Something wrapped around her ankle and started to drag Hyperborea away before she even realized what was happening. On instinct she dispelled her staff and tried to claw at the ground looking for anything to grab onto to stop herself from being pulled away by whatever this unknown force was. However she had no luck in finding anything to grab hold of and she was quickly pulled deep into the trees separated by impenetrable darkness she didn't know what became of her companions. At least whatever had gotten ahold of her had left her be.
"Are you guys ok?" She tried to call out to the others as she got back to her feet. She was looking around trying to get a baring on where she was. She could feel she was closer to the chaos now. As she was looking around she heard the sound of leaves crunch and a bow string being pulled taut. The knight of the Cosmos spun on her heels just in time to see an arrow aimed right at her she barely ducked the projectile as her assailant let it fly in the space a single breath. Hyperborea looked up at her attacker as they let out a malevolent chuckle, her breath caught in her throat as she saw the attacker's face.
She was starring at a reflection of herself. Well not exactly herself as she was now but a possibly future version of herself she had seen in a vision many years ago. This copy of herself wore the colors of the Dark Kingdom, a sleek black uniform with a starry cape draped over one shoulder and accentuated with pieces of silver armor that held cosmic motifs etched into them. She carried a black bow the length of her body and had a full quiver of arrows.
"That's not possible! What are you?!" She demanded, the oath mark in her burned as she gazed at the figure. She knew this version of herself, she'd never forget the images of her once future where years of fighting and killing in a fruitless attempt to secure peace had left her cold and empty. She remembered betraying Hvergelmir and giving herself body and soul to that corrupt princess and to the Negaverse, the very people she hated, all so she could be on the "winning side" so that she could see an end to the war even if it meant aiding in the destruction of Order. She had hunted and killed in the name of Chaos in that future and it made her sick to her stomach just thinking about it. She had taken every precaution to make sure she never became that person, including an oath on her very life. By her transcendence markings it was evident that this future was no longer possible, yet it still haunted her knowing what she could have become.
The general laughed. "Oh I'm you, I'm what you should have been. What you could have been had you not been a sniveling coward." She purred voice dripping with venom. Fast as lightning the copy had notched another arrow and let it fly towards Hyperborea. The knight barely managed to avoid it lodging in her her arm but it still grazed her leaving a red line across her bicep. "You're such a pathetic girl, high on your own self-righteousness but unable to actually do anything to make the world better." The copy fired arrow after arrow at the knight as she dodged and rolled out their path a few glancing her slicing open flesh in their wake.
Hyperborea winced at the pain but she pushed it down and summoned her staff. "I don't know what you really are but I won't listen to any of your nonsense." She gathered starlight into a ball at the tip of her staff which she sent flying at her double, who teleported out of its path and behind Hyperborea. The general looped her bow around her neck. Hyperborea dropped her staff to grab the body of the bow to stop it from choking her. "I'll just kill you now and take back the life that should have been mine." The copy hissed in her ear.
Hyperborea was struggle with the bow and the general's strength but she managed to run her thumb over her signet ring channeling the power of the cosmos as a silvery sheen of starlight covered her body, she elbow her doppelganger in the stomach and ducked under her to escape. She engaged the copy in hand to hand combat, the double hissing at burn of her aspect. "I'll eliminate you first and then find the others."
Kyuseisha no Hikari
Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 7:36 pm
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 Purification 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. Destroy–something...
But the illusion was quick to restore, but it wasn’t quite perfect. Maybe the trees were a little lopsided, or flashed an odd, inverted color. Maybe there was something just a little off about their would-be companion–like looking in a mirror, or like they had a filter over them.
For a brief second, they lost their physical form and looked almost transparent, but they corrected quickly. Lightning struck above with blinding force, as if to distract them from any distortion.
But, it was too late; the illusion concealing the sky faded and they could see the dark storm clouds. A shower of wet rain poured in, refreshing and clarifying. The wind whipped around them with so much force that it could have knocked them to the ground.
