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

[Silence]

Spoiler: Anjali

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Reason to Rise
Anjali's Story​

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"All these ... permits and what else there are are making my head spin. Why can I not just help people like that?" Anjali said, clearly confused. "But if that is what we have to go through, we should go through it as quickly as possible. So yeah ... let us get something to eat, and then let me do those trials."

She was about to walk off, as she spotted the man that Astarte was gazing at. "And who is this guy? How does he manage to stand out like this in the first place? ..." She turned back to Freya. "He seems to be of interest to Astarte at least. There's too much happening at once here. If he is relevant, tell me, otherwise we probably should just go on with our plans."

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The Rising Dawn: Server Farm
Mio​

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"If you are a skeleton king, why do your skeletons just do what they want - I don't serve milk! Or anything for that matter!" Mio responded, looking fearless into Leorics eye sockets. "You clearly have no control over this vessel, or anything. And knowing what's going on isn't going to help you anything if you are not doing anything with it."

She took a step forwards. "So, you know what? I'm restoring order to this place, and I will show you how to command your skeletons correctly, and you tell me what you think is going on. Then your title of skeleton king will make much more sense. And you could even help me restore order. You know, what reason should we even have to fight? This vessel clearly has enough space for all of us. You just stop terrorizing the poor imps here, then we can make a deal, okay?"

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

rugal's story

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Rugal found Livia leaning against the wall of the alley underneath a wooden overhang. She had wrapped his coat around her shoulders and was playing with a small fire in her fingers.

She looked at the investigations report with a mild interest. As she was scanning through the scroll, she had to stifle a laugh. Then she cleared her throat, "Yes, well. I believe it all to be ridiculous. Clearly my father had no shortage of political enemies. The first suspects of his death should not have been his closest kin." She tucked the report into Rugal's jacket.

"Yes, when my father died I was at the Black Sea visiting one of my mother's cousins. She had just returned from a journey into the Caucasus. There, at this time of year, a rare flower blooms. It is a gentle violet, a color most beautiful. They flower only under the light of a full moon, and only as it rises from the crest of the mountains. When they do, the nectar they produce is magical. A single drop will help even the most manic man sleep soundly until morning. The flower beds in my grandparent's home are the results of that trip. They do not bloom as beautifully in the warmth of Naples as they do high in the cold of the Caucuses."

Livia smiled, "Auntie always said that my mother was fond of them." Then she took the mission log from Rugal and flipped through it. "You can read this?" she asked as she scanned the pages, "This is the most complex cipher I have ever seen, how is it that you were able to crack the code so easily? Well, no matter."

She tossed the book back to Rugal.

"If you are finished with this diversion to search for our mysterious heroine, then I would kindly like to resume the search for Julia. While I don't know what the stone device you mentioned is like, I agree that it is unlikely that Aurelius has it. I do not believe that they possess the ability to have broken into my father's safehouse - not to mention that they had come begging for the key not two days after the passing of my father." Livia started to walk down the alleyway. "It is clear to me that there is no more value to be gained from tracking down this other outworlder. Let us make preparations for Julia's imminent arrival. Let us pay a visit to the Aurelius estate."

Spoiler: Anjali

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Reason to Rise
anjali's Story​

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"It is a matter of judgement, Anjali," Vil said softly, "what is 'right' to you may not be 'right' to others. The same is properly said about our definitions of 'to help'."

The man in the white cloak vanished into the crowd as quickly as he came. The only remnant of his unsettling presence was Astarte's piercing gaze into the depths of the guild hall. Freya gave it some thought before answering, "Yeah, I got some bad vibes from him as well, but as far as I can tell, there's nothing too terribly off about him... except for that outrageous sense of fashion."

Vil looked in the same direction as Astarte. "That man is a puppeteer."

"So what? Soul Tinkers aren't terribly rare."

"Yes, I suppose," Vil mused."Even so. There was something odd about that man."

---​

After some searching they found a tavern on the second promenade that was built to serve a clientele of beastmen. The meat there was served thick and raw. The sounds of dining consisted of the wet ripping of meat and the crack of breaking bone. Freya found a table for them amidst the throngs of drinking and dining adventurers.

"This will be a good time for me to explain what you will be facing in the trial." Vil said as he bent down over himself to fit at the table.

A woman came over to take their orders. Freya struck up a conversation with the girl, exchanging some pleasantries before ordering. Vil produced the paperwork that was handed to Anjali earlier at the reception desk. He set it on the table. "Coliseum B. That is Garrote's domain. More likely than not he will be your proctor. The licensing examination is generally at the discretion of the proctors, and knowing Garrote, this will likely emphasize combat. Garrote is not a smart man, and he does not pretend to be either. This exam will be straight forward and without any tricks, which is good for you. However, it also means that his evaluation is not as empirical as the other proctors. It is more likely than not that he will pass the petitioners based solely on his own feelings."

A small bipedal feline wandered by them, wearing a large backpack and wielding a blunted shovel. It was followed by a flock of small bipedal kittens all tied up in a line with rope around their waists.

"I suspect that teamwork and kindness will feature strongly into his scoring system." Vil reached out to take a plate of raw boar meat from the waitress. He set it down in front of Anjali and Astarte. The waitress set down a bowl of beef stew in front of Freya.

"I ordered for you want the lizardmen always get," Freya said, "Although it looks a little tough and smells a bit... gamey. Let me know if you want to exchange it for something else."

"You have everything you need, gear, skills, information, and a full stomach. Once you're done eating, we'll drop you off at the testing site. I have no reason to suspect that this will be anything other than easy."

 

[Zepherus14]

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Table for Two

Nina's story

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Spoiler

"Right, that makes sense, but that means we can't shove something in there to plug the hole?" Nina huffed as she tried going up the stairway as fast as she could. At least she knew why the killer mattered to Black, not the most virtuous reason, but in context it made sense. Why couldn't this be an elevator though, so much damn running!

Eventually Nina found her way out of the shadowy path, looking around while taking a breather, planting her hands on her knees. "R-Really happy this outfit breathes as well as it does." Nina said as she looked around the room she found herself in until she noticed Black and previously vulgar clam monster. "H-Holy shit! You're here!" Nina exclaimed, practically jumping upwards again as she realized Black was there and that the engine room was now open.

---

"Where, wha- Not again!! I don't have time for this!!" Nina started running through the hall, not even looking at the outside as she headed into the fleshy walled engine room. "Keep your phone with you and hide! If you don't have to be here, be somewhere else!" She called back to Black. Sure Black might need to be there to keep the train together against the incoming chaos, but bringing herself so close to a possible murderer gunning for her was an accident waiting to happen.

[hr]

Back with the group at the heart of the conflict, the tension was as thick as Reign adjusted his sword with a menacing ease. He knew what he was doing with that weapon, the speed and precision of his blade too great. If only there wasn't some rather exhausted American screaming out in the background. "Phillip!? Phi- ugh... Phillip!! Where are you!?" Nina's breathless voice cut through that tension with expert precision that rivaled even Reign's swordsmanship.

Phillip just let out this long, drawn out groan almost pained in a way. "Just let me grab her, she's just going to continue to be a nuisance until she gets here..." He said to Reign, knowing full well the Painter'd be able to strike him once he stretched out. With Reign's approval, Phillip would then jettison a tendril out from behind him, rocketing into the darkness out of Mnemonyse's view. "What's th- Oh Phillip there y- Waaaaah!" Nina's voice came from further down the hallway and rapidly approaching interspersed with the sound of splashing paint as Nina waterskied her way towards them.

Soon enough she was with the group, dangling above the ground with her hands held by the tendrils. "S-So that's where you've all gotten to." She breathed as she surveyed her surroundings and Reign in his Weebish glory. He couldn't have made it more obvious unless he put a big flashing neon sign behind him saying 'I'm the Killer', but that wasn't important now. No, Reign had been suspicious because of his sheer absence. The fact he now was found in a location wielding the legendary weapon Kusanagi, in a location utterly locked down, with sparkling blue dust found on the body, right next to the location the Matron was found. The who was answered handedly, but it was the why that still needed answered. "Hey Reign, looks like you're dressed for the occasion." Nina said as she was let down, then looked at the strange being on the ground and the surrounding area. "You can come out now! Reign's definitely got the unparalleled sword skills you needed clearly, but you don't need to try and trick us into thinking he was the mastermind behind all of this!" She called out to the bewilderment of Phillip and potentially anyone else there, holding her muted phone behind her that should still have Black on the line.

