She had probably come in in her smoke form so I couldn't hear her coming. Abyss, I had gotten careless. "Drop the mask, and tell me why you're here, and maybe I'll just give you to the Protectorate instead of shish-kebabing your worthless Merchant ass." It was probably the layers of clothes that made her think that I was a Merchant.

"Gotta hand it to you, your abuse sure is something." She froze at my deliberately raspy voice. "What, did you think no one would notice?" I could work with her thinking I was a Merchant Cape. "One of our little guys in the school, he mentioned there was some girl who was going to be ripe for the picking, and if we got her we might even get a new Cape with how bad it was for her. So, I came to investigate. Man, I never would have believed it was you doing it though, that's just icing on the damn cake!" She was practiced, experienced - which meant she'd been around for a while. I may not know who she was, but she had most likely made a name for herself.

"The-the fuck you are you talking about you druggie sick of shit?" I snorted, the sound wet in my throat.

"I was at the school all day today bitch. Following the girl, seeing if she was someone we could take. But I just had to see who could possibly be so fucking cruel to another student, well, who could do that who wasn't in our gang or the others. Surprise, surprise." She fired, a crossbow bolt smashing into me, piercing my shoulder. I let out a grunt and brought my mace up. Time to play with another power that had been roiling in my skin. She screamed, flicking into smoke as she charged at me - little idiot you have an assassin's power, don't go for a fist fight.

A plume of black fog shot from my empty hand, the power of the Dark Soul made manifest as Abyssal Fog. The fog crashed into the smoky figure knocking her out of the state and forcing her back into a human form, and she screamed - in shock, in pain, I don't know. I had been trying to disrupt her, but forcing her out of that state worked as well. She shot another bolt at me, this time hitting my leg, crippling me, and ran, flicking out the window in her smoke form and leaving before I could yank the bolt out of my leg to go after her.

"Damn, villains in this town sure do like to run." She had been furious too - so she'd probably be hunting me now. Too bad for her, next time we met I'd be Paracelsus and ready to just nuke her on the spot. I tucked the face mask I had dropped into my Pouch and headed outside, disarming the traps on the door to the apartment and heading back to my garage.

Tseldora was there, waiting for me, pacing back and forth near the gently crackling fire. I had switched to my Paracelsus outfit along the way, so I didn't get a strange look from her when she finally saw me.

"Did you go to my school today?" I blinked, trying to figure out where the accusation had come from. "This is the first full day you have been alive and not busy with a project that you haven't gone out on the streets - no one saw you at all today." OK, why was she angry about this? "And worse, Emma was crying to anyone who would listen to her that she'd seen a zombie man appear in a burst of fire outside of one of the bathrooms at school." Oh, people had listened? For a moment, I felt like Alucard from Hellsing, getting a lecture and mouthing off… well, more the Abridged version than the real one… why the hell do I remember that but not my own name?

"Yes, I did." She froze, and I could see her eyes shining. Shit, was she about to cry? "I had to find out who the fuck thought they could hurt my apprentice and get away with it." dammit, she was crying. How in the Abyss do you make a crying teenage girl stop?

"Why… why did you do that? I can handle them on my own!" Ah, those were angry tears. Much better. I dodged the piece of rubble she threw at me, ignoring the spray of dirt and dust that accompanied it. "I don't need you looking after me!" I frowned and pulled down my veil as I leaned underneath a length of rebar.

"No? Tseldora, you're still a teen. Certainly not a kid, but you are younger, and my apprentice. You're right - I shouldn't have to do anything like this, because the staff at the school should have already put an end to it." She stopped in place, another piece of debris in her hands. "But since they aren't, I'm not about to sit by while they do that. Yes, I scared the redhead at school, because she was trying to get where she shouldn't be." I was not about to say that it was the bathroom where Taylor had been hiding. "Now. I know, and you know, that you are better than that school. So, I'm going to go take care of something, and get in contact with your dad. I want you to go home, and let him know what happened. Alright?"

She nodded weakly, her body posture sagging in place. I couldn't imagine what it was like for her to not have had someone she could rely on - her father was probably mostly out of the loop, since I could see a man with the temper he had already shown going out and doing something rash if he knew how bad this was. And with him being a single parent… I could see why she hadn't confided in him.

As she walked out, I pulled out my phone. Hopefully she would listen to me and talk to her dad - it could only help the emotional weight she was carrying. For me, it was time to see what it would take to carry out my idea.

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Reytac

Feb 28, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 28, 2017

#612

Daniel Hebert

Daniel didn't really know what to make of the last few weeks. His daughter had grown even more distant than she had been after the hospitalization, and he knew she was sneaking out at odd hours of the night, doing… something. But he had hesitated about asking her, afraid of pushing her even further away.

Then had come the Bakuda attacks, and Taylor had spent almost no time at home. He had been terrified that she was somehow involved with the attacks, that she had been hurt, or captured by the madwoman. But just as the city was getting used to the attacks, and everyone knew the PRT and Protectorate were gearing up to retaliate… Paracelsus and Velocity had taken down Oni Lee before he freed Lung and then somehow, Paracelsus had killed Bakuda.

The explosions from that had ripped across the city, as a few scattered people had died unexpectedly, unsuspecting victims of the last gasp of the bomber. And afterwards, when Taylor was suddenly spending more time at home.. She had seemed distraught, always sad, and she wouldn't talk about what had happened. He had been trying to get her to talk to him about it, only for the gang war between the Merchants and the Empire had begun, and he and his men had been trapped at the DWU by land-hungry Merchants.

Getting rescued by Paracelsus and Tseldora had been an experience. He hadn't know what to expect when his men came running in, telling him that the Merchants had run after Mush died - but for a hero to actually take an interest in reaching them had not been on that list. Then he had learned that Tseldora was Taylor, and his world was flipped on its side.

He had been so relieved to see her OK, that her being a Cape hadn't registered at first. Then, they had been busy getting his men home - and that had been a sight, seeing all the Merchants who had been crippled or incapacitated by a hero who was willing to get their hands dirty and not just let the bad guys run free.

His daughter, a hero, being taught by a Cape who could apparently actually give other capes his powers, or ones similar to his. That sounded like something out of a fiction novel, and one that didn't have a good idea of what capes could even do. But he had been extremely confident - and Daniel had dealt with enough people to tell when someone was being confident instead of arrogant - that he could train people in his skills, with one minor experiment before that being necessary.

And he had talked with Taylor for hours after that, about why she wanted to be a hero and why on earth she wanted to be working with an unknown stranger. She had repeated that he had thrown himself into the fight against Lung with no concern for his own safety, trying to protect people with no regard for his own safety - and then gone to fight Bakuda alone trying to slow her down so that she could be stopped, even knowing he would probably die in the process. She had been slightly concerned there, but it was when she suddenly stiffened and screamed, something about "how could he do that" that he had gotten frustrated and worried.

She had told him that Paracelsus had chopped off his own arm casually, and that it had almost immediately regrow. And then she had said she needed to find help, because he was trapped and none of her insects could get close to him.

After Paracelsus' rampage the streets had begun to quiet down. At least near his business - as most of the street level merchants were captured by the police now, or in the hospitals. So back to work he had gone - hesitantly, since he didn't know if things would remain that way. And then the fighting had stopped yesterday, the Empire pulling back to their territory and fortifying up in there, defending the place with force.

So, on a list of things he wasn't expecting, Taylor to come home at night crying wasn't to be seen. He made hot chocolate for her and dropped some honey into it, and sat down on the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace and wrapped her arms around her chest.

"Hey, sweetiebug, what's happened?" after a few minutes if her crying, and the sound slowly petering out, he felt it safe to ask. His daughter drew in a shuddering breath and sat upright, rubbing her eyes with the back of a sleeve.

"I… the bullying didn't stop, Dad." Daniel Drew in a sharp breath. "It went away for a few days, but they picked up right where they left off, and still. None of the teachers were doing anything about it. I was… I was being strong and ignoring them because I have you, and now Paracelsus, and neither of you treat me like that." She was refusing to look at him, and he could see that tears were falling onto her hands. "And I didn't want to tell you, because there's nothing we can do about it. But…" That one word is all that was keeping him from marching over to the Barnes' house and doing something he might regret. Taylor let out an explosive sob and straightened her back.

"But Paracelsus apparently figured out I was being bullied, and he didn't approve. He followed me to school or found out where I was going to school, and went there. He said he has some kind of a plan about how to fix things so I don't have to go back there, or something, and he's already scared the life out of Emma - she was trying to go somewhere he thought she shouldn't be, and made her see a zombie appear in fire. No one is believing her though." And here, Taylor let out a weak giggle. Daniel pulled her into a tight hug.

"Alright sweetiebug, you aren't going back there again if you don't have to. I'll hear his idea, and maybe Paracelsus and I can work something out. Tutors maybe, or figure out a way to get you into Arcadia." She nodded into his chest, and he stroked her back soothingly as he rocked her back and forth gently.

"Dad?" The word was muffled by his shirt. He let out a questioning grunt. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before… I just… I know we can't afford the lawyer battle that Mr. Barnes would drag us into." He sighed heavily.

"Taylor, you shouldn't worry about things like that. What's right or wrong, that's what you need to worry about. It's wrong that they got away with so much, and they should be punished for it." She mumbled something, but he couldn't make out what it was. "What?"

"Thank you Dad. I love you." She kissed his cheek before standing up and walking upstairs to her bedroom. Daniel sat in silence for a few minutes, clenching and unclenching one fist. He really needed to thank Paracelsus - he didn't know what the man had said, but this was the first time Taylor had opened up to him since her mother died, at least not without some kind of tragedy occurring first. The house phone began to ring, and he stood up to answer it.

"Hebert household, Daniel speaking." He listened for a moment. "Yes, she just got home safely. Thank you for your concern… and thank you for whatever you said to her. Now, what's this about a plan on dealing with that whole mess?" Paracelsus rattled off his plan, and Danny nodded along. "Right, well. I'm going to look into helping get her into Arcadia - Uh? Arcadia is one of the other main high schools in this area, and it's where the Wards go, though no one knows who they are." Silence echoed for a few moments before the other man grunted in understanding. "I'll help you look. And, that could be a cover for you two to meet in your civilian identities too huh? If you're one of them? Yes, I think you're a good influence on her. Right. Thanks, I'll give you a call back if anything comes up." He settled the phone on the receiver and deflated a bit. Arcadia would be his first choice, in all honesty, but maybe home tutoring for a bit, to catch her up and recover her grades would help. He steeled his spine - Taylor needed his help, and he was past done messing that up. With strengthened resolve, he walked over his desk and settled behind it, beginning the arduous process of trying to enroll her in Arcadia.

Taylor

"No, that isn't right." Taylor was staring at the face mask that was currently sitting on the table next to her father's paper. Daniel himself was poking it, trying to figure out where it had come from. "That… Right, did you hear about the Merchant that attacked Shadow Stalker? Is he where you got it from?" She looked across the table at Paracelsus - Archibald really, since he wasn't wearing his face veil. The man's lips quirked and he shook his head.

"Right, so it's only recently hit PHO. Some new Merchant cape, that no one has seen before or since, attacked Shadow Stalker in her hideout. She says he was investigating her home and messing with stuff, and he stole a mask after blasting her with some kind of dark fog that forced her out of her Changer state." Her teacher was now chuckling. "He ran as she tried to recover, and she wasn't able to get a name from him."

"Well, that's mostly true. At least, the investigating, and the dark fog. Other than that, patently false. Little villainess was-"

"Uh…" It was Daniel who spoke up here. "She's a bit of an angry vigilante, but she's a Ward. Meaning, junior Protectorate." Archibald froze, turning his sharp grey eyes to look at her father. She didn't know why he seemed so angry about that.

"Well now, is that so. Looks like I have a reason to go talk to them after all. As I was saying though, I was investigating a room that some black-clad figure in a deep cloak and carrying crossbows came out of. Bit nasty place, bits and pieces of patrol patterns, and discarded armor everywhere, along with crossbow bolts and such lining a rack. She came in behind me, told me to surrender and maybe she'd give me to the Protectorate instead of 'shooting my Merchant ass' as she put it so politely." Daniel snorted, and Taylor stifled a giggle. It was so strange hearing vulgarity like that coming from the normally erudite man.

"I objected, and she shot me in the shoulder. She tried to charge me in her … Breaker, state, and I hit her with a spell that forced her back to human form." It was official. Her teacher was broken. "After that, she shot me in the leg and ran."

"You say shot - but Shadow Stalker is well known for using tranquilizer bolts." That was something she knew very well- she had researched the heroes and villains in the city before she'd gone out her first night. Archibald looked irritated at that.

"Oh really now?" He reached into that absurd little bag on his hip and pulled out a short rod of metal with a wide, flat bladed head on one end. "This … well, the only tranquility things like this would bring is the final one. Taylor, I think you and I need to have a discussion about heroes and villains in this town, and what they usually do and don't do. I am rather tired of getting caught with my pants down like this - I nearly killed this girl, thinking she was a villain attacking me. I'd rather not muck that up." She nodded rapidly, looking to her dad. Her father, bemused, nodded and she ran upstairs - and came back down with a thick binder, which she plopped down on the table in front of Archibald. The man cracked it open as Taylor and her father dragged their chairs around the table.

"Right, You've probably met him, this is Armsmaster." The first page was labeled 'Heroes - Protectorate' and right behind that was a decent image of the blue-clad hero. "He's known for …" It was strange, she thought as she spoke, how her teacher seemed to be intently following her words, trusting her to steer him right. Strange, and a bit of a rush, considering she knew how powerful he was. He trusted her, and was willing to look out for her - she needed to prove she was able to be counted on and not let him down. Besides, he was literally teaching her magic!

Sorry about that, Taylor's Interlude portion didn't get included in the first post for some reason. Here y'all go!

245Director Piggot massaged her temples as Militia stood in front of her desk, the younger woman visibly seething beneath her mask. She couldn't blame the hero - not with the bloodstained evidence sitting on top of her desk in front of her.

"Run that by me again." She could feel the flat tone, and winced. "Sorry. Please, repeat that? He was absolutely sure?"

"Paracelsus says that he was the 'Merchant' who Shadow Stalker attacked. This is one of her bolts." Militia herded her head to the crossbow bolt sitting on the table. "And it's a lot worse than that Director. He won't say why he did it, but apparently he had been at her school - long before he knew she was a Cape. He saw her taking part in rather severe bullying -" Piggot's eyes narrowed, her gaze sharpening. "And when he saw that she was one of the main instigators, he followed her back to her 'hideout'. When she came out dressed in all black, and carrying two crossbows…"

"He assumed she was a villain, from everything he had seen." It was easy for her to see how the man had come to that conclusion. Heroes typically didn't approve of bullying or abuse - not the sane and stable ones at any rate.

"Correct. So he went in, in disguise, and was investigating the room when she came back in. From his version of events, and knowing the girl in question I am inclined to believe him, she was the aggressor. And the one who ran." Piggot glared at the bolt on her desk. "And he has another crossbow bolt of hers. She shot him twice - that one is from his shoulder. The other hit his leg, to slow him down enough for her to escape." Piggot could tell this was going to be a PR fiasco waiting to happen.

"Did he say what he wants?" And he had to want something, else he wouldn't have stepped forward.

"He didn't want anything at the time, aside from her actually and visibly being punished. What she was being punished for he didn't care about being announced - but lying to us could work if anyone asks internally. Apparently he only came forward when his 'apprentice', the Rogue Tseldora, told him that Stalker had been attacker by a Merchant. I get the impression that if she had been a villain, he would have just kept hunting her until she was crippled or dead, so leaving it up to us for her punishment is more than she deserves, in his eyes."

"I don't disagree." Piggot leaned back in her chair, trying to breathe deeply and calmly. This wasn't good for her system, but it was something she had to deal with.

"Director?" Emily turned to look at Hannah. The hero didn't know about her forcing the school to settle with the Heberts, and now it was looking like others were looking into the matter. Fine. She would do what she had wanted to the first time, and deal with Stalker instead of trying to keep the girl around. Besides, with the extreme drop in number of active villains in her city, the Protectorate wasn't so overwhelmed that they had to use the Wards the same way.

"Take Velocity and Arms-no, he is still in M/S confinement. Velocity and Triumph, take them with you to apprehend Shadow Stalker. Her power was still working at random, so she may try to use it to run if she thinks something is going on. Be ready for that. I want her brought in and questioned about the 'bullying'." The case-worker, on the other hand, could easily be dealt with internally. Bad enough that Hess was proving her right about capes being bullies - she didn't need that being encouraged by her PRT, especially someone who was specifically in place to stop that. Miss Milita nodded before heading out, and for a long, long while Piggot stared at the bloody crossbow bolt on her desk.

Kaiser:

He never should have trusted that devious little bastard. It lost him Crusader - and worse than just imprisoned, Crusader was flat out refusing to leave custody, babbling that Paracelsus was the Fairie King, come to take them all now that his Queen had been imprisoned. It was ludicrous… but there had been explosions in the audio log that Hela had sent out before her death.

And that was another issue to deal with, and he was still working on the way of approaching it. Any other hero, when a villain was trying to surrender to them, would have taken them into custody. Some of the more hardline individuals would have crippled her before doing so, and if it had been one of the Meisters who had been fighting the necromancer they might have killed her… but it wouldn't have been in cold blood, or so callously. Paracelsus had barely known her, had babbled something about 'enslaving people' - but the dead were just that, the dead. Yet he had acted as if they were alive and functioning people of their own - not the undead that she had summoned, since he hadn't even slowed in killing them, but he had seemed furious when she tried to take him over, then unnaturally calm. Then he killed her, without even hesitating over it.

No, this hero was not someone that could be taken down by a single Cape, no matter what Coil tried to claim. Now the Gesselschaft were getting too interested in Brockton Bay with one of their own dead, and he had next to nothing to show for it. Yes, he now knew a bit more about the hero, and not to pit just one person against him, but that information was not worth the cost of two capes - three, if you counted that Hookwolf had died to him previously.

No, listening to Coil about asking for help to deal with a new element had been the wrong thing, and if the man hadn't known exactly what to say to get Kaiser to listen, he wouldn't have even considered it. The Empire needed a win, needed to show that they weren't weak or failing despite these setbacks… and he knew someone who had just wronged them, and who was no longer as unnaturally capable as he had been. He pressed his intercom button.

"Claire, please call Victor and have him come in." It was time to step back and strategize, not rush in and lose people.

AN: As of this point, we're now at the Ashbeast situation. So when the next chapter comes it will be with Paracelsus returning to Brockton Bay! See y'all in the next chapter.

Last edited: Mar 1, 2017

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Mar 1, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 20, 2017

#470

Cinder-Seeker, Ash-beast pt 1

I frowned and tapped my pen against my notebook as I looked over at Taylor, who was avidly digging through my phone, using it to bring up articles. It had been a long, long time since I'd used technology, so I while I could use it to place calls and fumble through using it to surf the web, it was not with the ease of long familiarity. Taylor on the other hand - and we were currently sitting in a cafe in our public appearances, with me as a 'tutor' hired by her father - was far more capable of sifting through websites and data than I was.

"Right. So, that's a solid run-down on this Slaughterhouse 9 group and what people know they can do, and Nilbog. But what about other S-class threats in the world? Or things that are nearly there?" It would be rather bad, I had decided, if I started making a name for myself, and got caught unaware by one of the big threats of this world, so I had Taylor giving me a run-down on the most widely-known ones. For a minute the girl was silent, her eyes locked onto the tiny screen.

"Uh, well, there's Sleeper, but no one knows what he can do. He's in some kind of field effect in Russia, and no one goes near it because… literally nothing that has gone there has come back." I frowned, filing that away for later - some kind of super powerful but unknown, being was around? If it wasn't for the fact that it had apparently been stable for a while, I would think that was the Crystal entity that wanted to eat the world.

"The only other one is Ashbeast. Or Cinder-Seeker, if you want to call him what he goes by when sane." My mind ground to a halt and I could feel my jaw drop. Taylor continued on, unaware of my shock. "He's in Africa though and no government will let Cinder go on any planes, because no one can predict what will set off the conversion to Ashbeast. He does seem to have a bit of warning before it happens, and usually tries to get out of populaces. He's… put down as a High A class, not S because he does try to get out if he has enough time, and when he is Ashbeast he's very slow, so they have time to evacuate before he gets to a population center." well. Now I had to figure out how to get to Africa, because that sounded like… well, something that would normally exist in my world.

"Well good. Seems you're doing well enough in your Parahuman Studies class, so let's move on to English?" We had started to draw attention from the people around us. I suppose casual conversation about S-Class entities - and seriously, who comes up with these grading scales? - wasn't too common, or smiled upon. So I moved us to talking about the classics - Taylor did fantastically well when talking about them, and she knew I didn't really know anything recent.

Buying a plane ticket to Africa was actually easier in costume than out of it. Here in America, the Protectorate had apparently disseminated a bit of information about me - and had indeed gone with listing me as a Case 53, so authorities knew I 'didn't remember' who I was. Paying for the ticket in cash for a same day flight raised a bit of stink, but when I explained that something about the country had sounded familiar, they were almost falling over each other in trying to help.

Turns out, they were desperate to know where the Case 53s were coming from, and I was the first one to remember anything like that. Supposedly. I was almost rushed through the flight checks and shoved onto the first available plane, making a few people uncomfortable with the robed, veiled figure just casually sitting in their midst. Huh, it was like they'd never seen a sorcerer - Parahuman, right - up close before.

One toddler did start crying halfway through the flight, and it was clear that his mother had no idea what to do about it. The poor woman was clearly frazzled, and it was just getting worse as other passengers got upset with her about it. I stood up, bringing a wave of silence as the people froze, and pushed down the metal tube to where she was.

I knelt down next to the baby, who was staring at me with wide eyes, and grinned beneath my mask, though they couldn't see it.

"Now little one, you seem upset. Are you bored with this long flight? Or teething maybe?" Half-forgotten memories were coming back, of watching after nieces and nephews. The kid did look the right age for teeth to be coming in - and the mother let out a gasp and peeled back the baby's lips, and sure enough, there was a tooth just barely starting to peek through.

I rummaged in my pouch for a moment and pulled out an Amber Herb. I tore the plant in half, and placed one half in my mouth, letting the mother and the toddler see the plant matter go in before I started to chew, and handed the rest of the plant to the mother.

"Try this, it may help soothe him for the moment. And when the attendants come back, see if you can get a plastic bag with a couple ice cubes and paper towels or napkins." I gently patted the kid on the head and strode back to my seat. I pulled a hat from my porch and slid it on, pulling it down past my eyes and closing them as a sussuration of noise picked up - people were in shock. Good, I got the feeling too many capes here kept their distance from normal people.

The plane set down in Egypt, in Cairo. I was shocked when I got off the plane at the state that the city was in - what had been a bustling metropolis in my first world had clearly seen better days here - the people seemed downtrodden and beat, and several actively ran when they saw me. It was jarring, to see how parahumans here seemed to be feared, rather than the celebrities that they had become in America.

I headed into a bathroom to switch to civilian attire, then left with a group of people, and made my way to a bar near the airport. I was right to do so - the place had a bartender and staff who spoke passable English. They were happy to tell me, for a chunk of cash - gotta love being near an international airport even one that has seen better days - where Ashbeast had last been seen.

It turned out that the mad flame generator had been hanging around the place he appeared - Matruh, Egypt. It was a fair distance away from Cairo, but thankfully wasn't on the other end of the continent or anything absurd like that.

It took two days of running - and I was so very, very thankful to my unnatural body at this point - to get to where I could see the roiling fire in the distance. As I got closer, I could make out a humanoid figure wreathed in the flames, who seemed to be slowly walking back and forth, as if searching for something. More than that, I could see something others may have missed.

There was a pattern to the flames. Not like it was trying to say something in morse code or the like, but there were openings. I was almost certain now. This was something from the Souls universe - maybe this was what happened to an Ashen One who wasn't strong enough to contain the strength of a Lord of Cinder? Whatever it was, the beast's attention locked on me despite the distance separating us.

"... L….o….o….r….d…" OK, I should not be able to hear this thing. Its voice was like fire crackling and popping. My eyes widened when I saw the beast start to move faster. "L… o… o… r… d…. Of….. C… i… n… d… e… r…" Shit. I was right, this was definitely a thing from the Dark Souls 3 Universe. And worse, it could detect the First Flame within me, though obviously not the full scope if it thought I was just a normal result from Linking the Flame. Now the thing was flat-out running towards me, and I could see hunger in its face.

"Give me… your Flame!" And like that, I was surrounded in explosions and fire.

Last edited: Mar 1, 2017

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Feb 20, 2017

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Reytac

Feb 20, 2017

#475

Cinder-Seeker, Ash-Beast pt 2

I crossed my arms and took the brunt of an explosion in my face, the concussion wave throwing me backwards. For the first time since coming here, I could actually feel a sting of pain from the flames. Nothing like what it should be, but also nothing like the complete disregard I'd been experiencing on that front so far. I could taste… the vile, tainted twist to these flames.

So,that was what had happened here. Somewhere along the way, an Ashen One had tried to absorb a Chaos Flame the way they would a fragment of the First Flame from a Lord of Cinder. Their bodies weren't meant to handle the tainted flame that way - use it for some pyromancies yes, but take it into their being? I don't think even I could do that safely, not in a single go. But I had to do something, I knew there was a sane person in there somewhere - and if they were a survivor of a dead world like I was, then I wanted them on my side.

I rolled to my feet as the Ashbeast came closer, and spun to one side to avoid a torrent of Chaos-tainted flame that leapt at me hungrily. I would have to take the beast down before I had a chance to work on it - so I retaliated, fighting fire with fire. Tapping into the First Flame within me, I thrust out a hand, channeling the raw energy through it.

From my palm leapt a red-white bolt of lightning, the spell looking like nothing I was familiar with. The shape-shifting monstrosity ignored the bolt, apparently used to nothing being able to hurt it - and paid for that arrogance as the Flame-lightning punched into it, blowing away a sheet chunk of both its body and the flames that were surrounding it. The Ashbeast howled, the sound coinciding with an explosion emanating just in front of its face. It maybe causing it - I wasn't sure.

The fiery being was stunned, and I followed up with another bolt of the red-white lightning. This time I missed, as the beast managed to recover in time to move out of the way. I did note though, that there was something strange happening each time my Flame-lightning passed through his Chaos-flames. For lack of a better term the blasts were purifying the flames, at least for a few moments, until more Chaos swelled from somewhere replacing what was shorn away. I needed… well, more, if I was going to beat this thing.

I sprang to one side, using my hand to flip further away from an explosion that blasted a chunk of the sandy terrain beneath us up into the air. My response was another bolt of lightning, this time managing to clip the Ashbeast's head. And the result was horrifying.

I could see sanity, for a few moments, in the eye that was on the side of the head I had blasted. The Chaos was tainting more than the fire - but also the man beneath it. Freeing part of his head helped him control the body for a moment, as he reached one hand up towards me beseechingly. Then the blackened flesh, twisted by Chaos, swept back over his head, and the pleading hand became a clawed weapon that lashed out at me with fire.

"FLAME! GIVE ME YOUR FLAAAAMEEE!" The shrieking cry rang out across the desert as the monstrosity charged forward, trying to grapple me. As it came near, I cast Combustion - one of the simplest Pyromancies, a spell that just released a burst of flame in front of my hand. What came out was that same red tinged lightning - or maybe I should say it was more like lightning edged fire this time? The Ashbeast bellowed as the electric fire scorched it, and I was rewarded for my efforts with a tail - one that had not been there before! - smashing into my side and sending me flying.

The thing leapt onto me, sinking claws into my chest - and I could feel it digging into my Soul, burning fingers searching for something within my very essence. It wanted Flame? Fine. I locked my gaze into its, and I burned. the First Flame surged within me, the impossible heat burning out the imperfections in its lesser cousin, scorching out the taint within it.

But the Ashbeast didn't want that to happen. It ripped its claws out of my chest, scrambling to get away from me. I watched as it collapsed onto its side, struggled up onto its knees, and I stood up as it tried to drag itself away. Grimly, I walked over, and three bursts of Chaos Flame leapt at me, trying to hurt me and push me away. But I was still wreathed in the power of the First Flame, the stronger fire burning away the Chaos taint, leaving normal flame behind - normal flame which could not hurt me. I picked the Ashbeast up by its head, wincing only slightly as claws raked at my smoldering flesh, or when a stinger on the tail pierced my shoulder.

I sent a surge of energy through my hand, ripping away the Chaos-twisted flesh on his head - and stared into the crying blue eyes of the Ashen One. I couldn't tell if the tears were of joy, of pain, of sorrow - his eyes showed all three emotions, and so many more, churning inside.

"You… you aren't a… Lord of Cinder, are you?" I shook my head calmly. The body of the man slumped, the flames petering out slowly, sullenly.

"No. I am the Chosen Monarch, he who inherited the Throne of Want, and the First Flame within." I felt a tremble beneath my hand. "How did you come to be here, Ashen One?" So much hinged on his answer. He shifted, his watery eyes not meeting mine.

"You would not believe me, King. Tis an impossible tale - made worse by coming to a world so clearly not our own." Hmm? So.. He wasn't… like me. Damn. It had been a faint hope, buried at the back of my mind - that someone else had been snatched from their world like I was, thrown into Souls-verse, then brought here.

"Would it involve a strange crystal monstrosity, greater than any being before, devouring the world?" His eyes locked onto mine, and I could see terror.

"How do you know of the beast milord? I thought nothing of Lothric remained!" I set him down, watching carefully as the Chaos seemed to settle slightly. "I…. Yes. I was awoken to the world falling to Ruin. The Lords of Cinder had risen," OK, that sounds like the opening of Dark Souls 3, "and went to fight the encroaching enemy. One by one they fell, their Flames being snuffed out. The Shrine-keeper and the remaining Gods woke me up in an attempt to harness the power of the Chaos Flame."

What. That spoke of sheer desperation on an entirely unreal scale. The Gods were terrified of the Chaos Flame - it showed that they were not incorruptible, that they could fail, and fail greatly. And the fact that the Lords of Cinder fought was surprising - from what I knew, they would prefer to leave the world to die. Worse… they had subjected an Ashen One, a person more susceptible to Flame than any other, to the Chaos Flame. They had to have known that something like the Ashbeast would be the result - Ashen Ones were failed Lords of Cinder, those who were not enough to Link the Flame. Why did they think he could control it?

Or… it wasn't about control at all, was it? They wanted a weapon, something to hurt their enemy, even as they were dying. I looked at the desert around us, taking in the devastation that littered the landscape. Chunks were blown out of the earth, rents and furrows in the ground. As a weapon, it would have been terribly effective… but against something like the Crystal Entity, it wouldn't have been enough, not without a mind controlling it. I shook my head - I could feel the Chaos creeping once more the twisted, corrupted Flame trying to pull the Ashen One back into its grasp.

It was a strange mental exercise, to reach out with my Soul, imbued with the First Flame and the Dark Soul, and slap the Chaos flame down. Stranger still was the way the Chaos reacted - it felt almost stunned and shocked in the fleeting moments that my Soul touched it and then almost completely retreated. In the physical world, I could see a wave of relief wash over the Ashen One's face.

"Wh-what did you do, my lord? The voice...it's quiet now." I tilted my head to one side. I didn't know how to explain it, really.

"In essence? My Flame is stronger than the Chaos Flame. I am the Monarch of Fire, no mere Lord of Cinder." And now I had a project, for if things ever got peaceful enough for me to work on something like that. A necklace - or, keeping on the tradition, a ring, imbued with the Flame, set to react if the Chaos ever started to take over. I gripped the Ashen One's shoulder.

"Take heed. The Flame is not alive, not like you or I are but it is in a way. It has wants, and desires. You must learn to control it - and I do mean must . The monstrosity that are our worlds is coming for this one as well. Once you learn to control it, you must learn the ways of the people here, and get them to trust you. I cannot remain, not for long - I have my own endeavors, far away across the seas, and I cannot be gone from them o'erlong. But if you have need, find a place of governance, and ask them to put you in contact with the American hero Paracelsus."

"Crystal beast isn't dead, learn control, gain locals' trust. American, Paracelsus." Thank the Flame, he was quick on the uptake and had good memory. We stood up - and it was odd, I could feel the Chaos simmering beneath his skin, but it felt… calmer.

Together we walked towards the nearest village - him, to find some new clothes, and myself to begin my journey back to America. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the local governments.

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Mar 3, 2017

#642

I stepped off the bus and stretched out my back, working out the kinks that had settled in. After meeting the Ashen One, getting back to America had been… strange. The government officials in Cairo had 'stopped me for casual questioning' - done everything they could short of kidnapping me to get me to answer questions - about why I had been asking about the Ashbeast, whether or not I had even found it, and when I had decided to run if I had found it. None of them had believed that I had won, but I would leave the burden of proof on the Ashen One when he showed up.

The flight back had taken me to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, where I had been detained for three days to make sure I didn't have any diseases - and for yet another round of questions. Back here in the states though, word of what I'd done - that was known at least - had been making the rounds, so I was… not believed, since the Ashbeast was an A-class threat, but at least not blatantly laughed at.

There had been a woman in the back of the room there, a Hispanic woman with long, straight, jet black hair and a scar over one side of her face, who hadn't joined in the disbelief or questioning.

I wasn't sure what to make of her - the others had done their best not to acknowledge her, but when they did - or when she spoke - they had all immediately deferred to her. However, she never spoke to me directly, and she kept her distance, content with watching me from what I could tell.