Caliban, if he were playing close attention, might have noticed Gorner’s feet shifting into the ground; it looked like they turned to shadows and briefly melded with the writhing darkness on the ground. She lost a few inches of height and spoke, but no words came from her mouth. She didn’t seem to notice, but she looked desperate and expectant, like she was waiting for him to whisk her away from here, away from this.
Solaris’s sister froze and her face contorted into something unrecognizable. A monster–wraithlike and awful. The skin melted from her face and she opened her mouth disproportionately wide and screeched with such force that it felt like needles in Solaris’ ears.
The chaos had already been weakened; the brightness of the floodlike burned her away.
As Annika evaporated into smoke and ash, the other Solarians did too.
Each with a horrible scream that echoed in her ears. The smell of sulfur was heavy in the air, but she was equipped with the floodlight–she could tear down the illusions around her. She could find the chaotic anomaly they’d been tasked with locating out here.
She could strike while it was weak–and maybe help the others.
Realta had been dropped immediately; Metis exclaimed in pain and stumbled backwards. She stumbled, and hit the ground–hard.
And then, the shadows moved in.
They washed over Metis and she stiffened. Her body went rigid and she screamed–an inhuman, broken scream. Her ankles had disappeared into the ground. Up to her wrists had melted into the shadows.
And then, it looked like the shadows were twisting around her, twisting her apart.
“Ree-al-ta” she gasped brokenly; shadows wrapped around her wrists and yanked them to the ground. The wind whipped around Realta, and the shadows seemed to slap at her too.
“No,” she gasped. “No, no, no--Realta, help me!”
She was crying. Big, black tears bubbled down her cheeks but they fell to the earth like ink.
The shadows pulled her into the ground. She melted into the shadows.
Realta was surrounded by silence–but the floodlight was on, and burned a hole in front of her that she could see through–a path towards the sickening chaos anomaly they’d been tasked with finding.
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 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 have a prompt to attack the chaos anomaly and destroy the source of energy out here, or you can try to reunite with the others!
Light shown through the figure of her sister, and other Solarians beyond her. Solaris’ eyes widened. It only solidified to her, agonizing as it was, that she’d made the right call.
Annika was dead. Wonderful as it was to see her again, to hear her again, to hug her again… her elder sister was dead. And this was not the way to regain her. She’d make good on her promise, even if it was only spoken to a creature wearing her sister’s face.
A monster she reveled for what it was. Her stomach churned, and she wanted to recoil. But she managed to steel herself enough to keep the light pointed at the Chaos entity. The screeching, the pain she caused, that made Solaris grimace, trying to duck her head somewhat to smother the sound from her poor ears. The sound echoed, pierced… it’d ******** haunt her, she could tell.
I’ll find you again, sister. I’ll rip away the Chaos that took your lives, my people. I promise you this. The words were murmured as as much a prayer as they were a vow. An ancient language that no other being had spoken in over two hundred and fifty years… except her.
They burned her throat as the tears burned her eyes. She hated this. A part of her was screaming. Like she’d killed them. Her people. Annika. She killed them.
Did you bring the Chaos here?
Was that what her people thought of her? Yes, she was sure some—many, likely at the end—had thought. Part of her wasn’t sure she could even deny it. She hadn’t excised it from her world. She hadn’t saved her people.
The burning in her throat grew. It bloomed into an ache in her chest, it singed her tongue.
Solaris screamed.
It was a sound of rage, of pain, of regret, of guilt…
But, perhaps, it carried beyond the Chaos to Realta, Hyperborea, and Caliban.
"Fight back! Whatever you do, fight back! It’s not real, so fight back, and trust what you’re here for is right!"
Things she wished, at times, people had once said to her, eons ago.
Solaris moved forward again. Past the ashes and smoke that drifted through the air. Past the wraith-like creatures that wore her peoples’ faces. She shown the floodlight on their forms, sneering all the while. Hating them, but each one… she’d try to remember all their faces.