In fairness, this could backfire on her, but if her hunch was right this was all she'd need to get Reign to confess. Reign was a very old creation of this world, extremely old. Old enough to not be within the confines of the rule set of Anazorzia, since he had no colours. So that meant he was likely retooled from a previous work, from a younger Miriam, and given his attire and demeanor now, a specific time between the age of 13-14. 8th grader syndrome is a specific window of time where kids think themselves to have super powers, to be a cut above their peers. It was almost criminal just how many points Reign was checking off at this point; the eyes, smile, black trench coat, eastern inspired sword, that smug presence. Not that he'd use that sword against them, not now; no someone of his nature wouldn't want to kill them when the universe was tearing at the seams. Doubly so when someone fully accepted that he was in fact unmatched in skill, what are you trying to prove. He could kill them at any time, the look on Mnemonyse's face stated as much, he wanted attention, to bask in results of his actions. Nina asserting that there was someone else undercut Reign's accomplishments here, he was a second banana in a plan that was a solo job from the beginning! And nothing hurt an edgelord more than getting due credit stolen from them.

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Nina

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Table for Two

nina's story

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Reign sheathed the decorated sword silently and smiled. Reign spoke after a brief period of contemplative silence,"The Matron died by this blade, yes."

Nina could see the blue dust flowing out from deep within the fleshy darkness of the car. At first it was as it had been on the Matron's body, immaterial and light. But now it was drifting in like a sandstorm. There was so much of the azure sand that the darkness seemed to flee it's gentle light.

"What's going on!? What is this stuff?" Mnemosyne cried, "Is this Stardust?"

"It is similar," Reign answered politely.

Faea flinched. But it was clear that both Faea, Philip, and Menmosyne could see that azure dust that had once been private to Nina's special eyes.

"But Stardust... doesn't glow like this," Mnemosyne said. She covered her face with her hand, "And there's no fragrance of Shuwa at all."

"Somebody is coming." Faea said sharply, "Get ready."

"You were a very interesting woman, Ms. Zaczoltski. I am very glad to have been so fortunate as to have met you. You have done more than I expected, more than anything anyone could have expected." Reign took several steps back as the blue dust flowed in ever more thickly. Now that dust had filled the room to the point that it was like a cerulean fog.

A woman's voice.

"But you were far too clever for your own good."

An empty room.

"You should have minded your own business."

A suffocating silence.

"People like you are the worst."

I can't remember how long it's been.

"I cannot stand people who meddle in the affairs of others."

Why hasn't father come back?

"I cannot stand people who never give up."

Where have my sisters gone?

"I hate people who pretend to care about others."

Why won't anyone save me?

"Because in truth..."

I don't want to be alone anymore.

"The only people that matter..."

I want it to be light.

"are themselves."

I want there to be color.

Miriam Lockstar was a tall woman with sharp hawk-like eyes. She had dark red hair that ran down to the back of her knees. Her lips were full and painted ruby-red, her eyes shone like liquid gold. She was a head taller than Nina and was wearing a muddled green dress so dark that it was almost black. Scars ran down both of her bare arms. A dark liquid ran down her left hand from a cut right above her forearm. As the droplets traveled down her pale skin and to the tips of her fingers, they turned blue and evaporated into sparkling azure sand.

Like the other Miriams, she had a lapis-lazuli hairband, but she wore hers around her neck - and it was cracked and faded. Missing pieces in some places and worn smooth in others.

"And just who do you think you are!?" Faea suddenly snarled. Her eyes were wide in primal rage. She leaned forward away from the webbing that was supporting her weight and tried to throw something at Miriam.

Reign stepped forward.

Faea fell back, clutching the stump of what used to be her right hand. She howled in pain, screaming in an almost feral manner. Issim, the spider that lived in Faea's hair scuttled around frantically, fangs bared.

Spoiler: I hate you.

The world was basked in green and red. The trees ran so high into the sky that you could not see the earth nor the sky through the maze of branches. Faea was sitting on the side of a large outcropping, carved into a smooth road by the hands of skilled artisans. She was listening to the gentle sounds of her forest home. The chirping of birds, the rustle of other weavers high in the canopy, and the scuttling of creatures deep into the depths of the sea of trees.

She could hear everything through the thin threads of her web. Issim was by her side, scuttling back and forth to form a small web for which he could catch a passing dragonfly.

Then something was wrong. She heard it in her web first, a crackling followed by sudden silence. Then she smelled the acrid bite of smoke. An alarm rippled through the webs high above. Faea leaped up and started climbing. She felt it in the strings, the panicked movement of other weavers, the boom of gunfire, and the song of her mother calling for her and her sisters.

Moving between the webs and carved wood of the ancestor trees was like breathing to her, but soon she reached the canopy and immediately felt her heart sink.

Huge leathery beasts were drifting through the sky upon wings of grey stone. Upon them rode men who held black banners in the sky. From their seat in the sky-beasts, they rained down fire upon the sea of trees. Her world was on fire - and she did not know why. But she dove now, deep into the forest and away from the hungry flames.

And she hid. She hid until the webs no longer hummed with the boom of gunpowder, the crackle of fire, nor the song of the weavers.

Mnemosyne had collapsed to her knees. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was catatonic, unable to move.

Spoiler: I'm scared.

The room was cold. Ensay moved with careful precision around Violet. Several branches had dug into her wrists using blunt brambles and held her in place below glowing fruits of her father's design. His beady yellow eyes flickered from beneath the mess of leaves and branches that made up a puppet of a body.

The air was cold against her bare skin. A thick branch pressed against her back, forcing her to arc her spine awkwardly. The brambles around her wrists started to cut into her skin. It hurt, and she was so scared.

Ensay uncorked a small bottle and let out some of the clear liquid onto a cloth. He ran it over her naked body. It was cold and smelled of acid. Violet squirmed.

"Papa, please," she whispered. Her voice was choked by fear.

Ensay looked at her and answered in a series of rapid clicks.

Violet shook her head, "Papa, no, please. It hurts. It hurts. I don't want this."

Ensay tilted his head and readied a small knife.

Violet struggled, feeling the brambles cut into her wrists and draw warm blood. She kicked against the roots at her feet. A second pair of spiny branches wrapped around her ankles and pulled her legs forward and apart.

"Papa, why..."

Ensay answered in a vague imitation of human speech, "Why... *click click* not?"

Reign took another step forward.

"Stop." Miriam said. Her voice was firm and steady.

Reign stepped back and bowed. "As you wish mistress."

Nina could understand what had happened to some extent. Her own heart was churning with intense emotions. She felt the weight of the world on top of her shoulders. The home she lost, the places she's seen devastated, the life she left behind. But she also felt the joys of meeting new friends, the fear for their safety when they were separated. She could feel the Faea's phantom fingers dancing underneath her clothes, she remembered the awe she felt when they passed the pod of travelling Eldritch Wonders. And she felt terribly angry at Nemesis and so terribly protective of young little White.

Philip, however, felt something lift from his body. That annoying influence that had bound his powers and spacial presence since he arrived in Anazorzia, simply vanish.

Miriam spoke again, softly but forcefully, "None of you belong in Anazorzia."

 

[Zepherus14]

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Table for Two

Nina's story

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Spoiler: Nina

"Or'i Gashi?" Phillip suggested as he reached up to grasp some in the steadily increasing sandstorm. "Stardust isn't this consistency."

Nina for her part braced herself against the oncoming storm, the view becoming worse than any whiteout she'd had the displeasure of driving through. It had been distracting before but this was ridiculous. "No kidding someone's coming!!" Nina shouted back to Faea, cursing herself as she hadn't expected there to actually be a second person, she'd been absent for the 'Painter's Servant' comment after all. She'd expected to be having this encounter with Black, but a fragment of the same whole would have to do.

