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 Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:21 pm
*As soon as Corbenik shows his face in front of the bomb's insignia, and shocks it...the bomb replies with a robotic, yet somehow sassy, voice:*
"ZZZT! Fiery Life Banning Is Now Deactivated. It Will Be OK, Pumpkin".
The timer stops, and the bomb deactivates. It's unclear if the static shock caused a malfunction, or if the bomb's designer had a weird sense of humor and esoteric password system. Either way, it's completely harmless now.*
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:31 pm
Brimmstone falls from the PuppeTendon strings, and is caught by Kyla. He's pretty worse for wear, and isn't going to be fighting anytime soon. He's barely conscious, but manages to give Kyla a thumbs-up.
"Forgive....Kold.....must...retreat...Professor's.....Lab.....portal..." *he coughs, then reaches up and tags your hand with his own.* "....tag...out..."
*His arms drop, and his Fire Gauntlets fall in front of Kyla's feet. Despite his 10 word run-on sentence, it's pretty clear what he's asking for. Quite a change from him trying to handle everything himself. Though, it's unlikely Murk will simply let you leave.*
*As the strings detract, feel a sudden burst of cold appear below you. Upon closer inspection, you can see Kold, X-Chan, and the Ichigo mech heading downwards to the deepest part of the woods. You see other threads retracting to the same place. One of the strings is blood-soaked, and you can see Raiden near it with that vampire from Murk's flashback.*
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:00 am
*Kyla lands. Since her arms are currently occupied by her K.O.'d brother-in-law, she scoops the gauntlets up with her tail, and awkwardly fits them over her hands. She steps through the portal and joins up with the rest of the group.*
Y'know, I was just thinking...I don't know what you pay Corbenik in, but I think at this point he's earned a raise. Or a promotion. Or buy him 50 packs for Yo-gurt-oh! Online, I hear they're starting their Year of the Cupcake promotion and adding cards with the Frosting mechanic. Oh...
*She suddenly remembers that she's got Kold's unconscious sibling. *
I did find this sassy lost child, mew mew. I don't suppose anybody's got any of those anime bandaids that fix all wounds?
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:35 am
Raiden rolls his eyes as he tucks the mandible behind his ear.
Man, there's like a billion Murks in this... let's call it a dimension? If I see a Murk, I'm just gonna bone him.
Ashura's soul gem shifts into a pair of gauntlets. Raiden grabs on to the bloody string with one gauntlet, and shoots a small flame from the other, using the string as a zip line to rejoin the party. He scans the group quickly.
Cool. So what's everybody else been up to while me and my sister were apparently out picking up dudes?
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Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 8:21 am
Kokujo looked over to the familiar voices as Kyla and Raiden joined them. The relieved sensation was brief however, as he quickly remembered Murk's previous tricks. How could he know they weren't more of Murk's illusions, and also, why the heck was Corbenik with Ky-
"You absolute douche-jerk!" Corbenik shouted, abruptly kicking Kokujo's train of thought in the nads "How dare you abandon me and force me to be the greatest saviour Gaia has ever seen!?" he continued, riding on Kyla's encouragement without even a hint of self-awareness "You were trying to replace me with a robot weren't you!?" he pointed accusingly at Ichigo "You think you can just Henry Ford me? IMPLAUSIBLE! I'm unionising the moment we get out of this sideways Slender level".
"You can't unionise just yourself, that's not even how they-" Kokujo, instinctively incensed by Corbenik's ridiculous logic, attempted to answer before once again being rudely interrupted "That's exactly what a robot lover would say! I have the mind to go live with Kyla in a house made entirely of virtual children's trading cards and syrup!"
"I would say 'please do' but I'm not sure I could live with putting that burden on Kyla..." Kokujo said, severely unamused.
He shook his head. Well, that was almost certainly the real Corbenik at least, and this gave him faith that he was sticking with the real Kyla and Raiden
"Good to see you both made it through" Kokujo greeted them, figuring by their comments that they had also encountered Murk's trickery in some form or another "I see you managed to recover Brimmstone, good, that'll take one of Murk's pieces off the board".
It was clear that most of the solemn mage's attention was still elsewhere, as his eye darted about the dim trees, expecting a new ambush at any time.
"Don't get too confident though, I feel the toughest part of this fight may still be yet to come..." he warned.
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2020 8:00 pm
*Kold nods to Kyla.* "Thanks. We got to get Brimmstone out of her somehow."*X-chan wiggles its way out of Kold's coat and derps around in the air in front of him.*  "Toasty Shmallow Guy! Needs chocolate! 3/10" *It teleports itself over to Brimmstone. Its usual bubbly demanor is replaced with an almost robotic tone.* "Analysphere."*It launches an etherial orb, which touches Brimmstone and odd numbers and symbols encircle him and expand to surround him. After a moment, the orb shrinks and gets absorbed back into X-Chan's forehead gem.* "Analysis comple..." *X-chan pauses for a moment, looking around itself.* "Primordial Soul Wavelength detected...recursing..." *X-chan closes it eyes, pauses for a moment, then opens them again.* "Analysis Complete.