Her feet took her deeper into the forest, towards the large mass she’d seen while gliding. Approaching it made her skin crawled. Something inside her—instinct, perhaps—screamed to run away. But Solaris forced herself forward. Within ten feet of it. The limit she needed to fulfill.
Slowly, a smile formed. It wasn’t overly happy or sunny. It wasn’t childish or mischievous. But she… smiled. Relief. Satisfaction.
"Once Alastor’s rid of you… my next goal is to rip you out of my world. For good. You’ve devastated enough. I hope you suffer, however you can, for all the lives you’ve taken from all of our worlds."
She lifted a hand, pointing her fingers like a gun towards the Chaos.
"Catalytic Spark."
She snapped her fingers, and when the tiny, tiny spark flared to life, Solaris sent the golden ball of energy and light, directly towards the Chaos.
She felt for sure she was being cruel to Metis, and that horrified her. But something deeper, something truly agonizing, refused to leave the others behind. That, somehow, the notion of abandoning others was… worse?
Realta landed on her feet, immediately moving to grab the floodlight. It was then she noticed Metis glowing out of the corner of her eyes. She turned quickly, fur rising along her back and tail. Metis was… wrong.
"…stars guide us…"
Her blood ran cold, and in that moment, Realta felt a fool. "…Metis is safe. Isn’t she? No, you wouldn’t tell me anything…" The guilt she’d felt for telling Metis to leave… it was bitter on her tongue, but some other part of her felt proud. She wouldn’t abandon those who truly needed her.
But Realta felt so sick. Watching her girl stumble, screaming, consumed by the shadows…
Somewhere, she could hear someone screaming, and her ears flicked uncomfortably.
Realta could only direct the light towards them, push them back… and hopefully destroy the figment that was not her girl. "…may you go in peace, whatever you are," Realta murmured, before she grabbed up the floodlight and ran off.
She could see through the hole the floodlight had made for her, and ahead…
The Mauvian pointed not only her floodlight at the mass of Chaos, but also Hyperborea’s as well once she summoned that from subspace, too.
Kyuseisha no Hikari
She points her fingers with one hand like a 'gun' to direct her magic at a target. Snapping those fingers, Solaris creates a spark that stays in front of her hand. This spark is the catalyst for a rapidly growing flood of energy to pool into an expanding, fuzzy ball in front of her hand. It maxes out in size of about 3 inches diameter (the size of a baseball). This ball of golden, condensed light and energy then shoots out towards the target Solaris' pointer finger is directed at. The ball can travel up to ten feet before exploding and dispersing, even if it hasn't hit a target by that point. Anyone hit by the ball itself, or the resulting explosion, are subject to blunt force damage and rapid, high heat when the ball explodes that last for only five seconds. The extent of the damage is up to the player, at minimum should cause small bruises, and redness on exposed skin from the heat. Solaris can use this magic up to three times a day.
Something didn't seem right with Gorner. If the rest of her team didn't make it, how would she be able to find him so quickly? And she had gone silent... Would she have acted this way? It looked like she was starting to get... shorter? It was hard to tell with all of the darkness around them, but she almost seemed to be fading into it.
Then he heard a noise. It was horrifying to say the least. Not that it was scary, but the emotion that he could feel from it unnerved him! And when he thought about it for a moment, still attempting to fight whatever was pulling at his legs, Gorner definitely wasn't there. He wished that she was and perhaps that was why he was seeing her now but it was not her!
"No! You aren't that much of a coward!" He kicked sent a powerful kick to the chaos grabbing his legs and then tugged his arm out of her reach. He moved and sent a fist towards what was tugging on him! "Seal Matrix!" He yelled as he slammed his fist on it!
Quote:
Seal Matrix When he hits an opponent with his fists, causes them to be temporarily paralyzed for 15 seconds, where he hit his opponent (the same was as in the basic attack), but can be used 4 times. If he hits in quick succession, then the effect stacks (so if he hits twice quickly, that's 8 seconds). However, for the stack effect to take place, he must hit a different spot. He cannot hit the same spot. Starting at this stage his hands glow as he is about to hit.