Spoiler: Green's arrival

"But you were far too clever for your own good." 'I really wasn't.'

An empty room.

"You should have minded your own business." 'You shouldn't have poisoned everyone'

A suffocating silence.

"People like you are the worst." 'That coming from you.'

I can't remember how long it's been.

"I cannot stand people who meddle in the affairs of others." 'Couldn't agree more!'

Why hasn't father come back?

"I cannot stand people who never give up." 'You chose the wrong person to piss off.'

Where have my sisters gone?

"I hate people who pretend to care about others." 'I'm not pretending!'

Why won't anyone save me?

"Because in truth..." 'I'm here now!'

I don't want to be alone anymore.

"The only people that matter..." 'You don't have to be!'

I want it to be light.

"are themselves." "That's WRONG!!"

I want there to be color.

There she was, without a doubt the mastermind behind this nightmare, of intentions Nina still didn't fully grasp. There were many reasons why someone could bring themselves to do this, if this really was a prison for Miriam for so long, it made sense she'd break in multiple ways. But to go do these lengths, to endanger an entire world like this, to go against herself in this manner. That's what Nina took issue with.

Nina stood her ground, not letting the size or power difference stopping her from looking at Green as an equal. She knew full well that she and Phillip were the best bet at stopping this, the others may have powers, but they were up against the one that allowed those powers to function in the first place. This wasn't going to be a battle of force but of words. Faea didn't seem to get that memo as she shouted at Miriam. "FAEA NO!" Nina screamed, turning just in time to see Faea fall back with her missing hand. "Damn it!" She cursed, turning back around, taking a step forward and trying as best she could to provide cover with her small frame. "Don't attack her! Just leave this to me and Phillip! And Phillip, grab her arm and keep it raised! Squeeze it tight, and make sure they don't try attacking her again! Issim, bandage her!" Phillip for his part did as he was told, supporting Faea's arm and prodding the two behind Nina and as his restrictions were lifted the first thing he pulled out from his mass was the black cookbook that'd eluded him all this time.

With the swelling emotions welling up in her, it was a wonder she wasn't crushed underneath its tremendous weight. She was exhausted, running around, ridiculed, assaulted, flung through various realities, torn down into nothingness. You'd have to be insane to be in one piece after that, and lucky for Nina these several hours had given her that in spades. No, this culminated in a singular point, a drive so fierce her muscles couldn't argue. The determination to see this through and sheer defiance to not allow the god of this world to push her around.

"None of you belong in Anazorzia."

"Go get em kiddo."

"Neither do you. If this place really is a prison for you, that you'd go to such lengths to split yourself apart into four other pieces of yourself just so you could have someone to talk to, I would be the first to try to help you. But to do this, to erase everyone and everything here, I can't accept this!! Why are you taking this place away from them, from the other Miriams, from me!? If you were lonely, why didn't you just come right up to Phillip or I and just talk?! But instead of doing something reasonable, you decided, fuck it, someone new's just shown up, let's just pull this convenient destroy everything utterly lever. But please, tell me I'm wrong!" Nina argued loudly, finally face to face with the person who'd been behind this nonsense.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

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The Rising Dawn: Canteen
Mio | Leoric​

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"Ohhhh, you think me some fool?! I've slain you and everyone on this ship time and time and time and TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN!!!" The Skeleton King barked, slamming his mace into the ground every time he said that damn word.
Leoric shivered with rage and frustration as his minions slowly backed up, while he didn't have true discipline over his men, he did have fear. LOTS of it.
"No, Young Captain. You know not what transpires here. You th-think you can bring order?! None of this matters! Any of it! I kill you! You defeat me! I bring you into my cause! You seal me away! BUT! NOTHING CHANGES! This vessel is cursed with demonic magic you can't even comprehend! YOU HEAR THAT?! I'M ONTO YOU! YOU WILL NOT KEEP ME TRAPPED IN THIS DAMN LOOP! I HAVE BESTED THE PRIME EVILS BEFORE AND YOU WILL NOT BREAK ME NOW!" He begun to shout, pacing around the room as if someone was listening.

His breath(?) shuddered a little before he craned his head back to Mio, scoffing as he added "Ohhhh, you think I'm mad don't you? Y-you always do! But I have proof! PROOF! I-i-i-i remember! I can recall events that have yet to pass. Like the foreign doctor sending her thoughts into your mind! She'll speak of escape and tell you that the arbalest wielder (David) is securing the prisoners. I know! I've seen it before! And she'll do it right about..."
An uneasy silence filled the area as even the Skeletons seemed a bit un-nerved by Leoric's behavior. (One of them did take the chance to raid the breakfast fridge for a milk carton)

"...
...
...W-wait for it....
...
...Now!"

"Attention anyone who can hear me. We're going to try and make our way to the bridge so we can get out of here. Regroup as soon as you can, those skeletons will overwhelm you otherwise. David is going to head to the brig, I'll be in the living quarters. Meet up with one of us as soon as you can."

Right as Leoric predicted, Jenny's words begun to sink into Mio's head matching his description disturbingly accurately.
"SEE!? SEE?! Y-you heard it right?! You believe me, don't you!? Y-you didn't think I was crazy the last time I told you this!" The Crazy King barked in an almost desperate manner, almost hoping up and down as his skull shook like a bobblehead.

Spoiler: Rugal

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Right to Rule

Rugal's story

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"It's not a cipher, it's just another language. It hails from the remains of the British Empire, one that's yet to come into being in this world. On top of enslaving or "Civilizing" over half the planet, they spread their language. While still a major power even in my time, The British Empire has long since fallen." Rugal explained before the topic turned back to Juila, much to his darker sides delight.

Hey, ask her if she's still up for some "Hows your Father"?
"Very well. Hopefully we might be able to get the jump on them. While I would be able to best them in a fight, the-..."Entity" here is greatly limiting my ability to do so."
Oh god, THAT thing...urg, I mean it's a flat out insult to humanity that is. All we are made to do as a species is Eat, Fuck and fight each other over the first two. It's stupid..."When in Rome" my arse...
Wincing a little, Rugal cleared his throat and added "My-..."Otherside" points out that should we have to confront her and whatever Aurelius servants we may encounter, we won't be able to do so within the city's. If they become hostile, how will we resolve the conflict?"

With that, he begun to walk with Livia though the alleyways to their rivals estate, snatching his jacket back as he did so.
"Watch the pryomancy. This was gift from my daughter..."

 

[BlackHarte]

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Table for Two

nina's story

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"The one thing that stands out to me about Miriam the most is her endless compassion. She has a unique way of putting herself in someone else's shoes. It really stands out, almost like she's desperate for people to like her."
- Teresa Goldhollow​

Miriam stood silently before Nina and Philip for a time. The azure sand blew around them like a swarm of locusts. There was a gentle sweetness to the air they touched, a lingering taste of the dreams that they gathered. Miriam answered Nina in a soft, almost motherly voice, "Anazorzia is sick. The worlds so haphazardly sewn together are coming apart at their seams and not because of some event that you or I have caused, but because the world has reached it's limit. I killed the Matron because it was necessary.

There are things that my younger selves do not tell you, either because they do not know or because of selfish reasons.

I built Anazorzia with my younger selves to create a world that was a mirror of our home. Unlike the first of my paintings, it would be a world of disparity, of conflict, and through the contrast of colors it would become beautiful in its fleeting nature.

For a time, it worked. Anazorzia was all that I could have asked for. Yet as we continued to weave this place, my younger selves grew greedy. Each of them created new worlds to add to my painting. Their disregard for balance left Anazorzia in flux. Each color radicalized and cannibalized everything around them until there were no grey spaces.

Instead of working together to make something new, my younger selves had cut out pieces of my painting to call their own. For a long time I acquiesced. I spent eons in silence, holding my painting together in the face of their infighting.

