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 Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:14 am
A twenty-foot black pillar of rock juts up from the ground in this hell-torn landscape, the peak of which had perforated the skull of what was once a mighty demon. Its bones curled down the side of the miniature mountain, as if a great lava burst had done the beast in and instantly cooled. The skull's jaw hung slack, as if it were due to fall off at any given moment. The jagged stone that had delivered the killing blow had been manually stripped away here, and an intricate throne had been carved, giving the appearance that it was set in the cave of the open beast's mouth.
A lone figure stands at the lip of the gaping skeletal grimace. His body is lined with armor similar in appearance to the structure he stood in. His only visible features are his eyes and a strangely large, rune-covered, twitching and pulsating demonic arm. Flames lick out from beneath the helmet, and ever-pained eyes peek out between each flicker. A sickening sizzle can be heard within the helmet as the skin burns away, yet with each blink the eye is rejuvenated, allowing a few more seconds of agonizing sight before another layer of flesh is blinked away. The arm kept making slight erratic movements, as if it were not his arm and his body were rejecting it. Where the arm connected to the shoulder, there appeared to be prayer beads wrapped around a delicate cloth, one that should not have been able to withstand the heat of Hell, and yet was there, draped across his back and covering the arm on the opposite side. The prayer beads themselves were wrapped in barbed wire that was cutting into the only spec of humanoid skin that was visible. Every inch or so there was a red-hot bolt, as if someone had used searing steel to bind it in place. The bolts still glowed and gave off a slight hiss with each raspy breath that was taken. Blood could be seen trickling out between the pieces of armor. It pooled at his feet and continued flowing down the side of the structure, hissing as it hit the scorched ground like liquid in a hot frying pan. For all intents and purposes, the man seemed to be constantly dying. And yet, where was there to go for someone whose body had been broken so frequently, and yet was already in Hell?
A brutal scene sprawled out before his eyes. An endless sea of demons were marching directly towards the spire that he had claimed for himself. The man heaved a heavy sigh and spoke out loud, as if he were narrating to himself.
"So this is what it has come to? After hundreds of years of torture, and well over two-thousand years of carving out my own space in my own little corner of hell, THIS is what it comes to?" He flexed the demon arm, as if warming it up to be put to use. It gave an involuntary spasm, the runes glowed, and the beads tightened themselves, digging in and drawing more blood. The man hardly winced though. This is how he had lived for decades, the pain was nothing new, just another annoyance. He had more desperate things to worry about.
The army ceased its march directly in front of the structure, and a lone demon flew up to stand face-to-face with the figure.
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:31 am
"Welcome to my home. Thanks for bringing so many friends. Unfortunately I didn't order enough pizza for everyo-" The man's snide remarked was cut short as a clawed hand reached out and grabbed his throat. The demon spoke in a strange gutteral language, as if a fat drunken German guy was trying to speak the language of the Orcs from Lord of the Rings.
"My lord grows tired of your presence, and I grow tired of your incessant human words. You are only tolerated because of your abilities, and because of the potential you possess. Were it not for the fact that you might be our link to Man's world, you would be living a much more pathetic existence in OUR world. But our patience grows thin, and rumors are abound that you have discovered a way across. It's now or never, fool. We are here to escort you away." The demon motioned towards his army.
The man smirked beneath his face-coverings. He reached up with his demonic arm, grasping the demon's forearm. He spoke slowly and deliberately as his grip tightened. "As a matter of fact, I did find a way. And I was so close to passing through, myself. But you guys had to go and do... whatever... to my followers. And now this. You're forcing my hand in this situation. I still had preparations to make. Guess I'm gonna have to wing it." With a violent twitch, he crushed the demon's arm; bone, muscle, and all. Large black wings sprung bloodily from his back, tearing through the skin and the armor like they were made of paper. The man took flight, tossing his mangled visitor down to the ground at the outrage of his "friends." The clock had started, every second counted now. No more time for chit-chat. No more time for planning. It was simply "Go-Time."
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:25 am
If there is one thing to be said about Hell, it is NOT a silent place. The shouts of the dead echo constantly, they come in waves and they are always horrid and gut-wrenching, always changing and fluctuating so that it never becomes just background noise. One moment it's the agonized calls of the tortured damned, the next it's the blood-curdling screams of millions of horrified women, then on to the angered bellows of the wrathful, and bring it home with the pleas to make it all end. If you are in the right place, the laughter and delight of the demon throes can be heard as they bring misery and despair upon their victims.
And yet, none of this was as overpowering or frightening as hearing the enraged warcry of 9,374 battle-ready demons who would love nothing more than to spill your blood for entire centuries at a time with no break or rest or time to even fully heal.
