The Escapist Avatar Adventure: An Open RP (Now Re-Opened!)

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

Rugal's story

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"NGH-.....GOD DAMMIT!....GRRRRRAAHHHHHH-"

Rugal shook with pain as both sides of his soul were torn asunder.
His life felt like it was flashing before his eyes: The cold streets of Berlin, the silent temples he left in his wake, the roar of the Rising Dawn's engines, the power of the gods flowing though him yet again.
Fear filled a part of him he never knew it could, for years, that force loomed over him like a storm cloud threatening to tear apart his entire life.

There was such an expression of shock as the crimson soul of evil was dragged away, clawing fruitlessly at the dirt as the surge of energy swept him away.
NO! NOT LIKE THIS! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! YOU WON'T! YOU! NEED! Meeeeeee-..... His echo called out before being scattered to oblivion.
No sooner did he vanish did everything suddenly start falling down on him with crushing weight.
"-HHHHHHHHH-AHHHHHHHH-AHHHHHHHHHHH-A-HAHHHHHHHHHHH!" He called out as a burst of crimson energy started to radiate off his being, his skin turning a similar hue while his hair turned a pure white, scorched by the power.
He stood dazed for a moment as the reawakening slowly washed over him.


Rugal stood tall and examined himself, as if he needed to make sure this was actually still happening to him.
His soul gem glowed brightly, shaking a little as Kyuubey held it, Omega was dead and gone though good luck telling him that.
"As a part of the process of fulfilling the contract, I had to remove your soul from your body. For now, your consciousness is stored in this egg. It will return to your body through diffusion after some time. Provided of course you do not hatch into a Witch."
"That will not happen. I would hate to "Inconvenience" you..." He bluntly said before snatching the gem back from the kitten while Livia pleaded her case.

"This is insane," Livia said, "Kyuubey, this is insane! How can you be okay with asking a person to die for you so casually!?" She took out the binding stone that Jove had signed for her. "Rugal, I command you by order of your contract to me to flee from this city! I cannot, I will not have another person die because of me." Tears were streaming down her face. The gemstone on her hair accessory was nearly black in color. She clutched the stone, but the rock did nothing.
"The Gods no longer control this city," Kyuubey said matter-of-factly. "Such contracts are not enforceable."

"..."
Her tears were a rather sour note on his "Return" to godhood as he looked down at her, his frightful form doing little to mask the sadness on his face.

The rain was coming down particularly hard now. Livia stared on in disbelief. Her knuckles were white from clutching the stone box. "How come I don't get a say in this? Am I not the sovereign? Am I not the caretaker of the realm?"

Kyuubey turned away from Livia, "I might have given you the circumstances for you to rise to power Livia, but unlike your deceased father, never have you once had the right to rule. In the end you were only a girl play-"

"Kyuubey, I'm getting dangerously close to wanting to murder you again. Ever since I arrived, I knew I disliked you but now I can truly understand why. You never once cared what she thought, just what she could do for you. What I can do for you. So you wish for me to play savior, do you? Then Shut. The Goddamn Hell. Up." He spoke with quiet fury.
He turned to Livia afterwards before saying "Kyuubey believes this is the only way to ensure the safety of your world. I want to believe it's possible but I don't want you believing my death will be on you. I don't fear death or dying. I-....I know for a fact that I am not a good man. And I never know if I will be. But I promised that I would try everything in my power to become that man. In that respect, I'll ask that Kyuubey be silent.

Speak your mind. Have your say. Rulers and Sovereigns are worthless unless they rise up to the challenges facing their people. This is your time to do so. Help me save this world."

 

[Zepherus14]

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A Painted World

Miriam's story

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"Well if I'm really honest, I don't know why I'm here. Saving the people of Anazorzia is just what I want to do now that I'm here." Nina answered back, recoiling a bit as Miriam's ice cold hands touched her. Goosebumps ran along her skin as the silky fibers wove themselves back together and reattached with the remaining threads that connected them to the rest of the outfit. Touching at her arm with one of her hands, she couldn't help but look a little pained. Sure it felt real, it looked real, but... this wasn't Faea's, it was Miriam's.

Nina set her cup down after another sip, being greedy about it, but she was nearly done. "Honestly, I don't know how well off I am to comment on that now, this tea is helping but... Nina started to explain, rubbing her temples with those soft silky hands of her's. "I'd be lying if I said I was drawing with a full set of crayons."

"You're not wrong to want to leave, and... you aren't wrong in introducing death. It's the way you've done in and the need for such an utterly complete deletion of this place that bothers me." Nina answered, not able to hide the head fog she was starting to experience. "The best I understand this is like a computer program or a picture file. There's only so much you can put on it before the whole thing starts collapsing in on itself. Wouldn't have thought I'd make that comparison in my life but, here we are I guess." Nina said awkwardly, trying to wrap her head around this problem. "I just don't understand, where I come from the universe is supposed to last for... well a crazy amount of time. I don't know exactly what happens by that point but it's so far in the future, and there's so many things to do in the meantime, even if it does end like that, I'm here, from there, talking to you now." Nina said, eyeing the different selection of cakes, eventually picking up a marshmallow creme filled one.

"If we're dealing with size issues, with a bit of sleep I know I could help you out. I'm pretty good at meshing things together for an audience. As for the people... I hate to say it but some just won't want this at all, and be stubborn, but even I have to admit something needs to be done here. You can't stay trapped here just for their sake, that's not right either. Even if Anazorzia is reduced to a memory, if the people who wish to move on and make something for themselves with the limited time they have, I think that'd be fair. Let the people decide if they want to move on with you to see the world outside at a bare minimum." She said her piece. Nina was still under the impression that if people were allowed to enter Anazorzia like Green had allowed, then that should be more than enough life to drive the narrative. Like a piano string vibrating another by sharing an octave. Trimming the fat, reorganizing the headcanon and retconning some aspects is what they needed, a good old fashion defrag. Nina's priority was trying to keep everyone who wanted that second chance in tact regardless of how Miriam ended up deciding to go through with this. Raising the cake up to her mouth, she took a bite and smiled. "Mmm, this is nice~" She said softly.

"But, if you could, why is it that Anazorzia will be doomed the moment you leave. You don't need to go super in depth, seriously please don't, I'll definitely fall asleep if you go into full techno babble. Try explaining it like you would a kid. It's not like I haven't heard the 'In the beginning, there was nothing' story before so why is Anazorzia different?"

Phillip for his part had mostly been remaining quiet through this little exchange, not really concerned with the people for the most part. Miriam seemed to be capable of making whatever she wished, so getting the ingredients and such from her would be easy enough. Nina nearly falling asleep despite the tea was another thing entirely, and this annoyed him. He had assumed the tea alone wouldn't have solved the problem, Nina was too far gone for food alone to help her, or at least, normal food. "Is a senzu bean on the menu? Either the whole or used in a pastry, it doesn't matter." He asked, figuring such a thing was fiction but, perhaps Miriam was able to weave even fiction into reality.