Several cycles ago I decided that it was enough. It had come time for Anazorzia to die. We needed to move onto a new painting. A new work. Our world had grown stale, inaccessible, and masturbatory in its routines. The worlds that my younger selves tried to add were worked in with much difficulty, forced into places where there was little room. They conflicted each other in their laws of nature and overwrote the authority of one another.

Yet, when I did so my younger selves stopped quarreling among themselves for the first time since creation and stood against me. They did not believe in the truth that I spoke and instead sealed me away in a tomb of my own creations. They took the weight that I bore and forced it onto one of my oldest children, and bound her with ancient sorcery to the very fabric of Anazorzia.

They believe that even if I could break free of my prison, I would not have the heart to kill my first friend.

They were wrong. Yet, the karmic destiny that my daughter carried made it difficult to kill her. It was difficult to wholly remove her from the painting. For that purpose I required a special tool that did not exist in Anazorzia. So when I broke free of my prison, I kept hidden, pretending to be in bonds so that I could move against the precautions that my younger selves had created.

I weakened Anazorzia's defenses to the outside, enticing as many outworlders as I could with the treasures of our cobbled painting.

And they came. Many at first, but then the number of visitors dwindled. I set upon Ensay a madness to research the outworlders in order to discover the means of their travel. Ensay sired many children with the blood of the outworlders and upon them he researched the nature of their spark.

Of them all only one held that ephemeral nature to traverse worlds. That daughter did suffer greatly for my purposes. And from her body I was able to see and reproduce the same manner of ability in my servant. My servant left this world for the realm of my most abrasive sister and retrieved from her the blade you see before you. And through my servant I killed the first of my children to set the events you have witnessed in motion.

It is of this matter that Anazorzia is no longer a place for any person, it has become corrupted by the hedonistic tendencies of not only my younger selves, but of their haphazard creations. Lust and gluttony run rampant in the world. Humans are bred and consumed as both toys and livestock. Things refuse to die.

The natural order of this painting is in this way disrupted.

To maintain this realm is to enable their rampant perversions, doing a disservice to all that lives within. The beings born of the Anazorzia you see today are imbalanced, created by amateur hands and a representation of adolescent dreams. You of all people should understand the necessity of removing such ugly things from a painting."

Miriam finished speaking and brushed her hair to the side with her right hand. She looked toward Nina, but those pools of liquid gold seemed to peer through her. The azure sand grew still.

"You talk like you're the original goddamn Miriam Lockstar, Green," Black growled. "I was so fucking sure that the killer was the weird human girl that showed up uninvited, but after all this it's you. I thought I left you rotting in subspace outside of Anazorzia."

"It makes sense that it was Green." Blue said quietly. She hid behind her taller, darker self. She was still wearing the white-gold chef's uniform she had donned to work in the kitchen.

"If ya knew, then ya shoulda said something you big-breasted idiot." Red was standing next to Black. Now that they could see Red and Blue side by side, Red was definitely more muscular than her more bookish counterpart, though the two looked nearly identical.

"That's not nice." Blue said meekly.

White was farther behind them, her petite form protected by a teenage girl dressed in black ribbons.

"Honestly, all of you are idiots." Cuelle said frankly. "I can scarcely believe that my world is run by a group of such irresponsible gods."

"Oi, that's fucking rude half-pint."

Miriam snapped her fingers and Reign stepped in front of her, brandishing the golden sword. "I am more whole than all of you combined. I alone remember the painting before Anazorzia, and I alone am willing to burn away this rotting world."

"That's kind of out of character for you though... I always thought of Green as a sort of nurturing color." White said.

"No, Green is the color of nature. It is more hands-off than any of the other colors. Green represents the cycles of life and death as well as the facets of the natural world." Blue answered.

"Do not attribute me to such things as color," Miriam spat, "I am not like you. I am Miriam Lockstar, the Painter of Dreams. I am above such things as color."

"Besides, burning things is sort of my thing, y'know?" Red laughed. "It's too late for Anazorzia anyway, I say we drop the pretenses and just beat the shit out of Green while we still have a universe to exist in."

"Alright, let's do this. Just like last time." Black took off the ring on her middle finger and her headband glimmered to life. A giant slate tablet appeared behind her, inscribed with strange symbols. "One banishment spell coming right up."

Blue flexed her fingers and countless threads suddenly appeared from the shadows. Red stepped forward, creating fire from where she touched the fleshy ground.

White tapped the sides of her headband and began to radiate a gentle light. "I don't remember what I did last time, but... this feels right."

Miriam furrowed her brow in anger. Then she snapped with her left hand. The azure dust suddenly started to blow to the left in a whirlwind, sweeping the four Miriams behind Nina of their feet and slamming them against the wall. Miriam snapped again and the dust reversed, throwing the group into the right wall.

"Sealing magic is so much worse when you don't have the element of surprise, trust me."

The world spun around and suddenly everyone was standing on the ceiling. Miriam threw the group to the ground and flipped the world again. The dust glowed brightly in strands from her bloody left hand. The dust started to rush downward as gravity grew intense, forcing everyone but Nina and Philip against the floor.

"Try to understand, I am not Green. I am Miriam Lockstar," Miriam said slowly, "You are aspects of me, understand? BlackHarte abandoned me in the darkness. BlackHarte destroyed my world. All of your feelings are born from me. I am the artist, you are the creations."

Miriam walked forward, now she had let loose, her strength was beyond overwhelming. But she seemed fixated on the four girls plastered against the ground by her sorcery. "This hurts me so much more than any of you could know. The last thing I want to do is to be alone again. But every story needs to know when to end. Every painting needs to be finished. We must make room for new things to be created."

Miriam passed Nina and...

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

rugal's story

​

[hr]

The Aurelius estate was relatively lackluster compared to the glamorous constructions that he had seen all over the palatine hill. The building was out near the far end of the city, pass once again the river Tiber. The estate was made of an acre of grassy knoll set around a single story horseshoe shaped building built out of brick and marble. A bronze gate surrounded the property. The rainwater flowed in fast streams along chiseled canals along the sides of the road.

"With any luck we won't need to fight at all." Livia said softly as she tested the bronze gate.

Much to her surprise, the gate was unlocked. "Well... I suppose we should go see if anyone's home."

The path to the house was red cobblestone. The edges were decorated with bushes of small chamomile flowers. The house was dark inside. There wasn't even the smell of burning oil. Livia put her hand on the door and pushed, and it came open.

The scene inside was grisly. Slaves and servants lay strewn across the floor and furniture cold and dead. Their flesh was dry and grey. It did not look like a scene of struggle, they died where they stood. No violence, and no smell of the dead. Livia put a hand over her mouth.

"What in the world..."

Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the homestead in a bright flash. Thunder rumbled slowly afterwards. The house shrines to the gods had been smashed and burned. The idols lay in charred pieces across the hallway floor far within.

Rugal reached out with his Ki energy and felt... nothing. A terrible and malevolent void that originated deep inside the house. Something deep inside was devouring the energy of everything inside of the house. Something told him that whatever it was, it was related to the entity patrolling Rome.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

rugal's story

​

[hr]

"...I'm not sure if one could call this "Luck"..." Rugal remarked, his expression hardening before the carnage in front of them.
This is bullshit! Ohhh, When *I* want to kill something, that's a "Big No-no". But when someone ELSE wants to do it-
"I-...I can sense something but-...it's more the absence of anything. Like a gaping hole consuming all energy nearby. Stay close, don't wander. I cannot tell if it's still here..." He warned, instinctively moving in front of Livia as they slowly made their way though the building.
He brought up his "Dark Barrier.", a transparent green Ki shield providing protection and a modest light source.
Even if he couldn't fight, he could still defend.
He halted Livia for a moment as he examined one of the bodies.
"I don't think couldn't have been Julia. There would have been traces of her magic I could sense. No...think this is the Entity..." He added as he made a bee-line for the rooms belonging to the higher classes of the family, mindful to keep his guard up and his eyes open for any signs of life (As unlikely as it seemed at this point).

"Watch for any trace of Julia, I can't sense her energy so I can't tell if she's arrived or has been here and already left..."