The man flew with all his might, demon wings beating furiously and endlessly at the stagnant, heavy air, trying to escape, trying to find where they had moved his artifacts from when he first entered their world. The thought of it still baffled him. When he had been presented with the artifacts a few years back, he didn't even recognize them as his. They had his aura and his magic embedded deep within, but he had no recollection of what they were or who they represented. In fact, he had lived in agony for so long that he forgot what it was like to be normal, to be alive. But he had what he called dreams. Flashes of people, and glimpses of a place. And in each vision, they could be understood as saying one word. "Sanc." It had to be his name. It's the only thing that kept bleeding through, that kept drawing him in. He heard the word over and over, and each person he saw he felt desire seeping past all the darkness and all the clouds in his mind. Nobody in hell referred to you by name, they strip you of even being identified, you're just "you" and everyone else is "you" and none are worth anything but being torture victims for eternity. But something kept calling to him, and he had to find out what, it was beginning to drive him more insane than Hell itself.
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 12:17 pm
The fastest of the herd were nipping right at his heels. A quick glance back, and he could see them clearly, already brandishing weapons, blood lust clouding their eyes and driving them with a power he had never seen so strongly before. He was now entering the main demon city, the holding place of the Dark Lord's throne, and the place he knew he'd find what he was searching for.
As he flew, the man did a corkscrew in mid air, snatching a small fairy-looking demon out of the air and tearing it in half. Another bird-like demon was frantically swinging a short sword mere inches from his feet. He felt the steel slice into the meat on the arch of his foot, and as the wound slowly sealed itself shut, he tossed the two pieces of demon back into the bird's face. The distraction was sufficient enough for him to pierce its eyes with two of the demon claws, and he sped off as the bird demon spiraled down to the ground. Still others were catching up, and he redoubled his efforts of escaping. His muscles cried out for rest, he'd been flying for what had felt like two days straight with no break at all, and the army showed no signs of slowing down or giving up. The bones in his wings creaked and groaned with each forceful push, the skin began to tear and heal and tear all over again with the strained effort.
Two fireballs arced over him, one above his head and one so close to his shoulder that he felt the heat as it passed by. Various arrows whizzed by, and one of them struck him in the back, staggering his flight for a brief moment. He caught a small demon with a quick punch, but another one latched onto his neck and dug its claws in, as if trying to choke him. The larger ones were quickly catching up to him. An arrow pierced both the arm of the demon and the man's neck as a fireball erupted in his face. He could feel the skin trying to heal around the arrow and being rejected, and heard the squeal of his carry-on friend. He reached behind him with the demon arm, grasping the demon and tearing him free. His arm was ripped off in the process, and was still pinned to the man's neck via the arrow.
The man snapped off a piece of the arrow, but immediately caught the fist of a massive demon to the chest. He slammed into a wall, coughing up a large amount of blood, and was barely able to stay aloft and not plummet to the ground. He ripped the rest of the arrow free, allowing it to free fall side-by-side with the small demon arm. A massive hulk-like demon leapt from the ground and smashed him through the wall and into a building. Four fireballs came screaming through the opening, resulting in a massive explosion that sent him flying even further through the rubble. He bounced off the roof of the next building, but caught himself before he tumbled off completely. A mass of ranged attacks were raining down on the building he was just in, a tremendous amount of debris being tossed about. He used the confusion to slip out, and busted his way into a different building nearby.
It appeared to be abandoned, as most of the demons had vacated to make this warm welcoming party for him. He took a moment to allow his body to catch up with the healing process, closing his eyes and propping his head up on his normal fist. "Sanc." He opened his eyes, wildly searching around. He swore he actually heard it this time, not just imagined it. The word echoed in his head. Sanc. Sanct. Sanct. Wait... Sanct? The demons could be heard right outside, he didn't have time to think what that meant. He had to move, he had to escape. But as he stood, he felt drawn. Not away from the building, but towards a table that was currently covered by a large heavy black tarp. He flung the tarp off of it and saw an array of various instruments, some seemingly hell-born and some that were obviously from the world of the living. A banging was heard on the door to the room he was in, but he couldn't tear himself away from this table. His flaming eyes scoured the table frantically, until he saw it. A small black box, no bigger than the box a ring would come in. He knew not of the significance or how to make it work, but it was the only item found on him that leaked such heavy magic, even through the thousands of years he'd dwelled here. He grasped it in his hands as the doors flung open.
"There he is! KILL HIM!!!"
Dozens of demons poured into the room, some of them so blinded by their berserker rage that they were tearing apart their fellow demon soldiers to try to get a piece of the man. There was nowhere else to go. No more time. He closed his eyes, holding the box firmly in his normal hand, almost trying to pour the entirety of his will into it. Two swords pierced his chest, a clawed hand ripped at his face.
Work, damn it. Work!!