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

rugal's story

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"I... I... I..." the words came tumbling out of Livia's mouth as her gemstone darkened as Rugal spoke. "I..." The darkness filled the space around her in a whirlwind. The box rocked back and forth in her hands. Rays of light had begun to poke through the gaps forming between each half of the stone vessel.

"This is my world. My world! All of it! It all belongs to me!" Livia screamed out. "If anyone is destroying my things, then I should get to destroy them, obliterate them, remove them! I don't want to have to care about how people think of me, how people think they want to protect me. I don't need protecting! My name is Livia Lucretius Lamia!" Livia howled against the gale, her primal scream echoed through the air.

And then everything died down. Her gemstone was still black as tar.

Kyuubey turned around. "With that much negative emotion stored inside of you, you should have hatched." Kyuubey said. "How strange."

The box continued to struggle, but the winds around Livia died down. She seemed calmer now. Tears were streaming down her face. "Everything in this world belongs to me. All the good things and all the bad things. That includes you as well. I hate feeling powerless. I hate being thrown around just because I'm a girl! I don't need to be protected. I am a murderer, a witch, a traitor." She pulled something out of her tunic.

It was a golden goblet. She undid the seal on the cup and brought it to her lips.

A spear of ice struck the goblet out of Livia's hands. A hooded figure stood on top of the temple dome. "Even from here I can see that you have the most terrible ideas Livia." Julia brushed the blood-matted hair from her eyes. Her cloak was torn apart and pieces of her armor had been shattered. Deep cuts ran across the skin exposed to the storm by the gaping holes in her armor. She had Livia's daggers sheathed together at her hip.

"You were always childish Livia, Papa knew that and I knew that. Everyone could see it. But I did not truly understand how narcissistic you are. Like a snake that would devour it's tail. I think I finally understand that stupid nickname of yours." She glanced at Kyuubey, "And I see your true colors as well, Incubator."

Kyuubey flicked his tail.

"I ran into someone while I was fleeing the witches you had sent my way Incubator," Julia continued, "someone that told me some very interesting things." She held out her hand and a small white creature ran onto her shoulders. It's white tail flicked back and forth behind it.

"Think of the surprise when I discovered that there was another individual of my species here." Kyuubey said. "And one that has is from another timeline at that. Most interesting."

The Incubator sitting next to Livia and Rugal stood up.

"There's two... Kyuubey's?" Livia gaped.

"Don't listen to it Livia! It's trying to deceive you!" the Incubator said. "You have to defeat the miasma above before it chokes out all life in the city! Go now!"

"I do not know what the entity patrolling the skies of Rome is, but it is a creature far surpassing any of your mortal abilities. If you challenge it, death is almost certainly the outcome." Kyuubey answered. "What I do know is that it is not a witch. I doubt magic would be of any use against it."

Livia looked back and forth between the two white creatures, unsure of what to do.

Julia grimaced and spat at Livia. "Come on, you talked big game about how you wanted power and authority, but when it comes down to it, you just rely on everyone around you to tell you what to do don't you? You're so afraid of failure that you don't want to risk anything in case you end up looking stupid. You're the worst type of hypocrite. You've given up everything for a chance, it's time to show everyone that you're not just all talk Livia Lucretius Lamia."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You don't know anything about me, the things I went through, the things that I've had to do!" Livia screamed back, "I know I'm afraid, but what am I supposed to do!? Everything I do ends up in disaster eventually... everyone I love ends up leaving me..."

"And so you rely on power to keep everything in line like some sort of tyrant? You have to play at being a princess that can exert control over whatever circumstances you can?"

"No! That's not... that's not what I want..."

Julia scowled, "By the Gods, it doesn't matter what you wanted or what you intended. All that matters is how you act. If you keep making poor decisions, it isn't going to matter if you made them with good intentions you idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot!"

"Someone who can't own up to the consequences of their own actions can only be called an idiot! Idiot!"

 

[BlackHarte]

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A Painted World

miriam's story

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Miriam picked up a small cheesecake and popped the entire thing into her mouth. She looked at Nina, blue eyes shining brightly in the steady light of the painted sun. "You mean that thing from Dragonball?" Miriam spun green paint around her fingers and dropped three of the small beans onto the table. "I have only kinda sorta remember what they are so don't go blaming me if these don't work exactly like they do in the show."

The girl leaned back in the seat, the leather creaked under her body weight. "The reason why I can't leave and why I can't let more people in is pretty simple. I'm too weak. Labyrinths are maintained by their weaver and the further away we are from it, the more difficult it is to keep the strings tied together, so to speak. The more threads we have to maintain and the farther we have to do it from, the more taxing it is."

She smiled, "Having outsiders in my worlds are already pretty taxing you know. For every person that enters the world, I have to spend extra energy counter-balancing their presence. It's sort of like how a Minecraft server has to render extra blocks for each person that logs in. Actually, that's a pretty good analogy. You can think of me as the server itself and my avatars like operators."

"But that's a discussion better held some other time." Miriam chuckled. "You might be wondering why in the world you ended up here after hearing that. After all, how did someone like you end up breaking through all the barriers around this world if most planeswalkers can't? Answer's pretty simple."

"You and Philip were more or less dead. I found your souls drifting in the eternity right outside of Anazorzia, cast out who knows how long ago to drift among the ambient chaos of infinity. You had essentially done the inter-dimensional equivalent of washing up on a deserted island." Miriam put her hands on top of each other. "Besides, you have spent far too much time here already. Though it seems like it has only scarcely been a day, more than two years have passed since you originally arrived here."

"Ah, I'm all over the place today. My head's not on straight. I'm jumping from one thing to another." Miriam picked up another cake and stuffed it in her mouth. She chewed in silence. She swallowed. "Nina, be truthful with me. Do you really believe that someone like you can pass judgement on all of Anazorzia? Your solutions has simply been to tell me that I should make everyone happy and give them everything that they want. That might work in an truly infinite universe with an all-powerful god, but my universe is finite and my powers are limited. Many of the people within can never leave. They aren't strong enough to withstand the journey out. Anazorzia will be their one and only home."

"I am not unreasonable Nina, and I do not think my avatars were either, even given their eventual decay into madness. If there was a simple and obvious way to make everyone happy, I would not have sat here agonizing over my inaction for so long." Miriam turned toward Nina and leaned forward. "I mean, after all, you and I, we're not characters in a story. Our choices have consequences as real as us."

 

[Zepherus14]

The Rising Dawn: Living Areas
Hillary the Slime | David West | Jenny | Violet​

Hillary's featureless eyes looked from David to Violet and Jenny, her form rippling gently as she moved her arm tentatively to the two before slowly withdrawing it."A-alright." She said, her fingers hooking her jaw in a self conscious manner, and with a closed mouth dragged it down to sit in her lap. The move impossible for a human given their jaw, but Hillary obviously didn't have that issue. "Hillary was just trying to make sure she could help you guys." She said, looking down moreso at the floor.