Primary Diagnosis: Central Gaian Classification of Diseases (CGCD) Diagnosis Code: T31.99: Burns involving 90% or more of body surface with 90% or more third degree burns
Comorbidity Diagnosis: F32.S: Major depressive disorder, single episode
Addendum:
Priority Diagnosis: Damage to superego by immolation and despair. Soul wavelength at 20% normal parameters.
Recommended Treatment: Immediate evacuation for ambulatory care, and psychological coaching...." *X-chan perks up and regains is normal demeanor* ..and muffins!*X-chan flutters over to Kyla.* "Dr. Science Socks can help! I can amb'lance!"*X-chan's forehead gem glows, and the card given to Kyla from Prometheus before their Temple Quest shines. Looks like that'll be their ticket out of here after this fight.* *As the group follows the bloody threads, they converge into one spot. When the group first arrived in Horizon, they were greeted by dynamic and fast moving corpse of a man. His fighting style was so vicious, it was hard to believe he was just a patchwork cadaver. Looking at him now though..  *Nothing but rotting pieces of meat, barely held together by stitches and the PuppeTendon Devil Sorcery spell. The threads come out of him from all directions..even in places it shouldn't. His eye sockets, his feet, his spine, and more. Magic that sacrifices the user to the Devil: Pandemonium in exchange for power. In this case, did he take too much?* *Even as a corpse, Murk is grinning menacingly. Though he's completely still. The blood beneath him has long-since dried.* *As Kold approaches, he gets a bad feeling. Everything was so calculated before. Has Murk's zombie body given out?*  "That man's body...I no longer sense that renewing magical power coming from him. There were echoes of it when I fought him, but not now."*Kold speaks to Reishi, without taking his eyes off of Murk* "Yeah...there was an artifact called the Sky Tear at the Sky Temple. But that was extracted from him...has he been deteriorating ever since...?" *He points his hand towards Murk* "I'm not buying it. He's probably got something else planned, and we don't have time for this."*He grabs Sohi's hilt.* "Kyla, Raiden, Kokujo...do you think you can completely disintegrate Murk's body with your techniques? I don't want to take any chances, and I can't do that with my powers. I'll provide support with Glacial Corridor."
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 10:45 am
*Kyla tucks Brimmstone into the Shadichigo mech, giving her combined companions an affectionate pat on their metal frame*
Mew mew, you two are doing great. No matter what, take care of that guy, ok?
*The mech gives a double thumbs up and stands back a little ways from the group. The order was to protect the cargo, not engage in a potential fight.
Kyla draws Hien, the scabbard burning away and vanishing as the blade is exposed. Kyla's whiskers twitch*
Something doesn't feel right at all about this. I mean...after all that, and now all we have to do is shoot a bunch of attacks at a dried out husk and...that's that? I mean I'm all for toasting this creep, but all of us firing off power directly at him feels like exactly the thing he might want. So before we do that...I've got an old fashioned test I'd like to run...
*Kyla approaches the disgusting form of Murk and slashes at him with Hien. She imbues no golden power into the blade, and she does not use any spell or power connected to the sword. She goes with the simplest attack she can think of to see what the response will be from this supposed rotting husk*
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 11:06 am
Raiden frowns and taps the mandible tucked behind his ear as though it were a headset
This is Magic Butt to Mr. Thirsty, do you read me? This thing we're looking at, bullshit or not? Waiting on your instructions before initiating bone, over!
He's not even sure if the vampire is aware of anything in his current state, but figures that it couldn't hurt. He then sees Kyla approaching Murk. Without much time to respond, Raiden braces himself.
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 5:11 pm
Having taken back his normal pearch on Kokujo’s shoulder as the group moved on, the black cat raised an amorphous eyebrow at the rotting form of Murk revealed itself before them.
“What happened my man? You look like a J-rock music video” he commented.
“You also look a little bit like you’re trying to turn yourself into beef jerky. Well, it’s gonna’ be pretty easy since you’re already a bit of a jerk-y, oh!”
Corbenik made a finger gun with one of his paws in Murk’s direction.
“There’s a T31.99 for ya”
Ignoring his sassy counterpart, Kokujo raised a hand, igniting a small fireball. The darkness from the ample shadows surrounding him, cast partly from the flame itself, flowed and swirled around, engulfing and squeezing the fireball into a tight cocoon of shadow until it was barely a faint orange glimmer at the ball’s centre. Kokujo frowned as he concentrated on compacting the contained energy further and further into an ever more energetic state.
He took a sideways look at Kold as he was completing the preparations.
“I can use my Hochofen technique to try and blast him to pieces, but still, I feel like Kyla may be right, this seems a bit too easy an end for everything Murk had set up, hmm… ”
He turned back to observe carefully as Kyla was about to attempt her test. Remembering that strange technique Murk used on them at the end of their first encounter in this place made Kokujo somewhat wary of a direct attack without knowing whether he’d be blowing himself up along with the nihilistic zombie.
