The air was thick with humidity, and electricity, and chaos. But, for a brief moment, there was something more.
Order. Magic. Something powerful. Something familiar, something good. A light in the darkness, Ganymede’s Royal magic surged from the Core of his world and the shadows, all connected, carried the blast throughout the Hall.
The shadowy illusions hummed, and for a split second, light shined through. It flickered along the illusion, like fire burning a thread. For a split second, there was a clarity that hadn’t been there before, an understanding–
There was a reason they were here.
They were supposed to do something. Protect–something...
But the illusion was quick to restore, but it wasn’t quite perfect. Maybe the room was lopsided, maybe there was something just a little off about your would-be savior–like looking in a mirror, or like they had a filter over them.
For a brief second, they weren’t as strong; they felt like wiggling worms, or water, but they corrected themselves quickly.
Just, maybe not quick enough to avoid detection.
The whole group was still trapped by the wriggling tendrils of darkness, held fast to some volatile creature that had manifested to swallow them up. It was moving–not much, but it seemed like it was twitching from the strain of their weight.
From the strain of trying to absorb them into itself.
Rainier still had an almost convincing replica. The smell of Old Spice was replaced with sulfur for a moment, and she felt something wiggling against her skin. He lost his grip, but he replaced it quickly. “It’s okay,” he soothed; his voice echoed in the first sentence, but he sounded so real again.
“I never blamed you. I’ve fought so hard to get back to you. I never wanted you to trade places with me. I just needed you to wait for me. I’m ready to go home, though. I want to go home. I want to have our forever.”
Acrucis’ illusion looked at her first with disdain, but her face distorted–not just from the strange tremor that rippled through her, but the light, the light was so horrible, so extreme, it burned her. She raised her hands to her face and took a step back, startled. Disoriented. In pain.
Her skin turned black again, and parts of her seemed to be smeared or erased.
“You are weak,” she seethed, in a hollow, metallic voice. “You are weak and you will never amount to anything–”
Its voice was cut short by a shriek; it squirmed and, finally, lashed out in a wave of pure force; it felt like a violent push backwards–back into the shadows.
Quote:
Characters can use this opportunity to have a clarifying moment that allows them to break through the spell of Chaos! If you are playing your own chaos manifestation, it may turn into a shadow for a moment, may turn into a mirrored reflection of itself, or may shift forms in front of you; if you have any questions or want to see if something works, please let me know! If you want to continue speaking to your Chaos character or engage it in more than one post, please let me know when you quote me and I will try to tag back as soon as possible instead of waiting for the next prompt! If your character has already broken out, they might be able to help others in their group but please make sure this works for them before posting! If your chaos manifestation is not destroyed by the post on the 16th (sometime after 8PM EST) the Chaos will be forcibly destroyed around you but you will still have to combat the chaos beast that is trying to absorb you; if you break through the illusion, you can attack it now!
SSBrosB
Shanyume
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:23 pm
Ghen grunted as he hauled on her, straining with her to try and break the grasp of the darkness that held her.
"This isn't working!" Tanais gasped out as she struggled, her limbs stuck in that tar-like substance that held her. Ghen was free, even if she wasn't, and... they had all come here for a reason. They were supposed to be protecting the wall, stopping the shadows from passing it. Trying to get her free was a distraction, a waste of their precious time. "Let me go. You need to go kick that thing's a**! I'll be fine. I can get myself out."
"Are you nuts?" Ghen barked, scowling at her. "I'm not leaving you! After everything I ******** did to get you free the first time? I wouldn't let the Negaverse have you, you think I'm going to give you up to this thing?"
"You kill that thing and I'll be free, but the longer we fight here, the longer that thing has to do whatever it is it's doing." She argued, giving up her struggles and switching instead to prying his fingers from her wrist. He was still trying to pull her out, but her squirming was loosening his grip. Something desperate passed over his broad features then and the look on his face hit something deep in her and made her ache. That expression was too familiar... it tugged at faintly-remembered things.
"I can't leave you!" His voice was full of pain and it ate at her resolve, slowly crumbling it.
But... they had a duty...
The flash of light cut through everything, turning it all faintly translucent for a brief moment. She could make out the wall, the silhouettes of the others nearby... straight through the solid form of the other knight. Tanais wasn't entirely sure what that had been, but she was reminded even more strongly now that the senshi had spoken of illusions... and now there was something just a little wrong about Ghen. It was so subtle, but deep inside herself, she'd always known Ghen, in her soul if not in her mind. This Ghen... he felt like a stranger.
