Hear this account of which none may surpass.
Violence inhabit their every thought
calamities quelled in the wake of their step
their spirit awakens after the path has been treaded.
Yet they all face the same fate.
Here, they seek their glory as a terrible wind howls
at the end of all things,
To be Pilgrim, is to acknowledge futility.
Land sundered, the Cycles begin anew.
Two days before Aksu arrives.*
(Also, the Kaede here isn't the playable character, they're just a Sukeban with the same name.)
A shrill chime rings throughout the desolate market square.
The sound bounces off cracked windows and enters a shop. It reaches every shelf, the checkout counter and the backroom. The front of the store lies a tattered sign with ineligible letters on it, the store is about to receive its first package ever since the GSC president disappeared.
The hiss of a flame relays the omen, the sound of crushed concrete fulfills it.
He lands with a thud that can be felt throughout the entire market square. He is a pioneer, a trailblazer and a brave soul. The Volkite Gallus.
The Pilgrim, Oukacon, is the first fragment of Achra to reach Kivotos.
He's clad in absurdly heavy armor. The chestplate is a bright yellow and is plated multiple times over for absolute protection at the cost of any flexibility, it's the same story for the armored plate leggings and boots. Made of incredibly thick metal in exchange for ridding the user of anything more advanced than a crouch for movement. His right arm, which bears most of the weight of the Bull Axe during swings, possesses a large metal glove that encases his hand.
His head is fully encased with a skull like helmet, it has pale white horns protruding from the sides and it leaves no skin showing. Only a visor for eyes and a slit for the mouth, those are the only vulnerabilities.
'New land, no enemies nearby.' He thinks.
There's very little that goes through his head at the moment. He stands with his Bull Axe planted between his legs, it's a two handed heavy battle axe that almost matches his seven foot frame in height.
Bull Axe, Boulder Gauntlets, Taurus Leggings, Brute Plating, Helm of Mardok (Dread Helm.)
'This… is nice ground, peaceful lands, how quaint.' He ponders.
He's planted directly in front of the wrecked store front and before a relatively intact water fountain. Dozens of bullet casings and empty magazines litter the ground. His medieval figure stands out in comparison to the modern landscape around him, his bright yellow armor reflecting the light brilliantly. The ground is cracked around him and whilst he may be standing in the ruins of a once bustling marketplace but he looks no worse off for it.
'I shall… rest. No violence seeks me.' He slowly comes to that conclusion.
It's all he's desired ever since he ventured into the Outer Dark and faced countless, nameless demons of old. Faced the forgotten Gods of times long passed. Faced the King of Many Colors upon the Astrolith.
It's finally time to sleep. He closes his eyes and begins to emit a soft dim heat from his body, it's his way of hibernating.
The dim fire fills his body and his mind. It swallows his thoughts in its soft but ever present heat.
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It simmers…
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Time?
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Minutes? Hours? Does it matter?
…
..
.
"-look at that! How did someone miss it?" A high pitched voice pierces through Oukacon's reverie.
The flame is still there, he seeks its warmth.
"It's life sized! These things cost like… I don't know, look at it!" Another high pitched voice.
The flame wavers and flickers, Oukacon grumbles.
"Wow. Look at its armor. The axe! This… come on."
"Kaede, how are we supposed to… we aren't doing that." That's another voice responding.
Multiple sets of footsteps echo throughout the marketplace, too many to detect how many legs they might have, he'll have to actually see what he's dealing with.
Oukacon reluctantly cracks open his eyes and looks in the direction of the voices, they're in the corner of his eyes, and they're not monsters. They're simply girls, he can't tell what race they are, but they're far, far younger than him. They shouldn't pose a threat as there's only four of them.
"Oh fine. We'll find another way. Oh…" Kaede? says.
"What is it?" Another voice replies.
"We'll get a truck! Or a car!"
"Stop shouting-"
"Could you imagine how much this would sell for? I'll be rich! Let's go find a truck."
"Uh… yeah. Okay."
The voices get fainter along with their footsteps. Oukacon has no idea what they're talking about but if they're going to leave him alone, that's all that matters, they didn't have enough hostile intent towards him to warrant a response.
'Don't come back.' He thinks.
He closes his eyes and chases the inner flame. He finds it.
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Distant sounds of gunfire…
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…
It's bright here. Sunlight beams down on Oukacon, a foreign feeling.
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…
This is a city. Many creatures travel through cities, maybe he ought to find a better spot?
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. -
The sound of tires screeching destroy any sense of tranquility Oukacon was feeling. His eyes shoot open as his muscles tense in anticipation.
"Woah! Hold on!" Someone shouts out.
The water fountain, simple in its aesthetic and calm in the ambiance it provided, is shattered as a truck crashes through a side of it. Many shards of brick splatter against the ground. The truck comes to an abrupt stop a little further from the fountain.