“Regardless, I’m ready. I’ll trust your judgement, say the word and I won’t hesitate” He narrowed his eye at Murk.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 4:38 am
*Kold begins to draw his blade, but slows as he notices Kyla and Kokujo's hesitation. He takes a deep breath, and slows his thoughts down.* "I may be a former assassin...and among us, I know Murk the best...but you're right. Something's especially off here...even more than usual. He could be taking advantage of my bias." *He releases his grip on Sohi, trusting in his wife's and friend's judgement* *Murk snickers. He begins to speak, despite his mouth not moving.* "How funny. I always admired that cut-throat precision you had when we were part of the Shin Guard, but it seems like you're thawing with age. Overthinking doesn't suit you. Should I call you 'Lukewarm' now?"*A beeping can be heard from Murk's body* "Hope is a convenient lie people tell themselves. The idea that the Beast of the Great Cataclsym gets to live after all the life it devoured...even after all of the sacrifices it took to take it down...I can't help but laugh at how absurd it is. The one time this Engineered Devourer of Life would hesitate is against me...how absurd.
Kold. Haven't you ever wondered where this psychic power of yours came from? That you'd be trained to use such incredible power for such a mundane result: to manipulate the molecules in the area themselves...to produce the effects of cold? To simply slow them down?
You're no Special Snowflake. Just another in a heap of failures. You may be closer than some of the others, but you're still nothing but part of the ongoing attempt to replicate that Eldrich Frost Overlord. Feeding on the souls of others to mutate the abilities of the mind and spirit. Burning through life to fuel your ability to produce cold. Even your body, your 'race', is a means to that end.
How funny. You lost nearly all of the souls you acquired as the Cataclsym Beast....and your kindling is running low. Sooner or later, you're going to need more souls if you want to keep 'your' power, 'Kold'."*The beeping intensifies.* "Though I'm one to talk about using borrowed power. Using a convenient 'allegiance' with Schemers using a hodge-podge of meat that Jack stitched together. Faust may be a life-obsessed academic, but at least he has some skill for his craft. Jack's handiwork is useless garbage, better off destroyed."*Two distinct CLICKs are heard, one after the other.* *The bone Raiden is holding begins to shift and turns into a bomb. The memory of Orlok completely disintegrating in the sun flashes across your mind. There was nothing left of Orlok back then, not even bones. The bomb beeps loudly in Raiden's ear for 3 seconds, then explodes after that time expires.* *A split second after, Murk's body explodes violently, releasing shrapnel and Murk's exploded body outward in all directions. Ahead of the shrapnel is a grey and black blur. It's propelled towards Kokujo at great speed. As Kokujo looks up, he sees Murk's spiritual body. Though something is weird. Where's his left hand? Murk flips and throws Kokujo into a nearby tree with the momentum from the explosion, getting stabbed by the shrapnel in the process. It looks like he threw Kokujo out of harm's way for now.*  "People in society are raised to believe that there's something called 'fairness'. That life is a game that can be won or lost. But those who actually win consistently have one thing in common: even if they lose, they don't allow situations where the other person wins."*Murk’s left hand is covered in fresh blood, and is holding a dark-red light. He infuses it into his scythe and the weapon seems to become infused with life. He rushes towards Reishi and cuts his head off again.*  "..h....how....!?"*Reishi collapses and wisps of souls flood outward from him. The last of his life leaves him...as he completely vanishes from his immortal coil.* *Murk turns around to face Kokujo, and points at him with his left hand...dripping with Kokujo’s fresh blood.* "Kokujo Atradeus. I have a message from your dear-old Dad: 'I'm taking Skeith back.' "*Kokujo feels an intense pain as he has a hand-shaped hole in his chest from the Megas Claw.*
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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2020 3:51 am
*Kold knows that Murk is trying to mess with him, but some of what he says piques his interest. Source of psychic power? 'Eldrich Frost Overlord'? Could it be that the souls he gained as part of the Cataclysm Beast are still within him? What if Murk was right?
His thoughts are interrupted as the beeping starts. He can't afford to get distracted now. There's not enough time, recognizing the distinct sound of Black Kat Industries explosives timers.*
"BOMBS!"
*He dives towards Kyla and Brimmstone, creating a spherical ice shield around himself and them. As much as he can, he weaves as many layers of ice around it as possible.
With the thought of what Murk said, he looks closely as the ice forms. He notices a similar, yet distinctly different, energy to the surrounding ghost fog emanating from himself...reaching outward and chilling the air around them. He tries to move the thought out of his mind for now, and replaces it with "Protect Your Wife". Feelings of guilt and self-annoyance surface, as he thinks about how he acted towards her earlier. He's not going to let that happen again.
Kold reaches out to Kyla as he approaches. Love for his family and determination in his eyes, he locks eyes with her. He won't be able to get there in time without her help.
The beeping stops, and the explosion reaches out to Kold violently.*
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![[Kold]'s avatar](https://a1cdn.gaiaonline.com/dress-up/avatar/ava/5c/8d/6fc324e7168d5c_flip.png?t=1501360374_6.00_01)
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