Still, after an hour or so of questioning after my 'quarantine' I was let go, and I managed to catch a Greyhound down to Brockton Bay. Well, to Boston, and from there into Brockton. The city didn't look that much more damaged than it had before I left, had the Empire stayed quiet this entire time? Lucky city if that was the case.

I had only gone a few steps before I saw Taylor - no, in costume so Tseldora - waving at me from the back of the crowd. She was easy to pick out - the clear area around her and the small cloud of insects that followed the wave of her hand gave her away. I moved through the press of people to her, breathing a bit easier once I got into the distance that people were giving her - and she turned and walked away. Confused, I looked down - ah, I wasn't in costume and she was still hung up on preserving civilian identities. I shrugged and followed after at a distance, until the rush of people at the bus and train station had died down. Once I was clear of them, I ducked into an alley and switched to my 'hero' set.

Moments later Tseldora dropped down to where I was, and I turned to stare at her. The girl had a predilection for being up high, and took glee in dropping down on people who weren't expecting it. I couldn't see her face, but I just - knew- she was grinning at me. I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"So, how many days have you been going to the station and watching for me?" She shrugged and her head tilted away, indicating that she wasn't looking right at me.

"Only the last three or so. What kept you? And were you right? Was Ashbeast someone from your world?" And there it was. Something I had been putting off thinking about until I got back to the relative safety of a place where people knew me.

"Quarantine from coming from Africa, apparently running around the desert makes people think you might have picked up a bug. Not your kind, the illness kind. I was right…. And wrong. It's tricky to explain." I rubbed my forehead. It was something that I already knew existed from my time in Drangleic, but that the Crystal monstrosities had been present there too… it meant that they were somehow multiversal, or could move between different levels of reality if they didn't already exist in them.

Summoning Signs reached into the cracks between worlds, pulling those who sought to help or hinder to the one calling them. The process was shoddy though, obviously never at full power - while the summoned individual did show up, in the reality that I knew instead of the game terms, they were echoes of the person's power, reduced not only in color and substance, but also physical effectiveness. Spells were strangely at full power, but that might have something to do with wills pulling on sources of power that were present in the world, instead of relying on muscles.

But the monstrosities were a step beyond that. The beast that the Ashen One had described was nearly identical to what I and mine had fought against, which wasn't possible in a world where purging Flame brought it all back to a set point. Time was wonky, but not that messed up there - no, in all likelihood it sounded like the crystal creatures had struck at multiple universes in succession, and done it by actually existing in them all. Which… was of a level that even now I wasn't sure I could operate at. But I knew they could be hurt, and if it could be hurt… it could be killed.

"What do you mean?" Tseldora was tapping her foot impatiently and I realized I had just trailed off into thought. Whoops.

"I told you time exists in a cycle in my world?" She nodded, and I got to what was really bothering me, and giving me hope. "His world, where he came from, it is from an entirely different point in that cycle." Which was the rub. Not even the Summon Signs could break through the Cycle to reach into a different one, which meant that there were so many more iterations of my world than I had known. And his world had been attacked before mine - Ashbeast had been operating in this world for some time before I showed up, and while that wasn't necessarily a solid indicator of when they attacked his world versus when they attacked mine… they were dimension travelers, on a level that was above what mortals of Dark Souls could ever hope to achieve. But I had the hope that they couldn't travel to all of them - that they ate their fill, or until someone fought them sufficiently enough to scare them off, and then left. So somewhere, out there, was Drangleic, and all it entailed. The thought, more than almost anything else since I came here, warmed me.

"What? So?"

I tapped my nose. "So, even between your Earth and Earth Aleph, your time lines have progressed at pretty much the same rate. Mine, and his, are from two vastly different points. So while many things work the same between me and him, there are differences… the First Flame that I told you of, is far, far weaker in his time than it was in mine for example. Now, my turn to ask questions. What's been happening in town? Have you been practicing any?" Tseldora shuffled her feet.

"Well, the biggest news is that there's been a shadow war going on. It doesn't reach the streets, and the PRT and Protectorate aren't acknowledging it, but the deaths have reached the news a couple times. At first it was even, but I think a day after you left it became mostly Empire casualties." That was strange. A day after I left Brockton was when I left the country on the flight. Why had things gone better for whoever the Empire was fighting at that point? "I figured you were at least back, and going to be home soon, when the Empire started winning again - a lot. The Enforcers were getting cocky, and when the Empire retaliated they weren't prepared for it like normal." The Enforcers.. The group run by Coil, right.

Was the Empire trying to become the only gang in the city? If they took out Coil and his Enforcers, they would be. That was an interesting thought.

"Things have been quiet for the last day though. And uh, yes, I've been practicing. In fact!" She closed her eyes, and pulled the staff I gave her off of a holster in her back. Almost as soon as it was in her hands it began to glow a vibrant blue - and I could tell, that if she just could figure out what was on the staff, she would have been able to use it. She was nowhere near ready to cast spells on her own like I was, but she was at least at a point that most Undead started at - able to manipulate their will and mana, and use it with scrolls to get effects. Excellent.

"And, uh the Protectorate is really interested in the fact that you could teach me." I raised an eyebrow at that. "Pretty much every day I went out, if I saw one of them they'd ask about it. They were discreet though, only asking when we were alone. I think they're hopeful and afraid of it? And they kept asking if you'd given any clue as to when you were coming back - though come to think of it they stopped asking that three days ago." Three days ago was when I'd entered the 'quarantine', so they probably were told when I came back to the country.

By now, we'd reached the entrance to the garage where'd I taken up residence - and I did a double take. There was both Armsmaster and Velocity, standing outside. Armsmaster was fiddling with his helmet, while Velocity was drumming his feet against the side of the ruined building at a ridiculous pace. When the speedster saw us, he darted over to us, sliding to a stop a few feet away from where we were. He flashed a big grin at us.

"Howdy, welcome home there Paracelsus. Afternoon Tseldora." We both cautiously nodded. "So, Sorcerer Supreme," OK I know comics don't exist on Earth Bet, where did he get that name? Did Earth Aleph keep going with comics? "Your cute apprentice here says that you've been teaching her?" They were extremely interested in that apparently. I nodded, slowly.

"I am. She's almost ready to start to learn her first spell. May I ask why?" The grinning man turned to look at her for a long moment.

"And you've been gone, out of the country for what, the past week?" Where was this going?

"Or so. Maybe a little more." What, did they think that I had Mastered her or something?

"And Tseldora - you'd had your insect controlling powers for a month before you even met Paracelsus, right?" She had? With the way she nodded, I guess so. "Cool, so there's no chance you had a bud-Trigger where you copied powers from him, and we have only heard of a Master or two who can maintain control for over a week from that kind of distance." OK… why the hell is he saying this? "So! Once you get her trained in a spell, would you be so kind as to give us a call? We are most interested in seeing this in action." And probably wanted to prove it real for themselves. I shrugged.

"Stick around for half an hour and you can see it then, so long as she's comfortable with it." The girl. Nodded vigorously, her hair dancing about her head as she did so. I led the group, now four, down into the garage - but not to the part where my Bonfire rested, just into the first level. There, I took Tseldora a short distance away from the other two.

"Right. Now for the real deal. Casting spells, now that you know how to manipulate your energy, is going to be one of the easiest things you will ever do. Conversely, it will also be one of the hardest. First off, bring back out the staff." She did so, swinging it off her back. I took it from her and tapped the runes with a finger.

"Each spell that we use has a specific flow of mana that it follows, and then an activation burst. Now, this means that casting spells is not an easy process - you have to have those flows there, else the spell will not work properly. Those will take a lot of time to learn." I could practically feel the confusion rolling off of her, the way she tilted her head to the side and her body drooped.

"Then why did you tell them it would only take half an hour?" I grinned, the edges of my eyes crinkling upwards.

"Because I have the cheat. Your mana has to follow the flows that I mentioned. However, that doesn't mean you have to personally know them. That's what these are." I trailed a finger along the grooves in the wood, pushing a faint bit of magic into the action. Blue light glimmered in the wood. "These grooves are the patterns of flow that mana needs to follow for one of the most basic spells: Soul Arrow. It lacks the activation burst, but I can show you that one easily enough. And also, I have a few scrolls - magic items that have the flows for mana for one spell etched onto each one of them. Knowing spells personally, like I do - that is difficult, and will take years of study to achieve. Casting a few, in their most simple configurations? Work of minutes, once you have the requisite capabilities. And you have enough for this spell, I am sure. Now then. Hold out your dominant hand." She lifted up her right hand.

"Good. Now, force magic into that hand." I watched as she concentrated for a moment, before blue light began to glow around her wrist. "Excellent. Push it out of your body, into the air around you." She did so, and I watched as tremors of blue-white light leaked out from her fingertips. I tilted my head to one side, considering what I had said.

"This is what may take a bit. You need to speed up the process of gathering and pushing the magic out. Most people find that swinging their arm up helps gather, while jabbing their arm forward helps push it out. Mnemonic actions like these help many spell-casters."

I watched, quietly, drumming my fingers against the staff as Tseldora practiced, the glow appearing and disappearing faster each time. After about fifteen minutes or do, I felt she was close enough to combine it with the spell, so she didn't form a bad habit about separating the activation burst from rest of the spell's flow. I cleared my throat, making her look at me, then tossed the staff to her.

"Push magic through the staff quickly, and as soon as the glow fills most of it begin that technique I just showed you. For this, go slowly - the only part that needs to be done with alacrity is the final activation burst." I settled in to watch. It took her another ten minutes to get the hang of it - and I nearly fell over laughing when she let out a shriek when the spell actually triggered, the blue-white bolt of light darting out from her thrusting hand to impact a piece of rubble.

"Congratulations, you have now cast your first spell!" I clapped - and moments later Velocity was standing beside me, his jaw hanging open. "With practice and experience, you will get that spell to a point where you can use it in a combative environment. Care to demonstrate for these two now?" She nodded eagerly, bouncing up and down on her feet. I couldn't blame her - while an Undead in my world would have been able to match that in moments, the fact of the matter was that compared to a normal Human from Drangleic - really, the surrounding countries - she was somewhat of a genius when it came to that. I would still have to test to see if one of the other branches of magic worked for her, but she didn't seem to have any problems with Sorceries.

Armsmaster came up beside me then, his helmet trained on Tseldora. He slowly panned it over to me, then back to her.

"Could you, both demonstrate?" I shrugged.

"Certainly. Do keep in mind that I am not using the training aide that she is, so our spells will turn out differently. Tseldora, I'll cast mine, wait for about… twenty seconds before you begin yours alright?"

"Sure thing Master Paracelsus!" I nodded and reached into my pouch, bringing out the Witchtree Staff - and I heard a muffled groan from Armsmaster - and cracked my neck. In one smooth motion, I brought my will to bear, gathering mana and guiding it through the flows for the Soul Arrow.

" Soul Arrow! " Bright blue-white light - that hopefully only I saw was faintly tinged with a golden red hue- shot out, the light spinning totally as it punched through the rubble. I heard a soft beep, and my suspicion that Armsmaster was recording this was confirmed.

It took about thirty seconds before Tseldora was able to cast her spell, but once more blue-white light filled the room, the Soul Arrow lashing out and smashing into the chunk of rubble. Her spell left faint marks on the surface, a spiderweb of cracks where it had impacted. Armsmaster's helmet beeped again, and he strode forward, examining the spots each spell struck.

"Phenomenal. A Blaster power, which can be added to nearly anyone." His voice was soft and I probably wasn't meant to hear it.

"Not quite. There are a few restrictions on my magic. For the blue-white spells, which are Sorceries, high intelligence is required. For another branch, which involves lightning and healing, you need a degree of faith.. Well, in a higher power." I still wasn't going to put my thoughts on that one into words, not even in my own head. "Finally, for the fire-based spells, you need a… Hmm, certain connection to an inner fire." Undead cheated. We were all linked to the First Flame, some more than others. A connection to the natural side of life would also work. Armsmaster and Velocity both whipped their heads to look at me - ah, whoops. I've gotten so used to talking with Tseldora, that I forgot that so far here I'd been limiting myself to Sorceries. Armsmaster opened his mouth - probably to question me, when a sound I had never heard went off.

Deafening sirens rang out, a deep, piercing sound. I was confused, but the three others with me went stock still. Armsmaster and Velocity took off, the two heroes moving at speeds I had never seen from either of them. I looked to Tseldora, who was trembling. She slipped her mask off, and I saw terror in her eyes.

"That's… The Endbringer sirens."

Last edited: Mar 4, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 3, 2017

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TinyGladiator

Just another bad writer.

Mar 3, 2017

#666

All this talk about time and space and the multiverse has sparked me an idea.

Casual

Grey Fog started billowing around him. Tendrils of it started to snake around the entrance to the building before growing taller and thinner as it completely inveloped the doorway of the dilapitated garage.

The man stared at the now dimming bonfire in front of him before sighing. He recognized what was happening, this wasn't the first time this situation has happened to him, but he hoped to have seen the end of it.

He gripped his staff and casted chameleon, becoming a pile of rubble, and waited.

On the far side of the room a dark red figure was emerging. One clad in a set of distinctive heavy armour while wielding a heavy stone shield and a curved club.

Fuck me, the disguised sorcerer thought. A Havel!

The red coloured stone warrior briefly looked around his surroundings in confusion to its aesthetic before wandering around the area for his target. Smashing his Dragon Tooth upon any piece of debris that looked out of place. The sheer size of the craters the club left behind on the floor were immense.

Soon after, he came right next to the sorcerer and started to bring the hammer down. Nanoseconds before it connected the disguised mage rolled out of the way.

The Havel impersonater barely reacted. He simply reached towards a pouch hanging around his waist and pulled out a wooden object, which we lazily tossed to the ground.

"Hello!"

The two undead warriors, after a brief pause both took a stiff bow before comencing the fight.

The moment the invader's weapon connected hard against the wizards face was when they both knew who was going to win.

"Aaaaaaaghh, that sucked." Said the sorcerer after his defeat. Atleast the ordeal was over now-

The ground next to him started to develop glowing orange stripes. Writing started to appear on them, it said:

"Sorcerer, and then

No skill required"

TinyGladiator

Mar 3, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 6, 2017

#686

Once we got outside - Tseldora putting her mask back on as we ran - I saw that the streets were eerily calm. There was no one moving on them at all. I looked to my apprentice, who was taking deep breaths.

"They won't know where the Endbringer is attacking at first. It will take a few moments for them to figure that out." I frowned. She must have guessed what I was going to ask.

"There doesn't really seem to be a rhyme or reason to their attacks - sometimes it seems like they're after nothing more than causing panic, and other times they seem to be searching for specific targets. They should be announcing where the Endbringer is going to attack shortly - check your phone, I think most smartphones have a special alert sent to them." I pulled out my phone and turned it on. Sure enough, there was a message sprawled across the screen once it had booted up.

Alert. Please Stand By. Endbringer attack imminent. Special warnings in effect for: East Coast North America.

I dropped my hand to my side and nodded. She fidgeted and looked around. "Volunteers - and rogues like us do not have to - should report to a PRT or Protectorate location and make themselves known. I.." I watched her. For a moment she hesitated, then she gripped her staff tightly and nodded. "I want to volunteer."

"I was planning on it for myself, but there's someone else you need to consider." She took a half step back. "Exactly. I have no objection to you coming - you are intelligent and capable, and your power would make you fantastic for search and rescue operations. However, your father might have a problem with his only surviving family member going off to face against something like this." I heard the wood creak under her increasing grip and I raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I… I should call him. He'd want to know." And he'd try to talk her out of it, but neither of us said it. As she took my phone to call her father, we started walking briskly along the streets. It was a block or so before we started to see people - clustered around TVs on display, broadcasting alerts similar to what my phone had been displaying. Everyone watching was nervous, tense, rocking back and forth on their feet and several of them mumbling to themselves.

It was just as we turned the corner onto a street where there was a PRT office that Tseldora got through to her father.

"Dad - yes, we're both safe, they haven't figured out where it is going to attack yet. Listen - Master Paracelsus is volunteering, and I want to too." I couldn't make out the words that Daniel was saying, but his tone of voice came through clearly - disbelief gave way to anger - a fearful anger, but I didn't think that Tseldora could discern that.

"No, it's the right thing to do! I wouldn't be getting into the front lines anyway, I don't have the right kind of power for that - I'd be going as support, to help find people who get trapped." Ah, so she was already planning that far ahead. "I mean it. I don't know if they'll even take me though - depending on which one and where they're attacking, a search and rescue team may not even be feasible. If that is the case, I'll just come home. I promise." There was a discordant chime from the phone, a strident noise that would get the attention of anyone near it. She pulled her head away from the device and looked at it - and nearly dropped the phone. Trembling, she turned it around to point the screen at me - and I could hear that on the other end, Daniel had gone dead silent.

Endbringer Target identified. All citizens in Brockton Bay USA please evacuate to the nearest Endbringer Shelter immediately, in a calm and orderly fashion. Repeat: All citizens in Brockton…

I took the phone with a steady hand and gripped her shoulder with the other. I put the phone up to my ear.

"Mr. Hebert. I'm sending her to you, to help you and the others get to a shelter. No - no arguments Tseldora, this thing is attacking here. Volunteering won't matter, since you'll be involved no matter what. Please, sir, get everyone as ready to go as you can." I heard an affirmative grunt, and hung up the phone.

"Go - quickly, before people start to fill the streets. Once they're safely in a shelter, start looking for anyone who gets trapped or lost - children separated from family members, the like." She nodded, jerkily, and took off. I watched her go for a moment before steeling my spine. This place was the closest thing I had to a home - mostly because it was where my Bonfire was, true, but it was also her home. Right. I turned to the office and headed in - to see barely controlled chaos.

People were rushing back and forth, and it was mildly impressive to watch the way they moved around each other without ever really seeing to notice the other person was there. I couldn't make out any words from the cacophony going off - but there, calm and steady near the front desk, was Armsmaster. It made sense, this was the nearest official location to my base of operations where he had been.

"Good. I was hoping you'd volunteer." his voice was steady and void of emotion. "Though with it coming here, I suppose it would have been inevitable." He looked behind me, his head craning past my shoulder. "No Tseldora?"

"She went to help the DWU and others to safety." No need to tell him her family was involved. He nodded brusquely.

"Alright. Come with me - this facility is out of the way, so it's going to be abandoned shortly as everyone here moves to the front to support. Capes are the only ones directly involved in this - normal humans are restricted to search and rescue. Let's get to the bay." Without any further words, he marched off, and I looked around for a moment before following him.

We actually stopped a short distance from the waters edge, near a large tent that had clearly been hastily constructed. Inside, Velocity was darting back and forth, giving armbands to all the various capes who had shown up. True to form, both Heroes and Villains were here - faces I recognized from Tseldora's run down of local players, to parahumans who were clearly from out of town, as they showed up with a figure who immediately disappeared to bring back more.

Armsmaster and I walked up to the table that Velocity was snagging the armbands from, to where a harried woman was standing. She looked up, briefly, when she saw Armsmaster, and tilted her head to me.

"Hero or villain?" I frowned - she wasn't asking me, but Armsmaster. Shouldn't I be recognized by now?

"Paracelsus. Local hero, rogue." She nodded and picked up a pair of armbands, handing one to me and one to the blue-clad hero. He guided me a few steps away. "Out of town support personal. Even being this close to an attack site is stressful, and many PRT personnel can't handle it." Ah, he noticed my confusion. Or consternation, I always get that mixed up with the other. He slipped the band into a pocket. "She forgot I have the monitoring system in my armor already. The band needs to be in contact with your skin - it will monitor your vitals, and act as a communicator." He showed me a button on the side.

"One press will give you a repeat of the last alert message that was played - Use this if we lose track of it and you're trying to find it. Holding it will give you communication with the group you're assigned to - likely the Blasters given your primary powerset. Pressing twice and holding will give you an open channel to all within range, three will put you on priority alert channel. Use that strictly as needed - we do not need that one flooded. Now, I have to go get ready." He jerked his head and strode off, the assembled heroes and villains parting ahead of him.

I slipped the armband on, settling it onto my left bicep as I looked around. Now I had to find where the group I was - Oh sweet Flame hi Velocity.

"Hey. You look lost. Armsy give you a group - ah, Blasters, you're good at shooting energy. Right, the lead for them is about forty five feet to the west - he can get you linked into the comms group. Do what you can, yeah?" Aaaand the speedster is gone. He did seem to be doing that now - finding individuals who looked lost, or confused, or even afraid, and talking with them for a few moments before darting to the next one. Good choice for a pep talker - he was a friendly and personable guy.

I followed his directions, to find Myrrdin there. He looked over to me as I walked up, and several of the others did as well.

"Ah, good. Everyone - this is Paracelsus, a local Cape. He is also a wiza-sorry, sorcerer." I saw a few people snigger at that - good to know that even in the face of imminent death, people got amused at ridiculing others. I gave the wizard a short wave as I pulled my staff out of my Pouch.

"Afternoon Myrrdin. Oh - Tseldora learned her first spell, Armsmaster and Velocity saw her successfully cast it." That shut several people up - including Myrrdin. "So what's the game plan on this?" He floundered for a moment before recovering and nodding briskly.

"Ah, right. Blasters will have first crack, try to slow him down for the Shielder group to get in place and hold him if they can. Stay out of the way as much as you can if you don't have a Brute rating people - Leviathan is known to take down buildings with ease. Leave tanking the hits to the Brutes." Oh, what I would give to have a Havel-kitted meatshield right about now. Sadly, I hadn't seen any summoning signs around here.

Alert. Leviathan will surface in the next two minutes. Blasters and Shielders, get ready to engage. A pleasant voice came from the armbands of everyone around, and Myrrdin clapped sharply.

"Right, you heard Dragon! Anyone with a Brute rating, gather around Paracelsus here. Non-Brutes, with me if you would." The group of people around us divided into uneven chunks - roughly a third came to me, some of them wearing what was clearly, even to me, Tinkertech, while the majority of them went over to the Chicago Cape. So. Time to meet the biggest threats this world has, hm? I grinned viciously beneath my veil - this was a monstrosity one that no one could fault me for going all out against.

The men and women around me braced themselves. The Tinkers began the charging process for their weapons, while the normal Blasters closed their eyes. This world was a place where people could, and did die regularly, and unlike mine they didn't come back. These people were bracing themselves for what could very well be the end of their lives. It was… humbling, in a way, considering I knew now that no death for me was permanent. Well. I'd just have to do my best to make sure that as few people as possible died - Who knew, maybe some of their powers would be useful when the crystal monsters came to devour this world.

I began to gather my will, and gripped my staff in both hands. The water ahead of us began to bubble as the creature that was hiding beneath it rose, slow and imposing. One of the Tinkers has an itchy trigger finger - a shot rang out, a bright beam scything through the air and blasting into the water's surface. A few feet were boiled away under the impact of whatever energy fed his weapon - and I caught my first glimpse of the being's face.

It had a smooth, featureless face - or mask, I wasn't sure - from which peered a lopsided arrangement of eyes - three were on the left side of its head, and only one on the right. Each eye was a malevolent green hue, a pinprick of baleful light surrounded by a hungry black hue that ate the light around it. The creature's flesh was a sickly green-blue-grey color, mixed together unto something that unsettled the stomach. There were faint scorch marks on the top of the thing's head from the Tinkertech blast, but nothing more than that. I heard, beside me, one person retch as the monstrosity's eyes focused on us.

It started to move faster now, emerging from the water. Bipedal, two arms - and a massive tail that sent a tremor of greed through me. Time to see what this thing was made of. The battle was on - blasts of light and scintillating bursts of energy and matter flew towards the Endbringer, smashing into him and maybe slowing him down for moments. One beam of red-black light punched a hole into him - which quickly closed up. Then I finished charging my spell - and I shifted to where no one was in front of me.

"Soul Spear!" The massive burst of blue-white light shot out, slower than many of the attacks that surrounded it. The creature had raised up a hand, shielding it's face from several of the attacks that had gotten near its eyes - and my spell impacted against the elbow, and everyone watched as a gout of blood and matter - at least I think it was blood- sprayed outwards. Not letting up, I swirled my staff around and raised it high. Leviathan was now focused on us fully - on me probably - and was charging forward. Perfect. Mana flowed through me honed by my will, and a blinding light gathered around the end of my staff.

" SOUL BOLT! " A coherent, tangible beam of energy shot out, carving a gouge in the ground for a few feet before it reached Leviathan's body. The beam chewed into him, tearing through unnatural flesh. The body tried to heal the wound, but unlike my other spells this one was a bit more continuous - the energy kept blasting away faster than he could heal.

It ended though, and Leviathan wasn't done for. It lashed out, and massive wall of water rose up behind him - and crashed forward.

I know how much y'all loved the last cliffhanger! Have another. Next chapter should be up tomorrow, back on track.

Last edited: Mar 6, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 6, 2017

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TinyGladiator

Just another bad writer.

Mar 7, 2017

#721

Yay, another Omake! shame there isn't an index for this fic so that these could be more easily noticed but ah well Onwards!

Fall

For all his time here, on this world, things haven't been too bad.

"Damn it!"

Sure, there were difficulties, but nothing he couldn't come back from. Even if he didn't win, such as the times he helped fight against the Endbringers, he never truly lost. Or at least, he never physically lost.

Mentally? That was another story. Seeing innocent people die by the hands of psychotic capes, the fall of both heroes and cities at the hands of the Endbringers, having to grieviously mutilate himself in order to make bonfires and thats not even mentioning the looming threat of whatever the crystal entities were.

"Arrghh, Not again!"

Things like this would make people feel depressed, and rightfully so considering how things like that happened commonly. It made him feel sorrowful as well.

But it also made him feel other things. Determination to stop these events from happening, a sense of joy from defeating vile opponents, a quiet feeling of mirth from that one time a gang member tried to use his staff or during the Levithan battle and discoverd someone called themself 'Chubster'.

"Would you please Stop. Doing. THAT ATTACK YOU MOTHERFU-"

But one thing he was feeling currently was anger- no, that word was too mild to express the sheer livid frustration he was currently experiencing at this very moment.

He has been in many fights over his time here. But he had never encountered a battle that infuriated him and defeated him more than this one... Except for the ordeal he faced during the Frigid Outskirts.

Here he was, the Flame Monarch, doing his best to climb out of a hole he was pushed into. Using a dagger to help, he eventually reached the top and looked at his enemies. Both of them.

Tohu and Bohu.

Two Endbringers at once. And if that wasn't bad enough one of them was a power copier; one, which was currently using a very annoying laser power, while the other was a geomanipulator, working in tandem they were fearsome. They were also seemed to be smart considering the fact that they were using their abilites together to defeat him. While they mostly attacked everyone whenever he started to use his magic Tohu would then blast him enough force and in such a manner that would cause him to fall into Bohus' pitfalls. It was like fighting Aldrich while in Sen's Fortress.

How had they known that his ultimate weakness was gravity? This further supported his idea that the Simurgh talked to the others somehow.

He casted fall control for the fourth time that day and aimed his staff at the larger of the two and managed to fire twice before getting blown halfway across a street before falling in another hole.

I think most Soulsborne player have died to gravity than to anything else.

Last edited: Mar 7, 2017

TinyGladiator

Mar 7, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 7, 2017

#732

The wave slammed into the Blaster group, and swept the majority of people away. A few were able to weather the blow - either through anchoring themselves as I saw a couple Tinkers do, or doing what I did and using a power to clear a space. I unleashed a gout of flame from my hands, the intense fires enhanced by my inherent connection to the First Flame. A large swathe of the wave was cleared away, converted into billows of steam as it impacted the searing fires.

The resultant steam was thick and scalding, plumes of white that hung around the group. I felt, predicted, knew the next attack was coming. "MOVE!" Everyone near me reacted, throwing themselves out of the way - and I braced myself as a large hand swept through the steam. Green scales in a strange pattern covered the arm as it shot forward, smashing into me. I felt the wood creak - dammit, I forgot to get out the shield that would have been smart, I can't keep making mistakes like that - and the swift, powerful motion blew the steam away from us.

I heard a few gasps as people realized that I had intercepted the blow from the monstrosity. The creature itself seemed to be shocked, though that vanished as the hatred in those eyes grew fiercer. I leapt backwards as the creature's tail swept forward, trying to smash into me. But compared to some of the beasts and beings that I had fought in my journey through Drangleic, this was slow and sluggish. I brought up my staff and retaliated with another Soul Spear, the potent spell slamming into Leviathan. The blow threw the beast staggering backwards, its arm crackling with traces of the spell-energy that had just struck it.

It slashed at me - I rolled to the side, ducking underneath the claw that it tried to hit me. This was what I was familiar with - not fighting against normal people that I had to hold back again, not worrying about my appearance to the people around me. Fighting against a monstrosity that shouldn't exist, with nothing more than my wits and my spells. If only I had the time. to bring out the Craftsman's Hammer…. wait. I'm not alone! HAH!

I dropped backwards, as others came forward. They had been stunned at the one on one fight - but when I fell backwards, the others finally came to their senses. Blasters came forward, trying to distract the being. Some people projected panes of light, slowing him down - and for a few moments it worked, the massive monster slowing down as it struggled against the shields. Hurriedly, I grabbed into my bag, bringing out both my shield and the hammer, shoving the Witchtree Staff into a loop on my belt - not the best, but it had worked well for some time.

The water roared and the beast surged forward, shattering the panes of light that had slowed it down. I saw several people reel back, and the beast reared back, then slashed forward, it's clawed hand swiping around it. I saw people fly - and heard the armband near my shoulder chirp, the woman sounding sad and determined as she listed people who were downed or deceased. I tuned the voice out - unless I heard a name I recognized, I didn't need to distract myself with thinking about the people who were being lost in the fight.

But at the same time, I could not just sit back and let people did when I was still here, and could still fight. Especially since, in the grand scheme of things, and in terms of what I was used to, I was barely hurt - my arms stung, but that was negligible compared to losing them, as I had done a time or two. No, back to the fray .

I charged forward, just as the beast swung around to beat a person down with its tail. The massive appendage swept downwards, and onto my upturned shield as I caught the blow. I felt my knees hit the ground as Leviathan roared - how the hell was this thing roaring when it had no mouth, no, that was water around us making that noise- at the defiance, and swept around. Its vile gaze locked onto me, and widened for a moment, for a fraction of a second, before it shot its hand out, trying to grab me. I wasn't about to let that happen though, and leapt backwards, feeling sharp claws cut through the air merely a foot away from me as it grabbed empty space. I lashed out, catching the hand with my Hammer - and lightning, bright, vibrant lightning, crackled along its flesh.

The beast leapt backwards - and I frowned as I noticed something. The water on the ground - it had followed suit, sweeping along the beach until it was pooling around Leviathan's feet again. Unnatural - and with a fight like this, anything unnatural would have to be watched carefully. I switched back to the Staff, tucking my Hammer into another loop on my belt, and closed my eyes for a moment. I felt it charging along the ground towards me, the sand beneath my feet shaking with each stride. I rolled forward, eyes opening only after my head had cleared the sand - and I was behind Leviathan, the beast plowing its hands into the soil where I had been. Perfect. I channeled my will into my staff, and swung it in an arc.

"Soul Greatsword!" The brilliant blue-white light coalesced into a shimmering blade, that looked vaguely like a real weapon at least, and followed the path my staff had traced into the air. Of course, the magical weapon was… longer, than the staff was, by a considerable margin. The spell was normally meant to be used against a group of foes - but, I was able to use it to lop off a portion of the beast's tail. The thing crashed down beside me with an impossibly heavy thud, and it sank several feet into the ground.

Of course, such an action wasn't going to go unanswered by the Endbringer. Almost as soon as the magical blade sank into the flesh, the beast was spinning around - not fast enough to avoid the attack, but fast enough to catch me with a backhand. I flew to the side, crashing into the severed tail bit, and I know I felt several of my ribs crack.

Funnily, the armband chirped my name, stating that I was downed. The beast was still focused on me now, ignoring the attacks of several Brutes and Blasters who were hammering into it - though it did spin around, unleashing another heavy swipe when someone landed a blow against the raw wound on the remaining portion of its tail. I saw the man - someone clad in green and gold trim, flying- weather the blow, though he did hurtle through the air for a moment before recovering.

But that momentary distraction was all I needed. I chugged a swallow of Estus - it probably wasn't necessary and I could just tap into my connection with the First Flame to heal, but I was not going to experiment with untried theories when I was in the middle of combat. The golden liquid still did its job, and I felt my bones snap and pop as the realigned, the cracks and damage healing as if it had never happened.

Then I was on my feet, bracing myself against the tail as the Endbringer reached me. A fist smashed into me, and it hurt. But in the end - he was no Ancient Dragon, closest thing to one of the ancient beasts ever. He was more akin to the Last Giant. Strong, to be sure, more than a normal human could hope to withstand… but every Undead has long left behind normality, and I kissed even Undead normal goodbye when I came here. Fist met shield - and shield won. This time, I could see the shock on Leviathan's face - the eye holes widened before narrowing.

It pulled back - and only now did I realize that there was a tremendous storm raging around us. Visibility was poor, and there were frequent lightning strikes. The wind was howling, a swirling storm that spoke of imminent disaster. The forecast for the day had been clear last I checked it - which meant this storm was induced, likely by the monstrosity facing me.

Then the Flame-damned thing turned and ran. It's massive feet tore through the ground, sending up plumes of sand as it charged into the city. I pressed my armband button three times.

"Leviathan has disengaged and is running into the city!"