"...sorry." A familiar voice says. It's that Kaede girl again.
"I think you mighta popped a tire, uh… check?" The sound of multiple car doors opening follows.
Some of the water from the fountain reaches the feet of Oukacon. He tracks the movements of the humans near him with near hawk-like accuracy. Irritation inhabits his every thought.
"I think that's a lot more than a tire."
"It's smoking and uh… I think the bumper's broke."
The four humans are all girls with varying hairstyles and colors though two of them have helmets. The two who have helmets cradle guns in their hands whilst the other two have them strapped to their backs, Oukacon see's what he presumes to be weapons on their person and immediately starts considering a pre-emptive strike.
"Just take the damn statue. Let's keep driving, that was fun." One of the helmeted girls says that.
"How are we supposed to drive anymore? You see the truck? Let's just see how heavy this thing is first though." The other helmeted girl replies. She walks over to Oukacon after holstering their gun.
'Take me? No.' Is the only thought that goes through his head.
"Woah, look at its head! It's like it's looking at me…" The closest one says that.
She's standing on her tip toes and yet she still has to crane her neck up to see through the eye slits, a pair of crimson red orbs glare back.
He is looking at her. He's been stone still throughout this entire debacle, mostly because of his obscenely heavy armor, but also because most creatures don't attack or threaten still structures.
The girls are all doing different things. One is trying to peer into the eye holes through Oukacon's helmet, another is also looking at the statue with an appraising eye, one is checking out the battered front of the truck and Kaede is staring at the two helmeted girls in anticipation to see if they can lift it.
All are interrupted by the sound of armor plates grinding and shifting, the statue just crouched slightly, in preparation to move.
"Uh…" The helmeted girl immediately moves her face away from the statue and stares in shock.
Everyone in the vicinity freezes. The statue takes the opportunity.
He takes a towering step towards the girl before he shifts the Bull Axe into his right hand and uses his left to dismissively hit the girl's gun, causing it to fly away several meters.
(STR 90)
"Woah! Ah.. Help!" The statue grabs the girl by the armpit and hoists her over its shoulder with one hand.
She tries to wiggle out of it's grasp but barely moves a centimeter from the side that is being held, it's grip is vice-like, her other arm is flailing around in panic.
'Weak.' Oukacon thinks before his hand seeks more leverage.
"What are you doing?! Help-" Any more words are cut off as she is thrown by Oukacon.
She rockets away, a blur to anyone witnessing, far over the nearby buildings and into the distance. A dissipating scream is the only sign she was ever here, a distant thud cuts it off.
Kaede's smile slowly fades. "...shoot it!" Kaede shouts out.
The remaining helmeted girl immediately brings her assault rifle up and fires a burst of rounds into the statue. The bullets race towards Oukacon and ping off his chestplate, he Shrugs it Off.
(Pierce 75% Res, Armor 12927)
A barrage of bullets from three angles follow after. The sound of metal plicking and deflecting fills the air as Oukacon continues to stand there, he brings his right arm down and to the pole of his Bull Axe, grasping it with both hands.
The sound of empty magazines rings out.
"...oh." Kaede mutters.
Oukacon slowly raises the Bull Axe over his head and slams the pommel into the ground.
(STR 90)
The ground shudders and splinters from the impact, a spiderweb of cracks spreads throughout the marketplace's concrete, the sound reverberates through everyone's bones and makes them shudder from the force. Bullet casings and magazines are sent up into the air, the sound of them clanking and falling to the ground a familiar sound which brings some normalcy to the situation occurring infront of them.
The terror unbridled strength brings.
A submachine gun falls from a weak grip, the owner rapidly turning pale.
"Nope… no no no, outta here, sorry." The remaining helmeted girl looks around frantically.
She doesn't even look back at her 'compatriots' and, without her gun, flees the scene. Rapidly weaving through a wrecked alleyway full of spilt trash and far from Oukacon. He doesn't spare a glance.
Kaede and the remaining girl look at each other for a moment. Their lips quiver and their legs shake slightly, it's an alien feeling really, they were just here to have a 'good' time.
"Okay. Kaede, hea- heh." The other girl chuckles weakly. "Hear me out, what if we get the fuck outta here, like right now!" A sudden fire is present in her voice as she shouts at Kaede.
"Yup, uh, don't mind us statue thing? We are leaving!" They skedaddle.
Oukacon watches them run away, stumbling and looking back constantly. The area around him is looking mildly worse for wear, the concrete is cracked and the fountain is shattered, but it's still the picture of ruin, with him standing in the middle like a monument to it.
'That's that, they'll either come with reinforcements or never come back. Either way…' He thinks
He grumbles before standing still and emitting the same heat as before.
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Oukacon mentally updates his catalog of 'opponents.' He finds these new ones lacking.
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Feeble weaponry. They lack the ability to even make him bleed.
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He sleeps, but remains aware for the next, it's never this easy.