When offered the plates, Hillary looked up with a look of confusion. She couldn't switch over with the amount of material currently inside her, but Violet was trying, so she should as well. Scooting over to the slowly accumulating pile, she picked up each plate with a bit of difficulty, and pushed it into her midsection and pseudopod. It was quite apparently by looking at her that Hillary was actively needing to hold those plates inside her body, otherwise they'd just fall to the floor. Even still, after the eighth plate was pushed inside, Hillary shook her head and let go of the plates, each plate falling to the floor as she moved away from them. "I know you are trying to help, but until Hillary gets rid of most of the lemonade inside her, she won't be able to switch what she is made of. She should be fine to go with Jenny like this, but I know she won't be as helpful as she was getting here." She tried to explain her situation better to these people who obviously had never seen a slime before. Before the group split up, Hillary made sure to at least grab one of those plates, holding it like a football as she tried her best to keep up with Jenny.

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Jenny likely wasn't able to go at her full pace with Hillary following behind her. The slime tried her best to keep up but an occasion check at her six resulted in Jenny seeing Hillary was leaving a trail of stained floor behind them. At least she was quiet, Hillary wasn't breathing heavily, or breathing at all. Her air pocket had shrink to the size of an apple by her collar bone.

Getting closer to the bedrooms, she was cautious to look around to make sure the skeletons weren't too close before turning to Jenny. "Is it okay if we check a bedroom before we go to the bridge? She's probably somewhere outside, but Hillary didn't see her figurine there. It's very important to her." She requested of the psychic, the tone she used indicating she wasn't kidding. Whatever this item was, it was very precious to her.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Extremely sorry for the delay

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

Rugal's story

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Rugal's eyes widened as Livia went for the chalice, though the interruption of Julia defused that possible bombshell before it could explode.
"Julia...Right on time it seems...And it appears that she too has a magic rat whispering in her ear..." The Lord God remarked, standing firm in place while she attempted to berate Livia and break her will.
"Someone who can't own up to the consequences of their own actions can only be called an idiot! Id-"

Before the next syllable left her lips, Rugal suddenly was right in front her, showing off his remarkable speed once more.
"I couldn't agree more. I do hope you are able to own up to your own..." He grimly said as he towered over her.
"I know not your story or your reasons. All I know is I'm told by Kyuubey no less that for all your power and ego, you're the one who'll turn into a witch. Just another faceless victim like the ones you fought and defeated over and over. I'm giving you a chance to show you are more than just a footnote in another person's story. I have neither the time nor the desire to fight you. I can't speak for Livia but I believe she feels the same."

Rugal slowly raised one of his fists then out stretched his fingers.
The gesture wasn't much, but the energy output from that mere act alone sent out a shockwave of wind and dirt as if a bomb went off, blinding all nearby parties until the energy radiating from his being was the only thing visible.
"You've seen my power before. You've seen it now. You have your life ahead of you. I don't plan on my power being the last thing you ever see. Me and Livia can't spare anymore of our time."
When the dust cleared, Juila would notice something was-...missing right as she saw Rugal holding both of the blades she had stolen.
"Should we return and our battle is won, your time will come should you still feel like confrontation. I can't force you to do anything. I can only ask. You are right: It is time for Livia Lucretius Lamia to prove herself. So I don't plan on letting you hold her back."

He handed off the blades to Livia, glancing back at Julia he warned her one last time: "I ask that you don't let yourself be blinded by anger. Don't let spite make the decisions for you. I don't wish to fight you, it doesn't mean I won't. Kyuubey believes if you fight, you will die. That you are too unstable and emotional to stay in control. Prove him wrong. Don't make the same mistake I did. If there is nothing else, we need to leave. What is your decision, Julia?"

Rugal then used his power to hover above the ground, getting ready to leave for the skies above Rome.

 

[Zepherus14]

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A Painted World

Miriam's story

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"The very same." Phillip answered as Miriam described the origin of those holy magic beans. "As long as they have the same rejuvenation quality, it shouldn't matter." He commented as she weaved the beans into existence. "Hmm, yes those appear to be the beans..." Phillip started to say as he looked over them as Nina took one and brought it to her mouth, and took a bite. "... Hold on..." Phillip started to say as he realized what was about to happen as Nina swallowed.

Almost immediately, Nina's eyes widened as the tiredness that had plagued her was swiftly swept away. But that wasn't what had gotten her attention, or Phillip's annoyance as Nina put on a good 10-20 pounds and all in the right places! "Oh..." "I..." "My!" "Here it comes..." "GOD!!" "I should have seen this coming..." Nina stood up as best she could inside the booth while Phillip recoiled, pulling out a blanket from within in some fruitless attempt to hide. Thankfully the silk was able to stretch as her new chest was now a chest! The extra energy reserves of the beans had to go somewhere, and now Nina was looking quite a bit like Mnemonyse if a bit smaller. Sure she was getting squeeze hard in her outfit, the lines of the silk that wrapped around her whole body were far more noticeable.

"Phillip! I never knew these existed!" Nina squealed like an idiot, reaching out as Phillip tried to jump away only to be squeezed into that awaiting bust. "ACK! Nina, let go!" He whined as his tendrils flailed around while Nina hugged him like a teddybear. Nina listened to Miriam describe the limits of her powers, up until the point that Miriam dropped the bombshell that the duo had died in some form or another.

"W-What?" Nina remarked, visibly stunned as Phillip got dropped back down onto the booth's seat. What did she mean she was dead, or that two years had gone by already?! That made no sense! But she just continued talking like that wasn't that big of a deal or anything, and instead handed her a question that rated right up there with 'What is the Meaning of Life?' "That would explain why there's an odd difference with some of my tendrils..."

"I-I don't know!" Nina exclaimed, scratching at her hair vigorously as she dropped herself back down to the seat. "You're right, I really can't but fffff-" Her fingers fidgeting violently as she tried to make sense of the myriad of directions she could take this. "How the hell do you know we're not, you and I could just as easily be in the same boat as them, some characters in a story about... fuckin' pants! Who cares what! We could be side characters for all we know, and you're just like "Come on Nina, stop being such a bug and let's move on." but I can't help it!"

"I'm just trying to save anything I can of this place. You and your avatars have made it sound like I'm some big hotshot here, super smart with some fancy PHD in badassery, but honestly I've just been bumbling my way throughout this mess this whole time! I was just supposed to be going to this party but now I'm being told we somehow died and got sent to an entirely new place than the place we got taken to... well yesterday technically! I just don't want them to be completely lost." Nina explained, burying her face in her hands. "She does get like this from time to time... It's grating on your patients but the amount of times she's stayed up well into the night in some last ditch effort to archive someone's tasteless scribbles is far too numerous... She's stubborn to a fault and will continue to move the goalpost until something goes her way. It's troublesome, but she does manage to make cooking for me easier, so it is tolerated..." "Not scribbles, wholesome art..." She corrected through her hands.