Tanais frowned and light seemed to bathe her from some unseen source. It played over her dark hair and lit her red eyes from within. Heaving, she thrashed and fought, pulling herself slowly from the dark sludge as she threw her arm aside and broke Ghen's grip on her. The Aspect of Mars bouyed her up, gave her strength, and filled her with determination.
"You ******** imposter..." She snarled as she broke free, landing hard on one knee before she struggled to her feet. Metal grated as she flexed her hands within her gauntlets. "Lose the face, or I'll ******** lose it for you."
Ghen stumbled back, his face a mask of shock. "No! Tanais! Kitten, please..."
She swung for him with a shout of rage, smashing a fist into the familiar unfamiliar face.
The whiff of sulfur made her nose scrunch in disgust but when she pulled her head away to look up at her fiance, vision blurred by tears, she did not notice his subtle change in appearance. “After this, we’ll go home,” Rainier promised him, and with the heel of her palm, she wiped away the tears and tried to re-compose herself.
That rotten-boiled egg smell was replaced by the more pleasant scent of his usual body wash. “We have to protect the wall. Help me hang the lanterns, please.” She pleaded with him. Yes- he was only a human, but if he was surviving here for the last almost 5 years, then surely he knew more about what was going on than she did.
Morland chuckled and it wasn't his usual pleasant laugh. It was deep and dark and felt like it had a malice in it. "I'm taking ye back! You aren't strong enough for this! And ye haven't been doing yer job as a Knight o' Voyager! What do ye think yer doing fancying up the place? Nobody wants to see that! And just how did ye get to be a Squire? Yer barely a Knight at all! Ye can't even fight!" He said this time accompanying it with an even darker laughter.
As much as he hated to admit it, whoever this was as he did not believe it to be his Ancestor was telling him some of his deep fears about being a Knight. As much as he loved to invite others to see his Wonder, deep down he was afraid of the rejection. As though no one would want to go. And what Alastor had said had made him think. Was the Knight Voyager just a thief? Someone who stole things just to have them and possibly brag about it?
It hurt. And the first time he had used his magic it had failed as well to do much of anything. He bit back his tongue and instead took his oversized pocketwatch out. "I'm enough of a Knight to have unlocked the magic at least. And even if I'm not it's master yet, I will be." He said practially snarling, staring at "Morland" as he used his magic. If the other had been the true Ancestor, he thought at least, that the magic wouldn't have effected an ally. This one though, it seemed to slow down and move like molasses. He was attempting to say something but Voyager wasn't having it. He moved the floodlight to the hand that was holding the chain to his pocketwatch and then sent a fist flying towards the imposter!
SSBrosB
Springtime Noob
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Shanyume
Anxious Friend
Offline
Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 8:45 pm
Acrucis, Super Senshi of Prayer
Once more thrown back into the isolating darkness where the smell of sulfur overwhelmed her senses., Acrucis hugged the lantern to her chest, the light from her renew fading as she squeezed her eyes shut trying to ignore thes ensation of insects crawling across her skin. Whatever it was that shared the same face as her was neither ally nor human.
Still-
It knew her biggest insecurity, knew how to jab at her so that she doubted herself and her role in this mission and to be honest, she was all too willing to hand the responsibility off to someone else. But now she was aware of the true nature and tried to focus on her senses. Tried to feel where her teammates might be.
Their voices were distant and auras felt… distorted making it almost impossible to tell how far away from her they were only that they were near-ish. So, she tried to use her Prayer of Healing on both Tanaris and Voyager to reach them so that maybe the light from her magic could help free them.
Super Sailor Scout Attack: Prayer of Healing Sailor Acrucis brings her hands together in a prayer motion and whispers her attack after which she holds her hands out in front of her in the direction of an injured individual within 15 feet of where she is standing. Both Acrucis's hands and the individual are bathed in a soft yellow light as a heal over time is cast. This attack can heal moderate cuts, scrapes, and bruises over the next 10 seconds (minor injuries heal in 5 seconds). It can reduce the severity of a major injury but will not completely heal it** and can be cast 3 times.
xSSBrosB
Up to you if you want him close enough to reach. THis is quite literally a shot in the dark for her.
xWhimsical Blue
same as above.
xKyuseisha no Hikari
Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:14 pm
Something pure, something powerful surged through the area again.
At first, it was a wild blast of magic, strong and destructive.