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

rugal's story

​

[hr]

There were phantoms in the darkness drifting in and out of the shadows. Rugal couldn't tell if they were real or if they were fragments of his own distorted psyche. They were people that he knew. The very earth was echoing with the voices of past sins. Those who were lost to time reached out, hands grasping at him.

A dragon and her rider, the devil himself, young girls who held each other close. A shapeshifter with a broken soul. An elf with ashen skin. Two angels. A fox-woman. A man in a baseball uniform. Young creatures lost in the ancient winds. A boy and his puppet. A mage in red.

An inkling of recognition danced on the inside of Rugal's mind. These were people he had once known. People that had once known him. But their faces were washed away in the inky black.

In the master's quarters, Rugal found a single corpse propped up against the bed. His hands still clasped firmly around a small stone box. The surface was a dark rock, set with veins of green. The lock and hinges were forged from a dirty gold. It was about the size of a breadbox. It's weight left an indent in the atrophied flesh of the man holding it. The stone box was devouring the energy around it, leaving the hands of the corpse covered in thin blossoms of ice.

The man's eyes were empty, as if they had been torn out of his skull. His mouth was agape, and the toothless hole was smeared with the black of dried blood. All of the fluid was drained out of these people, all of their bones ground to dust, leaving only grey muscle and skin behind. The distinctive acrid stench of oil lingered faintly on the corpse.

Livia pointed toward the rings on the corpse's hands. "That's Marcus Aurelius," Livia said softly, "what in the world could have caused this?"

The answer was more than obvious to Rugal. He could tell now that they were in the thick of it. This wasn't some work of magic or god. This was the result of a nanite infestation.

Another bolt of lightning illuminated the room.

The shadows didn't fade. In fact they were shimmering. The rumble of thunder echoed through the empty house.

 

[Silence]

Spoiler: Anjali

[hr]

Reason to Rise
Anjali's Story​

[hr]

"I am not trained in teamwork, but I like to do it. And kindness ... I don't know how kind I am, but I think he liked what I did before. So I probably will be able to do this test." Anjali said before starting to eat the meat with her fingers, sharing it with Astarte. "I think this is good enough, thanks." she commented on it.

It did not take long until she had finished, what counted as her stomach not signaling wanting more. "I still feel calm, that's odd ... I think I would have been much more anxious in my former life. But now it's maybe helping me. Does this testing site have anything special to it? ? Did you do something like this before, Freya?"

[hr]

The Rising Dawn: Canteen
Mio​

[hr]

Mio observed Leoric and let him ramble on for a while before chiming in: "You are no fool, Leoric. I've experienced things much more dangerous than a mere 'time loop'. You can just sit this one out, maybe drink some tea, and let things run their course. Don't you see the opportunity? You have all the time in the world! Much more than you would have otherwise!

Anyways, you'll go mad if you just continue on doing the same thing over and over again. Just chill, relax, and we can work something out. Look, your skeletons might be a bit stupid, but I am sure they can still help out." She sat down and crossed her legs, observing Leoric all the while. "What do you even want to do? Slay me again? But why? What does that get you? What's your actual goal here? I don't have any riches on me. Just sit down, take a deep breath or whatever you do, and chill."

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Anjali

[hr]

Reason to Rise
anjali's story​

[hr]

Freya looked up from her soup. She swallowed. "No. Leland would never let me do anything as reckless as apply for an adventuring license. It's the whole reason we need you. I haven't got a single fighting bone in my body."

Vil put his fingers on the table and looked into Anjali's eyes. His eyes gleamed yellow. They were like polished gemstones set beside his old leathery skin. "Garrotte is fond of two things in nature. Sand and sunlight."

---​

The waiting room for the arena was a chilled stone chamber decorated with paintings of deeds from various valorous stories. Besides Anjali there were three other exam candidates. The first was one of the small furry creatures she had first seen when they arrived in Ionei. It was about three feet tall and resembled a rabbit. It had long flat ears that ran down from the top of it's head down it's back. Anywhere that wasn't covered in leather armor was a coat of snow-white hair. It wore two daggers at its hip like a twinblade. The next candidate was a sleepy looking boy no older than eighteen years. He wore blue robes decorated with white tribal markings. It was hard to tell what he did from his clothing, but he must have been a magic user of some sort.

The third candidate was the man from before clothed in layers of white cascading robes. He had donned a face mask that resembled the faceplate that Vil used to cover his head. Beside him was a large suit of armor that was standing slack against the wall. He moved, the chimes at the end of his robes echoed in the stone room.

He turned to look at Anjali. The carved grin on his mask made her feel uneasy. Astarte coiled around her in response. When he spoke his voice was sickeningly sweet. It was a practiced neutral tone that rang like he was singing. "You were the young girl from the Smithing Square this afternoon. What an incredible coincidence that we are in the same testing group. The way you dispatched that madman was quite commendable. It is very nice to know that there are puppeteers out there making good use of their talents."

"Puppeteers are mummers," the small rabbit adventurer spat. His voice was surprisingly deep given his size. "You two are Soul Tinkers. Don't let your fancy dolls make you so arrogant as to believe that you are like the Puppetmasters of the Age of Heroes."

"Oh," the man in white said gently, "I would never dare to be so bold. It would be the height of hubris for anyone to compare themselves to the Puppetmasters of the Crimson Congregation." There was a dangerous feeling to his words.

The small furry adventurer turned to him and grunted, "What nonsense are you talking about now, the Crimson Congregation never used puppets."

"Quite the contrary," the man in white replied. The suit of armor besides him suddenly jerked to life, infused with the soft white glow of sorcery. "There is a Relic that I have been pursuing for quite some time. I had the good fortune to see it in action at the Battle of Terenith. Though, it was not functioning at the level that I was hoping for."

The rabbit adventurer seemed to become more off-put as the white-robed man continued.

"My guild had been running some tests since then, and I personally believe that this Relic could do so much more than just direct automatons. An ancient Puppeteer's controller infused with powerful Lacrima could control a veritable army." The man chuckled underneath his mask. "Just kidding. It's a nice thought for me to hold onto though."

"You speak is poor taste," the mage finally said. He had woken from his half-nap half-meditation. His eyes glowed blue. "Why do you wear so many warding amulets when you are this deep in civilized territory."

"To shield myself from the prying eyes and ears of mind mages perhaps," the man in white answered in a sing-song voice.

The gate to the arena lurched open, throwing harsh sunlight and hot air at them. The arena was a massive closed coliseum filled with sand. An huge red lacrima hung at the highest point, casting a blinding and burning light down around the space.

There were huge black pillars jutting out of the sand in measured distances all around the arena. Garrotte was standing on top of one of them. He was grinning, the gleam of the light on his armor was nearly blinding. "Greetings candidates!" Garrotte boomed. "Most like you cannot contain yourself for your anticipation! Well wait no more, for I AM HERE!"

"Does he have to work that line into every conversation he is in?" the mind mage sighed.

"Delving unexplored areas is a dangerous vocations my intrepid young friends. Often times you will have to enlist the aid of other delvers, who might be even in competing guilds! But we do it in the name of survival and in the name of adventuring. For this exam you will be teaming up with one another to defeat a high-level threat." He summoned that black obelisk of his out of the pillar he was standing on. "Something more powerful than anything you have ever encountered! Me!" Garrotte laughed raucously.

"You can't be serious," the rabbit said as he took a step back. "This can't be correct. We have to fight him!?'

"I'd wager he forgot he was proctoring an exam until about half an hour ago. This is probably the best he could come up with on short notice." The mind mage stood up and cracked his knuckles. "Call me Emil."

The rabbit tutted. "My name is Krisk."