 

[BlackHarte]

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Right to Rule

rugal's story

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"I did not anticipate it happening this way, but this will work just as well."

The black clouds above crackled with lightning in response to Rugal's display of overwhelming power. Angry blue streaks arced within the shadowy depths of the storm. Then the flashes of light began to turn red. And finally the lighting turned green. The clouds started to shimmer, streaks of perpendicular lines lit up the underside of the storm cloud, running parallel to the earth below. Rugal recognized the pattern immediately.

The entire sky above them had turned into a circuit.

Livia and Julia stared up in disbelief as the cloud began to throw itself toward the ground in spiral funnels. Immediately the air became suffocating, filled with the biting odor of ozone and oil.

"This is bad." Kyuubey said as he ducked beneath Julia. "Rugal, your power far eclipses the amount of energy that would have been released when a magical girl hatches into a witch. Why in the world did you think such an excessive display of power was necessary?"

The Incubator smiled as it waved it's tail back and forth. " This Labyrinth needed to end. This result is not functionally different from what I had originally planned." Then it turned and ran away, vanishing into the tall grass of the plaza.

The main body of the cloud had begun to descend down toward Rugal, the ripping winds creating a dark tunnel into the depths of darkness. He could see the green lights within caused by steady pulses of small arcs of lightning. All the aggression in his mind and heart struggled against the shadows, but they quelled him.

Rugal could see out of the corner of his eye Livia collapsed on the floor. The stone vessel cracking along it's spine, letting loose rays of golden light from within.

Rugal first forgot how to hate, then he forgot how to think, until finally he even forgot how to breathe.

---​

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???

???'s story

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"I had thought I felt a familiar presence."

Rugal woke to the voice of a familiar stranger. He could hear the telltale hum of airship engines. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the decorated wood ceiling of the Rising Dawn's iconic Canteen. Cold air washed over his body. He turned around to find him staring out of the starboard windows of the airship at a green field that stretched to the horizon.

The stranger was sitting besides him. It was a small black amorphous blob that he had known once upon a time.

"It has been a long time, Rugal Bernstein," it said. It's voice was synthesized, but unique. Old, patient, kind, and vaguely English. "Ah. I have not spoken in such a long time. It feels good to hear my voice again." The singular green eye on the creature flashed to indicate it's speech. "So long... so long... It has been more than two years, I believe. In some ways you have changed so much that I scarcely recognize you, in other ways, it is almost alarming how little you have changed."

"Do you still remember when we first met? During that fighting tournament that you held... back when there were still villains to fight? There were so many of us back then. Now... I can scarcely see four or five in all of existence. I have managed to reach even less. I did not like all of them... but I do miss them to some degree now that they are gone." The black creature turned from the window to look at Rugal. "Surely you must feel the same way."

"Four survivors." It continued. "In my two years of searching I have only found four survivors. The rest have fallen into oblivion. Either forgotten by the world or they lay unmourned in unmoving time."

"I wonder," it laughed, "do you even remember who I am, Master Bernstein?"

 

[BlackHarte]

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A Painted World

miriam's story

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Miriam laughed at Nina's excitement. "How wonderfully lively you are!" Miriam leaned back into her seat and looked up. Her eyes were filled with a wistful emotion. "You were thrown into an incredible situation, Nina, and you rose to the challenge. If nothing else you should be immensely proud of that. You've placed the weight of Anazorzia on your own shoulders. You, with your magnanimous heart, want everyone to be happy. Yet, you are only one girl."

Miriam took off her headband. The stone glistened in the light of the sun. "When I was young, much younger than even now, I lived with my mother. We were poor, desperately poor. Each day my mother would wake up before sunrise to stalk the river valley for stones brought in by the high tide. She looked for precious stones to sell to goldsmiths in the city so that she could buy food for us. On a good day she could find all sorts of small stones, rubies, emeralds, sapphires... on a bad day she could at least find pearls, geodes, or opals in the sand. She worked hard so that we wouldn't starve. We rarely did.

But on the most fortunate days she would find chunks of lapis. Lapis was prized by the dyemakers for making the most expensive of colors - ultramarine. Finding a node of lapis pure enough to synthesize ultramarine could feed us for weeks on end. But competition for lapis was intense among the scavengers." Miriam ran her fingers over her headband, gently tracing a line of white marbling in the azure stone.

"One day there was a catastrophic storm. The waters of the river grew so angry that they flooded the valley. The weight of the water collapsed the city into the mines beneath it, and the collapse of the caverns brought down the mountains around the valley in a tremendous landslide. We were trapped inside our cave by a rockfall.

Unable to break out my mother brought me and journeyed deeper into the cave. A winding labyrinth of darkness, water, and crystals as sharp as knives. We wandered for weeks in the dark until we came upon a crevice that glimmered with light.

The opening was too small for my mother to pass through, but she pushed me through."

Miriam was silent for a moment. "Father found me shortly after. He was a tall and dark man. He told me he was visiting from someplace far, far away. He told me that he was surprised that anyone was alive. The world had been flooded for forty days and forty nights, ravaged by unending wind and water. He expected that there were no other survivors.

I told him about mother and he dug into the mountainside where he had found me to search for her, but when we broke through enough of the stone, we found the tunnels empty. But in the room where I had last been with my mother was a piece of lapis so pure that it shone like the sky. The stone was bent down against the wall, as if in quiet prayer. Father looked, but he could never find my mother. No body, and no trace. Then he took me away from that world and made me his Daughter. We took that piece of stone from that world, and from it he fashioned for me the color that would one day become Anazorzia."

"I think you are just like me. Your world ended, but some benefactor has seen fit to bring you to the edge of my domain. I do not know what fate expects of you, but I do know that you are bound for great things. Your love for the world is more than enough evidence for me. But, perhaps saving Anazorzia is not the great thing for which you are destined. Perhaps you are not destined to save even me..."

There was a long pause.

"Oh?" Miriam stood up and turned around toward the entrance to the cafe. There was the ring of a bell as the door swung open. "Welcome to Cafe Anazorzia! How may I help you today?"

There were two people standing in the lobby. One was a young dark skinned man, the other a pale redheaded woman. They both wore thick armored robes and breath masks over their faces. The young man took his mask off, revealing a bewildered expression.

"What in the world is this place?" Vihaan said.

Yona took off her own mask. "It looks like... a diner..."

Miriam looked slightly miffed. She cleared her throat and said again "Welcome to Cafe Anazorzia! How may I help you today?"

"A diner?"

"It's a place like a cafeteria where people go eat. It's much more casual, more geared toward families." Yona's eyes fell on Miriam. "Look, it's a girl. Is... she the Daughter?"