"Who the hell is this and how did you get a priority-"

"I gave him one. All capes: Leviathan is in the city - we've already lost two buildings as he runs. We need Movers to get some Brutes and Blasters into intercept locations." Armsmaster's voice cut through the indignant man's shouting. Good, we didn't have time for people to question anyone who was trying to help. The others alerted, I scooped the tail into my Pouch - Sweet Flame that was heavier than it should be- and took off after Leviathan, hoping that someone was able to slow him down long enough for the rest of us to catch up.

I was right, thankfully. Someone had slowed the Endbringer down long enough to keep him from getting too far into the city - the problem was, he was now in sight of the healer's tent. I got there in time to see Myrrdin going toe to toe with the beast - the wizard Cape was ripping open portals and unleashing gouts of a thick dense fog that were blasting at Leviathan.

Belatedly, I stopped rejecting attempts at breaching my domain - and the next portal the wizard opened unleashed a torrent of a dark purple haze that ate away at Leviathan's flesh. Another gesture, and the Chicago hero absorbed a large amount of water into a rip in space, handily negating a wave that had been surging towards him. Watching this, it was easy to see why the wizard was considered one of the strongest in the US - a portal opened behind Leviathan, and nothing came out - instead, the tremendous beast was dragged backwards.

Alright that is enough of this. I gripped my staff tightly, focusing on one of the strongest spells I knew of. Getting enough time for this spell was somewhat tricky normally - it had the longest casting time I knew of, even when you were casting the spell from internal memorization. Blue-white mist gathered around me - the spell so potent that the energy it manifested was far more tangible than any others. Considering this spell was normally used to face off against the drakes in Aldia's keep - or against the Dragon if you were cocky - this was a solid choice to use while I had the time to prepare.

Leviathan was still struggling against Myrrdin. The wizard was rapidly switching between the purple flesh eating haze, intense gouts of flame, and every so often he created another of the vacuum portals, to either slow down the Endbringer or to get rid of some of the water that was pooling up in the area. But I could see that he was slowing down - the portals were forming a fraction of a second slower, the effects they created just a tad weaker. And eventually, those fractions of a second, that tiny bit of energy was enough to tip the tide in the monster's favor. It broke free of one of the vacuum fields with a horrendous ripping sound - leaving a portion of its skin behind but that was already healing. It charged forward, intent on pulverizing the puny human who had defied it.

"SOUL! GEYSER!" An enormous torrent of magical energy - literally thicker than a human being was tall - tore into the world in front of me. It howled, ripping apart the sky as blue-white light lit up the storm-darkened night. The spell slammed into Leviathan before he could reach Myrrdin, and it blew open his chest, throwing the Endbringer back and away. The arcane energy exploded outwards, breaking into smaller streams that twisted around and came back, piercing the beast again and again.

It screeched, a terrible noise that made my ears literally bleed, and floundered, pushing itself back up. It made my eyes hurt to look at its chest - the material there was jagged, twisted and convoluted in a way that scraped at the edges of my brain. It was somehow far, far more matter than should exist in that area, and now with so much of its cohesive surface broken the laws of reality were trying to reinstate themselves - and the beast was charging at me, it's enormous mass now shaking the earth and causing minor earthquakes. I dodged the swipe, narrowly, but was buffeted by the winds behind the blow.

And then, proving my thought earlier and punishing me for not remembering it, the water behind the Endbringer rose up into the air and mimicked his shape - and this time, I wasn't able to avoid the blow. Water slammed into me and sent me flying, smashing into a building. I broke through a wall - a wall, not a window- and slammed into a support column. I lost feeling below my legs, and scrambled to grab my Estus flask.

This time though, Leviathan was not giving me the time to recover. It charged after me, and slammed its claws into the hole I had made in the building, ripping it wide so it could see me. It reached a hand in, claws arcing towards my body -

And a stream of bugs slammed into its eyes. The impossible being reared backwards - more in shock than anything else I would guess - and swipes at the air around it. Still the bugs came, unerringly avoiding the claws that would have stopped them, and kept driving themselves suicidally into the Endbringer's uneven eyes. I fumbled at the Estus - dammit where did my spine break it shouldn't be this hard - as I tried to figure out where Tseldora was.

My fingers finally closed around the bottle. I couldn't feel it - I had had to resort to watching my hand to make sure I had it in my grasp - and I shaking brought the Flask up. Golden light poured over my face as I tried to put it to my lips - but enough got into my mouth for a swallow, and like that I was on my feet again. Missing about half of my Estus from the splashing, but to stay in this fight that was a price I would pay.

I raced to the edge of the hole and looked out. I spotted Tseldora running on the ground, a thick cloud of bugs the only indication of where she was. But that was a problem - I saw her after the beast did. I threw myself from the building just as Leviathan's stub of a tail caught her, sending the girl twisting, flying though the air. She hit the ground with a sick thud just after my feet touched down, and I ran across the street to her, falling to my knees.

She weakly raised up a hand to me, and never before this had o hated her insistence on wearing a mask more than I did now. I heard her cough wetly then say a weak word that I couldn't make, before her hand fell back to the ground. Then everything went red as an unnatural roar split the air.

Last edited: Mar 7, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 7, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 7, 2017

#771

Armsmaster

This had to be the best an Endbringer fight had ever gone. Paracelsus had been proving himself to be a far, far stronger combatant than he had ever shown, the spells he had used easily on parts with the strongest attacks the Cape had seen. He also had no hesitation in throwing himself into harm's way - he had also drawn the beast's attention fully at several points, trading blows with a strange hammer that send electricity surging across its body. More than that - for whatever reason, the Endbringer had been considerably slower than normal, almost appearing sluggish compared to some of its previous assaults.

Then a first - that turned out not to be a first. The Endbringer retreated from combat, trying to get away so it could cause more damage - its destination seemed to be the medical tent, as the was where it was headed until Myrrdin threw it backwards with a dense column of Grey fog. The other Protector are Leader kept it stumbling backwards with repeated blasts - but everyone watching could see it was only a matter of time before Leviathan got past that and to the Chicago leader. Alexandria was there, trying to organize the retreat and getting herself ready to take a blow or two to slow the thing down - when the cloud that came from Myrrdin wasn't fog, but a strange purple haze that ate at Leviathan's flesh in a never-before-seen manner.

This marked a turning point, as Myrrdin's attacks picked up in effectiveness, the 'spells' he was now using having far more effect, and his portals slowing the beast down. More people were rallying to this point, Movers evacuating the wounded as healers, their precious few, scrambled to triage the worst off so they could be moved. Everyone was bracing themselves for the point where Myrrdin tired and someone else had to step in. Then the beast tore free, and rushed forward - and Armsmaster noted with concern that the Endbringer was moving much closer to its normal speed. People started to rush in - he could see Eidolon charging forward to rescue Myrrdin - trying to intercept the beast and buy more time.

Before they could get a chance, Paracelsus arrived on scene. Or rather, announced his presence in a spectacular fashion. Bright blue light, stronger than anything witnessed before, erupted from the wide, smashing into Leviathan as he raced towards Myrrdin. The blast, more potent than anything thrown about yet, tore into the Endbringer's torso, flinging the monster back and carving a deep hole into its body. But that wasn't the end - smaller, but still large, streams of energy bounced away from the body before curving around in the air to come back and pierce Leviathan again.

There was now a tremendous, gaping hole in the Endbringer, the most damage he had ever heard of being done to one of the natural disaster imitators. Right then and there, he knew that no matter what else happened, Paracelsus would be getting moved up to an S-rank threat himself. Especially since, aside from a few seconds of build up time from what he could tell when reviewing the last few seconds in his camera, that spell didn't seem to have worn out the sorcerer that much. Everyone faltered, trying to figure out how on earth the Sorcerer had pulled that off - when Leviathan was moving again. He wasn't as fast as he had been before the blow struck, but he was still faster than he had been at the start of the fighting.

The beast lashed out, and Paracelsus rolled underneath - he already had a Mover rating, but he probably also had a Thinker rating to keep up at those speeds - narrowly dodging the blow. What he didn't seem to be prepared for was the water-echo that followed after; had anyone told him about those? It didn't matter though, as the heroic rogue was thrown clear of the fight, plowing into a building. Colin didn't need to hear Dragon's solemn "Paracelsus, down: B15" to know that the Blaster wouldn't be recovering from that one. Everyone swarmed the Endbringer, blasting it with attacks and chunks of masonry from some of the Brutes, as everyone tried to distract it from its inexorable march towards the building that it had smacked Paracelsus into.

But it ignored them all, only raising up a hand when something got too close to its face - and even then, it was just to wash whatever was attacking it away with a massive surge of water. Even when Alexandria entered the fray, the premier hero smashing into the enormous being's leg, it only slowed for a moment, before flinging her forward as it took another step. Then it reached the building, and it jammed its claws into the hole that the body had created and ripped, opening the hole far wider. One massive arm reached in - and that was when two things happened simultaneously. Alexandria, Eidolon, and two Brute Capes that Armsmaster didn't recognize, grabbed onto the back of Leviathan's legs and tails, hauling hard on the massive beast. Combined with that was a veritable stream of insects swarming the area, erupting from buildings, and slamming into the Endbringer's face.

Leviathan stumbled backwards, arms swatting at its face and legs as it cleared the immediate area of threats. One of the Brutes went down - a quiet "Ajax, deceased emanated from his helmet comm system - and the beast ripped free, knocking the others away with a wave of water and a sweep of the remainder of its tail. Then it turned its attention to the other person who had interrupted it - the girl, that Armsmaster recognized, as Tseldora. She had probably been coming here to get involved with helping the evacuation, and seen her mentor get struck - and lashed out, angry. Colin doubted that the bugs had done that much to the Endbringer, but the next thing she did certainly did. The insects had apparently been a distraction, or panic: Tseldora brought up the slender wooden staff that Paracelsus had given her, and that bolt of blue-white light, so much smaller than anything that the Sorcerer himself had done, shot through the night air, impacting against Leviathan.

This sealed the girl's fate. Everyone was trying to distract it - the corner of his camera, the peripheral one meant to enhance his field of view, showed Paracelsus somehow pulling himself up in the hole he had been thrown into - but it was too little, too late for the girl. Leviathan reached her, and a massive swipe of its clawed hand sent her tumbling, twisting through the air. She hit the ground - and bounced, her body twisting in a way it shouldn't - and came to a grinding halt. Mere seconds after that, Paracelsus was at her side, his eyes wide over his veil. The girl - and it hurt Colin to admit that what he presumed was a teenage girl had been hit like that - reached up a hand to him, then the hand collapsed as her body sagged.

That was when everything went to hell. Or, as Colin would later dub it, the Abyss.

Paracelsus threw his head back, and he roared, an unnatural sound that shattered several windows nearby, and the pressure wave from the sound knocked a Mover who was coming to help clear off his feat. There was a moment of sheer, deafening silence, and Colin noted something impossible. All the water in the immediate area had vanished - in fact, the air that he was breathing was dry. His suit, and his chin, detected an increase of several dozen degrees, and climbing. His eyes focused back on Paracelsus - only to note that the man wasn't by the crumpled form of Tseldora anymore. His gear, the staff, hammer, shield, and pouch, were laying at her side - but like they had been ripped free, torn from his body.

Instead, he was charging across the ground, heading for Leviathan - and if he didn't know better, he would swear that the man had stolen Lung's power. With every step, his body swelled, growing and growing - when it reached a point where his clothes were ripping, it didn't matter anymore, as his flesh wasn't flesh any longer. Instead it was a charred substance, blackened and dark, with molten cracks venting pure fire into the air running across the surface. The being that Paracelsus had become slammed into Leviathan, his now twenty foot frame pummeling into the larger creature.

The sky opened up, torrents of water crashing down from above to deluge the fiery being that had come into existence. The water swept around the battling titans and slammed into the former man and sent him, it, staggering sideways. This kind of move was something they had never seen from the Endbringer before - this kind of hydrokinesis was theorized, but never displayed. Leviathan kept up the assault, retreating backwards to the sea as it drove the burning figure back with water.

Then there was an eerie, ominous laughter that echoed through the area they were in. Before anyone could figure out what it meant, the temperature in the air shot up, and the humidity vanished as waves of vibrant flame roared into life, sweeping out from where the figure had been being blasted by water.

The molten fire that had been leaking across the charred body had coalesced while the form had been obscured, and now resembled gleaming golden armor that covered the body, only showing its inherently fiery nature as it bulged and wisps of flame rolled off of the surface. A resplendent crown covered the head, and for some reason it sent shivers down Colin's spine to look at him - at it.

Leviathan charged forward, water rising from the bay behind the beast to push forward, speeding its charge. Almost dismissively the being made of flame brought a hand up - and a crackling, red-black spear of lightning appeared in the figure's grasp. It threw the spear forward - and Leviathan reared backwards as the lightning shredded its body, tearing a huge gouge in its shoulder.

It leapt backwards, a tidal wave of water sweeping around to shield it from sight. The flame-gold man brought his hand up, and a great sword forged from flames burst forth into existence. At this point, Colin had given up trying to rationalize whatever he was seeing - Leviathan was acting nothing like he normally did, had the Endbringer, had all of them, been holding back? He was moving at speeds now, as he charged through the water towards the human figure, that he had never matched, seawater rushing around him, speeding him up and shooting ahead to crash into the other figure.

But worse was the other, the supposedly allied titan. Flames sprang forth behind a sweep of the burning sword that the golden-orange man was wielding, flames that boiled away the waters that had dared to come close. He, it, stabbed forward with the blade, and a column of fire screamed into existence, plunging through the waters that got into the way. Leviathan tried to get out of the way, trying to avoid the inferno - and got caught by a massive sweep of electric fire that coiled around its leg. Colin followed the fire back to its source - the flame-figure's other hand, as he had expected.

This was ludicrous. Paracelsus, or whatever he was now, jerked his hand upwards, and the electric flame that had caught Leviathan jerked upwards as well - literally swinging the Endbringer off the ground. As it came back down to earth, the armored form plunged his blade into the street surface below his feet.

Then came the hell storm of fire, pillars of fire that tore free from the earth, making it almost feel like Behemoth was attacking, not Leviathan. Flame and stone burst from the ground, and Colin could feel himself sweating profusely. Belatedly, he remembered something he should have done ages ago - and triggered the priority channel on his helmet.

"All…." He hadn't realized how dry his throat had gotten in this unnatural heat. "All capes who can, retreat immediately." Worryingly, responses on immediate channels came in - not from Dragon, as he would have expected.

"We… we can't." That came from Velocity. "There's this weird black fog that is covering everything, no one can get in or out. What the hell is going on over there Armsmaster? No one can even get close to the fight now?!" Colin didn't know what to make of that.

"I… . Tseldora is down. Either dead, or critically injured. Paracelsus has snapped."

"THIS IS HIM?" He didn't know the voice of whoever was speaking there, but he heard the sentiment echoed by several people on the comms channel. He looked to the fight - the being made of flames and dark, broken flesh was toying with Leviathan, cutting off every escape that the thing had with sheets of flame that erupted from the ground and cascaded down from the sky. At the same time, he was stripping layers of flesh and material from the Endbringer with bolts of red-black lightning, and every time one of those bolts struck the beast of the End it seemed…. Diminished afterwards, smaller and less imposing.

"I… yes. I don't know if we're seeing a second trigger, or worse, but this is on a scale we've only rarely seen. He's currently…. Playing with Leviathan, but maliciously." And he had no better way to describe it. Then, he was shocked as the man beast gave up his weapons, and instead black smoke and rolling fire surrounded his hands, clawed weapons that resembled loosely those of the beast he was facing. With a bellow that shook the world around them, he dashed forward.

Leviathan tried, and he couldn't blame the Endbringer. The figure that was charging at forward was something that he would never have believed could exist. Flames sprang from the ground behind every step, flames that coiled around and shot forward as fireballs towards the Endbringer. It curled up a fist and punched at the fiery being that Paracelsus had become - who tanked the hit, allowing the Endbringer's fist to slam into him.

But even that was apparently according to whatever malicious will was driving Paracelsus now. The flesh and flames around the 'wound' caved inwards easily. But it was a trap, and the fire and blackened 'flesh' sealed around the arm, and even from here, yards away, Colin could hear a loud sizzling and see the arm melt away.

And then the fire figure was ripping into Leviathan, tearing away great straps and chunks of flesh, digging into the meat of the beast with burning blades that scorched the wounds as they dug in. Around them, water was surging, trying to push Paracelsus away - but before the water could touch him, the intense heat was boiling it away into steam.

And then, what Colin would later say was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen to date. Golden-orange claw blades sank into Leviathan, pinning the being to the ground. Then, as he watched, the magnificent, terrifying helmet, cracked open. A thick, black fog, sparking with silver, poured forth from the jagged mouth that had appeared in the helmet. Leviathan tried to push its attacker off with his claws, scrabbling futilely at the gleaming armor that had previously given so easily at its previous attack.

Still the fog rolled forth, sweeping across the ground - and Colin could swear, that he could see humanoid figures shaping and vanishing into the darkness that claimed the area. Light didn't exist anymore, not natural light - only the light from the fires that surrounded Paracelsus, and the tiny glow around any of the electric lights that had survived the devastation.

"Puny being, seeking to bring an End to the world. A child of water cannot stand against the King of the First Flame, Embracer of the Dark Soul of Man. I consign what little exists of this puppet's soul to the burning Abyss."

The voice, was less a voice and something.. Conceptual. It dug into Colin's brain, the words echoing and etching themselves into his memory. He didn't know when he had fallen to his knees - but he felt gentle hands lift him up, and he looked to the side to see a silvery figure with its hand wrapped around his arm, helping him to his feet.

"Worry not. The King is fearsome, but a protector. He grieves so much, but can never let it show while foes remain to threaten his domain. Do tell him that he carries those he lost with him, even now?"

Whoever, or whatever, that had been, Colin didn't know. The figure was gone, and had had no defining features, and even now he felt like what it had said was fading away, only the core message remaining.

Then there was an unnatural sound, something that dragged his attention back to the death of the Endbringer. And he knew, looking at it, that that was what was happening. A black miasma had surrounded Leviathan body, lifting the beast of water up and holding it immobile in place as the flaming form slowly tore it apart. It was a slow, steady process, and eventually the armored figure discarded the burning gauntlets in exchange for a searing blade, which sped the process up. Colin couldn't see what exactly happened, as the enormous blade of flame and lightning cleaved through Leviathan, claiming the rest of its tail - but the beast's eyes went wide, before the unholy green light within them faded. The body slumped to the ground, the fog around it fading, as the golden-orange titan studied it for a long time. Then it's hands went to its head, and it fell to its knees, and it crumpled inwards, collapsing in on itself as the flames went out.

"n-COLIN CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Dragon's voice rang stridently from his helmet. Weakly, he lifted a hand up and activated outgoing communication.

"I… yes. All… all units. " He switched to open priority communication. "All personnel. Leviathan is dead. I repeat. Leviathan is dead." Stunned silence rang through the lines. He didn't know who started it, but when the cheers started, he almost wanted to place a kill order on them for it. Looking at the damage around him, at the naked, trembling figure of Paracelsus who was curled into a small ball, he knew, logically, that this was a victory… but he didn't know if it was a victory, with a loss attached… or the advent of an even worse threat than the Endbringers.

"I… I need a Mover, Strider or Velocity. One of you, find Panacea and bring her here immediately. We have to work quickly if we have a hope."

"A hope? But you said that Leviathan was dead-"

"I mean, a hope of saving the person who was keeping the person that killed Leviathan sane." And he wasn't too sure, that that statement wasn't scarily accurate.

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Reytac

Mar 7, 2017

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TinyGladiator

Just another bad writer.

Mar 8, 2017

#805

GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS... and then stop guessing and look at your clock. In other news, I have made another Omake!

Celebration

Tired, wanna sleep in.

Ground, totally not a bed, but I really don't care.

Sleepy, thats all there is to say on the matter.

Dusty floor, and this is really not comfortable, screw it I'm getting up.

I open my eyes to see... ashen ruins? Oh no, I'm not in Lothric, am I?

No, despite being mostly char grilled rubble I can recognize that these buildings look definitely modern.

What even happened? I came back from Africa, talked to Tseldora and then- oh. Now I remember. The Endbringer; Levithan, came here didn't it? And then-

I sighed remembering the state Taylor was in the last time I saw her. What was she thinking? I told her I could come back from death, didn't I? Or did I forget? Dammit, no time to ponder that, the creature might still be here.

Then again there wasn't any sounds of battle he could hear. Was it over? He'd better chec-

"Paracelsus!"

I turn towards the voice. "Armsmaster?"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened to the fight?" I inquired, "And what happened to Tseldora? Did she survive?"

"Barely. Panacea was just able to stabalise her. But do you not remember what happened?"

I felt a wave of relief wash over me with the news that my apprentice survived.

"Thank the Flame. But to answer you're question: no, my memory is blocked. Could you tell me what happened?"

And then he proceeded to do so as we both walked back towards non destroyed buildings; even showing me footage from his helmet when I expressed my disbelief as to what I transformed into.

Tired as I was, the knowledge and confirmation that I defeated one of the great monsters that has plagued this world felt monumental. This moment was one I knew that everyone would remember for generations. People would call this the 'beginning to the end of the end'. (I'd totally buy a shirt that said 'I'VE BEATEN AN ELDRICH HORROR AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS!' on it) Today was a now a day of hope.

There was just one thing left to do, I thought as we were coming up towards a bar in almost pristine condition. I cleared my throat and spoke:

"Goodness, but I'd better not less this get in over my head. Better keep myself just a little bit humble."

I went inside and grabbed a bottle before tossing it at Armsmaster.

"But for the moment, we've a toast to make." I said, while pulling out my Estus flask.

"To the valor of the people that fought, my Flame, and our victory together!"

After a long pause we proceed to clink bottles.

"Long may the Sun shine!"

As we down our respective drinks I have only two thoughts: find a way to make Siegbräu, because goodness knows that I'll need it at somepoint.

The other was this: one down. Two to go. Daniel Hebert didn't know what to make of the news he had been given. He was sitting in his house - something he never old have expected to be able to say again considering an Endbringer had attacked his city - waiting for any kind of news. A casualty list had been reported already; it was shockingly small for one of Leviathan's attacks.

But his heart was in his throat, swallowing past the lump proving painful. The list had been divided into three parts: deceased, stable, and critical condition/condition unknown. There were only five names on the first list, seven on the second - and two, only two, on the last. His daughter - currently in a coma, and it was unknown if she would survive - and Paracelsus. No one could figure out the issue with the Cape was already being nicknamed ridiculous things like End-slayer, Titan of Fire, or even as he heard one person say, an earth-bound God. But whatever the case was, he was currently lying on the ground in the street where he had fallen after…

After he killed Leviathan. That was something Daniel was having trouble grasping. The Endbringers had been natural disasters, striking and wreaking havoc before retreating or having to pull back. But Paracelsus had somehow become a being made of flames and something else, no demolished the Endbringer.

And it wasn't that people wanted to leave the star of the battle there - no one could approach him. About fifteen feet from him, the temperature shot upwards with no discernable cause, rising exponentially the closer to the figure one got. Even heat-manipulators had to give up, as somehow the unnatural temperature resisted all of their efforts. Simply seeing him there was the best people could do - and that had its own difficulties, as the sheer heat in the air caused waves and distortions that prevented observation of any kind - cameras and telescopes could see a human figure, on its hands and knees, but that was the best definition they could get visually.

Daniel wanted to hate Paracelsus, he desperately did. His daughter was in a coma, he wanted someone to blame for it. But he knew that he couldn't; from the video of the battle that Armsmaster released - heavily edited and clipped - you could see the Sorcerer hero had no idea that Tseldora as even there - no one did, until bugs were trying futile to distract Leviathan.

And he didn't know why she would have done that. She, more than anyone else, knew that Paracelsus came back after he died, she was the only one who had believed it for a time. He could only guess that she had panicked, in a stressful situation she should never have been in…

The phone rang. Startled, Daniel answered it.

"Mr. Hebert?" He knew that voice - everyone knew the voice of the leader of the Protectorate for this city. "Mr. Hebert, were you aware that your daughter was the Rogue - my apologies. The hero known as Tseldora?" Daniel's mind locks onto one word in that sentence. Just one word, and his world crashed around him.

"C-can I… can I see… her?" He didn't know when the sprinkles had been installed, or why they were turned on. Before he could hear whatever Armsmaster had to say, he had dropped the phone and was sprinting for his truck.

First of at least two interludes. Even in one of the shortest, best Endbringer battles... I will say she may or may not be dead yet though, but Daniel was already fearing the worst.

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Reytac

Mar 8, 2017

#815

"This..this is unbelievable." Even though it could have been applied to the document before her, the flat shock in Alexandria's voice was, as everyone knew, directed at their first true, real victory against an Endbringer. Yes, coalitions had managed to drive the harbingers of disaster away - or as much as you could against something like the Simurgh - but never, never had one been killed. It had become… expected, that the Endbringers were just that - beings that were going to drag the world to its inevitable demise. But now… she turned her eye to the woman was standing eerily still across the sea from her.

"You're sure?"

"Yes. He started to appear in about half of the Paths when he encountered Ashbeast - which is why you went to observe him?" Alexandria nodded sharply. "Now though, he is involved in roughly ninety percent of the Paths - and the ones that don't involve him, all involve sacrificing Doormaker to shunt Ashbeast, Tseldora, and him into a world so far as that nothing we've ever heard of could reach it- not even the Entities would affect them if they attacked." Short, clipped tones gave away nothing of how the other woman felt. Alexandria looked down at the report. Blaster had moved to nine, Mover to four, he had been given a tentative Thinker rating of three ; Brute had jumped up to eight after multiple people reported him tanking blows.

But it was his newest confirmed ratings that concerned her. Master 5 - Armsmaster had spoken of strange phantom figures in the darkness, figure that his camera could only display as glitches in the feed. At least one had proven capable of touching a person, and speaking independently. If this meant that he was somehow like Glastig…

Last, and worst, was his Changer rating. He had gone straight to ten+ with that - and all his other ratings rise by at least two points in that form. If anything, it was like he was an Endbringer himself - a literal powerhouse that sat on top of an active volcano, siphoning strength from it. Added onto that was the Shaker-states he gained when his Changer form came into play. Both an unending heat that drained ambient moisture in the air, with fires spontaneously breaking out around him; and that darkness inducing fog that seemed to just spring into existence, trapping people inside and cutting off all electronic signals.

All told, he was easily on par with any A-class hero or villain, even in his normal state. It was clear now, that he had been holding back considerably since his appearance. In his Changer state.. Well. He killed an Endbringer.

"Have we figured out anything about the title he gave himself? And what's with these reports of Cinder-seeker suddenly slinging lightning?" Now was when her companion shifted uncomfortably.

"They… well. Ashbeast, Cinder-seeker I mean, claims that they are directly connected. He is straight up venerating Paracelsus as his God, calling him the King of the Dark Flame, or First Flame, interchangeably. This was before people started revealing that anyone inside the fog-effect heard what he said to Leviathan."

"And… it seems to be spreading."

"What."

"There is now, primarily in the area where Ashbeast is making his base, a small church devoted to him. Apparently he did know Paracelsus, or know of him - and he has been spreading tales of how the King could heal, or throw lightning, or shoot flames…"

"All things we have seen him do. Why is that an issue?" It was strange, that there was a cult already forming, but then again there were Endbringer cults too.

"Because Ashbeast is giving out chimes." She picked something off the floor and set it down firmly on the desk. Alexandria looked at it. It was a simple thing, a leather handle wrapped around carved wood, that led down to a pair of small bells that were fixed in place, but rang softly as the chime was moved.

"He uses a far more ornate one than this, and a couple of more sturdy metal ones are in the hands of the higher ups in the church. This came from a traveling 'priest'. Here is why this is an issue. Anyone we've see with one of these chimes - at least that isn't stolen like this one - can throw spears of lightning, somehow get guidance to a safe place, or heal others. Obviously this isn't a widespread issue yet, mostly contained to the immediate area around Ashbeast's territory… but this has grown in the week since Paracelsus slew Leviathan. And it shows no signs of stopping." Alexandria didn't know when her jaw had dropped, but she shut it with an audible click.

"And these are people that Paracelsus himself never met?"

"Correct. We have an entirely new player in the game - and he seems to know more is going on, with his comment about Leviathan being a 'puppet'. One of us need to actually meet with him… whenever he wakes up."

Last edited: Mar 8, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 8, 2017

#828

In a hospital, a man cried as he held his daughter's hand. Another man consoled him, telling him that there was still a chance that wherever her mind had retreated to she would come back, and not to give up hope.

In a concrete room, a different man was gripping his head, wincing as a headache passed. Enough - he was not a stupid man, staying here not feasible. He was beset by enemies, and the hero that he had come to hate with a passion was soaring high on public opinion. It was time to leave, and start over somewhere else. This decided, he began to plan for his departure.

On the other side of the world, a woman spoke passionately of the glory of the King come to Earth, and of the wonders he could perform. She laid her hand on a small injured child's head, and spoke of healing - himself, but that mattered less than the subject matter did. She rang the chime in her left hand - and a warm golden light filled the area. When it faded the injury, a cut to the stomach, was no more. People swarmed to the cleric, to hear more of the church she represented.

Miles away from the healing, a man squared off against bandits that had attacked his little cart. This cleric rang his chime as he spoke of the angry lightning a vengeful God would cast - and thrust the chime forward, watching calmly as a bolt of electricity pierced the nearest bandit. The others turned and ran, screaming of non-humans attacking them.

And in a place where time and space didn't quite exist, a man sighed and closed his eyes. This place was peaceful, in a way he had never known before - but it was not the place for him. Even now, he could feel a call to action, to strive forth, and deep inside he knew he must - vengeance cried to be slaked, and a world, or worlds, were in danger.

Cracked, dry lips parted and drew breath for the first time in a week, and bleary eyes looked around, taking in the molten surroundings. Shaky hands came up and pushed down, shoving the body off the ground. Bare feet ignored the bite of hot asphalt as the temperature in the air dropped, and the form strode off, every step becoming more firm and assured.

Taylor's fate won't be decided until Paracelsus reaches the hospital, so don't take anything as firm until that point. Poll will close in a few hours. So far, Taylor living and coming through this as is, is winning.

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Reytac

Mar 10, 2017

#930

Every fiber of my body felt tight, like I had stretched too much and now my form was protesting. But… but no. It was red, haze-tinted,and coming back to me with a powerful headache but I could remember almost everything I had done as I brutally demolished Leviathan. I knew my body felt tight because my Soul had finally been freed to form a body more suited to it, and now I was shoving it back into a far-too small container. Powerful Souls created powerful bodies, the old Gods had been massive beings and things that had gained Souls were normally far larger than normal - the Rats within the Grave beneath Majula were a perfect example of that.

It was only belatedly, as I walked through quiet streets, that I finally noticed that I was stark naked, none of my gear present at all. I had been…. My mind was still adjusting, my psyche struggling to cope with the revelation of what I could be, and minor things like clothing were… inconsequential to that state of mind. Even now, I could feel how to twist my magic and power into a tangible weapon. It felt similar to how I would create a Soul Greatsword spell, but at the same time different, more… corporeal.

Experimentally, I drew on that, and I winced as my skin burned hotter for a moment. Dark fog rolled down from my shoulders, wrapping around my body in a loose fitting robe, and flame-gold sigils burned into existence on it. It did drain me a little to do it, but the loss, at this size, was miniscule. Now that I wasn't wandering the world naked, I had to find out how much time had passed - that was something I had no memory of.

A thought clicked in my head, and I recognized that there were people pointing at me from windows and doorways, some craning their heads to look back the way I'd come. I was glad I didn't process this fact until after I had remembered clothes, or else I might have gotten self conscious. As it was though, I found that I simply didn't care enough to feel even slightly ashamed.

That was when Velocity skidded to a halt in front of me, spinning on one heel to disperse momentum. I felt an eyebrow raise as he took up a defensive posture in front of me - not an openly hostile one, but one where it seemed he was ready to move if he had to.

"To whom am I speaking now?" Ah. They thought that my other state was a separate consciousness? I kept my arms steady at my sides and shrugged slightly.

"Paracelsus still - and ah, the, other was me as well. Just… more violent than I normally prefer to be." It had been strange, but Gwyn's hot temper now made sense: the First Flame had definitely been agitated, seeking to lash out angrily. I had kept my head both because it wasn't an overwhelming anger - not after the initial moments - and because the Dark Soul had apparently brought its own cold calculating rage to the table. I would have to keep an eye on my temper and grudges moving forward now that I knew about this - it wouldn't do to give in to either half of the equilibrium that resided within me.

Velocity looked… relieved at that. His stance drooped, softening as he took a hesitant step forward.

"So you're in control, even in that state. Ah… Armsmaster was sparing on the details, but you probably want to know about Tseldora?" my eyes tightened. I…

I didn't know what to say to that honestly. I had thought that I was distancing myself from using her as a support, but seeing her injured had proven the lie in that belief. Now, now she was

.. The human body couldn't take a blow like that and survive for long at all. But still. I owed it to her memory, and to her father, to know. I nodded once.

"She's in Brockton Bay Memorial." For a moment, my heart sank at the confirmation of where she was - then I did a mental double take as I remembered that that was the name of the hospital that I had woken up in after coming to this world and having a… disagreement with Skidmark and Squealer. My eyes widened - and Velocity must have seen it.

"I'll call in to let them know you're on your way, and show you there." I took off, the red-clad hero keeping pace with me as he spoke into his headset. I did my best to remember where the hospital was, but I hadn't gone near the place since leaving it a month ago.