Kaefaux
He heard her!
Kyuseisha no Hikari
SSBrosB
Springtime Noob
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Kyuseisha no Hikari
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Dragonslaying Dragon
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 8:51 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 Solaris, Realta, Caliban, and Hyperborea, its hold past the River 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.
With the shadowy walls down, they could all see each other again. A little worse for wear, but alive. Thin tendrils of shadowy darkness twisted anxiously but it looked like it was torn between trying to slide past them or retreating. The chaos anomaly they’d been tasked to find was there, right there, a few yards in front of them.
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.
Solaris’ magic sent sparks towards the chaos anomaly, and at first it was deflected by a wall of shadows that tried desperately to block it, but the second her magic hit it, it exploded, like fireworks and glitter and sparkler. It spread like fire and oil over so much of the chaos that it burned well past the shadowy shield. The anomaly was a black, baseball sized gemstone, and it cracked when her magic blew past it. Dark, sulfuric clouds grew from it at a reckless, overwhelming speed, but the chaos was losing. It couldn’t hold on. Once the anomaly had been hit, everything started to fall apart. But, it wasn’t completely destroyed. Yet.
Realta’s light helped keep the shadows at bay, and if she were to shine it at the anomaly it would have shrunk under the intensity of it. It was in its last throes of life–they were so close!
Caliban’s attack was a striking success; Gorner exploded in a bitter smelling smoke. She screamed and thrashed and tried to claw at him before she faded, but it was too late–she was gone. The shadows were too weak. And he was still strong enough to help finish the job; the chaos anomaly was within sight, and with enough force he could help bring that down, too.
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. A heavy residual chaos is in the area, and the chaos anomaly is in plain sight. It’s a baseball sized black gem with shadowy smoke billowing off it; it cannot escape, it cannot attack, and it cannot defend itself. They can destroy it now and strike a vital blow to the chaos. 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!
Hyperborea felt Princess' magic pure and good. It brought her back to her senses as she realized it made no sense for her to waste her time here. The form of her duplicate seemed to shudder and distort for a moment. "Of course you're not real just a nightmare, and its more than past time I woke up." She couldn't waste anymore time the others might need her after all.
She channeled her magic into her staff the tip beginning to glow a brilliant silver as she raised it into the air the whole area exploded in a brilliant blast of intense starlight. The duplicate screamed in pain as the burning light enveloped it. Hyperborea her eyes magically protected against the bright light saw the form of the chaos illusion fissile and dissolve into black smoke with one final scream.
Hyperborea heard the others, that was a relief but it sounded like fighting. She needed to get back to them. She felt a familiar power, Princess Ida's power wash over her. The minor cuts she had received from her fight healed leaving only the rips in her uniform as proof they had been then.
She raced back to the others to find a baseball sized gem radiating chaos energy, it was clear this was the manifestations. She looked for the others as she once again channeled magic to her staff the tip glowing bright silver ready to loose her magic on the evil object. "Is everyone all right?!" She called out to the others.
The waves of magic she felt were… fascinating in their own ways. One that was just destructive and she laughed somewhat seeing how Chaos recoiled from it. But then another energy flared, far stronger than any she’d felt before. She rose a brow, turning slightly towards where it seemed to emanate. Something to look into later.
What magic she’d just spent on her magic felt revitalized, and she gazed down at her hand, wiggling the fingers. "Do you know how much it rankles that I’m back to this again?" The bitter words were directed to the Chaos, but as others began to enter the area, she wasn’t being quiet. "That other magic would have been way more helpful here. But could be worse, yeah?" Rhetorical, she stared at the small black gem. A source. The dark, disgusting winds it pushed and fueled just had her snarling. Was this what it looked like on her world, too?
Yelling at it was cathartic, in a way.
"We’re alive," she tossed almost blasé to Hyperborea, as if bored with the situation. Solaris’ eyes never left the Chaos gem.