"Maybe? I don't really sense any magical energy coming from her though."

"Welcome to Cafe Anazorzia! How may I help you today?" Miriam repeated again in a more strained cheery tone.

 

[Zepherus14]

[hr]

A Painted World

Miriam's story

​

[hr]

"You say that, but it doesn't make me feel much better about it." A muffled whine came from her as she rested her head on her arms. "And... okay sure, you're technically older than I am, but at least I have all my adult teeth in..." She commented, raising her head just enough to eye the little munchkin, not exactly appreciating being called a girl by what appeared to be a child.

It was at this point that Nina sat up to listen to Miriam's story, giving the little girl her full attention. The story of poverty and heartache certainly struck a nerve with Nina as a very empathetic look made its way along her face. She hadn't had to deal with poverty, at least not to that stark degree, her parents had worked hard sure, but they had made some good investments, saved where they could, a good head on their shoulders. It was when she described her mother's last ditch effort to save her precious daughter that Nina finally broke down, having to reach over to grab a napkin to dry the tears that had been held back up until then. It was gutwrenching really. "And now she's crying..." Phillip somehow managed to deflate even more than he already had. "Shh shh, let her finish!" Nina commented back in a hush, to which Phillip responded with what could be described as an eye roll.

And finish she did as Nina got up to move over to the bench Miriam was sitting at, sat down herself and gave the poor thing a hug. It was a tad awkward with her new size, something Nina tried to play off but she couldn't help but notice it. "I don't really know if that's exactly true, if it's my world you're talking about, or that one we were supposed to have the party in, but... What I know right now, is we both need a good hug." Nina giggled softly, holding Miriam for a short time more before getting up and making her way back to Phillip who'd gotten that fangled cookbook out. "Wait, have you not signed that thing yet?" Nina asked as she got back in her seat.

"No." He said matter of factly, a twinge of frustration in his voice. The book itself was something unlike anything Miriam had seen before, with a strange otherworldness she couldn't place her finger on. The singular page they had open was the same contract looking page with the words of "To whom who hungers for this book, must allow the book to hunger for them. Your Blood for the ink, and ink for your blood." scrawled across it. "No whenever I try and fix this, something always comes and-" The ring of the door opening to the diner cut through the silence. "... I'm not even surprised any more..." Phillip commented, not stopping as he got his jar out, the bench in such a position the two new arrivals couldn't spot him. "Here, let me help you with that, Miriam's probably got this, whoever these two are..." Nina offered as she grabbed a couple tea spoons and using the edge dipped it into the awaiting jar of inky blackness and began writing.

Unlike the previous times, which technically had never happened before, Nina didn't wait to see if the ink of the felled aberition pleased the book. If it was supposed to be a joke, these two asshats weren't making it very clear as they were ignoring Miriam. "Phillip, just keep that close to you for now..." She told him before she stood up. "HEY! She asked you a question, three different times! How about a little respect and answering her, or did your parents neglect to teach you any manners?" Nina raised her voice sternly, Phillip taking the moment to pocket his things and jump onto Nina's shoulder. "Hmph, today hasn't been a total waste after all~" He chimed, sounding uncharacteristically happy in the moment.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

[hr]

Rising Dawn Canteen

rugal's story

​

[hr]

"Blackharte..."

That was the first thing Rugal said once he realized where he was, he was no longer in rome but was instead back home on the airship.
His words were slightly confusing but it quickly became clear that he knew more about what had happened to him then most.
"That explains the presence of Nanotechnology in such a realm. But-...what of Livia? What of Julia? I was just about to-....unless....You were the Mishima this whole time. You were the one taking control of that world's people...which begs the question: Why?" He bluntly asked as he looked around the airship, seeming a little disbelieving that he was actually back.
"...Is this really home or is this just another construct of yours? You clearly have far more power then you let on. I'm just trying to make sense of what I've been through and how it serves you..." He then asked, adjusting his gloves as he sat forward with his arms out front on the table.

"I'll confess I don't entirely understand but that's why you brought me here, isn't it? If you weren't going to explain yourself, you wouldn't have sat me right across from you..."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Rising Dawn: Living Areas
Hillary the Slime | David West | Jenny | Violet​

"Sure thing, just watch yourself, Leoric still has a lot of his forces hidden around here." Jenny warned before using her Psychic powers to make a bit of a distraction for them.
Wagging one of her fingers, she pulled on one of the roof lights in the hallway before it suddenly sparked and exploded, drawing some more of the skeleton creatures out of their search to find out what the hell that was.
Waving Hillary along, she was able to get them inside one of the bedrooms, using that trick of hers several times again to create a rather spooky effect as soon the hallway was in darkness.
The clackering of bones shivering in fear filled the air, much to Jenny's satisfaction.
"Alright, I think I brought you some time. Make it quick, these parlor tricks will only last so long..."

As Hillary looked around, Jenny's radio went off as David's voice barked: "West to all points, subjects in the brig are still secure. Either they're all playing dumb or they all have zero idea what's happening either. Whatever the case, I'm digging in here to make sure. I'll regroup with the rest of you at the Bridge soon. Oh, and Violet says hi-" "Hi!" "...Right, West out."
Peering a slightly open door, Jenny kept watch while the skeletons outside fearlly stomped on the glass and circuits, worried they'd come back to life and explode on them again.
"Guess they are thick-skulled..." She smirked to herself before giving them a real fright, having one of the broken bulbs "lunge" at the investigating party, prompting them to fall over each other as they ran off.
"Alright Hillary, where you able to find anything or should we check another room? Think fast, this time window of ours ain't getting any higher."

 

[Zepherus14]

The Rising Dawn: Living Areas
Hillary the Slime | David West | Jenny | Violet​

Hillary nodded in agreement to Jenny's plan, although she had no idea who this Leoric fellow was. Regardless she'd follow Jenny's lead and keep behind her as best she could. Slipping inside the bedroom, Hillary quickly looked around the place. This wasn't Miia's room but with some of the damage the skeletons had caused Hillary couldn't be sure right away. But as Jenny asked her how things were going, Hillary pivoted around on her pseudopod to look at her, shaking her head, the air pocket inside of her expanding before she spoke.

"Hillary hasn't found it yet, but I think she should find it in Miia's room. That's where she left it last, I hope that's okay?" She asked slowly scooting back over to Jenny by the door, the ground oddly not getting covered in lemonade as she did this. "If I remember right, Hillary went to the room..." Hillary paused as she took a moment to count on her fingers. "Three doors down, and on the other side. That's where we should go." She offered pointing in the general direction they should be headed.

Out into the hallway, a door flew open as a skeleton came running out, flailing about as it appeared it had gotten its head stuck inside a light fixture with all the damage Jenny was causing. It might not get the skeletons distracted from their already spooky experience, but at least one would point and laugh.