As we ran, Velocity filled me in on the fact that I had apparently been unconscious and unapproachable for a week and a day. And that my gear - I didn't realize that I had had the presence of mind to drop it all, the first few moments of rage were a blur - was currently being held by Armsmaster for safety. I'd have to get it back from him as soon as I had checked on Tseldora, with my luck what he saw of my session with her was enough for him to start to learn to cast a spell. At least it wasn't Myrrdin.

The hospital was quiet - it was the early hours of the morning, or late night, I wasn't sure which. At the nurses' station, Velocity had left after telling them to show me where my apprentice was, saying something about going to give a report. I figured it was about me - after what everyone witnessed in the fight against Leviathan, I wasn't surprised that they were taking extra precautions.

I found the room they told me she was in after only a few minutes of looking. I pushed open the door quietly, hoping that she was just asleep and recovering. But as I stepped softly into the room, I knew my hope had failed.

The first clue was that Danny was sitting in a chair next to the head of the bed, the poor man half-slumped over at an angle that was sure to give him back pain. Clasped between his hands was one of Taylor's, but it was still and unresponsive.

Taylor herself was just as still as her hand. If it hadn't been for a very slight rise and fall of her chest, and the fact that the respirator over her mouth fogged up every so often, I would have thought her… no, I wasn't going to go down that path. She was alive.

Alive, but hooked up to machines like a terminally ill patient in a hospital drama from my original world. And I doubted it was lupus here. I felt something wet trickle over my fingers and looked down to my hand - I had driven my nails into the meaty part of the palm of my hand. I eased up on the pressure and wiped the blood off on the strange not-fabric of my new robe, noting the way the red liquid seemed to fade into nothingness on contact.

I took a half-step forward, to the foot. Of her bed, and stared at her for a moment. She looked so small and fragile like this, and it was easy now to see that she was almost malnourished - painfully skinny like I had thought before.

"She hasn't woken up once, not even for a word. " I started and looked to the side - Daniel had woken up, and was rubbing his eyes with the back of one hand. He blinked at me, clearing the last of the sleep-grit from his eyes. "No one was sure you would either - some people have been saying that however you killed Leviathan, it cost you your life. But it didn't, did it? You're real, and not a figment of my imagination?" I shook my head, not really trusting my voice right now. He sighed and looked at his daughter's resting form.

"She's been in a coma this entire time. Doctors say there isn't anything wrong with her physically, and Panacea has done everything she could - she doesn't do brains though." That was an odd restriction. Daniel's gaze switched to me. "I don't suppose there is anything you can do? As mighty sorcerer, and whatever the hell else you are?" Before, I would have hesitated. I had no chime, which normally meant no healing Miracles. But I was… more than I had been. Cautiously, I reached out a hand and laid it on the frame of the bed, bracing myself as I searched outwards with my Soul.

I recoiled sharply, my eyes wide. I pulled down my veil- I hadn't realized one had been created with my robe until now - and turned to Daniel.

"She… Was she resuscitated?" He frowned, thinking back, then nodded. I didn't… she had died then, had actually, honestly died. But the people in this world, as I had forgotten, didn't let death stop them from working medicine. Taylor had died there, in front of me - but she had been brought back. And I thought I knew the problem. I concentrated and looked inside, afraid of what I would find.

I don't know how long it took, but I did find what I was looking for. Somehow, subconsciously kept separate, was a small, tiny Soul, one I didn't recognize but felt familiar, like I had touched it before. Carefully, tenderly, I reached out and cupped it, bringing it close to my chest.

Fragmented Soul

Part of a Soul, torn free from the rest

By terrible trauma. No Soul can survive for long,

Broken in twain. Vital essence drains away,

Seeking to bridge the divide between pieces.

It… wasn't as bad as I had feared. Instead, it was decidedly stranger than I had expected. I knew that Souls could be broken apart - the Lord Souls did just that, but it seemed like there was a vast difference in the process that those underwent and what had happened here. I had never heard of a Fragmented Soul, or of someone somehow living with a fraction of a Soul… but from the impression I got from this, I could see why.

Was this then, why Taylor was still comatose despite her body being in order? Because 'vital essence' was leaking away, trying to fix what was broken? I opened my eyes, bringing the fluttering, fragile piece of Soul into the physical world. Daniel gasped, and I tilted my gaze to him, where he was staring at the fluttering gray light that was floating above my hand.

"This is something your world has never witnessed, Daniel. If you've ever wondered on whether or not you have a soul… this, this is a part of Taylor's." I looked to the girl and felt something twist inside me. Eyes still closed, she had half-sat up in bed, one arm weakly stretching out towards me. "I… when she was struck, and died, part of her Soul came loose. ." I wasn't going to mention my thought that if I hadn't been around this wouldn't have been a problem. I pushed the fluttering light towards the girl, whose arm dropped as the fragment of Soul floated over her chest.

"I was there to catch it though." We watched quietly as it floated there. I knew Daniel was getting fidgety, but I needed to see if the fragment would reject itself, or if the 'vital essence' would - the Soul fragment sank downwards into Taylor's chest, and the girl took a deeper breath. I felt tentatively at her, trying to see if they had joined - not yet, but they were trying to. They needed a push to complete the process, and I didn't think trying to merge them together with the Dark Soul or Sign was a good idea.

Into my hand sprang a gleaming electric-gold chime, drawn and forged from the First Flame much like my clothing was. The motion to create it had been instinctive, as if I had known it all along and just needed a reason to use it. I took a deep breath. There existed no tales of the Gods of Drangleic ever healing someone who literally had a broken Soul, so I couldn't resort to a ready-made Miracle for this. So far, I had been using my Power to kill, to fight. Could I use it to heal as well?

I rang the chime, the bells sounding beautifully melodic despite being forged of energy. I felt the Flame and the Dark respond, both leaping forward as they rushed to answer my call. I took hold of the power they fed me, guided it and channeled it with my will. A bright light filled the room - an intense white. My eyes didn't blink or turn away - I saw an elaborate sigil spin into existence in the air above the bed Taylor was laying on. With eyes and Soul I watched her as the sigil slowly sank downwards, doing my best to keep either Flame or the Dark from actually affecting her.

It was a strange sight, to watch someone come back to awareness as their broken Soul healed itself. It wasn't something I thought I would ever see again - one moment, the torn edges of her Soul were pushing against each other, trying to mesh but not quite making it - then a warm light suffused her Soul, wrapping around it and guiding it together. Her eyes fluttered open, and I stepped back, letting the Divine Chime fade away as she looked around the room, her eyes not yet in focus.

"She… she should be OK. But give her time to rest." That had been… draining, and yet energizing at the same time. I had never used my power to heal, and apparently it was something that benefited the God responsible as well as the recipient. Interesting. Taylor slumped backwards, her head falling back onto the pillows - and Daniel let out a sigh of relief as her chest rose and fell steadily.

"Like I said. She will need to rest. I accelerated a process that would have taken days, or weeks - she's going to be jarred from that, I think." I didn't know for sure, though - she might wake up in fifteen minutes completely ready to go. I doubted it though. I glanced at Daniel - the elder Hebert was worn out, and it was easy to see in his gaunt face. I felt my hand fill - OK, these things responding to my desires before I had fully realized them was going to be frustrating I think - and I cast a small, regular Miracle on him, a simple Heal that rejuvenated him. "Do try to get some rest - but that should keep you going for the time being. I Ah, I am going to the Protectorate, they apparently have my clothes and gear. I'll try to stop back here once I have that, to check on her again." I strode to the door, pushing it open softly to keep from waking the resting girl.

"Paracelsus… thank you." I bit my tongue - for all I knew, Taylor wouldn't have even been hurt or involved in that damn fight if it hadn't been for me. I nodded once, not turning to face him, and headed out.

And here we go. The divergence lay here and now, in how Taylor's Soul was set up. If she was going to be an Undead, or dead, Paracelsus would have had her entire Soul and Shard.

And for those who wanted to know: the ? option would have had Paracelsus stitching her Soul together with the Dark Soul. Worst result… and I was considering it happening… Pus of Man. But hey, that didn't happen, and I don't know if I would have gone that route with it, so hey!

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Reytac

Mar 13, 2017

#972

This was the first time I had had to travel out to the actual Protectorate base here in Brockton Bay - the Rig, a converted oil rig structure that was out at sea a short distance away from the city. By the time I reached the ferry dock to travel out to it, there was an official ferry rocking gently on the waves. The PRT officer on the ferry saluted me - I wasn't sure what to make of that.

"We were informed you needed a ride to the Rig, sir?" Despite the 'question' inherent in the man's words, he immediately set to undocking the ferry, pushing the little barge away from the pier it had been moored to. I frowned for a moment. Who had told them that? Daniel wouldn't have called them to let them know - he was too wrapped up in the fact that Taylor was recovering to worry about something like that. So how had - I nearly slapped myself.

Of course they'd be monitoring Taylor's room. Even if they weren't actually watching the interior, they'd have been watching the hallway. And Velocity knew I was conscious again, and had been the one to tell me where she was. And he had told me that Armsmaster was holding onto my things - so, unless I suddenly had an about face about my possessions, I would have come for them eventually. Abyss, it could have been as simple as having someone watching down the street far enough away for a ferry to beat me here - though some kind of surveillance was likely.

I steadied myself as waves rocked the ferry - the only time I had been on open water in recent memory had been taking the prisoner barge from No Man's Wharf to the Lost Bastille. And this little boat was nowhere near the size of that ship - nor was it powered by some kind of mystic astrolabe. Or whatever the Abyss that had been - I had never studied the ship that thoroughly, which in hindsight was a stupid move because it was one of the few surviving relics of the kingdom of Drangleic.

The officer gestured for me to step off the boat - we had arrived while I was lost in thought. The journey hadn't taken as long as I expected, but there was likely some kind of Tinkertech at work there. I strode off, and followed the man into the doors ahead of us.

Armsmaster and Miss Militia were both waiting there for me. The blue-collar hero looked at me, and for a moment I thought I saw his body shiver, then nodded once, firmly. He stepped forward, walking in front of me.

"We have had three imposters show up, people trying to gain access to the gear of Paracelsus. If you would be so kind as to demonstrate that you are he?" I frowned behind my veil. The hero knew I needed my staff to do anything - unless they had been watching when I healed Taylor - so asking me to do something to prove that, without giving access to my gear, was counter-productive…. Or was it?

I folded my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow at him. The hero stared steadily at me, though I could only guess as to where he was actually looking.

"Armsmaster, you've seen that my magic uses catalysts to cast, even when Tseldora did it." For a moment nothing happened, before he tilted his head to one side, lips twisted slightly.

"Well. If nothing else, you know more than the first two. This way." So someone had tried imitating me who knew enough to know I needed a catalyst? Or rather, needed a catalyst - I could feel my power itching to spring into existence, to fill my needs. It was a strange sensation, and one I would have to work out later. For now, I followed the two Protectorate heroes as we walked through several corridors - I did note that there were turrets mounted in the walls that swiveled to follow me.

Once we were deeper in, the atmosphere changed completely. We reached a chamber inside the structure that was clearly a meeting room- and Militia swung a bag that she'd kept out of my line of sight around and tossed it to me. I caught it - all of my things were inside, including my Pouch. I looked up at the two of them, mildly confused.

"We - for her safety, we had surveillance in Tseldora's room. We witnessed what happened - just had to get you out of public sight. You may not have noticed it but there were several reporters in that lobby. Since you woke up, the press has been trying to figure out where you were going, so they could ah, question you. This has bought you a bit of time." That was considerate of them. I pulled my Pouch out and dropped the bag into it, tying the expanded holding bag to my waist.

"Now… ah, do you mind answering a few questions?" If I had had no memory of what happened, I might have been confused about how hesitant the heroes seemed to be when Militia asked that. As it was though - they'd seen the Soul of Flame that I now could become, and had seen me directly manipulate someone's Soul. Being terrified of upsetting me was… logical, if not something I was used to. I took a seat at the table, and the others sat down moments after I did.

"I don't mind. What do you want to know?" Armsmaster was the first to respond, as he tapped the side of his helmet.

"It has recently been theorized that you are not a natural inhabitant of this Earth - is this true?" I coughed, surprised - of the questions and conclusions that I had expected them to be curious about, that wasn't one of them. I nodded slowly.

"Well, yes." Honestly, I didn't know what else to say to that. Militia's eyes had widened, but Armsmaster kept rolling.

"And the individual known as Ashbeast - now Cinder-Seeker - he is from your world as well?" Huh, had something about my going to meet the Ashen One been what clued them in? I nodded, then shook my head.

"Not… not quite. It's more like the relation between Earth Bet and Earth Aleph - related worlds. Or, different points on a timeline in related worlds. It is a bit complicated." Armsmaster frowned at my answer.

"But… he knows you." I shook my head slightly.

"More, he knows of me. Before I visited Africa, we had never personally met." I wondered how far down the journey to rekindling the Flame this Ashen One had gotten - had he met, or conquered, the Soul of Cinder in his time?

"Then… I see. For our next major question: what, exactly, are you? You are not a Parahuman." This was said in a flatly inquisitive tone - careful to keep any accusation out of it, I suppose. This was trickier to answer, and I leaned against one of the dividers for the firing range.

"I… well. I was born Human. But the world that I came from was rather… dangerous, and more so, we were locked in a cycle, a struggle, between the Darkness, and the Flame. Neither were inherently good or evil, but just were. I won't bore you with the history, but each side had what you could consider a representative race. The Dark had Humanity, and the Flame had the Gods. There were far more of us than them, but they were individually far more powerful… usually." I rolled my shoulders as I thought on how to proceed.

"I said, that there was a struggle. But that isn't entirely accurate. For most of the time, there was no real conflict - Humans worked with, and served, the Gods. Abyss, clerics and priests could draw power from their faith in the Gods." I did note that the two of them looked at each other sharply at that. "But, it was a cycle. The Flame began to die. And the leader of the Gods panicked. He sacrificed himself to relight the fire, to keep the Age of the Gods going. And along with that, he cursed Humanity with the Dark Sign." I straightened up.

"I was born a Human, and became afflicted with the Dark Sign. This brings on Undeath, cursing Humans to slowly lose their Soul and turn Hollow. The only way to stave it off, is to seek more Souls, and avoid death. But - but I had heard of an ancient kingdom, where the ruler had almost solved the problem, had nearly broken the curse of Undeath. So, I went to find it. Along the way, on my journey, I fought monstrous, powerful foes - and their Souls sustained me, kept me going, and made me stronger. Eventually, I reached the Throne - and in so doing, I had become more powerful than what Gods remained. Then my world was attacked, by crystal beasts, and in an attempt to stop them the last of the old Gods funneled the Flame and the Dark into me. It was too late, but that ended up with me coming here." I could see Militia's disbelieving gaze locked on me, and I figured Armsmaster wasn't much different. The male hero coughed, loudly.

"And, that has led to you becoming a 'God' as the term is from your world?" This was leading somewhere, I could tell. I nodded, cautiously. "Then, if someone believed in you, or rather, had faith in you…" I snorted.

"I suppose, yes, they could draw power from me. But to do that, they'd need to know of me, how faith in my abilities as a Divine being, and be taught in the methods of the churches of my world. I'm not planning on teaching anyone like that so -"

"You don't have to." I stared at Militia, who had spoken. Armsmaster turned to her slightly. She shifted on her feet. "You don't have to. Ashbeast's world was close enough to yours for the methodology to be the same, wasn't it?" I felt my jaw drop. No. No way had he - that would be insane! I was teaching Tseldora, but I had built up a rapport with her, and I was pacing out her instruction. For them to have hit on that link so quickly…

"Yes. Yes, it would be." I didn't want to ask. They didn't make me.

"In the two days following your killing of Leviathan, a church of the King of the First Flame has sprung up on Africa. The Lead Deacon, as he calls himself, is the Cinder-Seeker - and since starting the church, he has begun displaying healing capabilities, as well as lightning-based Blaster abilities. We would have attributed this to a second Trigger, if it was not for the fact that other priests of the church are displaying near identical powers." Oh what in the name of the Abyss had he done? I started pacing back and forth.

"So far, there have been no problems with this - local warlords have been complaining to those who will listen, but so far the Church of the First Flame has been protecting normal people from some of the worst that the parahumans knew the area try to commit. And the spread of the healing aspect has proven quite beneficial." So, Miracle-based healing worked on regular people in this world. That was good knowledge to have, even if I was really irritated by how the knowledge was obtained. I rubbed my forehead.

"Great. Just… great. I'm going to have to go back to Africa and talk with him about this."

"So you didn't put him up to it, or supply him with the chimes that he has been distributing?" I frowned. How was he making those? I shook my head.

"No. I told him to become a hero, and to be a good person, but nothing about establishing a religion. I… no." I shook my head again. This wasn't something I needed to be dealing with, but now it was. Once I got some privacy, I would need to see if I could feel people calling on me - at least that's how I figured this was working.

"I see. And ah.. About Tseldora." I snapped my gaze to Armsmaster, who took a step backwards. "No, no! We just wanted to ask what happened there. Even having it on camera, it's hard to believe." I was torn. I wanted to keep that aspect of my powers to myself, but.. Did they deserve answers? No, not fully. If either Hebert asked, then I might answer. For now…

"She was injured, hurt. Her Soul was split. I had the ability to heal her, so I did." I didn't know what to make of their expressions. I clapped my hands.

"Is there anything else, or can I go?" Armsmaster flicked his gaze to Militia, who looked to a watch on her wrist and shook her head. The blue-armored hero sighed.

"We'd appreciate if you stayed a little longer, someone wanted to talk with you but she hasn't arrived yet. But we understand if you want to leave and won't get in your way." That was more than I was expecting. I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a moment, and was about to shake my head when there was a sharp knock on the door. The knock repeated, and Armsmaster called out for the person to enter.

The woman who entered was dressed in a… unique outfit. Primarily black and grey, it had a skirt, leggings, a full length cloak that trailed along the ground as she strode in, and in the center of the breastplate was a grey tower. She wore a steel mask, her hair flowing down her back - this might be where Tseldora got the inspiration for hers? - and piercing eyes stared at me through two small slits in the front.

"Paracelsus?" She directed to one word interrogative to Armsmaster, without looking away from me. If I had not dealt with people like Shannalotte and Shalqiour, neither of whom seemed to ever blink, it might have been disconcerting. As it was, I simply smiled at her from behind my veil.

"Yes. He did confirm that he had nothing to do with the Church of the First Flame." She nodded sharply.

"Very well. Thank you two for your help, I wish to speak to him alone for now." Armsmaster started to protest, but the woman - and even I could recognize Alexandria, female member of the Triumvirate - swung her gaze around to him, and he quailed and slumped, before standing up with Miss Militia and leaving the room. Once the two of them had closed the door, she finally spoke to me.

"I don't quite know how to address whatever you are. But we need your help." I felt my eyebrows disappear into my hairline. "I represent a small group known as Cauldron. We are working to stop the end of the world." Well, that's a doozy.

Last edited: Mar 13, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 13, 2017

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TinyGladiator

Just another bad writer.

Mar 14, 2017

#994

Arggh, why do the people of this thread keep giving me good Omake ideas? I'm actually working and posting snippets of my very first real story, stop dragging me back to the Omakes, jk I love this fic.

Scale

It was titanic in every sense of the word, including the fact that it was a wreck becaused it crashed into something.

A sea of dead flesh, dead flesh that wasn't decomposing. It looked almost like water, but it was much harder than the meat of mortals.

Glaciers of matter; made neither flesh nor metal nor plant nor stone, were peppered all around the carcass.

Mining devices that looked as if they wouldn't be created for a hundered years were fulfilling their collective duties: collect the ichor from the dead monster.

Except... it wasn't dead. Looking closely he could feel it.

The Monarch felt something similar to this on only one other place: The Forest of Giants.

During his times through the forest he could feel a massive pressance of souls in a sort of 'background'. From all of the trees he could sense a muted pressance, they were all mostly faint but it was definitely there.

The trees felt like a healthy, if sorrowful, growing life.

The gargantuan corpse felt like a cancer clinging to life.

It made him feel slightly woozy and a part of him wanted to retch up his nonexistant lunch. It felt like getting hit with a continuous Hex.

Despite the horror of this Bloodbornesque situation he pressed on.

The grand souls were lazily floating around the massive tomb, but there was only one in his sights. There, in the middle lay a different soul. One that was a silver grey colour.

It looked dim and cracked. Something that was once brilliant that now only showed ruin and a sight that made him knew that it was once a brilliant and exotic flame, that was now no more than a barely warm fire kept barely alive with a few tinders. He couldn't tell if the creature was alive or not. It looked like red super giant star in the sense that it was close to collapsing.

And also in the sense that it was massive. It was the second biggest soul he had ever seen.

Levithan's soul, Vendrick's soul, Nadalia's completed soul. All of them couldn't even compare to the sheer scale of this soul. Only the First Flame was greater, but that was basically a 'living' concept that was literally fueled by a God and quite possibly the Chosen Undead.

This things' soul on the other hand was, well a soul, something that belonged to a living creature.

Even the other grand souls couldn't compare. They were planets and this was their Sun.

No more time wasting, let's get this overwith.

He channeled his power, his energy, his soul and tried to dislodge it. It started moveing towards him at the pace of a slug.

He really hoped he could deal with this.

(Later.)

"I should have known." He said despondantly to himself.

He created a staff from the soul. This is what it looked like.

Silver was the colour, along with spots that looked almost corroded. The size wasn't too much bigger than his own staff that he used more. It looked like a perfectly straight metal pole with a worm coiling itself around the entirety of it with the head of it ending in a curved hook.

It looked pretty amazing. There was just one small yet significant detail.

It only had a C scaling in intelligence currently.

And where am I gonna get some petrified dragon bones? He thought sadly. I should have thought about that before.

Is your weapon made with the soul of an amazingly badass character? Did the boss kill you many times? Does the weapon that you can make look awesome?

It has a high chance of having not great scaling or having a stupid gimmick. ;(

#RelatableSouls #Dancers'sSwordsSuck #WTFisthepointofNashandras'scythe #Fuckfrejasoulweapons #CaestusisBestus #FUCKALSANNA'SHEALINGSWORD

Last edited: Mar 14, 2017

TinyGladiator

Mar 14, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 17, 2017

#1,001

"I know it seems like a lot to take in, or believe." She pressed on quickly before I had a chance to respond. "But, from everything we know, you know exactly what kind of foe this world, our world truly faces. The Entity." I had to shake my head here - I had never heard of an Entity… unless she meant the Crystal beings?

"You do mean the world consumers?" She paused, and even through her mask I could see her eyes tighten before she nodded. I sat forward in the chair I was in and clasped my hands together beneath my chin. "Then yes, though I tend to refer to them as the Crystal beings. One devoured my world, as you have no doubt surmised."

"Yes, we had that suspicion for a short while now. Though that was heavily counted against when you talked with Ashbeast with familiarity - as he has been here a considerably longer period of time than you have been active." I shrugged, and watched as she tilted her head.

"I knew the Ashen One for other reasons." No, not even now was I going to say that Drangleic wasn't my original, home world. "His world was… a sister world to mine, similar to the relation between Aleph and Bet here, though on different places along a time scale. His world was much further along the progression of our cycle than mine." Though it was clear that it wasn't a carbon copy of my world - in mine, the Chaos Flame had been extinguished after the sacrifice of the Ivory King. I had made sure of that.

"So then, Alexandria. If one of the leaders of the heroes of this world, and presumably other important, strategically placed individuals, know of the impending demise that is on the horizon, why isn't the world united against that threat? Why are the Endbringers, dangerous threats true, the worst people know of?" And I wasn't meaning the general populace - that would just cause riots and devastation as people panicked. But not even Armsmaster had reacted at all when I had said that my world had been destroyed. Maybe that was because I hadn't called the beast an 'Entity' but surely that would have sparked at least some recognition?

"Because the Entity won't be attacking for years, from all our projections. And with our old methods, we would have had our best shot at killing it before it attacked." Alexandria shifted, her eyes dropping from mine. There was something she wasn't telling me - not that I blamed her. A 'best shot' had no guarantee of working, after all. "But now, there's you." I brought my hands apart and leaned back, drumming my fingers on my legs.

"One of our group has an ability that allows her to see a 'Path to Victory'. This is what clued us in to the threat in the first place - she guided the killing of one of the Entities." My head reeled back. They had slain one of the Crystal beasts? "So. Will you help us? Help us save this world and the others?" Wait, the others? She must have seen the sudden confusion in my eyes.

"The Entities are multiversal." Yes, this I had already figured out. Dimension Hopping bastards. "They eat not just one world, but multiple worlds connected with it. Not just our Earth is on the chopping block; so is Aleph, and all the others. If we don't stop him, it, no one will survive." Well. She was laying it on a little thick - I was clear proof that that statement wasn't true. But then again, both I and the Ashen One had way too much power dumped behind us to facilitate an escape - mine had enough to even get the crow kids out. I doubted that would be possible for people on this world.

I frowned as she said something softly, and something pressed against my dominion insistently. I let it pass through, and saw her blink when a portal appeared, wreathed in grey fog. She stepped through it - and came back a moment later carrying three small vials. She laid the vials on the table, and clasped her hands together.

"We are aware that you do not have a Parahuman power. If you consume one of these, you will gain one." I frowned beneath my veil. That statement was said with confidence.

"Before I respond, would you do me the courtesy of answering something?" She nodded, long black hair dancing behind her back. "The powers that this world have - their origin?" I had my suspicions, but no word that I was right.

"As far as we can tell, and this has been confirmed by our experiments, the powers originate with the Entities." Ah. Hm. That was… interesting. "However, that is for the naturally occurring powers. The ones from these vials are taken from the slain Entity, so are free of the restrictions that normally come with them. We do try to place our own so no one goes rampant, but it can be hit or miss." Hmm. I closed my eyes and reached out. If these vials held the powers…

My eyes went wide. They actually had the Shards inside somehow, with a loose mass of what I could only describe as 'soul-stuff'. It wasn't actually Souls, it had none of the traces of memory that even Faded Souls held, but it did have the energy and substance of Souls. Was this how the Shards powered the merge, with loose energy in a neutral state? But more than that though - all three of these felt… unstable.

The 'natural' Shards had all been stable, cohesive things that blended seamlessly with the Soul of the person who held it. Even Mush's, when I placed the Dark Sign on it, has been steady. These though, felt wild, and were… larger? Yes, larger than the Shards I had seen before. I looked at Alexandria, who seemed… hesitant.

"These vials, are you sure they're safe?" I was actually a bit surprised when she shook her head.

"They should be, but there is no real guarantee about it…. When they go wrong, they twist the person's body, and wipe their mind." That sounded… familiar. Not from Drangleic, but from this world. I couldn't quite play what it was though.. I bit my lip in thought.

"However, when successful, they should just give you access to a Parahuman power, just like the others who have ingested them." I shook my head and pushed the vials away, back towards her.

"These scream instability to me - like whatever is meant to balance the Shard isn't there. Something inherent to it maybe, or the like. The most I could do is craft things from the shards, if nothing went wrong." My mind had drifted from the conversation, instead wrapped around the conundrum of whether or not I even could do that - was the mass of energy that the shard was encapsulated in enough to work with, or would I need to add some of the Dark Soul or the First Flame into the mix?

"Wait. What do you mean, craft things?" I blinked and went back over the words in my head. Whoops. I hadn't meant to give that tidbit away. This is what I get for immediately pondering whether or not something could happen.

"I do have a mild skill in creating weapons and armor from various sources. I believe these shards would work too." No, not going to say that I could make things from the Souls of those I had killed. That was a bit grim and might not go over well. Not that I particularly cared, but I didn't want to have people start turning against me just as I was making headway as establishing myself as a hero of renown.

"I… see." She took the vials back and tucked then away into her briefcase and set that down on the floor, before folding her hands together and staring at me. "I… I just be frank. Normally, my group would never have approached you. We would have dealt in the background, trying to orchestrate things so that you eventually would solve the problem, with no interference from us. However, something recently changed that made approaching you the primary option, even over having you simply on our side through obfuscation. This is not how we operate."

Huh. This made sense - shadowy organizations like this rarely came up and moved so blatantly unless they absolutely had to. Especially with Alexandria here being one of the leaders of the Protectorate in the nation, I would have ended up working with her at some point. I wonder, was it something on my end that changed it, or something that someone else had done?

"Now then, we are putting our cards on the table. Will you do the same?" I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to one side.

"If I can. There are some things I would rather not talk about."

"What exactly is going on with the church that Ashbeast has started?" Her voice was low, and earnest. So she hadn't been listening to me talk with Armsmaster and Militia?

"What are you asking about specifically? I don't know much myself - until Armsmaster mentioned it to me, I didn't even know he had created one." I could see her eyes tighten, though there was something off about one of them, but I couldn't place it. Eh.

"How exactly is it that he is enabling normal people to throw spears of lightning, and heal others? We've checked several of them, and aside from a deep belief in.. Well, you, as a God, there is nothing unusual about them. And considering you killed an Endbringer, that isn't too out there for most people. But they aren't parahumans, and aside from that belief and being in the church, there is no unifying characteristics about them. So, how?" I shrugged a shoulder.

"In our world, the Gods take a more direct hand in things. Those who have Faith can ask for help, or tap into the power of their Deity." She sat back. "Just as I am teaching my apprentice sorcery, so too can people who have a strong enough Soul in this world learn Miracles, as we call them. I am deeply hoping that the Ashen One has some kind of system in place in his church to keep people from going wild with that power, but as I said I wasn't even aware of the church's existence in the first place." I kept my mouth shut about the chimes being strictly necessary though - it was probably a bit judgemental of me, but I felt like I could trust people using powers I understood a lot more than Parahumans who were literally drawing their powers from our enemies.

"I… I see. And if a Parahuman had that kind of faith?" Here her voice was soft. I shrugged again.

"Well. If one had the faith, then yes, Ashbeast would probably let them know the church and teach them what they need to know. He is also aware of the Entities, so he might be trying to build a base of individuals to fight back." It did make sense, strategically. More weapons pointed against your foe usually gave you better odds than standing alone. So long as he had some way of maintaining oversight over his priests.

"And your spells, your Sorceries and these Miracles - they hurt the Entity that attacked your world?"

"They did. If I had not been cast away in an effort to save the last vestiges of my world, things might have gone differently." And… would it? Would I have been able to get accustomed to my divine state in time to go against the Entity? Or did I need to come here, to come to terms with what had happened to me in a relatively safe environment, before I would be ready? I didn't know.

"This then, is why I needed to speak with you." This was said more to herself than to me, I think. "Not only to get you on our side, but to see about helping the church, which we wouldn't have done without this conversation. But why didn't the path show that?" I didn't have an answer for her, not that she seemed to want one. Alexandria stood up, and I followed suit.

"Thank you for your time, Paracelsus. I doubt you will need anything from us aside from our cooperation -"

"Actually. Bring a few more of those vials, the ones you showed me. I can experiment with them and see if I can figure out if any are safe to ingest, or if I can make any gear with them." She blinked, and nodded slowly.

"We can arrange something, yes. Ah, the fastest way to get them to you would be via a dimensional effect - Doormaker." I felt something pressing very insistently on my domain, and I let it through. Again, the grey-wreathed portal appeared. She nodded to it. "Our most secure method of transportation. If we send anything to you, it will be via Doors like these. Anything else?" I shook my head and she bowed before stepping through the portal. It vanished behind her, and left me standing there in the Protectorate base, with no escort. Hmm, wonder if she was a bit rattled? I started trying to find my way out of the place, doing my best to remember the path that Armsmaster had led me down.

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Reytac

Mar 17, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 20, 2017

#1,023

Getting out of the Rig took more effort than I thought. Probably by intention, the corridors were tight and narrow, twisting back on themselves a few times. I couldn't remember what path I had been led down by Armsmaster when we came in, so trying to follow it back quickly proved to be an exercise in futility. Eventually, someone seemed to notice my plight - Velocity popped up around a corner and guided me out, chuckling to himself the whole time.

Once I was back on shore, I hurried to my Bonfire - I desperately needed to think, and this was the most down-time I'd had since coming to this world. There were no gangs about to attack, I had established myself as a hero, and one that needed to be approached cautiously at that, so the Protectorate weren't about to send people after me. Tseldora - Taylor - was still recovering in the hospital, and even at my best guess would take a day or two to be on her feet.

Once inside, I pulled out a pair of coins and flicked them at the crow kids - one thing that they had already found they loved from this world were coins of various denominations, with a heavy preference for ones that had been worn smoother by people handling them. I had a minor habit of picking up loose change for them now if I didn't already have some in my Pouch.

As the two of them chirped happily and bounced around, I sat down into a meditative pose that I had copied from Carhillion. There were things I had to think about heavily, and wasting any time might leave me with none left to spare.

First: the church that the Ashen One had started. This posed a problem, not that I had wanted to clue Alexandria in on the issue at the time. While Parahumans had the Soul-stuff that came with their Shards, mixing and attending itself to the person, I had yet to really look into whether or not normal humans of this world had enough Soul to cast a spell by themselves. The easiest solution would be to ignore the problem, working off the assumption that if the clerics of the Church could cast Miracles, then obviously normal humans had enough Soul to power even the simplest of magics. Miracles did take less inner power, as it was usually cast by tapping into a God's power and guiding it with your own.

But in my experience, nothing was ever that simple. No, there was something else going on in the Church, and I needed to go to Africa again to investigate as soon as I could. I'd have to get in contact with someone who could help me travel there to do that though.

Second: I needed to examine the First Flame and see what was happening with it. So far, I had been working off the fact that the Dark Soul and my magic had been binding it in place, but what if that wasn't fully the case? This problem though, I could address immediately. I sank deeper into my meditation, casting my consciousness inwards.