She lifted her hand again and once more pointed towards it. "Catalytic Spark. Would you just blow up already?"
The crystal wasn’t dust yet, which was the source of her foul mood. Her entire focus was just on fixing that.
Realta could feel relief wash over her like a warm blanket seeing the other two were alive and whole. Solaris… well. She was certainly alive and whole, but she hadn’t seen such a serious look on the young woman before…
The use of the explosive magic seemed to do a good trick, revealing the rather small gem within that was the apparent source of the Chaos for this area. Both the floodlights were kept pointed at the crystal, and seeing another round of Solaris’ magic being cast, the Mauvian directed herself towards the gem in turn. It wasn’t very often she used her laser, the cost on her energy was usually far too high… but she could take the calculated risk in this situation.
"Attack if you can, but try to keep a distance! Don’t get yourself caught up in anything," she called in a warning to the others, not needing anyone getting hit by ranged magic.
Thinking of the pain she’d felt seeing Metis so hurt, of the guilt and confusion she’d felt to the idea of abandoning others, the star on Realta’s forehead began to glow before a blast of energy condensed and fired towards the Chaos.
Caliban winced as he heard "Gorner" scream. It was something he hadn't ever wished to hear and even if it wasn't her, it was still very close and still looked like her.
Soon enough he saw the rest of them, thankful for all of the noise they made and magic they let loose. It had helped dispell the illusion. He watched as the others let off their attacks, mostly Solaris, as he managed to get himself off of the ground and see what they were now attacking. Some black... gem of sorts. Whatever it was, it was probably the cause of all of the illusions that they saw.
He let their attacks go before running in and hitting it himself. "Seal Matrix!" He said as he hit the gem, hoping that it would at least damage it. It would be hard to tell since it was a paralyzing attack, but maybe it would help weaken it a bit to allow the other's attacks to do more damage.
Kaefaux
Aurelius0815
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Springtime Noob
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Kyuseisha no Hikari
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Dragonslaying Dragon
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 6:53 pm
Caliban hit first, cracking the gem; he managed to step back after hitting it with his magic and avoided the blast from his allies. When Realta fired her laser, when Hyperborea let loose her magic, when Solaris’ magic blasted forward and charged the air around herself and the stone, a kaleidoscope of light erupted. Their magic seemed to meld together and slammed down into the stone with unbeatable force. When the stone exploded, it pushed them all back with a gust of air–not enough to hurt, just enough to put distance between them.
Which was a small, unintended mercy, because it exploded into a thousand little glass shards like tiny pellets. They dissolved in a wave of dust and smoke before they could make contact.
But then, 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!
It was the second time she'd uttered the word with such relief and joy. It was gone. It shattered. Around them, the world was already responding. It was clearing up the weather, it was sunny out--or would be, once the sun rose fully. The brief rough drenching was worth it to see the fires out, and the river was already calming.
The weakening winds, at least, was a bittersweet thing to her. But for what the world gained? She'd no complaints. It'd been a fun little gift while it'd lasted.
She watched, eyes wide, as light bloomed from the great tree near the Hall. Seeing that light, a true light at the end of the darkness... that brought the prickling again to her eyes.
Realta looked up at the Solarian senshi, noting the extra shimmering by her eyes that had nothing to do with the natural state of her skin. Wet as she was, she still moved over to rub against the young woman's legs, purring gently.
"You all did wonderfully. Truly, you've shown why you are the guardians of your worlds and wonders. Be proud, each of you, for what you've done today." She spoke softly, gently, to Caliban, Hyperboria, and Solaris. Proud of them, puffed up with it in fact, at what they--and all who had come to Alastor--had accomplished.
"We'd best go see how everyone else is doing, hm?" Above her, Solaris just swallowed and nodded, before she bent down to scoop up the Mauvian. Realta didn't object--though she did quickly send away the floodlights to subspace for transport--and tucked her head under the other's chin, purring to offer what comfort she could.
These events, at least, seemed to offer something far more important--