 

[BlackHarte]

[hr]

A Painted World

miriam's story

​

[hr]

Vihaan and Yona turned to Nina and took a step back in surprise. The air tensed. The silence dragged on for several moments, each becoming more awkward than the next. It took several of these moments passing before Yona broke the silence by uttering the simple two words, "You're alive?"

Nina could deduct easily from the incredulity dripping from her words that Yona had not expected Nina to have survived whatever had happened before she found herself in Anazorzia.

"Come now," Miriam interrupted. Somehow in the brief moment between words Miriam had lodged herself firmly in the space between Yona, Vihaan, and Nina. Her red hair bobbed up and down as he let out a frustrated harrumph. "Did you really expect Nina to die here? Anazorzia is not a bad neighborhood by any sense of the definition."

Vihaan unbuckled his armored robes and pulled a badge from within. It was a gold pin wrought in the shape of a winged ship - the insignia of the Rising Dawn and the organization that supported the heroes. "We meant no disrespect. It's just that so far we have not reached a habitable world."

Miriam took two short hops backwards so that she put Nina between her and Vihaan. The young girl's eyes narrowed, suspicious of her new guests. The marbles that floated around her person tightened their orbits. "What do you mean by that."

Vihaan held up both of his hands, "I did not mean any harm by that. We are travelling right now, gathering the scattered remnants of the Rising Dawn. We have been two four worlds so far and this is the first one that we found to have... intelligent life..."

"What worlds?" Miriam asked.

"An ashen world named Samda, a jungle world named Shuwa, and most recently a hellscape that was once named Ypris." Yona said flatly. While Vihaan had stripped himself of the bulky armor, revealing thin silk robes beneath, Yona had made no motion to undo any of the heavy clothes that hung from her shoulders. "The heroes we recovered there were locked in a sleep that resembled death. Vessels robbed of their souls."

"Impossible!" Miriam shouted. The paint around her person grew agitated. "There's no way that those places are dead! Those are my sister's worlds!"

"Hunger and Syl are dead." Yona responded in her aggressive monotone. "We were unable to recover Alesha's body from Ypris, but we are reasonably certain that she is dead as well."

"Yona!" Vihaan's voice was sharp and biting. His glare was colder than ice. "That's enough!"

Yona cast a sidelong glance at Vihaan and tutted. "There's no point in withholding that information."

"Rest assured, we mean no harm. We are simply thrilled to see that Nina is safe and sound. It has been a long journey for us and our repeated failures have taken their toll on our crew."

"How many of you are there?"

"Two dozen including Yona and me. We have a dimension-boring airship we have been using as our base-of-operations ever since our world was shattered." Vihaan tried to smile, but it came out as too forced. Yona smirked at him.

"Then I would say that we will have more than just two guests to serve?"

The words came unexpectedly from behind Miriam. Everyone turned around and found Blue standing up, the brilliant azure of her eyes and headband shimmering in the sunlight flowing in from the windows along the far wall. She was holding two menus in her hands and her gentle-monotone voice reflected the wistful far-away look she held in her eyes. She had at some point changed out of her chef's uniform into the more revealing and frilled uniform of the diner waitstaff.

Miriam looked just as confused as everyone else.

"How many guests will we be having today?" Blue asked again gently.

"A table for two please." Yona answered in a pleasantly uninterested tone rivaling Blue's own emotionless candor.

Blue bowed, "Right this way please."

Yona started immediately after Blue, sidestepping both Nina and Miriam.

"Hey! Wait, Yona!" Vihaan called out after her. He looked back at the entrance and then back at Yona as she journeyed deeper into the diner. "Are you serious right now?"

Yona took a seat at a table and Blue handed her a menu and poured her a cup of water. "Please take your time." Yona nodded and opened the menu.

"Yona!" Vihaan called again.

Yona turned around, "Well?"

"What do you mean 'Well?'!?"

"Well, are you just going to keep standing there like a lost child? Or are you going to sit down and order something."

Blue approached Philip and plucked him from Nina's shoulders. "I will be borrowing Philip for a bit. I believe Red will need assistance in the kitchen." She turned around and carried the tentacle monster into the kitchen. As the doors opened they could see Red hard at work on multiple stations, her brilliant fires leaping from pot to pan as she danced between the aisles. Green was bringing raw ingredients by the tons from a staging area that Black was managing from on top of her floating tablets.

Vihaan looked at Miriam, unsure of his next actions. "May I?"

Miriam gave Vihaan a long hard look and then relented. "Let's all take a seat. I'm sure there's a lot of things that need to be explained for all parties involved." Her marbles and paints settled down into their loose formation around her shoulders.

When Nina, Miriam, Vihaan and Yona were all settled in at their tables, White came bumbling through the kitchen doors carrying two platters in each of her arms and one balanced precariously on her head. She rushed past them to several tables at the back, unloading heaps of eggs, pancakes, and sausages at the tables. Where once there had been nothing by empty space and phantom customers, there were now many people sitting at the tables of the diner.They were people of all sorts, many of which Nina recognized from her time on the Path of Destiny.

A young woman caught her gaze and waved at her. The gentle cascade of violet-hair was unmistakable. Mnemosyne was sitting at a booth near the back, chatting with an older blonde woman over tea and biscuits. The older woman turned to follow Mnemosyne's gaze. She smiled when she saw Nina and waved. The two looked incredibly similar and held themselves in a similar way.

"I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, and three eggs done over easy. I also want an order of pancakes, a side of hashbrowns, and a tall grapefruit juice no ice, add honey." Yona's order snapped Nina back to her immediate surroundings.

"Is this vegetarian?" Vihaan asked, pointing at something on his menu.

White nodded, "The stuffing is made with pureed mushrooms. We can substitute the egg batter for a crepe as well."

"Then I'll have that. And a coffee. Extra cream, extra sugar." Vihaan closed his menu and handed it to White who tucked it under her arm. Her headband was glimmering gold in the light of the sunlight filtering through the far windows.

"How about you Miriam?" White asked as she walked up to Miriam.

"I, uhm..." Miriam stammered as she fumbled for a menu. "I don't know. I think I need more time..."

White turned toward Nina and smiled, "I think that our chef has something special brewing for you Nina." Then she hurried over to the next table over where a petite woman was crying into the shoulder of another woman. The older woman brushed the smaller woman's hair from her eyes. Faea was holding onto her older sister's hands as she wept tears of joy. There were several other weaves at their booth as well, but Nina could not see them clearly from her seat.

"Red! Table seven needs their hashbrowns well done." Blue called from somewhere in the back of the restaurant.

"They'll get what they'll get dammit! I can only split my fire so many times!" Red answered from inside of the kitchen, her voice simultaneously furious and happy.

"This is quite the place you have running here," Yona said as she drank from her cup of water. "I apologize for my behavior earlier. I was just surprised to meet a Daughter of BlackHarte that was so undeniably normal."

"Oh, why, thank you...?" Miriam replied. "But I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself what's going on anymore."