A grey field surrounded me as I opened my eyes. At least, that was the best way I had of describing it. I recognized this fog though - it was the same fog that surrounded powerful Souls and their domains, but thicker, more… full, for lack of a better term. I swept my awareness round, examining the 'world' within me. The fog…

It was more familiar than I had realized. And something I had never thought about before. Dimly, in the distance, I could make out the shapes of vast trees, than even from here I could see spanned the height of this inner world. It was strange, how hollow and stunned I felt when I realized that this place heavily resembled the world of Dark Souls before the advent of the First Flame and the Dark Soul. And yet, for all of its size, I knew that this was just an echo of the enormity of that old realm, where Eternal Dragons of stone ruled.

There was a pulse, a wave of something that I felt more in my head than I did physically, and I turned around. Behind me, burning through the fog, was a vibrant black and gold sun, which was slowly scouring away the fog in area around me. But it was strange - even though the black-gold sun was behind me, and a distance away, I felt like that pulse had still come from within me, had emanated from inside rather than passing through me. Hesitantly, I started to move towards that dark sun, almost afraid of what I would find.

Traversing the fog plain was weird. It felt like I was making no progress at all towards my destination, but at the same time that I was making immeasurable strides, devouring the distance between us. And with every pulse - they were infrequent, but in this place I had quickly lost track of time - my steps necessary heavier, more solid and sure. I didn't actively note the change at the time, but at some point the grey fog that I had been walking upon had become packed dirt, brown now the first color other than the black and gold light that was shining from the sun ahead of me.

Now much closer, I could see what I hadn't before. The 'sun' was hanging in a shell, one that was loosely shaped like a colossal human. The shape was made up of thinly woven strands of black, strands that were almost impossible to see in the blazing light of the black and gold sun. At the same time I made that connection, I felt my perspective shift - and no longer was I on the ground, looking up towards the dark sun. No, I was encompassing it, could feel the immense heat of the First Flame, wrapped tightly in the deep cool of the Dark Soul, pulsing within my chest. I didn't know where I was - but it was not the world within my Soul, not as I knew it.

My new…. State, allowed me to perceive something that I hadn't before. Wrapped around the world, penetrating it to its core, were immense chains made of a glittering crystal. The chains splintered apart as the approached the ground, fracturing into tiny motes of crystal that covered so much surface. I could see now, infinitesimal figures moving about within the fog. They were the same color as the fog, and if I had noticed them when walking through it I might have just thought them moving clouds.

But now I could see, nestled within some of those closest to me, were fragments of that crystal that pervaded everything. Those that *did* have crystal fragments were much larger than those without, by at least an order of magnitude.

In the distance, yet somehow close by me, I could see something different, not crystal or fog, but something else. Purplish Flame, a column of it, pierced the fog, burning away at it. But it was different from the way the First Flame and Dark Soul approached it. My Flame pushed away the featureless fog, like strong gusts of wind that cleared away the heavy and oppressive weight. This other flame though, chewed at the fog, ripped and burned at it. Worse, was the fact that while the pulses from the dark sun that I had become here left the fog-like beings alone, indicating they had some kind of weight in this world, the other flame seemed to be indiscriminate, sometimes burning away the clumps of fog, other times…. Taking them in, and doing something to them.

My mind shuddered. I was looking, I knew now, at the world of the souls around me. My simple presence here was changing the world - I could see, in the region that the Dark Flame had cleared near me, that the fog beings, both those with and without crystal fragments, were going, now freed of the heavy fog that had kept them stifled before. If I had a mouth, and a throat, I would have swallowed, trying to get rid of the way both felt like they had dried out. Just being here was altering the people nearest me - and I didn't know where that would stop.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like any of the actual First Flame or Dark Soul had escaped into the wider world - but the purple Flame was a problem. The Ashen One was changing things rapidly now that I had freed his mind, and it seemed like it had been a mistake not to bring him with me where I could keep an eye on him. I opened my eyes, pulling my mind away from unreal world it had entered.

"Dear Monarch, sweet King. You cannot stop the progress you bring. I pray you accept that you bring your kingdom with you, else your struggles will be against yourself as much as the beings of Crystal. Though dealing with the Usurping Flame can only be a good thing, whether that is bringing it to heel or putting it out entirely. Would you be so kind, though, to end his suffering?"

I came to with a jolt, body stiffening before relaxing slightly. I rubbed the back of my head - there was something niggling at my thoughts, but whatever it was wouldn't come forth and let me actually realize it. I had a new problem on my shoulders - I was twisting the world, letting people grow and change in a way that they hadn't been able to before.

Would Taylor have been able to cast spells, if I had tried teaching her at the start? Or would it have been wasted effort, as the fog of the world kept her Soul small? Or, would she even have been able to come back from her death and resuscitation without that growth? Without it, her Soul might have been too small to survive being split asunder, and would have had no way of being put back together.

But did that mean that, given enough time, the normal people around me would also be able to learn to use spells, or worse, grow and twist their bodies as the heavy fog that kept their forms stifled before dissipated? I felt a cold feeling sinking in my gut. If the fog, which was obviously an integral part of this world, had kept people from twisting and mutating as their Soul aged… without it, would they then be free to change? Or would the Flame within me replace that fog, serving as the new pressure to keep unwanted changes from happening?

Whatever the case, I would have to take up meditating more often. If someone's Soul did begin to twist beyond what it should be, I would need to react quickly, either to help them understand the changes… or put down whatever monstrosity they were becoming.

And on the topic of monstrosities… what in the name of the Abyss was the Ashen One doing? I needed to go talk to him immediately, and figure out just what was happening down there. I hadn't been able to perceive what changes he was implementing in the Souls that he took in, but the Chaos Flame was obviously already growing in power at a rapid pace. It was still no true challenge to the Dark Flame that was slowly merging together within me, but it was almost on parking with the remnants of one of the Lord Souls from my world. And considering the embers to which the Flames had fallen in his time - even going out - that was not good news at all. Was that Flame feeding on the fog as it ripped it away?

No, confronting the Ashen One again had moved up to the top of my list of tasks. I had to go speak to him immediately. My attention was ripped from my thoughts when I heard Dyna and Tilo screeching.

I was on my feet, crackling sword in hand, eyes frantically darting around for the threat, in moments. It took a second to process that they had stopped screeching, and were instead saying "The Fire" over and over again. I looked to it, and my head reeled backwards in shock.

The low, guttering Bonfire, had swelled in size, the flames upon it now resembling a normal Bonfire. But that shouldn't happen - not unless somehow there was another Bonfire to connect it to, one forged in the same way this had been. The cold feeling in my stomach turned to a block of ice as I reached a hand towards it - and I felt the world twist and drop away.

"How did you - oh no! Someone alert the Seeker, one of the Crystal servants has managed to get into our domain! Be gone, foul one!" The words weren't spoken in English, but I somehow understood them clearly. I felt something, tickling at the back of my mind, and then a familiar crackling sound. I threw myself to the side as a bolt of lightning smashed into the stone behind where I had been standing, and came up on my feet.

I knew now where I was, my suspicion and fear confirmed. Arrayed before me were three men, wooden chimes clasped in their hands a fervent zeal burning in their eyes. Behind them, a woman ran through a heavy door, swinging it shut. The men lifted their chimes.

"With great bolts of lightning and fury, he did smite the endless beast of water! Lightning Spear!" Three bolts of electricity shot towards me, and I rolled forward, under the first two, only to catch the third in my chest. Yellow lightning sparked along the edges of my body - they had a decent level of strength behind them. Problem was, they shouldn't - Taylor certainly didn't have that kind of potency with her spells already, and I had been teaching her before the Ashen One could have started.

Right, that was enough of that. Flames gathered in my left hand as lightning surged into my right, forming a gleaming gold staff. I swept the flames in front of me, forcing the men to move backwards - but before I could cast a spell, the chamber door burst open wide, and I saw the Ashen One, looking far more see thanast I had seen him, charge in. He came to a skidding halt in front of me, his eyes open wide.

"My… My Lord! You honor us!" He dropped to his knees, and after a moment of stunned shock, the three men followed suit. Well. Damn.

Last edited: Mar 20, 2017

249

Reytac

Mar 20, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 21, 2017

#1,045

The Ashen One led me through a small set of chambers, to a decently. Large hall. At one end sat a moderately ornate Throne, embossed in gold and red filigree with some kind of black material used as accentuation - obsidian, maybe? Beside this Throne was a much smaller, simpler chair that looked worn and plain, but sturdy. I crossed my arms and watched as he sank into the simple chair, letting out a heavy sigh as he did so.

The Unkindled Ash looked worn out, much more than he had last I saw him. Years sat heavy in his face, though whenever he looked up at me the sag to his shoulders lessened a bit.

"My Lord, my Liege. This world…. I had not realized just how strange and different from our own it is. The people here, the ones without those parasitic things hiding inside of them," I frowned. The Shards, from my admittedly limited study, weren't parasitic, but more symbiotic. "They have no capacity or a weak one, for the higher arts. And worse, like our world they lash out at what they don't understand - we have fended off many attacks on our Chapel by non-believers, both the normal 'humans' and the parasite-bearers." I felt the hesitation when he went to call them humans, and a bad feeling settled in the back of my head.

"What have you done then, Ashen One?" He had to have done something, if normal people in this area hadn't been able to cast spells of any kind. Those lightning bolts that the clerics had been throwing at me had been very, very real. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, refusing to meet my gaze. He mumbled something, under his breath, and I felt my heart freeze in place in my chest. "Repeat. That." A hard fury filled my words.

"I…. I was desperate my Lord. Beset and I didn't know how to carry out your command to establish myself as a hero." I had forgotten, that the Ashen One came from the Lothric universe alone, and didn't have a base in a more 'real' reality. "So I did what I could! I established the Church of the King of the First Flame, your church! I've set decrees, to only turn to violence when life is threatened, and to help and aid those who have been plagued by troubles. Our priests have greatly helped this region, healing Miracles have improved dozens of lives. And order has been established again, people are respecting each other again. Is it really so bad, my Liege, that I… that I…" He fumbled his last words. He knew, then, that what he had done was stupid and dangerous. He looked to me, eyes trembling.

"That I nurtured the Flame within them?" Despite the fact that half of my soul was made of a conceptual Flame and the other half was made of an unending abyss, I felt it freeze over. Slowly, I turned to one of the clerics that had followed us in, and reached out, brushing his Soul with mine.

Purple Flame wreathed the man's Soul, a tiny, glittering fragment of grey fog that was barely clinging on as the Flame around it ate away at its essence. It was a slow process, and I could see that neither my fellow Flame-bearer or his Follower knew what was happening. My heart sank into my feet as I closed my eyes, focusing intently on what I was going to try. Slowly, carefully, I drew on the Dark and the Flame, using the more potent Fire to quell the raging heat inside the unknowing man. But he was too far gone - as the fires subsided the cleric collapses to the ground, like a puppet with his strings severed.

I pulled away, watching as the man's body twisted and distorted, angry red lines appearing on his skin as the Flame within consumed him. I felt the Ashen One beside my start to turn away, and I gripped his head with a hand, forcing him to watch as the cleric was burned alive from the inside. Twice, the Chaos Flame that had been planted inside of him tried to surge out of control, raging against its host's demise, but each time I burned away the mutations in his fading Soul before they could take hold.

Soon, but not soon enough, the man's whimpers of agony faded, and I turned hard eyes to look at the Ashen One - whose skin now matched his title. I suppressed the urge to twitch at the fact that the hand I had grabbed him with wasn't a flesh and blood one - I t was forged from a golden flame, thinly cased in black smoke. I let the extra limb fade as I stared at him.

"These people, their Souls, are not strong enough to last long at all, not yet. Was this man one of your first?" He nodded, shaggy black hair cascading around his head as he stared at the dead body. "Then congratulations. We now know how long it takes before the Chaos takes over - are there others who were implanted at the same time as him?" He started to shake his head - then abruptly switched to a nod.

"T-two others, my King. But one already died, or went missing rather - we found her chime and vestments yesterday in her quarters. The other is one of our traveling priests." I felt my hand shaking, and clenched it into a tight fist to stop the motion.

I was furious. I wanted to rip the Ashen One apart, putting his Unkindled state to the test - would he come back as I had? But I refrained. He was no Sorcerer, trained in looking into his own Soul, nor quite apparently was he on my level, able to examine the Souls of those around him. But had the dangers of the Chaos Flame truly been forgotten by the time of Lothric?

The fool had sent however many priests out, each carrying uncontrolled Chaos within them, across the land. I noted dimly that the Ashen One had pulled back, and seemed to be wincing. I took a deep breath, focusing on bringing my anger under control - and that was when I realized waves of heat had been pouring off of my body.

"What. Exactly. Did you do?" I needed to know how bad it was. Even just some Chaos Flame in the mix was bad enough - these people had no real way of resisting the corruption, they didn't have enough Soul - but if he had…

"I took part of my Soul and my Flame and placed it within them. It's a ritual that was used in my homeland for years, to help the caretakers of the Chaos Flame resist its temptations - we would already be a part of it, in some regard, so we wouldn't seek to take all of the Flame for ourselves." I wanted to scream, felt it churning at the back of my throat. It wasn't a malicious action, he literally didn't see any problem with it until I had shown up.

"Ashen One. These people, they have no real Soul to speak of of their own. When you implanted even a fragment of yours…" It was easy to see what the result was. Even though we had watched a man burn to death, he and I were not terrified. A normal person should have been though - and the other clerics that were in the chamber, the two other men who followed from the Bonfire room, were frozen in place, their attention hyper focused on me in the same way that the Ashen One's was. Even the small piece that he had placed in them had overwhelmed them. Looking at them more closely, the two men could have been passed as close brothers, not quite twins - and their triplet was sitting, shivering, in the chair behind me.

His Soul had subsumed theirs, taking over and making them more like him with every day. It was a danger even in Drangleic: If you took in a Soul that was stronger than yours, you stood a chance to literally lose control over your own body as the new dominant Soul took over. The resultant being would be a mix of the Souls that had gone into its creation, favoring whichever Soul had been stronger at the time of merging.

The ritual that he spoke of was probably done only when the recipient was strong enough to not be taken over in the process. At least, I hoped it was. But with Chaos in the mix, there was no way I could be certain that was the case. Worse, my fear had been confirmed: it wasn't just Chaos Flame that he had placed in these clerics, but also a portion of himself; that meant that the Chaos Flame in them had a lot more to feed off of as it worked.

The door to the hall burst open, the woman I had seen earlier rushing in, terror plain on her face. She ran towards us - and I saw, as she did so, that her features were also similar to the Ashen One's - and threw herself at his feet.

"Seeker, oh Seeker, it's terrible!" She repeated the words four times before I could understand what she was saying - the Ashen One still looked lost. I knelt down beside the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. I felt an atavsitic shudder at the contact, but suppressed it - it was not her fault that her Soul was being consumed. As she spoke, calmer now, to the Ashen One, I tried to quell the Flame inside of her, peering inwards to see if there was enough of her original Soul left for me to try to bolster and keep intact through the process.

There… was not. Already, her Soul was just remnants that clung on to the foreign Soul that had consumed it, trying desperately not to be burned away by the ravenous Chaos Flame that surrounded it, them. As I calmed the Flame though, her body shuddered, and a tension left her face.

"It's Brother Ac'hon. He was found mutilated, like he was ripped apart by something with claws. At first we thought it was a wild animal that had gotten inside, until we found the scratch marks around the windowsill that resembled a person's hand. We… we fear one of the masking Parahumans has snuck in, and is preying upon us." That was a possibility, if by 'masking' she meant what much of the world referred to as a Stranger. A worse possibility, and what my mind went to, was that the woman that the Ashen One had mentioned before that had gone missing had shown herself again, in a far worse state.

Immediately, the Unkindled had the woman lead us to where the dead man had been found. On his way out, he paused by the two male clerics and told them to clean up the body for funeral rites. Considering that he was from a group that apparently looked after the Chaos Flame - was this from some group descended from Eleum Loyce? - and this church he had started worshipped the First Flame, I figure it was some kind of pyre. I'd have to ask about the when I wasn't resisting the urge to kill the idiot.

The small room that she led us to was a decent distance away, and had a small cluster of people outside of it. I checked them as well - all already subsumed or well in the process. I couldn't let the Ashen One keep doing this: especially if my fear, and not the clerics, was true.

Curious. I paused, frowning. If the Ashen One's Soul was taking over, it must not be strong enough to completely consume them - or was he actually scared of the Parahumans, and that fear was showing through in the clerics that he had placed his Soul within? I wouldn't have thought that myself at first, but he did seem to have been afraid of mentioning the Shard-bearers, as he called them.

Cinder-seeker pushed his way through the small crowd, clearing a path for the two of us to enter. Almost as soon as I walked into the room I felt my stomach retch - there was definitely the stench of Chaos in this chamber, potent in a way that I had only encountered a few times. I could see, from the way his face twisted, that the other Flame-bearer could detect it too.

I moved quickly to the window, and looked out it- a glance in all directions showed divots in the wall moving upwards, to another window a floor above us. I turned to the Ashen One.

"Gather everyone you can into one location. A Chaos Demon is loose here." Hopefully this didn't trigger a cascade in the Chaos Flame inside the others that he had implanted too. I reached into my Pouch and pulled out my Witchtree Staff, beginning to gather my will as I strode upstairs.

Finding where the demon had gone was easy enough. Two doors had been battered down - one from the inside, above where the former human had claimed its first victim, and another a short distance down the hall had been broken in.

Gather. Beckon. Call. Urge. A spell I hadn't had a situation to cast yet, Yearn. The orb of magic traveled down the hallway, softly pulsing with a gentle blue light and occasionally giving off a pleasant chime. The spell was a distraction, crafted to draw attention and have creatures attack it. Normally best used against mindless creatures, as invading spirits or hostile Undead could usually ignore the supernatural call.

This demon though, was less intelligent than it had been in life. One moment the hallway was quiet save for a quiet grunting and the chimes from the spell - then a section of wall close to the door began to glow red. If this was a stone building, the demon would have had to go through the doorway - as it was, the material used to build here didn't last long against the fury of a Chaos Demon.

A whirling dervish of claws and flames shredded the wall, plunging straight through it. A mildly feminine shriek echoed through the hall as the Demon attacked, swiping claws and a barbed tail through the air where the blue ball of magic was hanging. The spell dissipated, and the former human spun to attack me. I could still see traces of her humanity in her - her face was still largely human, though distorted and stretched out in a caricature. Long black hair fell from the top of her head, descending through plates and spikes that covered her shoulders and upper chest. The Demon had wings, thankfully vestigial, and long, scale-covered arms that ended in claws that dripped fire. The flow of fire from her hands increased when she saw me, and her powerful, twisted legs tensed as she sprang at me, claws outstretched.

But she was slow, still close to human, and my Soul Spear blasted through her chest before she'd crossed half the distance. I watched, eyes hard, as she screamed and writhed on the ground, before tears filled her eyes. One clawed hand stretched out to me, pleadingly, before falling to the ground.

"Abyss take him." I spat the words out and spun on my heel, heading back down towards the chamber where I hoped the Ashen One was gathering people. I would have to save whoever I could… because if I didn't, this damn church would become the next breeding grounds for Demons. And I would have to find people affected by the priests, and see if the Chaos had spread through the Miracles. If so, that was a big problem.

219

Reytac

Mar 21, 2017

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Reytac

Mar 24, 2017

#1,082

I stared at my hands blankly. I felt more than saw people moving back and forth, some crying, as they cleared the corpses away. It was all I could do not to strangle the Unkindled Ash that was sitting, still in shock, beside me. But I knew, that he had been trying to help, that he didn't understand the limitations of this world. I shouldn't have left him alone like I did - that was stupid of me, I was so caught up in the fact that he was the Ashen One, from the Souls Universe, something of home to remember that… this wasn't home for him. This place was entirely unfamiliar, and he had no reason at all to understand the differences that this world carried.

Slowly I looked up, to the six people that were trembling still, in front of us. Six, out of the eighteen that he had initiated so far into the clergy. The first three - so far gone that they were becoming Chaos Demons already, the man I had tried to save earlier and the woman that had actually become a Demon. The third was still out, and not expected back until later this day, so I didn't know if it would be possible to save him just yet. Of the next fifteen - the ritual that the Ashen One, whom I had finally learned was named Avonal, was done in sets of three. Only the people from the last two rituals could be saved, their Souls still holding out against the Flame and Avonal's Soul. Removing those, without injuring the already weakened Souls, had been stressful in the large degree - the first had nearly died just from me trying to save her, and if Avonal hadn't reacted quickly with a lesser Heal Miracle, she would have passed on then and there.

But now, these six had survived the process - had survived the flame and another Soul being in their 'domain' as it were. I had no doubt that if things were left as they were now, these six would eventually have incredibly strong Souls all of their own. Even now, I could see that their Souls had grown beyond what a normal person in this world would have - they were almost on par with the Parahumans. Which meant, once they had had time to heal and recover, they might be able to take up the chime once more. If they wanted to that is - without Avonal's Soul in them, influencing them, these people might want nothing more to do with the Church of the First Flame.

"You… it is done, King?" Strangely, it was the woman who had nearly died in the process who spoke first, her quavering voice breaking the silence that had fallen in the chamber. I swung my gaze to her, and she shrank back for a moment before apparently finding her resolve. She pressed forward, actually standing up to approach me, where I was sitting in front of the throne that Avonal had had made for me - I hadn't said it yet, but for right now I flat out refused to get on the ostentatious thing. That's how people ended up stuck on life support systems for millenia, no thank you.

"Yes. The… uncontrolled power within you and the others has been successfully removed. You are as you were before the ritual. Again, we apologize." Avonal nodded earnestly from beside me. I had decided to just roll with the fact that these people knew we were from another world - apparently, as soon as the clerics were inducted in the ritual, Avonal had let them in on that knowledge. I found that I didn't really mind at this point - they had been through enough and didn't need my admittedly petty need to hoard information hurting them any more.

"I do greatly apologize for the harm I did you and the others, Amisi. If I had known that you and the others weren't ready yet…" He trailed off, looking down at his hands. I chewed on the inside of my cheek - of course he would know what would happen if the ritual failed. He'd probably had no reason to think the clerics couldn't handle it though; in Lothric the corruption of Chaos Flame directly being in someone who couldn't handle it was probably a lot more rapid than it was in this place. So if the recipients did get taken over, it was going to be far more quick to be noticed. Hm. The woman shook her head sharply, then her eyes squeezed tight as she winced.

"No, Seeker. You did naught wrong. Even as the first three took their vows, you warned us that if we weren't ready we might die. Through our King's Grace some of us survived, and that us more than some could say." I…. Didn't know what to say to that. She had nearly died, literally becoming a demonic monstrosity, and she and the others seemed to be completely overlooking that fact. "If even for a short time, we were able to help others, to make our country a better place. For that, and the chance to serve the King, I would gladly give up my life." The other survivors all nodded fervently, and I drummed my fingers on my knee in contemplation.

They were not fanatics, well, not zealots. These six sought to make their home better, by helping other people. I should be so lucky that everyone who joined this church was like them. And I knew that they would be far from the only ones who would be willing to lay down their lives in order to make a better world. But only a week before that time limit was reached? No, there had to be a better way. Perhaps in letting their Souls grow naturally, without the strange fog that had been suppressing them. As I had noted, their Souls had already grown - their 'Faith' shown brightly, and they probably had the strength for maybe one miracle before being exhausted. And that was with a week of growth, albeit likely induced growth due to Avonal's Soul and the Chaos Flame.

How long would it take in a fogless environment before they actually could cast Miracles as freely as they had before? Weeks? Months? Years, for people who hadn't been forced to grow unnaturally? I stood up, and everyone switched their gaze to me, awe shining in the humans' eyes. I shifted uncomfortably - I wasn't used to being looked at like that, but I would have to get accustomed to it - no way was I going to sit back and let a religion devoted to me (and yes I felt weird even thinking that) get out of control.

"Your time of service is not at an end, unless you wish it so." The six survivors looked at me in shock, though I could tell that Avondale himself was stunned as well. I pressed on, undaunted. "In time, you will be able to call upon the Miracles in full once more. But do not strain yourself with such concerns, I will come by to visit to check upon your progress. For now, go, and rest. The Seeker will let you know more after you have spent some time recovering." Unaltered followers rushed forward to help the six, everyone bowing to me as they hurried out of the room. I waited before they had all left before sinking back down, my back against the Throne legs.

"My Liege, I-" I held up a hand, cutting off the frantic words from the Unkindled Ash. I closed my eyes and massaged my forehead, trying to reduce the tension that was piling up behind my eyes. After a minute of silence, I looked to him.

"My Liege, I swear I didn't know that they would be tainted by the Chaos. I…." He looked around the room, before turning his gaze back to me. "I thought them like automatons, vessels with a mind of their own. I felt no Soul in them, so I didn't realize that… I thought my Soul would be the only thing other than the Chaos Flame within them, and since you fought me my Flame has not sought to overwhelm me." I honestly couldn't blame him - for a long while here, I hadn't realized that the normal humans of this world even had Souls, as limited as they were. Only the death of a Parahuman seemed to register, and now I knew that was likely only because of the extra soul-stuff that came with a Shard.

"Peace, Ashen One - Avonal. I too made the same mistake in judgment when I first came here." And I had to wonder, how much of my callousness had been because I didn't see normal people as Humans? Even if subconsciously? Because looking back, my actions were…. I had been treating normal. People as little more than Husks, things to ignore for the most part unless they got in my way. I could see now that my fury when Bakuda's bomb went off had not been at the loss of life, but because I felt the madness of Seath even then. The only people I had given a shit about had been the parahumans - even Daniel Hebert, I really only had concern for because of his connection to Taylor.

Because I could have been doing more to actually clean up the city I had found myself in. If I had truly wanted to establish myself as a hero of renown, and gain a following, I could have easily gone on a hunt of the gangs, instead of passively letting them come to me like I had been. But I hadn't - because I hadn't cared what effect they had on the normal people around me. I had fallen into the strange dichotomy of the parahumans of this world. True, I was more lethal than they were - but I was still passive. I let things happen, instead of going out and eliminating threats to me and mine. In Drangleic, I would. Never have been comfortable with enemies camping within a city's distance of me - nor would I have been fine with normal, peaceful people. Being attacked when I knew about it and could do something.

Abyss, part of the reason why I killed Hela, was because she could control undead. And if I wasn't who, what, I really was now… she could have likely controlled me as well. And even though I was the only Undead - even now I was, the Unkindled Ash wasn't Undead, strangely - that kind of insult and threat had made me furious.

But now.. Now though. Now I knew that they had Souls, however small and stifled compared to what I knew before. These were real I go back and sit by while there were threats around, people hurting innocents? I didn't know if I could. With a mighty haul of my mind, I brought my attention back to bear on Avonal, who was still quietly watching me.

"But. It is a mistake. There is something else at play here, some kind of strange, heavy presence on the plane beyond the physical. It has stifled these people's Souls greatly, but nonetheless they do have Souls." Avonal nodded - that much was probably obvious, considering what he had surmised before and the fact that he had been proven wrong. "I do not know what the presence is. It manifests as a heavy fog, one that is apparently nourishing to our kind - your Flame has actually grown much stronger in the week or so that it has been since I saw you last. But that is because it has been consuming the fog." I didn't tell him that my own First Flame and Dark Soul merely repelled the fog. Strangely, at my words I felt… warmer, in a pleasant way. I closed my eyes and looked to his Soul.

The Chaos Flame, normally a dark, ugly purple - at least that was what his had been last I saw it - was now much brighter, a more vibrant and royal color. It was strange - almost like whatever had happened to the Lord Soul of Life in the eons that it had been the Chaos Flame had begun to give it a limited sentience. Or, were the Flames already aware in a way? That… that was an unsettling thought. And not one I was sure I was OK with having in my head - I had noticed the way both Flame and Soul seemed almost eager to respond to my needs…

"I… I see my Liege." Avonal's words pulled me from my thoughts. That was getting to be a problem. "Then…. Then, if the fog is being reduced, or consumed, as you say, does that mean… their Souls will grow again?" I nodded.

"Some of them might, yes. It is more likely, I think, to happen in those who are still young, but your priests there are also growing. I did not tell them, but they can power a Miracle or two without being completely wiped out." And that was impressive, for a normal human here. A Parahuman might manage a few more, but to even be able to cast one was more than I expected.

There was a frantic pounding on the door, and one of the regular members of the church burst in. He nearly tripped and scrambled over to us, his eyes wide.

"My-my King! Seeker! Cleric Issa has returned!" I looked to Avonal, who had risen to his feet. I stood up, bracing myself for this. A man strode in a few moments later, tall and swarthy, with a shaved head. He bowed low, vestments sweeping the floor. When he spoke, his voice was a low rumble. I was stunned.

"My Lord, dear King. High Seeker. The brothers at the entry hall said you wished to speak to me as soon as I returned? And my King, I am deeply honored to be in your presence." I couldn't believe my eyes. This was the third of the first group of priests that had taken part in the ritual, and yet he looked nothing like Avonal. In fact, as I brushed his Soul to study it - and the man let out a soft gasp that I barely heard - his own Soul was actually the dominant one, and the fragment of the Ashen One's was the one being subsumed. The Chaos Flame within him was tame, a light purple that was like a pale flower.

This… this was the first Soul I'd seen like this - and I checked quickly, the man was not a Shard-bearer. Amazingly, there was someone with a strong Soul here, in this world. True, it was still not as strong as most from my own - but the disparity was not as large as it normally was. His Soul wasn't even colorless like most - it stood out, a darker grey that distinguished it from the normal fog in the distance. He was also in no immediate danger of becoming a Chaos demon - not from what I could see at least.

"Yes. We wished to inform you that -" Avonal was moving forward - to confront or comfort, I didn't know. He paused when Issa looked up, and glanced back to me.

"That sadly, several of your colleagues were not able to withstand the ritual. Several sadly passed on, but we were able to rescue others. Well met, Cleric." I nodded my head to him, still trying to figure out why this man was different. Were there others, people whose Souls reacted to the pressure by condensing and consolidating? He was still limited by his physical form, but within it his Soul was obviously potent. It was jarring, to say the least. Avonal led him forward, and we fell into discussion - I, asking about the region, the others about what I felt the church needed moving forward.

This just about wraps up Burnscar. Is Paracelsus' reaction a bit much? Yes, and not entirely accurate - he's overreacting to this sudden knowledge, and may or may not be painting his actions in a more negative light than they deserve to be. Or, it might be justified.

On a side note, in the month and change that I've been writing this - nearly two months now, Whoa - I've used "Sweet Flame" and "Abyss" as pejoratives so much in my head that I've actually started saying it real life. Whoops.

209The discussions about the church took about an hour, and in the entire time I was carefully keeping an eye on Brother Issa, who seemed to positively glow as we worked. I didn't know what to make of the man - his Soul had for the most part absorbed the fragment that Avonal had given him, and the Chaos Flame was steady and calm throughout the time we talked. If anything, it looked like even as we talked it seemed to be slowly growing lighter in color, a few fractions of a shade over time. Was he somehow purifying the Chaos Flame?

These ruminations kept me mostly silent during the last portion of the discussion - only chiming in when they directly asked me something. The tenets of the church seemed simple enough: Seek not to harm others unless you are in danger or first harmed (and even now I knew that tenet would be pushed to its limits in due time), Seek to help others who are in danger, Seek to shelter those who are lost and weakened. I knew more things would likely be added in time, but having some rules already set in place that established this church as a place of help and aid would make things easier in the long run.

I also prevented the Ashen One from putting in the tenet of "Seek not the Dark" - firstly, considering I bore the Dark Soul within myself I didn't care to have people thinking I was actually evil in the eyes of my own church. Secondly, I didn't want to give anyone who might start experiments any clue that the Dark existed - Hexes were problematic enough in the hands of skilled wielders, I didn't want half-trained hacks running loose with those.

After Issa returned to his quarters, I had one last thing I needed to ask the Unkindled Ash about before I left. Namely, how in the name of the Deep Abyss he had gotten his hands on enough Undead Bones to create a Bonfire, a true and proper one! At first it didn't look like he was going to answer, but he sighed and dropped his shoulders, looking away from my gaze.

"I… stole them." Of all the things I had been expecting to hear in response to that, theft was not high up on that list. It took a moment for the gears in my head to start up again, and I realized that he was still not looking at me, his body shrinking as he stood there.

"Huh. I would never have thought to do that. Or that it was possible." He seemed to take my lack of anger as encouragement, and slowly relaxed. The Ashen One nodded.

"Yes. It was actually Greirat who showed me it could be done, and he and I went about collecting some from defunct Bonfires." So instead of lighting the Bonfires, he had pilfered from them? I suppose if you didn't need to use a couple, that wouldn't slow you down too much in the grand scheme of things. I remember there being a couple Bonfires I would miss or skip in each game when I played them so long ago.

"Have any extras?" His head jerked back and he stared at me. I shrugged. "My current Bonfire is a slap-dash thing that was made with bones from my arm and false dragon bones. It's been working, but limited, and it probably won't last too much longer." Then I narrowed my eyes as a sudden thought struck me, as he nodded frantically and began rummaging around in his own Pouch.

"Who do you have as the keeper of the Flame?" I did not think he would be able to do what I had done, and toe himself as the Firekeeper. The Chaos Flame was a bit too distanced from the First Flame to pull that off. The Ashen One paused in his searching and tilted his head to one side.