"Well, you can just call me Chimes for now. My real name is far too unwieldy. My puppet is Harnis"

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

rugal's story

​

[hr]

Ohhhh, now they're doing the "Mind rape" thing...Heh, cute of them to assume it would wo-
Mentally silencing his other side, Rugal noticed what images were being brought up before him, that of his friends and family.
But once he found the body of Marcus Aurelius, it started to make sense now: "I know this....Nanite inducted exsanguination..."
Pulling Livia back, he slowly neared the body, channeling some more energy into his barrier as he did so.
"Nanites are a type of construct from my world. Imagine a metal swarm of worker ants, only ants could be compared to giants for how small they are. It's not too common but some of the more advanced factions in my homeworld use them either for medical care, to create life or...this..." He explained as he brought his light source over the box.
"Their size makes them nearly impossible to fight and, like a swarm of ants, if there are enough of them they can overwhelm anything and everything in their path. Livia, I'm going to need you to use whatever protective measures you can on yourself on every inch of yourself. If it's still here, a mass the size of an insect can easily latch onto it's target, feeding and multiplying from every bite of you it takes. You'll be consumed in minutes if not seconds..." He warned again before kneeling next to the corpse to get a better look at the box.

"They could still be inside the box. If it saw us as a threat, it would have attacked by now...Which means.....The Enity....It-...It could just be a nanite construct...But why?...What is technology this advanced doing here?..."
He felt like he was staring at a nuclear bomb, he could pick up the box but how would the nanites respond?
A small bead of sweat began to trickle down the side of his head as he brought his hand over the box, trying to get a better sense of what energies and powers were locked within.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

[hr]

The Rising Dawn: Canteen
Mio | Leoric​

[hr]

"....I-.....I-...."
Leoric expected many things but-...this-...this was different.
His form trembled as he stood there, almost unable to process what he was hearing.
A few of his minions brought a chair over for him to sit-well, fall onto, before he slowly brought his hands to the sides of his head.
"I-I-....I just can't let them win again. Make no mistake, young Captain. This is no opportunity, this is-...this is a Trap! They last time the demons-...they turned my mortal flesh into this-...."Thing" you see before you...They couldn't best my spirit before so they-...just discard me into this endless cycle." The Black King explained, his hands shaking a little as he did so.
"...I don't know how many times it's been now. I don't know what to do to stop it. I don't know if any of this is even real! I don't know if you are actually trying to help me or-or-or a construct made by the Lord of Lies to ensnare me further...I just feel so-....so-.....helpless...." He practically sobbed but from the looks of things he was starting to finally calm down.
"...Forgive me, I-....I just don't know what to do any more...." Leoric sighed in a defeated manner, one of his helpers handing him a bottle from the bar with perfect timing before he poured the contents down his boney jaw.

"...You-...you mentioned things more dangerous then being trapped by time itself....what could such a thing be?..." The king then asked as many of his minions seemed to become calmer or at least confused by their kings sudden lack of bloodlust. (Bonelust?)

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

rugal's story

​

[hr]

Rugal reached within the box with his energy and was almost blown away by what was within. It was a swirling vortex of fire tempered against an ocean of shimmering light. It was violent and peaceful at the same time. The little box felt like it contained more than a world's energy. Flare of golden fire reached outward toward an infinite horizon, grasping for anywhere to let loose it's simmering fury. The luminous ocean hummed with energy as well. The energy was alive and it was reaching out in search of something. Rugal could feel it's desire, it's yearning, and it was so strong that for a moment he believed that the energy inside was alive.

It wanted something, someone, so intensely that it would devour and destroy the entire world in search of her.

The violent flares of fire ceased suddenly. It had noticed Rugal. The sudden violent explosion of directed consciousness blew Rugal's ki out of the small box.

In the world outside the box was still, but the green lines in the stone glowed dimly. A few stray nanite puddles were dancing around the edge of the box. They were definitely drawn to the energy within... whatever or whoever it was. The closer that the nanite pools got to the vessel, the more defined the phantoms dancing at the edge of Rugal's vision became.

Omega quickly realized that those phantoms weren't generated from Rugal's memories. Those were images shaped from the memories of the nanites.

"I am reconsidering our visitation of this residence. It might be in our best interest to leave as soon as possible," Livia hissed as she watched several nanite pools start to move out of the dark corners of the room.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

rugal's story

​

[hr]

"...I'm going to make a move out the side of the building...ready yourself..." Rugal warned Livia before taking a moment to examine his surroundings.
The Nanite pools seemed to be nearing both them and the box, meaning if there was ever a time to make an exit, now would be it.
Rather then leave empty handed, he softly counted down before quickly snatching the box in his hands.
Before she could even react, Rugal already grabbed the young woman under his arm and plowed right into one of the walls of the room.
The roman structure was no match for his mass travelling at such a speed, the German using his "DARK BARRIER!" like a scutum though peasants.
Landing safely on the ground as the remains of that second floor wall rained behind him, he then dashed further still from the house and into a nearby alley.

Skidding to a halt once they were out of sight, he fired up ("Heh, Fired...") a plume of flame in his hand and went about doing a quick self check for any Nanite stains on him or his "Mistress".
"...Alright, I think we're both good. Just hope that stuff isn't too quick on it's feet. Come, we should return to home so I can get a better look at this thing..." He explained as he looked at the box once more.
"It's strange...it seemed to react to my prodding and poking. And the energy inside, it reminds me a little of your blades but more-..."Alive". Self aware with it's own thoughts and desires. It's as if it's looking for something."
"Yeah, I saw that. Kinda weird how it has it's own memories and dreams. Ohhh, I wonder if it does pain and suffering? We should totally teach it that later!"
Shaking off the voice in his head, he then ushered Livia along, keeping his wits about him lest a nano-ambush seek to destroy them.

"So, Julia didn't show up yet. And her allies are all a pile of dust and flesh. Question is: Where will she head now?..."

 

[BlackHarte]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

rugal's story

​

[hr]

"That was dangerous," Livia said through heavy breaths, "What would you have done if that box was cursed? I can scarce believe the sheer audacity that possessed you in that moment."

Lightning broke overhead followed by the low rumble of thunder.

The stone box seemed to pulse in Rugal's hands, as if it had been woken from an age long slumber. The presence inside clawed against the walls of the vessel, desperate to reach the outside. It's voice called out to Rugal, humming through his bones into his body. It was music - the deep and mournful voice of a cello - that formed the wordless voice.

Livia shook her head and ducked under the cover of an awning to escape the rain. "To be honest, I do not know the girl very well myself, and I definitely do not know her well enough to guess at the actions of a girl discovering that her entire Gens has been laid to waste."

"If I had to wager, she'd hatch into a witch," came a sweet voice in both of their heads. The white creature stepped out of the shadows and looked up at Livia and Rugal with it's blood-colored eyes.

"Kyuubey! You're alive!" Livia said as she bent down and scooped up the small animal.

"Please do not misunderstand this situation, but I fear that I have made a minor miscalculation. Your enemy is far stronger than anything that I could have imagined." Kyuubey said without missing a beat.

"Kyuubey, what are you talking about?" Livia said, snapping out of her temporary relief. "What enemy? The witch? And what was this about someone hatching into a witch?"

"That is something I do not have the time to fully explain to you right now," Kyuubey said flatly, "Rugal, Livia, you must come with me. There is something terribly wrong with this city and I believe that it has something to do with what is inside that stone vessel."

It started to pad down the wet street toward the base of the Palatine hill. "Some sort of intelligence is working against us. There are two many pieces already in place. First of which is this terrible miasma that lingers over Rome, striking out against any sudden changes in karmic destiny, and which I believe is foreign to this world.

"Second, there is that stone artifact, which I have observed to be of an extra-dimensional construction. Third, there is the luring of one of my Magical Girls into the city, with situation primed for her to hatch into a Witch."

"I'm sorry, you lost me," Livia said as she tried to follow the small creature through a stack of barrels.

"When Julia arrives into the city, she will transform into a Witch and release a massive amount of energy in the process of shedding the layers of her Karmic Destiny. The miasma infesting this city will consume that energy and grow to a terrifying strength. Then afterwards, who knows what will happen. Maybe it will end the world."

"That's insane!" Livia said. "What do you mean that it will end the world? What of the Gods? Will they just sit by and let that happen?"

Kyuubey stopped and turned around. "Have you seen any of the shrines to the Gods in this city?"

Livia shook her head.

"That is because the Gods do not exist here. This city no longer belongs to the children of Gaea."