The chaos in the air drew back significantly, like it was recoiling in pain. Stretched thin from the blast of Phantasia’s Court Magic at the West Gate, and battered already by Tanais, Rainier, Acrucis, and Voyager, its hold at the East Wall was weakening. The illusions faltered; the walls between everyone came down.
The chaos manifestations evaporated.
But it wasn’t just that the Chaos was losing its foothold, it was that they were getting a second wind. A Royal Senshi’s signature flared, and then Ida’s Royal Magic spread in all directions and gave every Order ally a boost of strength. They weren’t completely revitalized, but it helped restore some of the energy they’d lost.
It helped focus them.
As the Chaos manifestations lost form, it became crystal clear–they still had something they needed to do.
The wind roared around them, and the clouds were darker than ever. The world around them was dim, and all of their lighting seemed to have lost much of its potency. The flames were nearly burned out, and the lights were flickering badly. The rain was coming down in sheets, as if there was still hope to wash Alastor’s allies away.
With the shadowy walls fading, they could all see each other again–though, it was through the flickering shadows of the great beast that had suddenly yanked them all to it. Its shadowy tendrils curled around them all and pressed them tightly against it, like it was trying to smother them all, but it was weak. It could hardly hold them. And, more than that, when the shadows thinned a bit, it was easy to see that there was a strange, dark, baseball sized gemstone at its core.
Shadows danced off of the monster and it tried so hard to hold them in place, to smother them in its darkness, but they could see what was at its core. What powered it.
They could destroy it.
Rainier’s illusion was shattered when the chaos weakened. Jordan’s form looked at her, and then morphed–in horror. The shadows grabbed at his wrist, his throat, and–
Consumed him. He didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. He screamed, and he was gone, and she was alone–surrounded by thrashing chaos that could barely hold her, on a world that wanted to devour her, too.
Acrucis’ bright light could not only heal, but it also burned away the shadows–significantly. She could free herself easily if she wriggled, and the chaos anomaly at the monster’s core hummed, like something vibrating through glass.
If they could destroy the chaos anomaly, they could push back the shadows. They could free themselves. They could destroy the monster.
Quote:
The chaos manifestations have been destroyed; if you are playing your own you can write out how you want them to disappear or assume they exploded in a burst of black shadows. There is heavy residual chaos in the area–and a writhing black shadowy beast whose form is distorting. A chaos anomaly seems to be buried in its core, but to destroy it, you’ll have to destroy the beast, too. A Court Attack has been unleashed on the battlefield and done heavy damage to a wave of shadows trying to breach the wall, and Ida’s Royal magic has given everyone an energy boost; due to the fluctuations of magic in the air, it can physically restore a character or restore some previously used magic. The closing prompt will be some time after 8PM EST on the 18th and will lead to an optional closing ORP!
He had felt the magic. Surprisingly it was a strong wave of Order magic which was welcome in the face of all of the chaos that was currently surrounding them. And as soon as it appeared to hit the illusions they were gone. Voyager let out a sigh of relieve at not having to fight his "ancestor" though it did unnerve him a bit. A trip back to his Wonder would definitely be required.
He put his pocketwatch back around into one of his pockets and saw that there a baseball sized gemstone at the core of all of the tentacles. Voyager first kicked one of them to make sure that it wouldn't be able to grab him again, before he found himself making his way over to the gem and hitting it as hard as he could with his fist! It really did make him wish he had some sort of offensive magic, but his hands would have to do for now.
When the others started to come around and attack as well he backed off a little, instead deciding to kick more of the tentacles back towards the core to see if it could damage itself a bit.
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 6:12 pm
Rainier, Page of Mercury and Acrucis, Super Senshi of Prayer
“JORDAN!” Rainier’s cry cut through the fog that separated them, forcing Acrucis into motion. With hands that still glowed a soft yellow from her magic, she swatted away at the shadows that she’d been thrown back into
“Rainier!” she called out as the shadowy walls faded and her friend came into view.
“Not again…” Desperately the Page fought to pull herself free, to reach out towards where a man stood not even a fraction of a second prior “Jordan-- JORDAN!!!” the sound of his scream seared into her mind as the shadows consumed him.
“RAINER!” It was a hard-fought struggle but Acrucis finally reached the Page’s side and grabbed hold of her arm to keep her from following after the illusion that had taken the form of someone most dear to her. “It’s not him!” she tried to reason but Rainier did not hear her, she tried to pull her arm free in a jerking motion but Acrucis held on tightly.