"I'm not sure, actually? I built the Bonfire originally as a memento, as I didn't think anyone in this world would be suitable to be a Shrine Maiden. But after I built it, it lit almost immediately. I was astonished, my King. But perhaps… it is you?" That… what? That made no sense. Granted, I didn't know how Fire Keepers actually worked - Shanallote definitely did not have the same crippling done to her that the others had - her eyes and tongue had been intact. If she had been crippled, which with the experiments that Aldia ran on her would not be surprising, it hadn't been outwardly visible.

"I… that might be the case? In truth, the mechanics of the Bonfire and the Keepers are still a mystery to me." And it would remain that way now - I didn't have any Fire Keepers on hand to study. Avonal nodded slightly, then finally looked up to me as he held out a collection of bones. I was surprised - just what he was already holding out was impressive. A skull and ribs, and as I placed them on my bag he kept pulling more out. In all, he gave me more than enough to set up a full Bonfire or two - and from what I could see, when he stopped handing me bones, he had plenty more in my bag. Just how many bonfires had he and Greirat looted?

"Is there anything else, Milord?" I opened my mouth to ask - then thought better of it and shook my head. In the end, that didn't matter.

"No. Do keep an eye out for Chaos mutations in the area though. And if any of the shard bearers come along, don't automatically assume hostility - there are 'heroes' among them, people who are trying to do the right thing. But don't hesitate to defend yourself if need be." I didn't want my words to cause him and the church to suddenly assume a pacifist stance and get overrun by greedy parahumans. "Now. I'll take my leave - I need to get back to my base of operations and start establishing things properly." It was time to see what judicious applications of sorcery and pyromancy could do to help me in constructing an actual base. If I wanted people to flock to my banner - and considering I wanted to enlist them to fight the Entities I would need them to - I couldn't be living out of a literal hole in the ground.

The Ashen One bowed to me, and I took my leave, heading towards the Bonfire chamber. It was still a little strange as I walked in, to see a fully functioning Bonfire - but now I would be able to build one of my own. My eyes widened. If I built a full Bonfire, would I have access to my old gear? I stretched out a hand to the Bonfire, envisioning the parking garage that had become my hideaway. Thick golden fog swirled around me, pressing in on all sides, cutting off sight.

When the fog receded from my eyes, I was treated to the strange sight of a veritable wall of insects covering every inch of space around me. It took a moment for me to process what was going on - Tseldora must have woken up, and was either waiting for me to come back, or was keeping my Bonfire out of sight. Probably the former rather than the latter, because if she was trying to keep it hidden she would have put the bugs further away.

Thirty seconds after I appeared, my phone began to ring. I blinked and flipped it open, answering the call as I looked at the insects that were slowly gathering into a humanish figure. The figure strode towards me and lifted a hand, gesticulating furiously.

"Master, where have you been? It's been weeks! If it wasn't for the sporadic contact with the Church and the heroes gathering to it in Africa, we would have thought you dead! I was so worried!" The bug figure threw itself at me, wrapping chitinous arm around my waist as I heard sobbing over the phone. Chalk this down to what had to be the most surreal experience in my life - and that was coming from someone who had been dragged between worlds twice.

"I - sorry, Tseldora. Uhm." I didn't know how to handle crying girl. Worse was that it was over the phone. I heard something happen on the phone, muffled and indistinct, and then Armsmaster's clear, strident voice.

"From Tseldora's reaction, this is Paracelsus?" I made an affirmative noise. "Excellent. Would you explain where you have been? We got word from the Cinder-Seeker that you visited him a week ago - mind you, this was a week after you vanished- and then nothing. Being out of contact like that can be dangerous for a hero, especially one that has made waves like you have." Abyss, I'd lost two weeks to the Bonfires? In Drangleic time didn't really matter, so I had never noticed that Bonfire-warping took a while. Or was that because I was forcing a connection between a partial Bonfire and a full one? I shook my head and awkwardly started to pat the bug-figure on its back, unsure if Taylor could even feel the contact.

"Ah, for me it was only a matter of days. Subjectively, I just left the Church after trying to look into it. Things should be a bit more stable now." Armsmaster grunted. The bug shape that was clinging to me - and I was doing my level best not to freak out about the fact, or that I could feel them squirming and moving about- shuddered and straightened up, pulling a step back.

"Very well. It seems your apprentice has collected herself. Here she is." There was a small squeak and then Tsekdroa's voice came back on the phone.

"I - and he's gone? Uhm. Now that you're back master, I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm at one of the PRT offices. Stay there please." Though it was framed politely, the bug shape that Tseldora was projecting crossed its arms over its chest and two fireflies lit up in its face to represent eyes - and were shaded as if she was glaring at me. It was disconcerting - she had not had this level of fine control when I left, and it should have taken her a few days to wake up. How had she gotten this skilled? Was it an effect of the shards in general, a high boost in capability after a near death experience? If so, that would have interesting repercussions on training, if they knew about it.

Or was it a result of something else? Maybe when her soul fragment was being held within me something changed? Or had I messed up when I was healing her soul - something that was entirely possible, as I was by no means an expert on manipulating the things, or healing them. I had no way of knowing, not until she came back and I could check her Soul directly.

The phone still against my ear clicked off, and I tucked it away. Two weeks gone. What in the name of the Abyss had changed in these last two weeks while I was gone? The bug clone was still watching me, so I closed my eyes and focused inwards, looking towards the metaphysical state of the world. It was strange, starting to meditate with someone watching in this world. I'd done it before practicing with my teachers, but most of the time since then it had been in solitude.

In any case. The world around me was still mostly clear of fog, though I could see where it had begun reclaiming territory while I was in Africa and lost to time. Still, that wasn't what had caught my attention. The fog-like beings, what I had come to recognize as the souls of those in this world, were seeming to bask in the decrease in the heavy fog around them. Several smaller ones were already starting to change - small animals likely beginning to change as their Souls began to take dominance. I was surprised to see changes happening already, I thought it would take multiple generations before changes could be seen.

Just what had this world been like in its past? And where had this fog come from anyway? There didn't seem to be any source to the stuff but at the same time it was strangely familiar, like it was connected to something. But what that connection was eluded me, like a word on the tip of my tongue that just wouldn't escape. There was something else, a decently large fog-Soul fast approaching. It seemed to be growing chitinous plates - and as I looked around, I could see that other Souls were developing unique traits of their own. Was this from the Shards, now able to wield greater influence on their hosts?

I opened my real eyes to see that the bugs had dispersed. A few moments later, Tseldora skidded into the garage and threw herself at me. She hugged me fiercely for a moment, then stepped back and started waving her finger in my face.

"Just where in the Abyss did you go Master? And why didn't you wait for me to wake up? I would have gone with you, I'm your student!" That was…. Wait. When did she pick up that tic of mine? I frowned and looked closer at her. She did seem a bit different now, in subtle ways. Her outfit which I hadn't paid attention to at first had changed - she had picked up a short hooded cape that came partway down her back, and had added a loose skirt over it. Along all of her limbs were plates of a shiny black material - chitin? Overall they were minor changes, but they were there.

I couldn't tell too many mental changes yet but I had already heard a couple now thy I was thinking about it. Even when she had first called, she had immediately called me Master - something I couldn't remember her doing at all before I had left. Add on to that the usage of 'Abyss' without seeming to think about didn't seem like a big thing, but it wasn't something normal people in this world would even think to do, or have a reason to.

"Shit. I'm so sorry Tseldora." She tilted her head, and I couldn't tell what her expression was. I sat down on one of the rocks that had been pulled near the fire and dropped my head into my hands. I hadn't thought that there would be a reaction from the fragment of her Soul being held within mine for a time, even a short one, but that was being shown to be wrong. "I…. I'll try to figure out how to reverse it."

"Reverse what, Master?" She hasn't noticed then, but maybe the others had? Daniel especially was likely to have noticed - I would have to ask him when the changes became apparent. I could ask the other here's when she changed her outfit too, and if she had changed how she acted in that time. Damn it, and damn me.

Sorry about the wait y'all. Work has started sending me out in the field so now I really only have free time a couple hours a day and on the weekends.

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Reytac

Apr 8, 2017

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Reytac

Apr 20, 2017

#1,119

Taylor:

It should have been cold and suffocating, this darkness that surrounded her. And in truth, at times it did start to feel a little cool, but never oppressively so. There were these strange pulses of warmth, a counterpoint to the comforting cool dark around her. It was strange, she knew she was dead - she had seen her body for a moment, twisted and broken on the ground, before the darkness claimed her.

But even at its worst, the darkness that enveloped her was comforting, promising peace and tranquility. And she wanted that rest - things had gotten so much better for her when he came into her life, but the scars that her former friend had left on her were deep, and even now she doubted the turn her life had taken. That didn't matter anymore, the darkness assured her, in time she would become part of a greater whole, and all she needed to do was rest and let it happen in due time.

But then something changed. The cool dark began pushing at her, a pressure settling around her, and the soothing warmth seemed to wrap around her being. She heard, distantly, a strange, familiar voice, the words resonating inside of her. The fire and the darkness drew her out, pulled her away from that consuming unity, and for a moment she hung, unseen, in the air in a small hospital room. A body lay on the bed, chest moving shallowly, a man clung onto one of the body's hands, and another man stood next to the bed, a strange thing held in his outstretched hand above the body.

She shuddered, and shivered, and the sight disappeared from her eyes. The she was being pushed somewhere, into a smaller, confining form, there was something here already she shouldn't be here this wasn't -

Taylor woke up with a gasp. This was the third time she'd had the dream - the memory, she couldn't deny it - of when she was resurrected. She sat up in her bed and wrapped her arms around her legs, rocking back and forth slightly as she struggled to calm the shaking that had claimed her body.

Already the exact details of the memory were slipping away, sinking into her subconscious mind, the feeling of being an intruder disappearing slowly. To distract herself from the residual shivers, she closed her eyes and focused on the insects around her. She had noticed a change in the time that she'd been de- recovering, and she was slowly practicing with it.

The insects that she could sense were different than they used to be. The process of change had been gradual, and was in fact still going on, but because she had been immersed in them as the changes were happening she hadn't noticed before now.

The insects that she hadn't worked with before were slowly becoming harder to work with - not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, but no longer was she able to immediately take control of them. Instead she had to spend some time assuming control, working her power over them.

Conversely the insects that she had worked before were also showing changes. They were stronger and faster than they used to be, and responded much more smoothly to her desires. Several times now she had found herself thinking about something, or thinking about doing something, only to realize that some of her insects were already there, carrying out her desires. It was strange, but the insects that she habitually controlled in her radius were almost becoming an extension of her body.

She clustered a group together, gathering them into a roughly human shape, and smiled brightly at the bug-form that was hovering a few inches off the ground in front of her. This wasn't a new body or anything like that - they were still only as strong as insects, nothing like somehow becoming as strong as a real person - but through this 'clone', she could see, and hear, and feel, just like she would through her own direct senses. The idea for this had been percolating in the back of her head for a couple days now, and she had an idea for what she could do with this.

Taylor sank back into her pillows, staring at the ceiling. Her real eyes drifted closed as she sank into controlling the bug-copy. The bug-Taylor jerked and shook its head, then nodded firmly. She could do this much, and not freak out over the changes in perspective. Now, how to make this form combative, for more than just reconnaissance: in 'her' right arm, insects shifted and scurried, clearing a channel in the interior. This was something that couldn't happen in a real body - they needed all the meaty bits that were structure and support, but her bug body could move however she wanted.

The channels mimicked the patterns on her staff. She had gone over this multiple times in the last day, forming clouds of bugs into 'arms' for just this practice. She lifted up her 'arm', and tried to push a spell through it. There was a glimmer of blue light around 'her' arm, but it fizzled out without anything happening. The arm dropped back down, and the swarming bugs dispersed, the body fading away as its constituents fled back to their homes.

Well. She had progress, and now she was tied again. Taylor pulled the sheets back up around her shoulders and tried to go back to sleep. Tomorrow she was going in to the Protectorate offices - they wanted to run another test on her, to see if her coma and revival had had any adverse affects on her body. As her eyes closed, she half-prayed that she could go back to the dream of warmth and coolness, even if it did jolt her awake at the end.

Piggot

"It's another overgrown rat ma'am. As far as we can tell, this one too has nothing to do with Hellhound - she's still working at the shelter that took her in." Director Piggot sank back into her chair, resisting the urge to open the drawer that held a small bottle of alcohol. In the last week, multiple reports of strange creatures breaking into buildings had been coming in - mostly food shops. This was the third confirmed case of it being a rodent of unusual size, and she looked to Aegis, who shifted slightly under her steady gaze.

"Do you agree with the intelligence reports that this is likely the actions of a previously unidentified Master?" She drummed her fingers on her desk as the leader of the Wards rubbed the back of his head.

"I… I don't think so ma'am." She leaned forward, and gestured for him to continue. "Ah, well. When we observed it, it just ate the food like a normal rodent that was hungry would. It went after the easiest thing to get to, ignoring several canned foods to get to a bagged food it could get open. It took some it back to a nest, where we found signs of several other overgrown rats, even though none were currently present. Clockblocker and Kid Win are still watching the nest now, but haven't reported anything strange to me yet. I honestly feel that for some reason, these rats have grown in size, but unless the Master is taking an extremely hands-off approach, I don't think a person is connected to this." Piggot sighed as Aegis finished speaking, and leaned back in her chair.

"I'm inclined to agree with you, Aegis, even if the intelligence division isn't. The actions of these things just don't match anything mastered animals do. That's why I am going to be assigning following any rumors of strange animals to the Wards." The Ward shifted, and she raised one eyebrow. "Something in your mind? Go ahead." He rocked back on his feet for a moment before speaking.

"I… I know it isn't my place, but isn't this something more along the lines of what the PRT can do? Or the regular police? It's just chasing animals.. We should be out helping stop the villai-"

"Wrong." Aegis brought himself up short at the sharp word from the Director. Piggot shook her head. "Looking for unusual animals, when we believe there to be no hostile Parahuman is exactly something the Wards can do. You will be alert for signs of a Master or a Changer, and if something happens you can hold them off long enough for the full Protectorate capes to arrive." She left unsaid that this was a good first step in a rough plan to get the Wards less involved with dangerous activities, while not making them feel like they were being sidelined. It took a moment of stewing, but Aegis finally nodded.

"Thank you for explaining ma'am. I'll try to make sure the others don't complain too much." She nodded and waved her hand towards the door, and the Ward leader slipped out quietly. Piggot sank back into her chair again, glancing at her clock. She had a little time before her next dialysis session, for once. Things were… calming down now, except for the overgrown animals and the tip that someone was going to be targeting the 'shrine' to Paracelsus.

She sighed as that thought crossed her mind. The tip was of course anonymous, and they had no way of verifying it in any way. The only reason it was being given any credence at all was the fact that the tipper had said the group that was going to attack the shrine were the Fallen, and according to reports from the Protectorate and PRT in their home area, some of the more rabid Fallen members had disappeared roughly a week ago. She would have to set up a meeting with the police to talk about security over there soon. Even now, with the city calming down, she still had too many tasks on her plate.

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Reytac

Apr 20, 2017

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Reytac

May 11, 2017

#1,138

Taylor sat across the Bonfire from me, her eyes closed as she did her training. Bugs swirled in patterns around her, their iridescent cataracts catching and throwing the light from the fire in a dazzling array. If I had been paying attention to it, I might have been enraptured by the hypnotic swirls of color.

But my attention was wholly focused on the twisted spike of fire and shadow that was rising out of my palm. Fire and Dark spun around each other, the line between the two blurring randomly. I wish that this was the result of a spell had found, some way of blending Pyromancy and Hex, but it wasn't. All I had done was call upon some of the power that was surging beneath my skin, begging to be used.

What in the world was I becoming? I had at first thought I was becoming like the old Gods, a being of Fire, one who just happened to be sustained directly by the Dark Soul. But I was starting to wonder, and the sight before me only pushed me closer to thinking this - as far as I knew, never before had Fire and Dark been so directly intertwined, and it seemed that the two sources now residing within me we're starting to merge.

Honestly, I… didn't know what to make of it. It was unsettling, for sure - but at the same time I couldn't figure out any adverse impacts it might be having on me. I could still draw on either the First Flame or the Dark Soul directly for power, and yet I also had access to whatever the meeting of Dark and Flame was creating. It was nowhere near as potent as either of the others, not yet - but it hadn't existed before, and the fact that it did now was concerning. I was… something new, something from outside the Cycles of Fire. Was this what people would have become if Gwyn hadn't rebelled against the ending of his Age?

I looked outward, my eyes unfocused as I studied the spiritual landscape around me. More of the grey fog had receded, blasted away - and this time, I noticed that as what was shoved away drifted up into the 'sky' it dispersed, fading away. So was there some kind of critical mass this stuff needed to congeal and remain? Then how had it started to accumulate - some ancient tragedy perhaps, a tremendous loss of lives providing enough of this stuff escaping at once to start the process of suffocating this world?

I shook my head. The tangent was just that, a tangent, and one that for right now could remain unfollowed. My presence, and the Ashen One's, would provide enough abatement of the growth of that environmental 'Soul' to keep the people from falling to it for some time. Even if we were to disappear tomorrow, what had already been done would give this world an unknown number of years yet. For now, I needed to focus on something I had been letting sit at the wayside for far too long.

Both the First Flame and the Dark Soul were metaphysical powerhouses, as tangible as they were conceptual. Each one created races of people, gave Souls to what had once been a grey, blank world of mindless husks. It was foolish of me to ignore the impact I was having on this world for so long, even when I had seen that the Flame within me was pushing away the fog of Soul-stuff that blanketed this world.

The Flame and the Dark were escaping me - small enough to be inconsequential to the precarious balance within me; but even as the raw energy within those wisps dissipated into the world, it was bringing changes.

I could feel fledgling Souls, growing beyond what they had been when I came here. The change was most noticeable in my immediate vicinity, especially with Taylor. Her Soul was clearly different - more robust, powerful,and where before it had been the same grey as others, now there was a slight color to it, one that shifted between a dark green and a shiny black. More, its shape had altered slightly, gaining what faintly resembled insect wings that nestled against her back.

So far the changes to my apprentice hadn't yet crossed into the physical realm, but at this rate, unless I could figure out a way of preventing it, it was only a matter of time. She was still growing, her Soul and Body not yet firmly set in their forms, and without the oppressive fog that had been choking this world, it was only a matter of time before her body started to change. Of course, I had no idea how the presence of the Shard attached to her Soul was going to change things - beyond what it already had that is.

I focused my gaze more on her, noting a faint shiver from the girl in the real world. I pushed my concern about that to the side for the time being - I could explain what caused it after I made sure she wasn't going to become some unholy abomination. I studied her Soul, looking for traces of something that shouldn't be there, remnants of either the Flame or the Dark. I don't know how much time passed while I was peering at her, but my immediate concern of her becoming a twisted entity was abated.

Her Soul was nearly entirely clear, no staining spread of Flame or Dark corrupting it. I could see, faint traces of a deeper darkness than her Soul should have, but it remained quiet and calm inside of her, slowly fading away as the main force of her Soul absorbed it. Considering that normal Souls in Drangleic would have already begun to mutate with this kind of exposure, I could only surmise that her Soul was resistant to the affects - either as a result of her Soul being formed from a different base altogether, or as a result of the Shard within her helping resist the 'corruption'.

Either way, it seemed that any changes on her would be temporary at best, unless she took a liking to them herself and kept them. And from what I could tell, aside from a mild affinity to Sorcery and Hexes - I still had no real intention to teach her those, she wanted to be a hero, not a villain - and the verbal tics, the changes were minimal at worst.

"Thank the Flame." I sat back and rubbed my eyes, my shoulders sagging as tension eased out of my body. Saving her life hadn't doomed her to a fate worse than death. I don't know how I would have handled cursing someone else to the Dark Sign on accident - and that reminded me, I needed to examine that Mush guy's soul and see what had happened to it. Enough time had passed that something had to have occurred, if something was going to.

"Master?" I opened my eyes to see that Taylor had broken her own concentration, and was staring at me with worry evident in her gaze. I shook my head and leaned forward.

"Sorry. I've been letting some things sit unexamined for too long, and I was afraid that in so doing, I had messed up when I saved you. Not that saving you was the error, so don't even start to think that. It was with the method I was concerned, but you seem to have handled the procedure well with no adverse effects." she frowned and rubbed one hand along the other forearm.

"Is that why I felt a chill a few minutes ago? You were checking to make sure I was alright?" I nodded. "OK then! What were you looking for, and what did you see?" Ah, I forgot for a moment that she knew I wasn't of this world, so she must have figured out quickly I was looking for something from mine.

"I was looking to see if holding your Soul with mine had done anything to yours. Thankfully, it seems that while you were forced to undergo some growth, it's going to stabilize soon. Now, has anything been going on while I was away?" with my worries calmed, I could focus on the other fledgling Souls that bore signs of change. While most that I had seen were just showing signs of natural growth, the grey Soul within them becoming more prominent….

There were others that were clearly affected by the Dark or the Flame. None of the afflicted Souls were humanoid from what I had seen, but that meant… that meant that animals and insects were being changed. And I had the perfect person to ask about one of those sitting across from me.

"Well, there've been news reports of some feral animals stealing food, but no one is too surprised by that since Leviathan attacked recently. They're saying that those incidents should clear up in the near future, because the damage wasn't as severe as a normal attack. Other than that, there's people who are trying to figure out if you actually lived or died in the fight, because you disappeared after being unapproachable for a week." She shifted on her seat, the rock probably uncomfortable beneath her. If I was going to make this my permanent base I would need to see about getting actual furniture in here.

"There'salsothecultthatworshipsyou" I raised an eyebrow at the string of syllables that shot out of her mouth, and she blushed and ducked her head, letting her hair obscure her face. A moment passed in silence before I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Could you be a dear apprentice and repeat that? Because I swear you said the words 'cult' and 'you' in there." My voice was flat as I watched my apprentice squirm in place.

"There's a church that recently opened a branch here, they showed up about a week ago. They call themselves the Church of the Dark Flame, and they say you are a living God meant to guide us through the turmoils of the Endbringers, and stop the their threat before leading us to an age of peace." I choked on saliva at that thought. Even at its most peaceful, Drangleic, hell even Lordran or Lothric, were not calm, peaceful places. The only true place they seemed to know was the peace of the grave. "They only have one true priest right now, but he says in time their numbers will be allowed to grow, when they're strong enough." They had a 'true priest' here? Who in the Abyss did Avonal send? And what could they do, that made them a 'true' priest? I groaned and dropped my head into my hands.

"Flame take it. I thought he'd keep that religion over there for longer." I heard a questioning hum from Taylor. "When I left, it was to go talk with the Ashen One - or, the Ash-beast. He's from a world very similar to mine, a parallel world to it much like Earth Aleph is to your Earth Bet." I felt her staring at me and shifted. "And in our worlds, those who hold the Lord Soul of Light are of a race known as Gods. Regular Humans worshipped them for their might and the things they could do: healing, casting lightning, things like that." Her eyes went wide. "I… well. We can talk about it more later, but I carry the progenitor to the Lord Soul of Light, the First Flame. Now, I'm sure you have questions, but I'd like to check out that church."

Taylor was doing a reasonable impersonation of a fish as I stood up, her lower jaw hanging as she tried to come up with something to say. It was the first time since I met her that my apprentice was quiet without being lost in focus on something. I held out one hand, and she took it, pulling herself to her feet.

"I have so many questions. But most importanr: there were multiple races in your world? And one of them was known as Gods? Are you one of them?" I shook my head as I searched for my veil, and she picked up her facemask.

"I was… born a Human. I honestly don't know what I am any more - I thought I was becoming a God, but…" She must have heard something in my voice that I didn't realize had slipped in, because the next thing I knew Taylor had slammed into me from behind, her thin arms wrapping around my chest.

"You are my teacher, and you've saved a lot of people. Whatever you are, I'm glad you came here. I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't." I felt a hot stinging in my eyes, something that was unfamiliar. It took a minute to place it, and it wasn't a memory from Drangleic that clued me in.

Huh. It hadn't registered before, but I had never cried since becoming an Undead. I swallowed and shook her off.

"Right. I've lived with bigger changes. Let's go see what's going on with this church." I hadn't even really been Human, so why was the fact that I wasn't even an Undead Human anymore what was bothering me? Was it just because I didn't know what I was becoming?

This is version two of this chapter. It was a slog writing the first two paragraphs of the previous version, but when I finally gave up and had a better idea of what I wanted to happen in this chapter, it flowed much more smoothly. Hope you all enjoy!

Also, oh crap, I did not realize how long it had been since I posted achapter here.

Last edited: May 11, 2017

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Reytac

May 11, 2017

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Reytac

May 18, 2017

#1,153

Tseldora kept quietly asking questions of me the entire way over to where this church had been established. Thankfully she focused more on asking about the various races and countries that had inhabited Drangleic, as opposed to asking about me. I don't know if that was just a product of her curiosity about Drangleic getting in the way of asking about me, or if she was purposefully choosing not to. Either way, I appreciated the chance to steady myself.

It was only when we were more than halfway there, according to the girl, that I realized something. My steps didn't falter, but my gaze slid over to where Tseldora was chattering away beside me. She probably didn't notice it herself, but she was walking with confidence to this place. Not like she would have if she knew roughly where it was from rumors, but directly there. It seems like my apprentice had decided to at least check out the church personally - that, or she had joined it and was embarrassed to talk about it.

As we walked, I could see people murmuring and pointing to us both. We were slowly drawing a small crowd, not that Tseldora noticed. When we arrived at the 'church' I could see why she had called it a cult at first. The building they were using was nothing grand, a recreation center that had apparently been repurchased by them. It made me wonder who they had talked with to get permission for that - if they had bothered at all. Tseldora trotted is to the gate ahead of me, and the woman standing out front smiled kindly and nodded at the teen heroine.

The girl waved for me to follow, then disappeared inside. I shrugged and followed after her. If the church was what I thought it was, then I might need to try to set up a meeting with the local Protectorate and PRT leaders. My accord with the Cauldron people notwithstanding, the spread of the church would likely lead to a spread in the effects of my presence - normally it wouldn't have mattered if people had faith in me, not without proper training, but the Church here could accelerate that process.

I out plans for later out of my head and entered the building, trying to figure out where Tseldora had gotten to. Thankfully many of the doors had been covered up - 'not in use' signs hung on the front of them -, and a couple signs pointed the way towards the auditorium of the center, apparently where sermons were being held. I saw Tseldora standing in the threshold of the auditorium doors, leaning against the door jamb. I stepped up behind her and peered over her shoulder.

Inside was a female cleric, giving a sermon to a crowd. The group was larger than I expected, and seemed to be made up of people from different groups at random. The sermon was nothing special, a tale that wouldn't have sounded too out of place in a more 'regular' church - and in fact sounded like one of the tales that served as a Miracle in Drangleic, though she was not giving it the emphasis needed to invoke the magic in it.

I actually recognized the woman too - the female cleric that Avonal had called 'Amisi'. She looked much better than the last time I had seen her, that much was true - and hanging on her belt was a small, delicate chime made of metal. Before I could say anything, or even enter the chamber, her eyes snapped up and she fell silent. That silence held for a moment before people turned to see what had caught her attention.

"My-My King! You have returned!" So she recognized me, huh. I looked around the room at the assembled people. The crowd had, at first, been confused as to who we were, but as they processed what she had said their expressions lit up in wonder. It was strange, to see this much awe directed at me.

Or, most of them were awe-stricken. I saw at least three blank faces, as people pulled out cellphones and made quiet phone calls, indistinct in the sudden hullabaloo of people clamoring for my attention. The stranger thing was, after they hung up the phones, their expressions remained blank for a moment before life came back into them, and they joined the….. For lack of better term, adoring mass.

It took Amisi a few shouts to regain peace in the room, and as the group quieted down I moved around the outside edge to the stage she as standing on, Tseldora following behind me. The cleric bowed to me, a wide smile on her face.

"My King. The Seeker will be most pleased to learn you have returned from the eddies of time." Huh. So at least someone had known what happened to me. That is probably why the others had been at least somewhat calm, they'd been given reassurances by Avonal that I would return. "He thought it a nice gesture for you to have supporters here in your home region, though upon my arrival I was pleasantly surprised to learn of your apprentice. She is a kind girl." She smiled in Tseldora's direction, and the teen scuffed one boot against the ground. The priestess then turned to the assemblage and lifted her hands up.

"Our King of the Dark Flame has indeed returned! Cast aside any remaining doubts!" There was a cheer. I remained silent, mildly stunned. I had seen the church back in Egypt, but even so… to see it here was something that felt weird, and unbelievable. Then again, this world, unlike my old, first world, was literally on a doomsday clock, and the Endbringers had been the evidence of that for most people. I had stopped one here, showing that turning back that clock was possible and that the world might not end.

The 'meet and greet' took about an hour, all told. The first major bump had been when someone asked what I was the 'God' of, and Amisi and I had to explain that the reason I wasn't actually a God like they were thinking, and that I hadn't even known the church was starting at first. A couple of the people cooled a little at that - perhaps thinking that I was just a jumped up Parahuman after all, albeit an enormously powerful one.

Even so, many people wanted to know if I would be going hunting the other Endbringers, which prompted a moment of thought before I shook my head.

"Seeing as I have no way of traveling into the sky, or burrowing beneath the ground, I will have to let them come to me, or go to where they go to attack." And I had no doubt that with Leviathan slain, the others would marshal themselves for an attack soon. There were quite a few disappointed faces at that, even though they had accepted the fact that I was limited by humanish constraints.

Still, as pleasant and utterly bizarre as this was, I wanted to move on. Now that I was back, I had a few things I wanted to do, and spending time talking with people who ostensibly worshipped be was…. Offsetting. Besides, I wanted to find out what the Abyss those phone calls had been about,

Tseldora bounced behind me, her mouth running a mile a minute as she explained how she'd found Amisi wandering near my garage hideout, then asked what she was doing, and how that led to helping her set up the church in what had been an abandoned youth center. I stepped out into the sunlight, blinking a bit as my eyes adjusted.

I registered that there was a sharp pain burrowing into the side of my head. I started to lift my hand up, trying to grab whatever the Flame had stabbed me - o… t…..ex….

It happened so suddenly that Taylor didn't even have time to register that they were under attack. One moment she was walking behind Paracelsus, telling him about helping set up the rooms for Amisi, then there was a muffled bang, and something was hitting the side of her teachers head. He started to reach up, his head twisted to one side - and there was an explosion.

For a few seconds, the headless - and truth be told, the upper torso was missing a fair chunk too - body stood there, a mangled arm dropping a stump where a hand had been back to the side. Then the body slumped down, collapsing.

Taylor fell by its side, a hand outstretched towards the body even as it began to dissolve, fading away into a strange sludge that began to evaporate. Behind her, she could hear screams starting as people realized what had happened. She knew she should be screaming, crying, anything - but all she felt was a cold, icy calm that had wrapped around her heart.

"Ha, some big shot he was. Sure, he took down an Endbringer, but it looks like that was all luck or a bad match up." The voice that spoke was haughty, arrogant, and coming closer. She slowly panned her gaze up to see the man speaking. He was dressed in long, flowing blue-white clothes, and wore a mask - one that looked vaguely feminine, but with its eyes closed.

"Aw, don't worry little girl. Now that we're here we are going to show everyone just how wrong they were to believe that anyone could stop the end of times. Do be quiet, would you all?" At first, Taylor didn't realize who he had been speaking to there at the end - until the lack of noise made her realize that everyone behind her had gone deathly silent. "Much better. And now that he's dead, that's step one our of the way quite nicely, n-"

"Your first mistake is thinking he's dead." Tseldora's voice was hard and cold. "This is merely temporary, and he will be coming back. Your second mistake was not killing me when you took him down." The effeminate man tilted his head to one side, and gave her words an amused chuckle.

"What on earth is it that you can do again? I know you're his little sycophant, but is that all there is to you? How…. Droll." Tseldora slowly stood up, her arms trembling at her sides. The icy calm had given way to a freezing rage as she tilted her head back. She could feel them, leaping about, playing small, merry chirps in the back of her mind. Her rage wrapped around them, driving her chosen insects into a frenzy that they rarely reached. But even so, they weren't enough, not enough even as they rose, and began to gather.

"The crickets aren't chirping." The non-sequitur apparently threw the arrogant man for a loop, as he paused and tilted his head to one side. The eyes on his mask cracked open, and she found herself focusing on them.

"Whatever do you mean, girl? Explain yourself." She had had no intention of explaining, but for some reason she felt compelled to, even as she stretched her senses, searching for more and more, going beyond her normal scope as she sought for more insects to join her raging swarm.

"They've all gone quiet, because I made them." Of course, that wasn't all she was making them do, but he seemed satisfied with the answer. He turned away from her, dismissive, as he looked to the gathered crowd on the street.

"Dear people of Brockton Bay, your false hero, the fiend who slew one of the great Endbringers, has been brought down!" There was a stunned gasp from new arrivals, curious onlookers. "Without that champion, it is only a matter of time before the other great ones ravish this city for his impudence!"

We answer, little mother. We come, and your foes shall be rent asunder to feed us. Taylor didn't know who had responded to her desperate searching, only that suddenly she felt a huge swarm of something answering her mental commands. They were boiling up from deep beneath the ground, burrowing through whatever cracks they could find. Normally, she might have refused such an ominous offer… but this bastard had dared to hurt her teacher simply because he was trying to protect the world. He had dared to 'kill' her teacher right in front of her.

Darkness spread. Shadows stretched across the street, and the still-monologuing man paused and looked up, frowning.