---​

Kyuubey spent some time leading the two around the city in circles before it stopped near the Senate house and sat down and a particularly worn piece of marble. It flicked it's ears back and forth before turning to Livia and Rugal. "While I would have much preferred that we handled this nasty situation after Livia's trial tomorrow, I think that we have no choice. I have spent some time delaying Julia's arrival to the city, but she will arrive on foot from the North some hours from now. I know you two aren't the smartest people in the world, so I will spell it out very clearly to you both.

Ten thousand years ago a powerful magical girl made a contract with me - and when she inevitably hatched into a Witch, she destroyed the world of which she was born. In her grief she wove a labyrinth, as all Witches do, and resided within. We are inside of that Labyrinth - a dream of which she was never to be awoken from. I sealed her consciousness inside of a soul stone and buried it deep in the earth so that she would not be harmed not disturbed. But the machinations of an outside force has disturbed the stone from where I had sealed it."

Kyuubey's tail waved to each side like the hand of a metronome. "What you're holding in your hands Rugal is more than probably the sealed soul gem of the Witch. If that box is opened the girl will wake from her dream and destroy this world. And if this world is destroyed, then it will seriously inconvenience me. When Julia becomes a witch, it is more than likely that the miasma will absorb her energy and awaken from its currently passive state. Then it will come after the soul gem."

"So what should we do?"

"Take that box and flee as far as you can from this city. Rugal, on the other hand, should remain here and draw the attention of the miasma for as long as possible."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Rugal

[hr]

Right to Rule

Rugal's story

​

[hr]

"A brash course of action but still better then staying put." Rugal said, holding onto the box tightly as he examined it in the dim light of the alleyway.
"Whatever is within would like to leave but it seems unable to do. I don't think we need to worry about any curse, just those who would take this-...thing from us." He added before stuffing it into his jacket for safe keeping.
But just before he could relax and possibly savor this victory.
"If I had to wager, she'd hatch into a witch,"
"Kyuubey! You're alive!"

"Oh god, not this guy again..." "Oh god, not this guy again..."

"Ahhh, we meet yet again it seems..." Rugal droned in an un-amused matter, honestly hoping he had been rid of this pest.
And as he explained the grave threat that seemed to be coming their way, he was quickly remembering why he detested the cat.
"I knew from the start you knew more then what you were letting on. And just as expected, you only reveal the truth then you yourself are at risk. And only after it's too late to form a plan other then your one. So tell me, I get the attention of this creature but then what? If Julia is able to take the box from Livia during her escape, it'll all be for naught..."

But as Rugal debated the best course of action, another side weighed in.
"Well, well, well...looks like you got yourselves in a bit of a pickle. You can't be at two places at once but I have a really good idea. I did swear an oath to Mistress Livia. Maybe you should stop smushing that poor cat and ask him for a little help-"
The aging fighter winced slightly as he shook his head, stating "No...We'll need to find someone else to assist Livia. I've seen Julia in battle and I'm not the type of person to wager the fate of the world on a single death battle, not unless the odds are weighted in our favor..."
"Oh listen to yourself you senile prick...Think for once in your damn life. You wouldn't leave her alone to fight if she was Teri-"

[HEADING=2]"YOU LEAVE MY GODDAMN DAUGHTER OUT OF THIS!"[/HEADING]

He shook and panted slightly, right before he noticed the others staring at him.
"....I apologize...A-....another side of me doesn't know when to be silent...Tell me, Kyuubey. How do I stop the Miasma? Does it have a weakness or is there some sort of magic I can use against it? I can fight but if there's anything you need to tell me, you better start right now or none of us will make it out of this-...Dream or nightmare or whatever you wish to call it."
All the while, Omega didn't stop in his aggressive sales pitch as he screamed against the inside of Rugal's skull.
"You fucking moron! Forget the Miasma. If what this furball says is true, all Julia needs to do is open that box and we're all dead. That includes me! And I have not fought as hard as I have to die some-some twisted memory inside your rotting brain. No, you will tell that cat to give me a body, even for just 30 minutes and I'll make sure Julia doesn't have a finger left to thought that soul gem! It makes sense! But no! You're too scared to admit that once, just once, I might have a point. You need to look at the big picture here. The Miasma takes Rome, big fucking whoop, It controls a bunch of rock and a few million Italians. But if Julia gets the Soul Gem, then it's all over for everyone. 1 city versus an entire world. You're good with numbers, right? Which do you think would be a bigger grave to dig, huh?!"

Rugal's expression hardened even more as he stood there listening to his shadow rage: "HEEEY! HEYYYYYY! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, GET ME OUT OF THIS RETARD'S HEAD! COME ON! I MADE AN OATH TO THE GIRL! DOESN'T THAT COUNT FOR SOMETHING ANYMORE!? I CAN HELP YOU YOU FLEA RIDDLED PRICK! I ONLY KILLED YOU ONCE! THAT'S STILL BETTER THEN THIS GUY! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!"
"Uhhh, do we still have anymore those those herbs? He's screaming inside my head now..."

 

[Zepherus14]

[hr]

Table for Two

Nina's story

​

[hr]

...Felt something grasp her wrist.

"That's enough." Nina said, not looking at Miriam for the moment, simply shaking her head in disgust. "We get it already, they stand no chance against you." Nina stated, looking back to Phillip who was in the process of setting Blue down to the ground.

His strength alone wasn't able to keep her from hitting the walls, but compared to the other three, Blue had been given a far softer treatment. Not that Phillip had made a big deal about doing so as he casually pulled out that jar of black eldritch ooze from his interior. The contents slowly sloshing around and pawing at the walls of the jar like some discount Venom.

"It just... it frustrates me that you've let this go this far. That you've gone this far! Every story needs to know when to end? Every painting needs to be finished? I can't even believe how full of yourself you are?!" She said sternly, letting go if Miriam wasn't going to keep advancing towards her creations. "Paintings can be finished without throwing them into the fire, stories can be written without shredding it upon completing it. And you forget the biggest point here!!" She thrust her arms towards Faea and Mnemonyse. "THESE AREN'T FIGMENTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION ANY MORE!! They're real people!" She shouted, frustrated at just how obvious this was to her.

"Faea's arm, Mnemonyse's life, The Matron's death that affected practically everyone in this universe! That is real pain you've caused because you couldn't be bothered to sit down and talk with the other Miriams!" Nina argued, sweeping an arm towards the other Colours. "No you took the easy way out of this; sit back, let things fester and when things got too much, when you finally decided to do something, you went with the most drastic option you could honestly do! No wonder they acted the way they did to you, you were taking away everything they'd ever made, that they felt they'd put all they had into. Of course they'd fight back!"

"You said that I'd understand removing the 'ugly parts of a painting', that it was necessary. You couldn't be more wrong. Allowing those amateur hands to create and show their work to the world allows them to learn, allows them to grow. Being locked in here for so long, they haven't been able to have that step, nor have you been the one to help give feedback so that they could maybe grow as a creator! I've certainly gotten it, tons of it, and I'm a better artist because of it. Even Phillip's not perfect because "Huh?" even though I feel he can cook with the best of them from such a young again "Naturally." he still needs to learn about plating, which might not be part of getting the food in someone's belly, but it sure as hell matters if he wants to become a chef Gordon Ramsey's would appreciate! "...She's not wrong..."