"Is this not your power at work?" Vihaan asked. His concern was really starting to show on his face.

"At first it was, but..." Miriam paused, "now I'm not so sure."

"Whatever is the cause, we should move forward. We have found Nina alive and well, and a Daughter of BlackHarte that is not only reasonable, but also possibly sympathetic to our cause."

"I never said anything like that!"

"If you are not hostile, then you are sympathetic toward us. That is the nature of our current situation." Yona continued, "Naturally we expect Nina to return with us to help put things right. The murder of your sisters, the death of the heroes, the destruction of our world. All of these things must be corrected."

Miriam interjected, "Excuse me, but you said the murder of my sisters?"

Yona didn't so much as flinch. "We believe that there is a force conspiring against the Daughters of BlackHarte. There is no other reason that worlds that have been stable for so long have begun to collapse under the weight of their own causality."

"Yona, should you really just be telling them all of this? Who knows who could be listening nearby?" Vihaan looked exasperated, holding almost none of the regal manner he had just a little earlier.

Yona shrugged and put her cup down. "I don't think I care at this point. It's been so long and we've done so much. It's more than time to push things into the next chapter, Admiral Vihaan. I understand your caution, but we have long left the point in our story where simple ideas like common sense or logic will bring us forward." Yona turned to Miriam again, "Something is happening at a cosmic scale that is causing the upheavals of nearly every world that we have visited. If we do not stop it there will be no hope of restoring our world back to the way it was, much less a way for Vihaan and me to return to our worlds. It is in all of our interests to tackle this threat together."

Miriam nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but if you're looking for someone useful, you've come to wrong place. I can neither leave Anazorzia nor challenge any of my sisters in any sort of show of strength."

"Oh, we aren't going to ask you to do anything like that," Yona replied. "I have a gut feeling that Nina's already got everything we needed from you."

Nina looked at Yona, confused. But then she noticed something warm in her right hand. There was a small gemstone in her palm, it looked like a piece from Miriam's stone headband.

[HEADING=1]Item Obtained[/HEADING]​

 

[BlackHarte]

[hr]

???

???'s story

​

[hr]

"Well," BlackHarte replied, "I am very glad that you still remember who I am. That gives me some comfort. It is as you surmise, this Rising Dawn is nothing more than a mental construction I created to help ease your mind. The truth is, we are still both inside of my Daughter's realm. Her's is a dangerous power and I have unfortunately fallen under it's curse as I entered the world."

BlackHarte looked at Rugal and laughed. "You look confused. Let me explain. Livia is not the daughter of the Roman statesman Livius Lucretius. She is a pious girl with a good heart but a recklessly idealistic attitude. She is my Daughter. I rescued her from a world on the brink of destruction as a part of my research. Never would I have dreamed that her power would spiral out of control like this and form a barrier that even I would struggle to break. Thankfully, your immense power jump started my consciousness."

"It is thanks to you, Rugal Bernstein, that I am able to awake at all. Many years ago - several millennia by the time table of this world of hers - I tried to break her out of this most troublesome dream, but I was cast into a deep sleep. Before I succumbed, I broke off her memories and sealed them in a box of my own design. The stone vessel that eventually found it's way into the hands of one Marcus Aurelius. Much of her power is kept within that lockbox. Should it open and Livia regain her former memories and powers, it will be nearly impossible to subdue her."

"This world we are in, so named Eterna, is a manifestation of her hopes and dreams. Both her desires and fears manifested in a twisted nightmare paradise. Within it she lives out the adventurous stories of the books she was once so fond of reading." BlackHarte closed his eye. "It is necessary for Livia, as she calls herself now, to put aside this childish fantasy and return to her duties as one of my Daughters. As such I will lay waste to this world until nothing remains. That should be enough to wake her from her dream. She won't be happy when she awakes, but if we wish to leave this world, we must do so."

"Before long I shall remove you from my body and return you to Eterna, and to Livia and her creations. From there, I trust that you will know what to do."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

[hr]

???

???'s story

​

[hr]

"...You would make a terrible sales person, you know that?" Rugal bluntly answered before standing up and walking around the false Canteen.
"So everything in that world was little more then a simulation? And that stone box we've been pursuing is in fact Livia's full power?....My my...I never thought I'd find myself longing for the days where my biggest concerns were civil conflicts between egomanics calling themselves ideologists. I know what you want me to do but I have no intention of doing so. Not until you answer some more of my questions." He begun to speak as he reached over the bar and found a recreation of one of his favorite wines and a pair of suitable glass.
"This research of yours for example. I was never much of a man of science, I had people to do that for me but I find it hard to believe that you're here because your work was a success. You wouldn't be talking about laying waste to an entire world otherwise. So this begs the question: What is so important about Livia waking up that you would rain such destruction?"

Taking a sip, his face soured for a moment before he sighed "Hmmmm...A good recreation...but just short of perfection." as he took his seat once more and nursed his drink.
"...I suppose what I really wish to know is, if Livia has enough power to overwhelm a being like you: Why should I be helping you subdue her instead of helping her be free? And how does Kyuubey fit into all of this? Is his kind also another construct of Livia's or was it an attempt on your part to dislodge the seal keeping you contained?"

While he considered his answers, The aging King of Fighters left the other glass in front of him before offering him a glass.
He knew everything where was just a construct Blackharte created but he didn't want to be seen as too impolite.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Rising Dawn: Living Areas
Hillary the Slime | David West | Jenny | Violet​

"Alright, I hope we can find someone...Get ready to move on my mark..." Jenny warned as she went about looking for a new way to scare the skeletons away from Hillary's path.
With a bit of a smirk, she used her powers to set up a large Light Screen along the hallway ceiling.
While this was mainly used for countering non-physical attacks against Psychic types, she was able to alter the EM Spectrum of the screen slightly from transparent to a rather satanic looking dark red.
To add to the effect, she then dragged a Psychic construct in the form of a invisible hand along the walls, leaving massive claw marks along them as well as terrifying noise akin to nails on a chalkboard/Demonic claws against the reinforced metal.

Screams and the sounds of jaws hitting the floor filled the air before everyone in the hall ran for their undead lives. (They didn't even pick up their jaws after them!)
Peeking back out, she smiled before adding "I mightn't be able to mind control them but I sure as hell can get inside their heads! Make your move, I'll put up a Reflect barricade to cover us if they get back!"

 

[BlackHarte]

[hr]

???

???'s story

​

[hr]

"I do not know." BlackHarte said after a long pause. "Kyuubey appeared one day, out of nowhere, and began its machinations. I understand what it wants on the surface - to harvest entropy - but I do not understand it's true purpose. It has interfered in my experiments, so it would not be wrong to say that we are adversaries."

"What I do know, is that Kyuubey is like you and unlike me. A creation born from outside my native causality." BlackHarte gazed at the glass of wine in pensive thought before continuing, "Although, you are so far removed from your original form that I daresay you are more like me than you are like Kyuubey."