"Was there a forecast of a storm?" He turned to scan the crowd, trying to see if there was a Parahuman responsible for the sudden dark cloud blotting out the sun. He felt a shiver run up his spine as Tseldora spoke up from behind him.

"The crickets aren't chirping anymore." He spun in place, to see a wall of insects gathered around her. "The locusts are coming."

Last edited: May 19, 2017

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Reytac

May 18, 2017

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Reytac

May 27, 2017

#1,204

Minor gore warning here. If you don't care to see/read that, go ahead and skip down to the scene break with Paracelsus.

Valefor staggered backwards as insects dove from the sky, slamming into him. He raised one arm up to shield his face, trying to keep the bugs from getting past his mask or into his mouth. This was ridiculous to him - the End-slayer's apprentice was supposed to be nothing special, a low-ranked Master who could move a small swarm of bugs, and copy her teacher's blue light spell. Instead, he was quickly realizing that she was a Master that should have a much higher ranking than anyone guessed - though he could hear screams from the area around him, as far as he could tell he was the only target of this massive swarm of locusts.

Which was a good thing because it meant she hadn't figured out that other Fallen were in the crowd outside the church. Maybe one of the others could get to her and take her out before he drowned in this swarm. At least one of them should be reacting to the buried command to protect him by now…

His eyes widened behind his mask when he saw that the cloud of bugs was lightening up in front of him - was she a one shot pony , and now that her initial assault was over that was it? Excellen-

"Locusts are herbivores, and will ravenously consume a field and strip it bare in minutes of all vegetation." Tseldora's voice was calm and steady, and yet he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. There was something about her words that was terrifying, but he couldn't figure out what it was. "They do not see humans as a source of food, so ignore them. The devastation they cause is brought on in the aftermath."

"What the fuck is that thing?" His gaze was focused on the thing that was clinging to her side. It resembled a giant cricket, but it was the size of a small cat - and it was hanging in the air with actively thrumming wings. One multi-faceted eye seemed to lock onto him, and Valefor felt a chill pierce his spine.

"I however, have control of this swarm. And while I do not see you as a source of food…. I do see you as an enemy. And my new friends, do see you as quite tasty." She didn't respond to his question right away, but by the time she had, Valefor really, truly wished she hadn't. It was at this point that he realized why the swarm had lessened around him - more and more of those massive locusts were surrounding him.

He tried to control them, focusing his eyes on theirs and shouting commands at them, to leave him alone - but it was futile, as they kept advancing slowly, steadily, some crawling along the ground and others hovering in the air, slowly boxing him in. Through the gaps in their ranks, he saw one of his followers trying to reach him, only to be buried beneath a wave of insects, both regular and the overgrown ones.

Something pierced the meat of his leg, and he looked down and let out a scream when he saw that one of the locusts had lunged forward, it's mandibles buried in his calf. He smashed a fist into it, trying to knock it away - and succeeded, unfortunately. The jagged mandible tore flesh from his leg as the head was shoved away, sending fiery agony up his nerves. Then, worse - he felt something scrambling against his face, trying to find purchase -and the wordless scream of pain and disbelief that tore from his throat when a leg, or mandible, at this point he was incoherent with pain, punctured his eyeball barely sounded human.

Tseldora watched, silently, grimly, as her swarm consumed Valefor, ripping him apart. The larger locusts devoured the meat and cracked the bones, and the smaller, regular insects carried away the scraps of fabric. Within minutes, there was no trace of the man who had hurt her teacher anywhere in sight.

We thank you, little mother. If you have need of us again, you have simply but to call and we will answer. For now, we will return to our caves and sleep. We hope the Progenitor returns swiftly. The locust that spoke into her head seemed to be the leader of this swarm, as he turned away and started leaving her side, the other massive locusts disappeared from sight, leaving only the thick cloud of regular insects behind.

Slowly, the cloud of locusts - firmly under her control until they were away and calmed down once more - left the area, revealing that the other people who had tried interfering in her vengeance had been knocked out - heat exhaustion from being buried under the swarms of insects.

It was only then, with the crickets chirping in the distance again, that Tseldora finally fell to her knees and cried, great sobbing heaves that led to her vomiting, the cold rage that had sustained her having finally abandoned her.

Paracelsus

I came to in a burst of fire, my body rebuilding itself as the warm heat of the Bonfire washed over me. As soon as coherence fully settled into my mind, I shot right to my feet and started sprinting. I had no idea who the Abyss had decided killing me was a good idea, but it had to be someone from out of town who didn't believe that my death wasn't a permanent state. The problem was, Tseldora had been right behind me, and she was still as vulnerable as any normal human being.

Sweet Flame, let me be in time. Sprinting through the streets, I could see the edges of some kind of insect cloud breaking apart, the critters returning back to wherever they had come from. Daggers of ice plunged down my spine - had Taylor died? I felt something jagged tear at my heart for a moment, before a blistering flame enveloped my legs - a glance down showed that they had twisted, leaving behind the facade of normalcy and reverting to the char black and molten flame that they were in my… true state. For a second I get concerned about it, but shoved that thought away - the change made me faster, and I took advantage of that speed, racing through the streets back towards the church.

It took only a couple more minutes to reach the converted rec center, and I have to admit I was surprised at what I saw when I got there. Four men were kneeling in front of an angry mob of people, with Amisi standing in front of them, her chime crackling with electricity. She turned her head towards me as I came up, and gave me a minute nod.

"My King. Your quick return is quite fortuitous. Your apprentice is in the throes of grief. My congregation took her inside then gathered up these vile heathens - we awaited your return to pass judgment on them." I took that information in and processed it. I very nearly took off into the church to find Taylor, but… I had to address this before I could.

I strode towards the captives, and it was only when I heard the shocked gasps that I remembered the changed state of my legs - and I learned that I was leaving burning footprints in my wake. They didn't seem to be damaging the road beyond superficial charring, so I shoved it out of my mind for a moment.

I came to a stop in front of one of the men and stared quietly at him for a few seconds. Finally he began to squirm under my gaze.

"Who is your leader?" I wasn't expecting the full body shudder from the assembled men - not only the four captives, but most of the crowd. I lifted an eyebrow, as the man began to babble something rapidly, so quickly I thought he was speaking another language at first. I knelt down next to him to listen closer.

"theyatehimatehimatehimallupnothinglefttheyate-" Right, that was… terrifying. I stood up, but the man kept rocking back and forth on his knees, repeating the words as if they were the only thing keeping him alive.

"My King?" Right, they wanted me to pass a ruling on them. I very nearly did - they were obviously involved in the attack on me. But… it looked like whatever they had witnessed had scarred them. Nothing short of killing them would reach them I think, so instead I shook my head. I closed my eyes and felt outwards, testing their Souls. Small, paltry things that they were, there was no trace of the Shards upon - no, what in the name of the Abyss?

I felt a massive weight, a tremendous presence slowly focusing in on me, no, not on me, on this area but why, what was going on - I saw at least one person in the crowd collapse, though most seemed unaffected, and even didn't notice it. Only the person who collapsed, myself, and Amisi reacted to this presence at all, and the priestess reacted by spinning around, scanning the area, lightning surging along her chime, the Miracle barely restrained.

I felt….curiosity? It took me a moment to realize that the emotion was not my own. That curiosity became dismissive was after a moment, the focal weight leaving me and lensing somewhere else. A sensation I had grown to recognize pressed into my awareness - someone, or something, was trying to breach my domain by raw force. Most of the Parahumans of this world would have had no chance at this point unless I allowed them to do so - but whoever, whatever this was? It had the strength to back that up, breaking through my domain and - I forced my eyes closed, sending my awareness towards the Soul level.

It was horrifying, utterly disgusting, and terrifyingly familiar. A raw amalgamation of Souls was descending from somewhere in this foggy field, but the problem was that this amalgam was coated in a thick layer of crystal. My mind wanted to refuse to recognize what was before it, but I dared not look away from the abominable sight. I had fought for my world against a similar being, and lost - and here, now, I looked upon the face of my enemy once more.

If I had for some reason doubted that the same monstrosity, or at least the same kind of being, was responsible for both the end of my world and the threat to this one, that was now banished. An Entity was - what the Dark? It was directing its focus on the Soul of the man who had been babbling before - then a tiny pseudopod of crystal lanced out faster than I could react, and pierced the Soul. I could feel the cry of agony from the Soul - then a pulse of energy flowed from the Entity, before the tendril shattered apart, and the enormous presence began to retreat.

No - NO! YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY! My mind finally caught up to what was going on, breaking me from the stupor I had fallen victim to at the sight of my foe. Black lightning crackled into existence around me, and I thrust one arm forward, sending a coruscating bolt after the departing Entity. My rage and sheer hatred focused the blast, the Flame and the Dark within me fueled it -

But I had been too slow to react. The bolt splashed into the space where the being had been, but I had no way of knowing if it had been actually affected by my attack. I felt a tremor of rage run through me - and I screamed it out, black and red lightning bursting from me in waves as I howled into the silent atmosphere of this plane. The fog around me was blasted away as I unleashed my fury into the area - it was a good thing I'd had the presence of mind to vent this anger here, and could avoid damaging the environment - but I hoped I was careful enough not to accidentally blast a person's Soul away.

Finally, finally my rage had run its course, leaving me shaking in the aftershocks of anger. I slowly turned my attention to the man that the Entity had changed.

Well. This definitely confirmed that the Entity was behind Parahumans. The Soul before me now bore an active Shard - had he carried a quescient one before, or had I just seen the Entity literally plant a shard in someone, like something from Flame-damned Faerun? No, it didn't matter - what did matter was that he now had one when one hadn't been active in him before. I had believed Alexandria when she told me, but to see it and confirm it with my own eyes….

I had to figure out a way to break the connection. There was no way I could leave the thing inside of Taylor connected with the Entity - nor, for that matter, any of my allies. It'd be too within the realm of possibility for the Entity to use the powers against the parahumans - or Abyss, outright control the Parahumans through their Shards. No, that was an adva-shit. Taylor.

I forced my awareness back into my body, startling some of the people who had started to approach me. At some point I must have collapsed too, since I was laying on my back in the street. I threw myself to my feet, shot for the rec center, ignoring the concerned queries from Amisi and the other people. Over my shoulder I shouted at them to take the man to the PRT and the rest to the police. Hopefully they got him before he woke up as a Parahuman, but my apprentice was more important at the moment.

Tseldora was thankfully just inside the doors of the building, seated with her back against a wall. I… she was alive, and in one piece. Thank the Flame for small mercies. I started to towards her, noting with concern that she was shivering and unconscious when I reached her. I reached out and placed a hand on one of her shoulders, and she sat upright with a jolt, her eyes head swiveling back and forth for a moment before focusing forward in my direction.

Her hands darted out and buried themselves in my clothes, grabbing folds of material and hanging onto me for dear life as the shivering transitioned to full body shakes.

"Tseldora?" My voice was soft as I tried to figure out what was going on. She knew I would come back from the dead - she'd seen it repeatedly now. Did it have something to do with what that broken man had been saying?

"I...Master, I killed him." Her voice was cracked, choked up with tears. I rocked back slightly at that. She… I had suspected that was the case, but… this world didn't generally see death, not unless a disaster or the true villains were involved. Yes, Bakuda had killed a swathe of people, and Leviathan had taken more, all the Endbringers had…

But this was the first time Tseldora had killed someone herself. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, letting her cry against my chest. Words of comfort would have to wait until she wasn't completely devastated by it - for now, I just kept her supported.

Well. This took a turn I wasn't quite expecting when I started. I hope this chapter isn't one that breaks SOD for anyone. Hope y'all enjoy it!... Just not too much for the gore bit, yea?

Last edited: May 27, 2017

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Reytac

May 27, 2017

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Threadmarks Silver Archers GO! (Omake)

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SuperHeavy

May 28, 2017

#1,226

Reytac said:

Anor Londo Archers to the fore!

I am inspired.

PRT Trooper Davis was having what anyone could say was a bad week. The city was still recovering from the results of an Endbringer and a flaming giant throwing down so everyone was running damage control. The already understaffed PRT office had anyone able to walk desperately trying to keep order. Davis had been running around for nearly 21 hours straight from one end of the city to the other. Now to top off this week from hell the Empire had somehow whistled up enough support from the Euro Nazis to make a play for the city. All of which meant that he got to be kneeling behind a concrete divider trying not to be hit by the mech/tank hybrids pounding down the street under the direction of the German Tinker "Panzer". At this point containment foam and government issued assault rifles were not cutting it. Ducking under a burst of tracer fire Davis scrambled for his radio.

"Central this is Checkpoint 10 we need some fucking backup, their are heavy weapons moving up the street and we got jack to stop them."

"Checkpoint 10 what's the status of your riot vehicles."

"They are full of holes and on fire!" "We need some damn firepower up here."

"Be advised Checkpoint 10 we have nothing to send."

Any retort Davis would have made was cut off when the barrier next to him was blown outwards. Through the dust he could just barely make out a smoking barrel swiveling towards his face. In an instant a slab of silver suddenly blocked his view. The next shot slammed into the shield and with a resounding screech ricocheted off into a nearby building. Fire stopped on both sides as ten massive figures appeared near the PRT positions, covered in silver armor and standing at least 9 feet tall. Slowly the figure next to Davis straightened up, pointed at the mech piloted by the Tinker, and with a slow finality shook its head. As the machine gun fire picked up, all 10 figures stepped up ahead of the partially demolished barricades. As rounds sparked off their plate each one reached behind themselves and drew out a massive metal bow. Still on his back, Davis stared in amazement as they notched metal spears almost as long as him. With a massive *THWANG* ten whistling spears were released to punch through four ranks of combat mechs and embed in the roadway.

Across the city overwhelmed heroes and PRT units watched as silver knights moved up to engage E88 forces. Drones were crushed under massive swords and gauntlets. Those unlucky enough to be present in the flesh found that rifle and machine gun rounds alike bounced off their plate like hail. In one case one of the knights walked up to desperate machine gunner and crushed it with a single hand. The capes did not have a good time of it either. Hookwolf found that these opponents had more than enough experience with taking down massive durable foes. After the battle pieces of sharpened metal would be found scattered across five city blocks. Purity surrendered after a lightning infused spear blew through a skyscraper to pin her to a wall with the cross guard. After the action was over the Silver Knights of Gwyn lined up before their new Sovereign and his Apprentice.

"So my Master do you know how to send them back?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

SuperHeavy

May 28, 2017

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Reytac

Jun 12, 2017

#1,240

Taylor was resting in her bedroom, under the watchful eye of her father. She had stayed coherent long enough for me to convince her that going home and resting while I dealt with the aftermath of the attack. She hadn't wanted to 'abandon' me to it, but even as I left she was shaking and trembling. When we had gotten to her house, she had latched onto her father like he was the only thing keeping her steady, and I explained in brief what had happened, leaving the rest for her when she was ready to talk.

I don't do well with emotions, I realized as I headed to the nearest PRT office. At some point in Drangleic most of my emotions had bled away, except for anger and the occasional bout of amusement. While I had had a connection to my fellow Undead in that forsaken land, they were just about the only things I had any kind of emotional attachment to - and even then, at most it was comradery. The onslaught of grief when I realized I had lost everyone was the most of felt in a long time - then was soon enough followed by the anger at Bakuda, the feeling of protectiveness for Taylor, the grief/rage when she was hurt…

Coming to this world, or perhaps the blending of Dark and Flame, was changing me, making me at once more human as it made me less recognizable to myself. I didn't know what to make of it, in truth. But for now, I had to go defuse any tension surrounding my apprentice - she didn't need the Heroes of this world looking at her with suspicion, not with as much as she looked up to them all.

Even now, in what was a relatively calm time - barring the attack on me and the temporary dark clouds over part of the city - the building was a hive of activity, people moving back and forth quickly, indistinct shouts in the background calling for things. It seemed like most of them hadn't noticed me, as the hustle continued unabated by my entrance.

I walked over to the front desk, where a receptionist was leaning over, reading a magazine. I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention.

"Welcome to the Parahuman Response Team office #8867, how may I direct you?" I guess every organization had people like this bored girl.

"I'm trying to get in contact with whoever is dealing with the attack outside of the Church of the Dark Flame." Her mouth opened twice, then closed as whatever automatic response she was about to reply with failed. Finally she looked up, and her eyes went wide as she looked at me.

"O-oh! Uhm, let me find out who is responsible for that." She shoved her magazine out of the way and dragged her keyboard closer, her hazel eyes flicking back and forth across the computer screen as she frantically typed. I hummed and waited patiently as she worked, trying to ignore the fact that I was now drawing a small group of people who were staring at me from the sides, and likely behind me as well.

Finally she nodded and looked to me. "It seems like Miss Militia is coordinating with Officer Ordis on this situation. She was brought in when it was learned that a Parahuman had attacked another." Hmm. Guess the Protectorate hadn't mentioned the fresh Parahuman from the debacle as well. "I can give you her number now, or Officer Ordis'." Well. As it was a Parahuman issue it would likely get shunted over to the Protectorate anyway, so I shrugged.

"Miss Militia's will be fine if that's the case." She nodded and rattled off the number for me. I bowed and headed outside, trying to get past from the cluster of people who had gathered behind me. Thankfully they all seemed to be shell-shocked, as they didn't move to follow me as I headed back out into the crisp night air.

Once out, I headed up to the rooftops, slipping down a side alley to find a stairwell that would let me up easily. I pulled out the phone and typed in the number the clerk had given me, and waited as the line rang.

"Miss Militia, Protectorate." Short and succinct, to the point. Hm. I shrugged one shoulder before speaking.

"Paracelsus here Militia. Figured you might want to talk to me about the recent attack." Immediately the voice on the other end of the line perked up.

"Para- yes, yes we do. Would you be able to come in for a meeting, or will a phone interview have to suffice?" Better and better, they actually wanted me to come in. Excellent.

"No, I can come in. Just tell me where, if it isn't the Rig."

"The Rig works, it is a secure location. When can we expect you?" Well, no time like the present for this. The faster I dealt with this kettle of fish, the faster I could experiment on the Soul in my storage.

"I'll head that way now, should be there in a few minutes."

"Good. I'll alert the front desk that you'll be showing up. Goodbye for now, see you when you arrive." The phone went dead after a few seconds and I flipped it closed before heading towards the Protectorate main base.

The small room that I was lead into was dominated by the table in the center - like someone had purchased the meeting table without actually looking at the dimensions of the room it would be going in. Militia was already inside, with files spread across the table in front of her. She looked up as the PRT trooper showed me in, and nodded her head.

"I'm glad you could come in, it makes meeting much easier right now. I'm… Well, embroiled in the mess the Fallen have been stirring up. Please, sit. Would you like something to drink?" When I shook my head, she waved the trooper out of the room. "Right. So, before I start asking you questions, how much do you know of the current situation?"

"I… Nothing? Last I knew the Bay was quiet, except for the attack on myself." Militia's eyes tightened above her veil and she shook her head.

"I forget that you don't actually have any kind of advanced intelligence gathering." This was muttered under her breath, so softly I almost missed it. "Right. Well, the problem has extended a fair amount past just that isolated incident." She dug through one of the files in front of her, pulling out a picture of a rather effeminately dressed man.

"We have been dealing with attacks all across the city, primarily by normal citizens who seem to break character and randomly attack any Protectorate or PRT member they see. At first we couldn't figure out why, until the division that normally fights him reported that this man, Valefor, had been out of sight for an extended period of time." She tapped his picture. "He's a Master." I… That clothing, why was it familiar? Oh. There had been a scrap of it… Ah.

"I see. And you believe he was involved in the attack on me?" The patriotic hero nodded firmly.

"Absolutely. We had a former military sniper turn himself in at the PRT office nearest to the church shortly after the attack on you, stating that he had no idea why he had done it just that he had an overwhelming compunction to. Do you…" She trailed off, and I shook my head. I wasn't going to punish the man for being a victim. "Right. We'll hold onto him for a while longer to make sure there's no other commands laying dormant."

"Mmm. Well, you can ease up on the hunt for Valefor." Her eyes locked onto mine, narrowing intently. "He was… He caused a mental break, which resulted in his demise." There was a sharp intake of breath and I nodded once. "She's stable now, and grieving over what she did. Once she's able to talk..?"

"We have psychologists available. Are you sure she was responsible?" She had leaned forward, and I shrugged slightly.

"She believes she was, and considering what I saw, I'm not going to doubt her. I do not think there will be a repeat occurrence though, unless someone else imitates what happened there… And considering the negative result - I'm still here, and the person who attacked me isn't…" Militia leaned back in her chair and rubbed one hand against her forehead.

"I…. Right. It will make the Director much more comfortable if Tseldora is willing to seek counseling after that. We will have to increase her rating though - multiple people reported the storm of locusts. Did you know she could do that?" I shook my head.

"No. I know she has control over insects, but neither of us have ever tested the extent of that control." Her flag-veil fluttered as she heaved a sigh. "Now, I did want to warn that I'm going to be carrying out a personal experiment soon. I doubt it'll have any affects on anyone outside of myself, but I wanted to get this discussion out of the way first. I'll have Tseldora contact you as soon as she's stable."

"Thank you for your cooperation Paracelsus. Try to stay indoors for the near future, if Valefor was here his brother will be too and he might come after you for Valefor's demise." I stood up and bowed to her before heading back out, trying to remember the path the trooper had led me in on.

Right. Now that… Well, now that things were calm - I had called Daniel, and he was happy to learn that I was working on arranging a therapist for Taylor for this debacle, but she wasn't ready to talk to anyone just yet aside from her dad and I - I was ready to get to work on that experiment that had been sitting in the back if my mind for a bit now.

I was sitting by my Bonfire, the warm flames bathing me in a golden-yellow glow, as I pulled reached inside of myself, retrieving the Soul that I had acquired so long ago. I rolled Mush's Soul back and forth between my hands, staring at it intently. This was the Parahuman Soul I had managed to splice together with part of the Dark Soul and a Dark Sign, and I could clearly see the effects of that on the Soul.

The thing had condensed down, shriveled up almost - the Dark Soul consumed by the Dark Sign, as would always happen to a Soul that didn't have something keeping it going. The strange fact, and what was now concerning me, was that the grey fog Soul of the human of this world was still there - it shouldn't have been. It was heavily shrunken now, wrapped tightly around the unnatural Shard that had been joined to it, and from what I could see the Shard was now the victim of the Sign.

That…. Was something. The Sign was actively draining something, just like it would if it was attached to a full Soul. But for the Shard not to be empty, it was being sustained by something. This just proved to me that my experiment was necessary - because whatever connection there was, it wasn't active in the physical realm.

I closed my eyes and dropped into a trance, my consciousness slipping to the Soul plane with ease now. My awareness spread, taking in the region around me once more - but I ignored that, it wasn't what was important here.

When the man that Taylor had traumatized had activated his Shard, the Entity had shown up, it's presence actively pushing into my domain it a strength I had never encountered in this world. But the thing was, it wasn't of a kind that I had never encountered, I realized now. All around me, tiny and miniscule to a point where unless I actively focused on locking things down at this lowest level, were dozens of trespasses just like it, but so much weaker that they had avoided my earlier lock downs of my domain.

These were separate from the active Parahuman powers that tried to impinge on my territory - those each had their own unique sensations associated with them. These hidden connections though, they all had the exact same… Wavelength. That was the best way I think, to put it. They all had the same feel, affected me in the same way. And they all felt the same as when the Entity had empowered the Shard, just at much, much lower levels.

So. All Shards were actively connected to the Entity. I took a moment to stare blankly into the fog as I reached that realization. Each and every single one of the Parahumans I had encountered, it seemed, were linked to the being that I had made it my mission to destroy. Fuck. I had no idea how the connection worked - did the thing just maintain a power tap to them? If so, why? These things ate worlds, giving powers to their eventual victims made no sense. No, the Entity had to be getting something out of it, but… But what? What could humans, even ones with super powers, provide to a trans-dimensional being?

I was missing something, and it had to do with this connection. I paused, curious about a sudden thought. I flicked my eyes to my gear, where the shield crafted from Hookwolf and Bakuda's Souls was residing. The dual Shards did still maintain a connection as well - but their thread had become singular, woven together so tightly I couldn't distinguish them anymore. So, good. Even if I fucked up with Mush's Soul, I could still work with those.

Slightly reassured that I wouldn't have to randomly kill another person, - wait. Whee the Abyss is the necromancer's Soul? I paused, checking for it - and saw no sign of it. Damnation, was she somehow still alive? No, finish this first and then figure out what happened to that Abyss-taken woman.

I focused in on the connection that the Shard in my hands bore. I prodded at it with a tendril of energy, trying to see if I could jack into the signal, try to snag some of whatever was going on - but each time the thread of connection shimmered and my attempts slid off, thwarted. It was frustrating, to have it there, grasped in my hands, and yet I couldn't pierce it at all. Whatever this was, it wasn't operating as a Soul connection at all.

Fine, you want to be a little prick and not cooperate? I wrenched my domain closed tight around me, making sure to throttle it around my hands tightly enough that this frustrating little connection was severed. Maybe once the connection was loose I could put myself in the place of the Entity on the other end -

WEIGHT. PRESSURE. Something slammed into my domain barrier with a force beyond anything I'd ever experienced. I hadn't felt this small and helpless before an onslaught since the first time I faced the Pursuer, so long ago in Drangleic. This was insane, it felt like my very being was going to be flattened under the intense force on my territory.

Black ice shot through me, replacing my bones with cold hard fury. Molten lava coursed through my veins, replacing my muscles and tissues with volcanic rage. I hadn't recognized what this was, but the power within me did. It seems like the Entity wasn't pleased about its connection being severed.

Whoops.

Sorry for the delay on this one. I recently started working on actually making something of my twitch stuff, and it's been consuming my time. But! We are moving towards end-game time here! Hope y'all enjoy!

Last edited: Jun 12, 2017

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Reytac

Jun 12, 2017

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Threadmarks Smoulder Interlude

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Reytac

Jun 19, 2017

#1,257

Contessa

Contessa shot bolt upright in her chair behind her desk, a tremendous headache making her feel like her head was splitting open. Her Shard was screaming at her, Steps and Paths blurring together into an incomprehensible gibberish that assaulted her senses. She pressed one of her panic buttons - this one a direct line to Alex, and within moments the female Triumvirate member stepped through a Doorway.

A half second passed before she was pressing medicine into Contessa's hands, a glass of water following soon after. The medicine muted the cries of the Shard, and gave Contessa a moment to breathe without sheer pain dominating her senses. When she could speak, she looked up to Alexandria, terror and hope clashing in her eyes.

"I don't know what that glorious bastard has done, but the Path To Victory is going frantic. Our deadline for everything has moved into days."

Alexandria stumbled back a step before her spine stiffened and she nodded grimly. "And this is our best chance?"

Contessa shrugged weakly, wincing as her Shard demanded attention and energy. "The Paths are oscillating rapidly - whatever he did, it was outside the confines of their understanding. They're trying to adjust for it and for the Entity's reaction - but they're confused. I'm…. Not sure what to make of it. But we should move into the Bay and start preparing - I sincerely doubt either Scion or Paracelsus are just going to let things stay as they are at this point."

Alexandria nodded again. "I'll start getting everyone together."

Piggot

Emily stared, dumbfounded, at the man who had just burst into her office, completely out of breath. She felt a sharp pang and shoved it away, focusing her gaze on the man." Would you please repeat that?"

Her secretary swallow and nodded, his eyes wild." We - we don't know why, but every single Parahuman we know of has collapsed and are currently unconscious and non-responsive."

She reached up and started rubbing her temples. Thank whatever was listening that it wasn't a school day, or she'd be hard pressed to cover up for the Wards passing out.

"We've taken ours in to secure locations right now, and as I came in here the call desk was trying to find out if this incident was happening anywhere else." He continued explaining, and Emily felt her headache getting worse by the word. This was a fiasco of unknown proportions. Was this the result of some Villain Master - or worse, a Villain Bio-Tinker that had targeted Parahumans?

"Do we know anything about it? Did anyone say something before collapsing or - wait, was it simultaneous?"

"Yes ma'am. From security footage and noticeably from Armsmaster's helmet cam, it seems like everyone collapsed at the same time. Minor discrepancies can all be accounted for with errors in the computers' internal clocks." That…. What the fuck did that mean? "Everyone inside and outside of the Rig, no matter where they were in the city - they all collapsed together. The only time we've seen anything similar to this is when a Parahuman is near someone as they Trigger - but those events have only affected Parahumans who were in close proximity." So he'd done a few moments of research into the situation before coming in to alert her - good, because that would have been her next question.

Piggot sat back in her chair and groaned as she did her best to ignore the bottle of alcohol that was calling to her from the drawer. Now as not the time to advance her own demise, even if she did sorely wish she could take a drink to get rid of some of this tension.

"Right. Put all units on high alert and look out for anyone who seems to be searching for people - we can't discount that this may have been a widespread attack, or possibly someone's way of identifying unmasked Capes." And if that was the case - whoever did this better hope they never let it be known they were responsible, because both Heroes and Villains would descend upon them en masse.

Daniel

Daniel cracked open the door to Taylor's room and looked in on her again. She had confessed to him - though it had taken some effort on his part to get her to stop talking at a hundred words per minute - about what had happened. Grief, shock, and self-disgust were etched onto her features when she finally calmed down enough to clearly enunciate to him, and when she finished speaking she had curled up into a ball sitting on her bed, her arms wrapped around her knees and her face buried in her thighs as she avoided looking at him.

If Paracelsus hadn't warned him that something had happened, this would have caught him completely by surprise and left him in shock. As it was, he was still shaking for a moment - the man had said someone had died, not that his little girl was responsible - but he shoved that inside to deal with later. Right then, she had needed him.

He had wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders and rocked her back and forth until she had finally uncurled from her ball and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. It tore at his heart to hear her call herself a monster - and even now, after he had unendingly reassured her that she wasn't, and she had cried herself to sleep, Daniel doubted that she believed him.

He half-wished he could blame this on Paracelsus and make her stay away from the man - but that wasn't possible, or even smart. She had done this entirely with her innate ability, not anything she learned from the man - and in all honesty, being able to talk to her teacher now was going to help her.

For now, Daniel left hot chocolate on her nightstand and headed downstairs, swearing to himself that he would be here for her no matter what.

An ancient eye slowly opened, unfocused and lethargic as it looked around. It had been asleep for so, so long - to avoid dying to this insufferable suffocating fog - but now… Something was changing, ever so slowly, the heavy weight of fog lifting ever so slightly. Somewhere far off, a bright fire burned, warming the being as it settled back in to wait and see what was going on.

Last edited: Jun 20, 2017

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Reytac

Jun 19, 2017

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Threadmarks The Match is Struck... 10. 1

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Reytac

Jul 20, 2017

#1,293

Unrelenting pressure drove into me, trying to smash me downwards and obliterate me. This was more than just a physical attack - this assault was seeking to wipe me from existence, to make me cease to be on a fundamental level. Even with the First Flame and the Dark Soul empowering me, I had been caught off guard and this fight was being waged on a level I had never experienced before.

Why was I fighting this? This oppressive mass from which I could see no escape? I was in the end, just one man - no one would blame me for not being able to win here. Besides, there were others who could take up the fight - I didn't need to keep going. The Ashen One - he was the one who would end the Cycle, if we were still back in the Souls-verse. He could handle this thing, surely? Or the Cauldron - they had to have a plan for dealing with the Entity - they'd had years to plan after all. It didn't have to be me - I could give in, let my will falter, and finally, finally, after so long, fall into the eternal sleep..

It would…

be…

easy…

Sorry Taylor-

NO!

Fire as black as night roared through me, ripping strength from both the Flame and the Dark Soul. I had nearly lost from an angle I had never expected - the Entity had somehow been sapping my very will to live! But, it underestimated me - I was no normal being, confined to normal strengths. I had fought, in a world I had once believed wasn't real, against monstrosities I could barely comprehend, through twists and turns of time and space.

I have died, countless times, and no one knows any more how long I have lived. Some rapacious creature that only knows how to consume and destroy - no, I will never fall to that! My determination was far too strong, my will to survive and hell, to defend what few things and people precious to me was more than that. I had challenged beings if primordial darkness, and defeated an ancient dragon from time immemorial.

Obsidian black flames burst forth from my Soul-form, burning outwards in a spiral path around me. My domain barrier, which had faltered as my will was sapped, surged forth once more, shoving away the creeping tendrils of the Entity's power. It recoiled abruptly, as if shocked that I was still resisting, and started to pull away. I kept it up, reasserting my dominion. I knew that tactic now, and in a battle of will where I was not caught unaware I was not going to lose.

Darkness pooled around my feet and fire blazed in my hands as I lashed out at the Entity's manifestation on this plane. The great and terrible beast looked as if it was a massive collection of mirrored panels and jewels of all hues, impossibly twisted together into a monstrous amalgamation, a behemoth that defied comprehension. But pillars of blazing light, crafted from primordial sources of power, care not for comprehension - spears of darkness drove into mirrored surfaces, marring some and shattering a few, deflected by others. Columns of fire and lightning crashed from above, scorching shards out of existence.

The Entity did not let my assault go unanswered, even though it appeared to be stunned at first y the attack. It launched flechettes of itself at me, pieces of its own existence and power. Some were obliterated before they got near, but others made it through the wash of flame and dark to rip into me, opening furrows in my being that sent lances of screaming agony through my being.

Finally though, it had retreated enough that neither of us could reach the other with most attacks, and it disappeared, no doubt regrouping for another attempt at annihilating me. It hadn't been prepared for me to be able to defend myself on this plane of existence - hell, before my attacks drew its attention it hadn't even seemed aware of this plane. The damn thing existed, and was conscious, on this plane of reality as well as the physical simultaneously, something I hadn't tried and I don't think my mind was ready for the attempt. But that meant that next time the Entity came for me, it would come ready to blast me out of existence.