"And that's not even getting into a gigantic pet peeve of mine. Too many times I've seen artists go back into their archives and destroy pieces that they'd done. It's the usual, not liking how their old stuff looks and that they 'need to clean things up'." She said quoting her fingers in the air. "But they forget the art they've sent out to the world, that's in their archives, isn't exactly their's any more. HeartGear put it very well when she said 'That part of you is stuck there indefinitely and as people come to view it, they in turn keep it alive as that art inspires new things." Nina said as she turned back to Phillip who was shaking that glass jar of his aggressively. "Phillip, can I have my tablet? "Ya whatever..." Thanks!" She said, grabbing it as Phillip popped it out effortlessly. "We all come from somewhere, it might not look the prettiest but it's also a means of new creators seeing that even the greats started out as stick drawing amateurs. This [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/79fa0794-9446-44e0-be65-9bf495a4a06a/d1j94g1-46a90d7d-152c-4c82-a081-b76336c181fb.jpg] gave birth to this. [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/79fa0794-9446-44e0-be65-9bf495a4a06a/d1j94g1-46a90d7d-152c-4c82-a081-b76336c181fb.jpg] Ibenz improved from this [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/76c21c4d-f535-4218-b0c7-bad20df4ebb6/d4zc1qi-6b707043-cd24-4f81-9cdf-0965d18eb4e6.jpg/v1/fill/w_749,h_1067,q_70,strp/tf_robotized_olivia_by_ibenz009_d4zc1qi-pre.jpg] to this. [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/76c21c4d-f535-4218-b0c7-bad20df4ebb6/dcv2ebg-0d1d249d-1161-4376-8f13-6636b7c3c48e.jpg/v1/fill/w_816,h_980,q_70,strp/merry_christmas_2018_by_ibenz009_dcv2ebg-pre.jpg] And let's not forget the m [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/d8e400e4-69c7-4ef9-a4a3-be2782b8e10e/d7xly92-940b2f3b-5912-460b-ae35-a4263370a65c.png/v1/fill/w_1022,h_782,q_70,strp/draw_this_again_meme___sai_by_nataliadsw_d7xly92-pre.jpg]y [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/ebc1d19a-a429-4fd7-96b0-facb346949a7/d60e2xd-88f49188-5f0e-4b72-a51f-0a23d8892b14.png/v1/fill/w_1506,h_530,strp/draw_this_again_and_again_and_again_by_kiyakoda_d60e2xd-pre.png]r [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/4e357414-9ab8-408b-8fc8-c055114d4e47/d577id4-c1c231c9-a31d-48e0-bdb6-34514135d7ad.jpg]i [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/ce1c630b-7bd5-41b4-a626-6385e5433685/d6tk5ob-ff8b15d6-7173-4455-8cc7-7499910b5f3b.jpg/v1/fill/w_1024,h_621,q_70,strp/draw_this_again_meme__5_by_oceantann_d6tk5ob-fullview.jpg]a [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/b1522bad-9e54-4da8-a356-e92f3220f822/d4flfz4-4896fc41-6814-4401-98cf-314d8f71528f.png/v1/fill/w_909,h_879,strp/draw_this_again_by_mausetta_d4flfz4-pre.png]d [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/e9b10f2d-ce36-42e2-8a58-767b4e9e2268/d5kglb0-7150d961-b05e-4949-8cf3-afa7dc5f1f30.png] o [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/94e464af-98d7-4b83-8dee-3622824bf73a/d5eqyjf-cc7830ec-37c7-4afb-8739-0f93c1edb52e.jpg/v1/fill/w_900,h_711,q_70,strp/draw_this_again__little_witch_by_miibt_d5eqyjf-fullview.jpg]f [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/2451a44a-62d9-4b89-a944-5c3b6dc5d99b/d7pm2v5-8d011d85-00f3-4aa7-91ad-a9ea44056cb9.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_459,q_80,strp/draw_this_again__jealousy_witch_maria_by_yamio_d7pm2v5-fullview.jpg] m [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/46f08f58-71ef-402e-a989-cb5ff2cca40d/d85gfzk-da57bf6b-05f9-49f3-b548-178366dc0786.png]e [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/e39a058e-96c9-4c90-b4b0-f6ebc6315aef/d5flz6s-1ab2e529-2853-4400-9e76-d2f1cfa8878e.jpg/v1/fill/w_900,h_569,q_70,strp/draw_this_again__moon_knight_by_mediaviolence_d5flz6s-fullview.jpg]m [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/36c6b8f4-6838-4e56-9e3b-f38eb206b645/d6kz4fq-cea630cc-f8a9-45b3-ad88-6e3d4f254d61.png/v1/fill/w_903,h_885,strp/draw_this_again_by_pharaoh009_d6kz4fq-pre.png]e [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/a891b544-883b-4045-9e0f-fc7d248357d8/d5f24b9-38ee466d-20ff-4d45-b441-7291cc7c10c7.jpg/v1/fill/w_900,h_569,q_70,strp/draw_this_again___wake_up_by_kuro_mai_d5f24b9-fullview.jpg]s [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/857f8ef0-97c4-49a3-8dda-20209d6f9830/d6kiyoz-b5b46207-2c80-4028-971e-128181da8d7d.jpg]! [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/79dede42-709e-4b19-92b3-8b699f21a92b/d5ffeyk-4af870b7-916e-417a-b0ad-8599362e5e69.jpg]"

"When I look at what's been made here, I'm not blinded by that utter contempt you seem to be so fond of. Sure it's got it's problems, but it's got its merits. What Faea's done with my clothing, the wonders, the lore. And that's just the surface. I've seen the monsters here, both the ones of this world, and the ones you personally have made. I'm not going to like everything that I find out there, and I can work to help change what I can. It's what I wanted to do when I thought Black was the one behind all this, let her have a long look at this, but now I get to have that conversation with you." She says as she waves the tablet.

And then she stopped, the flurry of words halted so ceremoniously. All those grievances, had been more of a pet peeve, something to chastise. What Miriam saw coming however was far more painful, what had driven Nina to push herself this hard to make it here. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYmn5BQIxdQ] "But all that, all those reasons... I still don't believe that this has to be the end for Anazorzia, for it and its people, but what you've done to do this. That you would willingly inflict something so heinous on... these people. Do you not understand how... sinister Stardust is? How it slowly eats away at someone's very existence, but not only their's but anyone who's ever known of them?! To watch someone you love, who's been with you for your whole life, slowly just disappear in front of your face?!" Nina shook, holding her hat close to her chest. "It's fucking terrifying!! How it takes piece after piece, you think it's just a bad nap, he'll get better, and sometimes he might. But then one day you come to visit, and he just stares at you, happy to see a new person." Tears slowly rolling down her face. "When I was younger, I wondered why god would have ever made something that would take my Grandad away from me like that, he was supposed to be good, just, merciful. To cause that much pain flew straight in the face of that idea. And yet, here I am standing here today, in front of someone who somehow found a way to one up that bastard, and make Alzheimer's a family event!" She roared, glaring at Miriam. "You think it's merciful to sweep what horrors you rot under the rug because no one will remember it? Well I have news for you! You can take that mercy and shove it because I'm not going to stop until I know this nightmare of an ending will never get the chance of happening again!" She proclaimed defiantly, fully committed to the idea that if she couldn't take this stand against this amoral critic how could she hope to face her own maker if that day ever came. This wasn't just for herself, or for the people of Anazorzia, but the next Anazorzia. Erasing Anazorzia didn't solve the backwards logic Miriam harbored, and only meant that the next painting would eventually find a similar fate one way other another. People may think for themselves, but they also think for their fellow man, in the hope that in their time of need someone would step up to help them, as they did for them.

 

[Zepherus14]

The Rising Dawn: Armoury [https://orig00.deviantart.net/1cc6/f/2012/168/d/1/contact___armory_by_shimmering_sword-d53uu2p.jpg]
Hillary the Slime | David West | Jenny | Violet​

"I think... Hillary should go with Jenny. I want to see how everyone else is doing. She also didn't see Miia in the fields outside, so perhaps maybe she's still locked in her room?" Hillary asked back to the group. "But will it be okay for everyone to split up like that? Didn't you tell Hillary we should stick together?" She added, looking down at the scrapped mess of platinum on the ground. She brought her hand down to pick it back up, which she was able to do but with considerably more effort than what normally was needed. "I'm also not sure Hillary will be able to become shiny again from just this, not with how much lemonade is in me now. Unless, would you like to share some with Hillary?" She asked offering a hand up to the trio while she stuck her other hand in her mouth.

Although Hillary didn't explain it well herself, Jenny could easily pick up on the fact that Hillary was more than happy to let them have a sampling of her. David and his encyclopedia knowledge of the PCs would also have an idea of this, that not only was this not harmful, but actually beneficial for her overall health.