Anger swelled inside her, and without considering that an ally was so close, Rainier’s free hand balled into a fist and she turned swiftly and felt a sharp connection with someone rather than the same shadows that had grabbed at Jordan’s throat. “Let me go!” she snapped, staring down at the Senshi of Prayer who lay prone on the ground at her feet.
Shadows danced off the monster, blanketing Acrucis as she tried to sit up.
Her head throbbed and her eyes refused to focus properly. “He’s not real. The person you see isn’t real.” The monster’s core seemed to hum in response to her magic when she tried to push the shadows aside and when it finally faded, she used the renewed strength granted by the Princess to cast another Prayer of Healing, this time on herself and the other focused on the core.
The man might not be able to be saved, but if they could destroy this monster than maybe at least the renewed memory of him and their brief reunion could still be preserved even if his sudden departure could not be.
Shanyume
Anxious Friend
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Kyuseisha no Hikari
Crew
Dragonslaying Dragon
Offline
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 6:51 pm
Voyager’s brute force managed to crack the gem; it was already leaking small plumes of magi when Acrucis cast her magic. As she healed, the black gem withered; the force of her magic and the brightness of the light made the little gem shrink into almost nothing.
It was like a miniature black hole, and suddenly all of the shadows and the form of the beast that had been attacking them were absorbed into it. The air was rapid and volatile, and it was like a vacuum cleaner that existed only to suck up the shadows. It dropped the group down to the ground, and then just as as quickly as it had absorbed the energy around it, it released it.
The stone exploded and it pushed them all back with a gust of air so strong it sent them flying backwards a few feet. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but it was enough to spare them from the foul-smelling dark cloud of chaos that evaporated into the air.
For a split second, the chaos surged again. It was overwhelming and felt like it might get a greater grip and recuperate, but whatever footing it almost had was lost. A shockwave rippled from multiple locations, simultaneously. Within seconds, or a moment at most, the chaos anomalies were destroyed. The heart of the chaos was destroyed.
The natural threats seemed to lessen, too. The winds carrying rocky debris in the clouds seemed to slow; though the debris hovered in the air, they were no longer projectiles. The gusts closer to the ground no longer stung. Thunder dulled and then diminished, and the lightning stopped almost immediately.
The rain fell harder, but only briefly. It was long enough to put out the fires sparked during the storm. The river was surging, but the current seemed more controlled, and already the water level was lowering.
And then, the rain turned to a trickle and then faded altogether. The monstrous clouds thinned, and then pockets of them began to clear, and then they faded, too. Alastor’s world had been covered in dark skies for centuries--and now, the sunrise. The sky was already lighting up with pinks and oranges, not unlike Earth, but the colors were so vibrant and pure.
There were no shadows to block it. Alastor was a fresh, renewed world, thanks to them.
The great oak in the courtyard by the Hall had nearly a thousand years to grow to its immense size, and its roots had buried themselves deep into the ground. They cradled the Core of the world, and it was the greatest beacon of their success.
The liquid gold light of the Core stretched up through the oak tree and gave it a magical glow and–more than that, little golden lights bobbed through the air around the Hall like fireflies. They ranged in size from marbles to golf balls, and coming into contact with them felt like passing through soothing, warm pockets of air. There were thousands, easily–like the world was celebrating their victory with them.
It was peaceful now, and the oppressive, hateful chaos that had been smothering them before was gone. Now, the only thing left to do was take a moment to catch their breath, and then meet up back at the Hall.
Quote:
This is the last prompt based post for the roleplay! If you would like to continue writing you can, but this can also count for the close. All characters should head back to the Hall; the following roleplay is completely optional and players don’t have to post but their characters can be handwaved as attending. If your character would rather teleport home or otherwise leave Alastor without attending, please let me know! Thank you!
SSBrosB
Shanyume
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2022 9:58 am
Acrucis, Super Senshi of Prayer
Three times she had been knocked down now and three times she had risen back to her feet.
Whatever weakness the chaos manifestation illuded to was simply a mockery of doubts she had closely guarded over the years. If anything, this battle proved how wrong those words, those thoughts, were. Strength doesn’t only come in the form of being able to hit things with fists. But the willingness and determination to not quit.
For a moment she had wanted to. The desire to let the stronger version of herself take over and give up was definitely real. But when the veil was lifted and she saw the truth behind the radiant illusion, Acrucis did not stop.