"I digress. It is through the outside machinations of a third party that has doomed me to this prison within a prison. If it were only between Livia and me, I do not believe that I would have lost to Livia's outburst." BlackHarte laughed. "But here we are. There is no point in musing on what could have been."

"Livia is a child in her heart. I had hoped that this exercise would have taught her some degree of responsibility, but Kyuubey has enabled her to indulge in excessive childish fantasy. She dearly grasps the things that are familiar and refuses to reach out to greener pastures. Soon this world will no longer be able to sustain her and the actors that populate the land, and the ecosystem will collapse unto itself. Should that happen, I fear that her world will wither, leaving a land incapable of sustaining life. What will she do then? Starve to death as a king of a barren mountain? I shudder at the thought of her dying such a lonely death."

"You and I are both fathers, Rugal," BlackHarte turned to face Rugal, "you must understand how I feel. How it pains my heart to watch her day after day, never moving forward or out, stuck in a fantasy that is slowly whittling away at her capabilities. I want what is best for her, even if she doesn't want it herself. I know that in the future she will come to understand and forgive me."

"After all, everyone needs to grow up one day."

 

[Zepherus14]

[hr]

A Painted World

Nina's story

​

[hr]

It all happened so fast, like the world itself was set to double time. Nina didn't exactly argue with Yona's comment of Anazorzia being dangerous, seeing the patchwork first hand she had been lucky to get this far. She held Miriam to comfort her as the girl was informed on the fate of her sisters. Nina for her part was surprised to hear that other members of the Rising Dawn had been put into similar boats as she had, but she was the only one they'd found so far that was alive. That was ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as the sudden appearance of Blue, and sudden blossom of characters she thought she'd never see again. "Don't ruin this for me!" Phillip retorted before Nina could protest to Blue taking her companion. She was apprehensive as was imaginable, but the sight of Mnemonyse and Faea with their families' helped to put Nina at ease and a smile on her face. Faea's was enough of an emotional bombshell that Nina had to grab an extra napkin just to dab out the growing tears in her own eyes, it was priceless. And Nina could have stayed there for hours easily, watching the strange denizens old and new coming and going, meeting different peoples and letting this world's machinations slowly click into the wee hours of the morning... at least until Nina was directed to the small radiating rock in her gloved hands.

And it was at that moment, looking down at the lapis crystal in her hand, that Nina started connecting the dots while a certain song's intro started to slowly build in the cafe's speakers. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uX0wjl9PzM] Never getting quite to the lyrics, Nina's gaze shifted from the lapis in her palm to a salt shaker resting on the table inches away from her empty hand. The song slowly overtook the ambiance of the kitchen and chatter from the patrons as minute vibrations started to shake the air around them. At the same time, the salt shaker suddenly leapt into Nina's hand liquified for an instant before condensing back into its original form, but skewed, like an experienced artist was given a new medium to play with. The vibrations grew stronger, not enough to startle the denizens of the world, but the people around Nina sure felt it as if a flood was nearing, a torrent of unconscious possibilities charging headlong into oblivion. Nina's expression was oddly stoic, surprised yet eerily calm, as the world around them started to strain as Nina's hand let go of the shaker and slam down on a button that'd materialized on the table but an instant before.

Suddenly the song was gone, the vibrations were gone, everyone was acting as they should, only their table seemed to have noticed anything amiss. Nina took a few moments before presenting the gem to the group, her hand trembling as she spoke. "W-Why do I have this?!" She looked down to Miriam in her seat. "This is supposed to be your's, it's from your mum, I can't take this, I shouldn't have this!"

"And you two, what the hell are you talking about, Nina's gonna help solve this murder!? Like sure, I might have managed to luck out and somehow do it here but what you're saying is totally different! Apparently 5 of however many of the people at the Rising Dawn already died against whatever this threat is and you think me, normal white bread, no powers, minimum self defense training me can do anything about this! If it wasn't for everyone else, there's no way I'd be here. You can't honestly think I can do this alone?" Nina argued back to the two, not having any of their nonsense. She had never met these two before, and it would take a little more than just sweet talking her to get her to help. Likewise, Yona and Vihaan's crew on the outside was still able to communicate with them, but the duo were locked in that place for the moment.

 

[BlackHarte]

[hr]

paradigm story end

​

[hr]

White came barreling out of the kitchen with plates stacked on her arms as high as she was tall. She unloaded several dishes at Nina's table as she swept by, leaving a plate of food before Miriam that was very clearly a concoction unique to Philip's generous talents.

Miriam smiled kindly and gently. "You have that gem because it's yours, not mine. It is a crystallization of Anazorzia's collective power. You can relax, you're not taking anything away from me."

"First of all," Yona said as she started to dig into her plate of steak bits lathered in egg yolk, "we're not asking you to solve a murder, we're asking you to help us save all of creation. Second of all, the Rising Dawn all died inside of the Labyrinths before whatever force arrived to destroy the plane. That puts you above all of the other heroes right now, Nina."

Vihaan poked at the crepe on his plate looking a bit wary of the brown-beige blob covered in tomatoes and olives. "That's true. Although Miriam might not look like it, she is the equivalent of a God, Nina. You won against a God in a world of their own making. That is an incredible undertaking if you ask me."

Yona pointed at Nina with her fork, "And that's not mentioning that you didn't even end up killing anyone or relying on your friend's eldritch powers. You won over Miriam all by yourself."

"Now let's not get carried away now, I am still sitting right here," Miriam laughed. Her eyes were bright, filled with something that had been absent here in this painted world, a reflection of the glimmering sheen of childish optimism called hope. "But it's true. You were strong, not outside, but within. Now that you carry the soul of Anazorzia, I doubt that you will have any trouble in the world outside. And when you are done, you can come return Anazorzia to it's home."

"Besides, it's not like you'll be the only one we're relying on." Yona fished out several stones from her coat pocket. A Cat's Eye gem, two Quartz pieces, and a metal band.

"Alesha, Hunger, and Syl..." Miriam said quietly.

"We have Balance as well," Vihaan added.

"Biancarossa too huh?"

"Balance was struck down by BlackHarte himself, I think. She had overstepped her boundaries and manifested in our world."

Miriam looked aghast, but said no more. She just shook her head sadly. "That still leaves... Teresa, Cor, Livia, and Erika."

"Would you know how to get to their worlds?" Yona asked, "If we arrive in time we may still be able to save them."

Miriam nodded. "Yes. I've sent my avatars to their realms in the past. Although Livia's world is particularly dangerous. I would wade into that realm carefully."

"Thank you, that would be very helpful." Vihaan gave a short seated bow.

Yona stood up, having already finished her meal. "I'm sorry Nina, but you don't have a choice. You are coming with us. Please say your goodbyes and come meet me at the door when you are ready."