Abyss take it. I hadn't meant to draw its attention yet. But my intentions didn't matter - the Entity knew I existed now, and was a threat. It would be coming again, it was only a matter of time.

I took stock of my situation as I returned to consciousness. The wounds to my Soul were reflected on my body - there were open, bleeding trenches carved into my flesh, and my clothes were hanging in tatters from my shoulders and waist, giving me the barest level of decency if anyone had been around to see me. My head felt like it was itching, ready to split open, and breathing hurt to try. If I was a normal person, I would probably be out cold from shock and pain right now. As it stood, I could move, albeit slowly, and that was enough.

I forced myself over to the Bonfire and stared at it for a moment. I reached into the flame, forcing it to activate. A soothing balm of fire washed over me, mending some of the sounds - but frighteningly, not all of them. Many of the wounds from my fight with the Entity had damaged my very Soul, and it seemed the injuries were lasting. They'd scabbard over and healed up, but this was the worst I had looked when in my 'human' form that I knew of.

It was… Different, having injuries that didn't just go away. It stirred memories of a long, long time ago - of broken limbs and casts, stitches, thing I hadn't thought of in a long time. I shoved the memories away - I had things that needed to be dealt with, now was not a time to reminisce. I needed to go talk with Piggot, or whoever would listen - things had escalated at a ridiculous pace because of my inept fumbling, and I didn't want my allies or this city caught off guard because of it.

Fine then. Time to do what I should have as soon as I got the Bonfire working - I reached in, past the fire, into the tucked away space that hid behind reality. I had gotten a lot of practice messing with this 'box' while in Drangleic, and now I moved on memory. I hadn't had time, back when Shannalotte woke me up and hurried me to the Kiln, to grab my best gear - but that meant it had survived whatever the kiln had done to me, which the clothing I had been wearing decidedly hadn't. At least, I hoped so.

Boots and trousers that looked like they were spun from pure shadows came out first, drinking in the light from the Bonfire - the Black Boots, a fully upgraded version of my teacher Straid's own attire. Then came a tunic and robe that had been altered by Maughlin and Leningrast to fit a man, armor that I had painstakingly acquired over far too much time; a black-purple vest and robe that had been tailored to resemble a long-tailed tuxedo top. A pair of brown leather gloves, tooled with gold embossing, and to finish the ensemble an ornate silver half-mask. It wasn't much, but the enchantments on the mask helped me punch harder, and against something that I barely understood every bit helped. Finally I pulled out the Staff of Wisdom, a long thin staff with a gem floating in the head, suspended by the innate magic of the weapon.

It was only as I strode out of my base that I realized that all the enchantments and defenses on my gear would only matter up until I had to revert to my new true form. Fuck it, I was going to this meeting in style.

So apparently the world ended or something while I was wrestling with the Entity. The city was buzzing with activity - law enforcement and PRT forces were everywhere trying to corral the panicked crowds, though from what I saw they seemed to be focused in finding people who had collapsed. Huh. Had the Rapture happened, and the books failed to mention it was only your consciousness that was taken, or was there some kind of epidemic going on?

In this world that had bio-tinkers who could completely distort the human genome, it was probably the latter wasn't it. Damn it, some new threat was coming at the same bloody time that the Entity was starting to make its move. We did not need to be dealing with biological warfare too - though wait. With the amount of activity on the streets, where are the Parahumans? Damn, how long had I been out?!

I arrived at the entrance to the PRT headquarters and headed inside - only to be bowled over by a squad of armored men. I coughed as one of them pressed his forearm over my throat.

"Identify yourself now. Any funny business and I knock you out, and you won't wake up until the others do." OK, what? I frowned before remembering I was now wearing a mask, something I was rather noticeable for not having done in the past.

"Paracelsus here. I got some new equipment. What the hell is going on?"

"Damn it - can we get someone down here who can verify Paracelsus' identity? We have an unknown individual claiming to be him here, but he's wearing different attire and a mask." one of the other men in the group spoke into his radio, which crackled to life a moment later.

"If he's got a staff, have him cast a spell. Keep the channel open." I was hoisted to my feet, and I took my staff from the man who held it out to me.

"Soul Arrow." A bolt of blue-white energy leapt from the staff, though I canceled it before it hit anyone or anything. A moment of silence passed.

"Voice match is good. What happened?" Something about the voice was off to me, like a piece was missing, though I couldn't place it.

"Blue white light shot from his staff. Didn't hit anything, looks like he stopped it." The troops in the lobby were relaxing now, as I leaned slightly on my staff. To help matters along, I reached up and took off my mask - which prompted several guns being pointed in my direction.

"Sir, I would suggest not moving for the moment. Ah, you removed your mask - running facial recognition against images of Paracelsus… Match confirmed, though he looks a bit pale and - what did you guys do he is bleeding!" I was? I looked down - sure enough, blood was seeping out through my robes and dripping to the floor. Well. Abyss.

"Uh - we didn't do anything, just tackled him Uhm Dragon he shouldn't be bleeding from that, he's gone toe to toe with Lung-" the poor guard was panicking, and I cut him off.

"You just reopened previous wounds. They're part of why I'm here actually. I need to speak with the Director."

"One moment." OK why was the voice now coming through the speakers? And how had she been able to run facial recognition that quickly? Right, no, Tinker or Tinkertech. "Director Piggot is willing to meet with you. Officer Huggert, can you take him to her office?" The man who had had me pinned at the throat nodded, and I followed as he led me deeper into the building.

I was taken upstairs several floors, past several armed guards and security stations - and every time we were stopped, that soft, strong, somehow wrong voice spoke again, confirming that we were cleared to progress. Come to think of it, it was probably a result of her using some kind of Tinkertech that was bothering me.

Finally we reached a rather plain office, differentiated from the others we had passed only by virtue of being at the end of the hallway and with a receptionist's desk out front. The door was open, and a strident voice called out for me to enter when the guard hesitated.

My first impression of the woman in control of the Parahuman Response Team in the city was… Underwhelming. She was short, stocky, a bit dumpy, and looked visibly stressed out. But that was only for a moment - when she brought her eyes up from the paperwork on her desk and focused them on me, I was startled by the steel that was in them.

"Paracelsus. A pleasure to finally meet you - though in these circumstances, I'm not too sure of that." She gestured to the chair across from her, and steepled her fingers together as I sat down, somewhat gingerly. "So, can you tell me why you have remained conscious when no other Parahuman in the city has?" Oh. Oh. That's… Not good.

-? - - -

Ancient muscles stirred as age old blood began to pump once more. That blazing fire had been threatened, and had managed to repel something that had been foreign to the antediluvian being. It seemed that this millenia was full of fascinating occurrences - a perfect time for its return. It would take some time before the beings physical body was capable of moving again - but it's vast heart beat once more, and it was only a matter of time before the world quaker at its presence once more.

It would have to thank the source of the fire for this courtesy.

So sorry for the delay y'all. Work picked up - and I drive about five hours a day so I don't have the time to write that I used to. Then I got married so that's been hectic. Updates in the future should be coming on Thursdays, hope everyone hasn't lost interest - we're in the final stretch!

Last edited: Jul 20, 2017

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Reytac

Jul 20, 2017

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Threadmarks ... The Sparks Ignite... 10.2

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Reytac

Aug 1, 2017

#1,306

I scratched my cheek as Piggot stared steadily at me. There was no easy way to answer her without - wait, why the Abyss was I not just telling her? I had come here specifically to warn her, now was not the time for me to hang on to secrets. I lowered my hands and nodded.

"Well. The short answer is, I am not a Parahuman." She stared at me blankly, clearly not believing the words. "Never was. I'm… Well, from another world entirely. Similar to the difference between this world and Earth Aleph, this is not the world I was born on." I hoped couching it in terms she was familiar with would make her more inclined to heed what I was saying. From the look on her face, it wasn't succeeding. Abyss take it, I had no way of confirming it for her - anything I could do, she would likely attribute to some quirk of Parahuman weirdness.

"So that's why what affected them did not affect me. I… Actually think I know what caused it. But -" Piggot's phone began to ring on her desk, loudly interrupting what I was saying. She glared at it for a moment before answering.

"Piggot speaking." She listened for a moment, one eyebrow drifting upwards rapidly. "And you think it has something to do with local parahumans dropping unconscious?" The voice on the other end spoke rapidly and she frowned. Her eyes shot to me. "Understood." With a firm motion she placed the phone back in its cradle and looked back to me.

"Apparently multiple precognitive Parahumans are reporting that a major threat is rapidly approaching my city." She spoke quietly, her eyes not wavering from mine. "Additionally - how do you know Director Costa Brown? She told me to believe you." I slowly blinked. A better question would be, how did they know I was talking to Piggot?

"I do not think I've met a Director other than yourself. Unless I met them and didn't know who they were." I answered quietly, then leaned forward. "But in either case. I…. I think I know why the others collapsed." I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before. I had nearly buckled under the weight and presence of the Entity when it attacked me. And I'd seen Taylor collapse when that other man had Triggered - when the Entity had merely sent a tendril of its presence nearby.

"Alright. I need to explain something first. The world I came from… Is dead." I wasn't going to give her the full nitty gritty details of our fight and demise. "But someone managed to rescue me, send me away. They warned me that this world was going to be in danger from the same kind of event." I could tell, watching her, that Piggot didn't believe me. I pressed on anyway. I actually had a clue of how to convince her, of at least something. "My being from another world is why Tseldora can learn something of my abilities." For a moment she wavered, and her eyes flicked to the phone on her desk.

"And that is tied to why the parahumans collapsed." I spoke softly, knowing there was a jump in logic there, but it looked like she could keep up. "I was performing an experiment on something, and it apparently caught the entity's awareness." She froze, and her stare morphed into a glare.

"No no no - the Entity was already present on this world, and active. I just inadvertently drew its attention specifically to here." Even as I spoke quickly to forestall her anger, I could see her building up, her skin darkening into an unhealthy red shade. "The good news is, if that is the case, the others should recover quickly, as I was able to repel the being's first approach." Still staring at me with now open hostility, Piggot picked up her phone and punched in numbers.

"Give me an update on the patients." She listened to the person for a moment. "Thank you. Keep me posted." She hung up and folded her hands on her desk, staring at me with a stormy gaze as the color slowly receded from her face. "According to the doctors, the capes in our care are showing signs of recovering. Some are already conscious, and the rest are stirring. What the HELL kind of bear did you poke?" I leaned back and sighed.

"It would be better if the others hadn't collapsed. But there are a few people who know already - Parahumans aren't a natural occurrence." I watched her eyebrow rise again as I spoke. "They're… For lack of a better word, carrying symbiotic fragments. Fragments of that being that I mentioned. The reason they collapsed is due to its presence - I'm guessing either due to proximity to the mother piece of the symbiotes, or as a defense mechanism. Can't have the lesser parts attacking the larger just because of the hosts, right?" I had no clue if that was the case.

"You realize that this is impossible to believe?" Piggot's voice was strained as she stared at me. "Parahumans are the rest of someTHING inserting parts of itself into people? And that THING destroyed your world? Frankly Mister Paracelsus, the only reasons I'm not laughing you out of here is that someone very high up vouched for you, and that your estimate on the recovery time of my subordinates being accurate. And forgive me if I don't really count the latter as something in your favor - it would be child's play for a decent Master or Biotinker to know when their effect was going to wear off of their victims." She was clearly skeptical, and normally I wouldn't mind that - skeptics tended to keep excesses down.

The problem was, even now I could feel the Entity stirring, drawing closer. Several massive forces were stirring, approaching me. None would be here in the next day or two unless they drastically sped up, but a week, maybe two? That was all the time we had to prepare.

"Director, I do actually understand. This is the kind of thing that is so far outside the pale that it might as well rewrite the definition of the phrase. But the problem is, it is happening. And I'm not asking for anything from you, nothing monetary or physical - why I am here, and telling you this, is because I want you to cooperate with me. Whatever the Entity is, whatever was actually responsible for the others' collapse - it is coming. It is coming here, to Brockton Bay, and we have at most, two weeks to prepare before it arrives. Probably less." I forced my shoulders to relax - it was her job to be doubtful, and even with whoever Costa Brown was verifying me, Piggot wasn't just going to believe everything I said.

But that was fine. I didn't care if she believed me - what I cared about was that she started organizing defenses. Having her work it me was enough - I could worry about whether or not she trusted me after we survived the attack of the Entity. That the other Capes were waking up was a good thing, and a bad thing. A good thing, because they could be involved with making defenses - a bad thing, because unless I could figure out a way around their collapse, I wouldn't be able to count on anyone else fighting with me aside from normal humans.

"Fine. I'll start emergency procedures - but only because the Chief Director gave something similar to that as the time line for whatever disaster the precogs were picking up on." She learned back in her chair, a faint tremor of stress flicking across her features. For a moment I thought about offering to help, but I didn't even know what the problem was or if I could help. Trying experimental spells was all well and good during what I thought was down time - if I tried that and something went wrong just before the Entity attacked, and it took either of us out of the conflict…. No, best to wait until all was said and done to try helping her.

"Now then, Paracelsus, unless there's something else?" I shook my head in response to her question. "Good. Then I have another meeting that is about to happen, and I need to get ready for it. Officer Harrelt outside will guide you out of the building. When they've recovered, someone will be in contact with you to coordinate. This is Endbringer level?" I tilted my head, trying to figure out what she meant. Ah, to see if the Truce would be in effect.

"At the very least Director. I'd suggest getting people out of the city rather than into shelters." I said, even though…. In the end, that wouldn't matter if we lost here. I had a feeling that Alexandria and her cohorts were going to gather everyone who had a shot at defeating the Entity together here in order to try taking this thing down all at once.

I left, turning that thought over in my head. Had that been the problem, back home in Drangleic? Each of the surrounding nations had had Gods, or extremely powerful warriors who, for whatever reason, had never come to Drangleic itself. Had that been what had led to our downfall - that even then, at the end, we were disparate, isolated? Back then I hadn't had the power of the Flame or the Dark literally living inside of me - I had been strong, yes, as the one who conquered Drangleic as its Monarch candidate, and fledgling Monarch. But even that strength was nothing compared to the raw Flame and Dark that now pulsed inside of my veins.

Would unity then, as unified as this world could hope to be, mean anything? I had to hope so - I don't think, even if I somehow survived, my sanity could last through the death of another world. Speaking of unity - time to call in the calvary. I headed for my workspace, intent on summoning the Ashen One and whoever he had that could help with the relief efforts.

The Ashen One was coming - first he had to gather whoever he had who was capable of even the smallest Miracle, and as his head follower was out spreading the word it might take a day or two before he returned. So Avonal would take a little time before he arrived, but hopefully he had at least a few who could Heal or throw Lightning. But he was on his way, and I knew that like me, he was determined to make this the last stand, either for us, or for the Entity.

And on the local front, I had been contacted by Alexandria - she had confirmed my belief that the Cauldron group would be gathering everyone they could convince. She also had a warning for me - Scion, the Golden Hero, the First Hero - had begun making his way here, slowly at first but he had been gaining speed. Thinker predictions put him passing through this area in thirteen days, roughly, barring him turning when he was out of sight for some reason.

Then Armsmaster, still sounding rough and strained, and groggy, called my phone. He tried asking if I had any idea what was coming, beyond 'being that can knock Parahumans out just by its sheer presence' but I had nothing concrete I could give him. While it was clearly the same species as the monstrosity that had assaulted my world, it was clearly operating in an entirely different fashion - so I told him that what I had seen and fought had been a massive, shifting being formed of impossible angles and crystal structures that hurt to look at. I also had no way of defending the others from the 'knock out presence', but he had a couple theories that he was going to test apparently.

And on the final front, a more personal one. Taylor was in the garage chamber with me, but she was sitting on the ground in front of the Bonfire. Her knees were folded up in front of her chest, and her long, thin arms were wrapped around her legs, hugging them close to her. She had greeted me quietly when she came in, but other than that had scarcely said a word since then.

I sank down into a cross-legged stance on the ground next to her, joining her in watching the fire for a long few minutes. We remained silent as the Bonfire crackled in front of us, until she eventually leaned over against me, her head dropping onto my shoulder.

"Does… It get better?" I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking of how to answer her question. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and patted the top of her head gently.

"No, or at least, it shouldn't." She lived in, while albeit a crazier version, my original world. A world that was generally peaceful, and normal people didn't usually end up killing others - not even here, where the heroes and villains left each other alive, in a strange game of cops and robbers.

"But, in time? You'll…. Accept it. It happened, and from time to time you'll remember him. But it's important to remember this too. He tried to kill someone important to you - he didn't believe that I would come back, so he was fully ready to be a murderer. And he would have likely hurt other people as well. You stopped that, stopped someone who was already a killer. You did nothing wrong, Taylor, and no one thinks any less of you. I know for a fact that most of the people from the Church - the ones who were there, who saw it - they are concerned for you, and asked if you would be OK." Her shoulders shook in my loose hold, and I squeezed her shoulders.

"Ri-right. Uhm." It took a few moments before she had composed herself. She sat up and rubbed one arm across her face, furiously scrubbing away the tears that had gathered there. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath before nodding. "Right. So, Uhm. What's going on? The city is bustling, and I heard on the radio that they're planning evacuation drills." For a moment, I felt touched that she thought I knew what was going on.

"Something big is coming. The city is going to be in danger." Taylor tilted her head to the side, and I gave her a quick run down of what I'd told Piggot about the approaching threat. "I want you to take your father and get out of the city."

"What? Master, I can't just leave you!" I shook my head sharply at her objection.

"No, you can, and you will. It is not sending g you away solely to keep you safe, either. I'm going to be having Avonal send any of his priests who can actually work magic go with the evacuation groups to. Think, can you see why I'd do that?" My words cut through her anger, and she folded her arms with a huff as she visibly turned it over in her head. Finally she lifted her chin up and met my eyes.

"Is… it's because we can buy them more time to get further away if things go wrong here. We know magic hurts them - it hurt Leviathan, even my basic Soul Arrow got his attention. So if we go with the refugees, if whatever is coming starts trying to attack, we can maybe slow it down and give the civilians more time to escape." She spoke firmly, her temper flaring every few words. It looked like, even if she had pretty much figured it out, that she was not happy with it not that I could blame her - by now,I had figured out that my apprentice was very much a fighter, and the thought of retreating was probably sticking in her throat.

"Right in one. That's not all though - when it comes time to leave, I'm going to give you scrolls of magic, to help you learn and hopefully grow - and I'll do what I can for the priests, though Miracles were never my focus. Now then - for the time being, we will continue your lessons." if I could teach her enough….. Maybe she and the others could survive a little longer. I prayed, as she glared at me but listened to the lesson, that we succeeded in the defense. If not…

The ancient being stretched, long unused muscles flaring as for the first time in centuries they were used. It could feel something approaching, a vast weight that stretched across the skies, but focus of the oncoming presence was not on its still recovering form. Instead, the moving weightiness was homing in on the darkly bright flame that was burning with a terrible beauty.

Soon, soon the eons old life would be able to move once more. Days, as the mortals of old had reckoned it, and it would be free completely. Truthfully, breaking free of the tons of stone and water that now covered it were what was slowing the being from moving freely - and even now as it stretched its muscles, those tons of stone and mud and sand were falling away from its form.

"UH." The loud, disbelieving gasp from one of the techs drew the attention of his supervisor. The older man walked over, sipping from the steaming mug of coffee in his hand. He leaned onto the back of the technician's chair.

"What have you got, Mike?" Mike spun around in his chair at the question, his eyes wild. By now they were starting to draw attention from other monitoring station personnel.

"I - I was flicking through some of the older Leviathan monitoring systems, looking to see if there was any we could maybe repurpose… And… Well, take a look sir." Mike pulled up the readings that he'd been looking at a moment ago. The supervisor took a long drink, his eyes scanning the screen, then calmly set his drink down on the desk and pulled the phone from his pocket.

"Boss? We have what is likely another Endbringer on the move." He listened for a moment before continuing. "Best guess is it's aquatic. How do we know?" That last was said in the tone of someone repeating what they saw as a ridiculous question. "We know… Because there's an underwater mountain moving."

Well. Took longer to get out than I had hoped, but here it is! And a bit longer than my normal 1800ish words - hope y'all enjoy it!

140As Taylor sat across from me, meditating and working on controlling her insects. The girl was working on a new spell, trying to learn the patterns of energy she would need to guide her. Instead of trying to teach her another variant of the Soul Arrow, I had her working on the Sorcery version of Force - in all the time I had known it, it almost never failed to push those around me back by several steps. This might be crucial to the girl, give her breathing room if someone or something came upon her suddenly.

And if she could learn to cast it through her insect clouds? That… Would be terrifying actually, thinking of it. Chaining the shoves could buffet foes around, keep them completely off balance, far more so than having a single point of origin for the spell. Even if she would likely never have the raw power that I did, or that many Sorcerers from Drangleic had, that ability would put her leaps and bounds ahead of what most could accomplish.

In any case, with her occupied, it was time for me to do some meditation of my own. When he had spoken with me earlier, Armsmaster mentioned something he had apparently never had a chance to before. From what he said, he was actually inside of the 'field' near the end, and he had seen what he described as 'silvery ephemeral shapes, likely a projection of an unconscious Master power, taking the form of humans or humanoid beings, one of which modulated sound waves at me in an attempt to reassure me. You apparently, carry them.'

At the time, I hadn't had the attention to spare to figure out what he had been talking about, but now that I had a few moments to sit and think…. Had he somehow seen Phantoms? The white beings were projections from other realities, other worlds, who slipped through the cracks of the breaking Cycle of Flame to manifest to aid or hinder whoever they found, based on the Phantom's personality. I wouldn't have thought it possible for a Phantom to appear without my knowing so close in my domain, but I had been rather distracted at the time, so maybe something had slipped by.

Or, was I somehow carrying Phantoms with me? Inside of me somewhere? I had to admit, since I had come here I hadn't spent much time in deep inward contemplation, and while I had meditated once or twice, each time I had used my meditation to examine the world around me, paying myself only the most cursory of glances. Now, now was time to really look at myself.

My form still held the old, familiar wicker work construction that I felt so familiar with - the shape of a Human Effigy. No longer though were the threads the twisting black of the Darkness, the construction of Humanity - now the 'threads' that formed me were a mixture of golden threads along with the black ones. Inside were the twin power sources that I had seen before: the raging golden heat of the Flame, constricted with the deep dark coils of the Darkness of Humanity, and twined around them both were the silvery blue strands of my Soul - or what had been my Soul.

Fear coiled deep inside my psyche. What had once been silver and blue were changing,slowly,even as I watched. They were becoming twisted coils of pitch black and burning gold, woven together in sheer defiance of what I knew they were. The Fire and Dark were opposites, and one fed upon the other even as it could be confined by it, and could confine it. And yet that strange burning dark coil remained, and I realized that was I was seeing as separate and distinct were only that way because my mind refused to accept that they were actually united.

I followed the golden black corruption - or was it conversion - of my Soul to its source. It was what I had noticed before, what I had instinctively tapped when I spotted the Entity and tried to attack it. There was a Black Flame burning inside of me, feeding off of both the Darkness and the Flame. It was a slow, steady process, leeching energy from both of the primordial powers, converting both of them into itself. And at the same time, a tiny thread of that golden black fire, shifting like fire and water together, had come loose, and latched onto the net that was my Soul.

I can't lie. It terrified me. What I was seeing was… For lack of a better word, incomprehensible. It was impossible, unbelievable, and yet it was happening in front of my very eyes. And it was converting me too, I was sure of it now - I was sure if it, because I literally could not bring myself to try stopping what was happening. I could see where the flows of power fed from the First Flame and the Darkness into this…. Impossibility, and it should have been the work of a few moments to cut those flows of power off and starve this, this whatever this was, back into non-existence.

And yet my will would not answer me, the Flame and the Darkness would not surge forth in defense of themselves. I could move, my mind was still my own - but my Soul-construct, the way I affected things in this plane, simply would not make a move towards stopping this. I could walk around it, examine it, Abyss I could actually pull power from this impossibility,, but I could not stop it.

Instead of the actual sheer mind numbing terror I should have been feeling at the fact that I was literally watching two literal metaphysical terraformers be drained by something, I was terrified of the fact that I was feeling calm and accepting towards this occurrence, like it was supposed to be happening. The sources of nearly all existence in my world were being… were being…

"Jesus." The nearly foreign epithet fell from my stunned lips, as I realized what I was actually seeing. It wasn't the Monarch who spoke then, but the young man who had suddenly found himself thrown into another world countless years ago, who had survived and slowly been inured to the insanity of being in a fictional - or what he had thought was fictional- world. It was the young man who had lived with a disjointed understanding of his new life and world, an understanding that had been twisted by the actions of a desperate God to save what he had built.

I set part of my attention to subconsciously untangling my Soul from the mass it had become entangled in, my attention fixated in the gold-black Flame that was outside of that net, and yet pulling strength from inside of it. It was ancient history to the world I had come from, literally history they could not remember it was so old, and Drangleic itself had never truly been connected to. But it was history I had known once, long ago, history I had shoved into the deepest parts of my memory and forgotten as I had struggled to survive.

Gwyn, Lord of the Light, had found the First Flame eons ago, and had taken a portion of that Flame for himself. With him was the Izalith, the first Witch, and Nito, the First of the Dead. These three had taken their new power, their new Flame, and used it to wage war against the Eternal Stone Dragons, and had in that act of war, created the First Kingdom of Flame, and the First Age of Fire.

But there had been another, who had taken the last part of the Flame. Manus, the first of the Pygmy Humans, who eventually became Father of the Abyss. The last part, the part that Manus took, was the Darkness.

But the knowledge, the actual understanding that the Darkness had once been a part of the First Flame, was erased in time, largely in part because Gwyn feared the Darkness, feared Humanity. Ironically, he feared what he had once fought for - change, the end of an age, and the start of a new one. So the Dark had become 'evil', stigmatized, and Humanity by and large forgot what it once was, as Gwyn instituted the Linking of the Flame. By sacrificing enough of the Dark, but never, I realized only now, too much, the Dark would feed the Flame, revitalizing it and keeping the Flame burning. It was an incomplete, imperfect process, one born out of desperation and fear, and one that by the third iteration of the series had clearly failed.

But in Drangleic, the world I was thrust into? It had been 'working' for who knows how long. Over and over the world had essentially been reset, the turning of the Age pushed back, and when the Flame was Linked most everything of the previous cycle was erased. Abyss, I had refused to Link the Flame solely because I knew the Cycle existed, and theoretically my actions should have led to the first Age of the Dark.

But I had forgotten that the Dark was a part of the Flame. I had forgotten, and in so forgetting had prevented the First Flame from uniting itself. At least, until the First Flame had somehow circumvented my meddling. Now, inside of me, as a fragile shell for the power that had been shoved inside of me as Drangleic fell, the Flame was finally uniting fully. This….

Abyss. I didn't know if I was even right. For all I knew, whatever this was was going to end up killing me, and the fact that I couldn't do anything to stop it was a sign that I had already been corrupted too far to save myself. Damn. When Avonal got here, I'd see if he could check this at all. He had a different Flame, maybe he could do something. Even if that thought did feel weird considering the mess with his disciples.

In any case. I could draw power from this new Flame, and I would need all the power I could get when going against the Entity. So for now, I would keep an eye on it - and pray that this wasn't going to kill me. Or worse, make me a monster worse than the Entity.

Keeping this creeping existential horror tucked firmly for now, I looked around, trying to find something to distract myself. I couldn't remember why I had come in here - ah! I could work on that, right? No, no.

My fleeting idea had been to cut Taylor's connection to the Entity, and see if she could still use her Shard ability. But I knew that would work - the Cauldron group used Shards from a dead Entity, so I knew that losing the main connection wouldn't take the power away. At the same time though… Last time I had mucked around with the connection, I had drawn an immediate attack response from the Entity, and it had knocked all the parahumans in the area.

So for now, I was going to leave that alone for now. At least, until after I had talked with Taylor about it. The Entity was already on its way, but I didn't want to make her any more of a target than she was without her consent. That decided, I pulled my consciousness back to my 'mortal' frame, still with a nagging feeling that I was forgetting something but I couldn't place what it was.

When I opened my eyes, we weren't alone. I felt it, the presence of someone else in the chamber with me and my apprentice, and I turned to look. For a moment I caught an impression of gleaming, luxurious black and -

My head swam for a moment as I came back to myself from my meditation and I pressed one palm against a temple for a moment. I'd noticed it before, but my sense of vertigo when switching back from my soul-scape to my physical form was getting worse. But the dizziness had passed, and I looked over to Taylor.

It looked like she was making progress on learning the spell. Every so often in the cloud of insects surrounding her there was a flash of blue light - which I knew from personal experience was one of the earliest steps in getting the spell to work properly. I didn't know how much time had passed while I was meditating, but it couldn't have been that much since no one was calling either of us. She was making good progress - Force was a simple spell, but it would serve her well.

For now, it was time for me to start coordinating things, and see if a thought I had had could work. This thankfully wouldn't require a full meditative state, but I did want a bit of privacy in case something went wrong and I set off any kind of response in my immediate area. I pulled out my phone and checked the time - a few hours had passed, so it was late evening, but not late enough that Daniel would have been getting worried about his daughter.

"Taylor." She blinked twice, the swarm stuttering around her as she hauled her attention back to the here and now. Her eye focused on me and she tilted her head to one side.

"What is it Master?" She asked as she stretched out her arms, and I heard a couple pops from bones and joints. "Owwww, how long were we sitting here?"

"About three hours. It's seven thirty - do you need to check in with your father?" Her eyes widened at my words and she scrambled for her phone, double checking my words. The blood drained from her face and she nodded frantically. "Go ahead and go home - but do not practice without me. Just work on your insect control for tonight if you get bored." Almost as soon as I finished speaking she shot to her feet, and was out the door moments later.

A few seconds passed and I let out a deep breath, then stretched out my own back. I raised an eyebrow as I felt an insistent pressure on the edge of my domain - not an assault like the Entity did, but more like someone was… knocking? I relaxed my guard there, and a few seconds later there was a… Portal next to me. Alexandria stepped through, her face hard and creased, eyes sharp as she stared at me.

"We need to talk." I gestured to the cement column that served as my bench in response to her words.

"So you were able to sever the connection? Fully?" I nodded. I had given the Triumvirate member a run down of what had happened, and it seemed like she was still processing it in her head.

"Yes. As far as I can tell the connection between Mush's Shard and the Entity is dead. And I am fairly certain that's what happened - I don't think the Entity would have had such a violent reaction if I had just tickled it." She frowned and shook her head.

"We have no way of knowing that Paracelsus. For all we know, it just reacted like that because it's the first time someone has even been able to affect it - nothing we have tried has done anything noticeable. We have no way of gauging its response." Well, she had a valid point there. Wait - no there was a way to check.

"Well, do you have any of those dead Shards with you? The ones you offered me before?" If I was right… She shook her head briefly.

"Not on me, but - Door." There was that soft, insistent knocking on my domain, and when I let it through another portal opened up. Alexandria strode through, and returned a few moments later with a small vial, which she held out to me. I took it from her, and dredged the Shard I had fiddled with out from my 'storage',and studied the two of them through my Soul-sense.

I was right. Take that you overgrown crystal bastard. I grinned widely and handed the vial back to her.

"They're both inert in the same way. That one is more stable than the ones you offered to me before, by the way." Her eyes widened and she looked between the vial and the gleaming, twisting mass in my hand. "Now, I have a request. I'm going to try something, and I would like a little privacy for the act - mostly in case something goes wrong. Can you return in about fifteen minutes and we can continue planning?" Alexandria still seemed a bit shell shocked, and she numbly nodded and stepped through her portal, leaving me alone in my lair.

Right. One last thing to try with this Shard. I closed my eyes and focused on it, feeling at the edges of the Shard and its Soul-stuff. I was looking for - there, the loose end of the connection that I had severed earlier. I snagged it and twisted, extending it out. It was inert, almost completely 'lifeless' - but it did still seem to be searching, slowly drifting as I pulled the line outwards. I pulled on that frayed connection - and my fear and hope was confirmed. It latched onto my Soul, or more accurately onto the Flame and the Dark inside of me.

As soon as it had, I felt it changing as the metaphysical teraformers pushed power into it. I quickly severed the connection again, feeling a strange tearing sensation inside of myself as I did so. I opened my eyes and stared at the Shard in my hand. Somehow, and I was scared to think about how, the Shard was similar enough to the Flame, or to the Dark, to draw strength from it. They weren't the same - if that was the case it wouldn't have been changing during that exposure. But still.

Just what were the Entities?

Soon, the ancient being would be moving soon. It could feel its blood pumping strongly again, moving through tremendous veins and arteries as a heart as big as a small hill constricted and relaxed. Massive muscles flexed as it shook itself free of the constricting weight of mud, silt, and sand. It was time to find out what was going on with this bright new flame - a flame that was darkening over time, becoming strangely more… Familiar, more like something the antediluvian had seen long ago. But that was impossible, and the being was -very- interested in the impossible being made evident once more.

There - the last of the ocean floor that had built up on it over the eons had been shaken off. Tendons went taut as the being surged forward, spearing through the water, creating a rippling shockwave as it left a vacuum in the space behind it.

This took far longer to write than I wanted to. Most of this went through multiple drafts. Hopefully I'm wrapping up most of the loose threads left in the story, but I'm still working on that. Hope y'all enjoy this as it is.

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