Even now, after they had all been thrown backward by the sudden blast, she managed to rise again. To move towards her allies and check on each of them.
Voyager was closest and it was he who she attended to first while still keeping an eye on Rainier who had at least sat up and remained to stare in the direction of the departed illusion. “Are you ok?” Acrucis knelt by the squire’s side to offer aid if necessary since, of everyone, he had been the closest to the core and would have been hit the hardest.
SSBrosB
Shanyume
Anxious Friend
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SSBrosB
Springtime Noob
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2022 5:21 am
Shanyume
Voyager felt himself kneel as all of it seemed to end at once. The weather-stricken planet was slowly losing it's clouds and the thunder and lightning had stopped. They had somehow managed to destroy whatever the gem had been. And it seemed the other teams had done so as well since he highly doubted that just destroying the gem in front of them would have been enough to save the whole planet.
Acrucis was soon by his side and helping him from whatever damage he had received for the moment. He nodded when he finally got his thoughts back again. "Yeah, I'm... okay." Physically at least. His brain had been rattled by what the manifestation had done and he was eager to go back to his Wonder and do... something. He wasn't sure what at this time, but he felt a bad need to do so.
He slowly stoop up with the Senshi's help. "I think I'll be good for now. You should go check on the others." He said with a small smile.
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2022 10:48 am
Acrucis, Super Senshi of Prayer
“Ok,” for a brief moment she spared a glance over her shoulder towards The Garden and noted that the group sent there appeared to be leaving the area. “If you’re well enough to walk, it looks like everyone is heading back to the Hall. I’ll check on Tanais and Rainier if you want to start heading back as well.”
Acrucis rose, brushed the dirt off her knees and walked over to the Knight of Mars, “Tanais? Are you ok,” she asked in genuine concern while looking for any obvious signs of injury.
”SSBrosB”
”whimsical blue”
I’m unsure if you wanted Acrucis’ magic to have reached her while she was fighting the manifestation.
Shanyume
Anxious Friend
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Shanyume
Anxious Friend
Offline
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2022 12:36 pm
Rainier, Page of Mercury
Gone…
The Monster.
The oppressive chaos energy.
Jordan…
They were all gone as if they had never been and yet- she felt empty…
In a daze, Rainier sat up slowly. The heel of her palm pressed against her chest as she stared vacantly into the distance. Acrucis’ words continued to ring loudly in her ears that what she saw wasn’t real, that Jordan wasn’t real.
But he was.
Both her mind and heart were in agreement that the man that pulled her free from the shadows, the man that held her close just moments ago was him and for a blissful moment it felt like he had been deployed and this was finally the reunion she had desperately longed for. His voice was just as she remembered, and the strength of his hug that made her feel safe; they were all the same.
Since coming to Destiny City she never spoke of him, of how her fiance was murdered. A year was spent grieving before she was finally pushed forward by loving family to put down new roots and find a new purpose elsewhere. She resisted, of course. The burden of guilt weighed too heavily for her to forgive herself to leave and it wasn’t until she got the resolution she needed and, confirmation that the man who had broken into their house was not in jail but actually dead.
The scar from his loss ran deep, a long jagged line that cut to her core had taken many years to finally mend enough to allow herself to branch out and meet others outside of her work environment. Jeremy and his brother had helped easy the transition, but she remained reserved and professional both in and out of uniform.
Awakening as a Page of Mercury was the first time she felt like she had a purpose again.
But then- this happened.
That old old scar bled freely again and she wasn’t sure if it would heal over. The hurt she felt right now made it difficult enough to breathe.
So desperate to save him she had struck the one person she trusted the most. In that moment, Acrucis may as well have been the illusion since she had only ever been kind and supportive in every incident before. To try and stop her instead of helping save him, it felt so out of character that Rainier couldn’t stop to consider that there was even a shred of possibility that what she was claiming could be true.
The Senshi of Prayer moved from where Voyager got tossed and was walking over to Tanais when Rainier finally found some semblance of strength to stand up.
She did not want to be approached right now, did not want to stand in awkward silence expected to apologize when her heart felt so heavily betrayed. Until now, Chaos had taken the form of youma beasts or faceless blight, the most human of them were agents. But this time it took a precious memory and gave her something so real so-
No, she wouldn’t apologize, not right now. Perhaps later when she finally calmed down and compartmentalize what had occurred here on Alistor’s world. But for now, she just wanted to be alone.