His arm was twisted, his legs buckled from the weight of them bearing down on him. He closed his eyes as he felt the cold steel of more blades perforating his skin, as more hungry claws stripped away his flesh and muscles. A woman appeared. She was gorgeous, he had never seen her in the previous visions. Her long brown hair flowed into eternity, her bronzed skin shining as if it had been kissed by the sun itself. A silky voice called out.
"Sanctum."
Sanctum? I know the word but... Is that my name? Is that who I am? Is that where I belong? A bold image suddenly stormed his mind. An old dusty room. Couches everywhere, fake plants in the corners, sliding doors leading into the... lobby? Was that the word? Was this place his... sanctum?
He called out. Cried out just like all the other helpless souls in Hell. Cried out for it all to end, a low garbled sound, almost a mumble drowning in the sea of blood that sprung forth from him. Sanctum. Sanctum? Sanctum. The box in his hand glowed. The word repeated in his head until he could do no more than say it aloud. "Sanc...tum... Sanctum... Sanctum..." His whole body began to glow. The ravaging of the demons actually began to subside. A few of them even took a step back, wary of the situation. He slowly stood, calmly using his demon arm to lightly push away the demons that still tried to latch to him. The weapons clattered to the ground noisily, and all of the demons stood staring. The man's eyes shot open, and rather than fire, a bright green glow burst forth, almost turning into tangible beams. He gave one more mighty yell, "SANCTUM!" and the light exploded from his body. The demons could barely see, like trying to watch a plane flying in front of the sun, but a small tear in the fabric of reality itself had begun to open in the palm of the man's hand, as if it were swallowing him up. A brave few demons leaped forward, their claws reaching greedily for a prize they felt they would lose...
((To be continued in real time in the World of the Living...))
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:38 pm
The dust that had settled in the empty lobby had finally been cleared up. The GIT wasn't a bustling busy building anymore, but a small handful of its denizens had returned, if even temporarily. An eerie, almost evil feeling, was very slowly trickling into the room, and the temperature was steadily rising about 1 degree every hour. All of this was almost completely unnoticeable to the average person though, one would merely think it was a warm summer day and the AC had been turned off
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 6:25 am
Kara wandered in from her old room, having used a small bit of finger wiggling to make the thing presentable, and flopped on the couch. She gave a small whine and plucked at the front of her shirt, trying to get some cool air moving. "Ugh," she muttered, standing and going to hunt for the lobby's thermostat. The evil feeling hardly phased her, she'd spent so much of her life immersed around people who felt the same way that until it was overpowering she wouldn't notice it.
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 3:55 pm
Kyrai was out on the grounds of the GIT building. He had been out hunting when he was ambushed by a lesser demon. The thing had been not much more than an animal, driven by a need for flesh. Probably brought here do in part to the magic sealed in the building.
He stood over the creature's charred remains and surveyed the area. This was the third such creature in less than a week. Something big must have stirred them up. A sense of foreboding tickled at the back of Kyrai's mind.
Still, the change had brought other, unforeseen, effects. Kyrai's strength and magic were returning. His body was still mortal now, but he could feel himself being rejuvenated by spiritual magic. Slowly, like a battery being charged, he was returning to the fox spirit he had once been.
A chill slowly ran up his spine. Not from the temperature, the evening had been warming that usual, but from a feeling of malevolence that seemed to resonate from the building itself. He would have to investigate.
Kyrai couldn't help but smirk. He had been right. The last two years had been quiet, almost peaceful. Now that the people were returning, however; it looked like things were going to get interesting again.
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 6:09 pm
The glass double doors slid open as Yadi stepped inside the GIT lobby. She stopped right in front of the entrance and pushing all her hair over one shoulder, she started sliding her fingers through her windblown hair. There was a slight breeze outside although that wasn't strange for Gaia weather.
"I should really consider getting my room back." She mumbled softy as she let a leaf she had picked from her hair fall to the floor.
She pulled down on the bottom of her short skirt with both hands and took a few more steps inside, wasting no time in finding a comfortable place to sit in the corner of a couch. "Much better weather." She whispered leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed in the comfort of her old home. Walking from her house in Aekea to GIT was getting a bit exhausting.
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Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 12:17 am
*A tiny hole begins to open in the upper corner of the room. It's only about the size of a dime, and coal-black. The room rises another 3 degrees in temperature, and a feeling of ill-intent creeps into the room*
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:10 pm
Kyrai had moved into the room where the malevolent aura was originating from. He sat, almost perched in a dark corner of the room, away from the focal point, letting the shadows conceal him. It was a small point, no more than a few centimeters in diameter. However, it reminded Kyrai more of an expanding singularity with the way the hole in space seemed to be growing in both size and power. There was a principle in relativity that theorized that two of these could be connected to create a gateway called and "Einstein-Rosen Bridge".
If this was indeed a gateway to somewhere else, Kyrai was anxious to find out were, and to whom, the path leaded. The room it self was growing in temperature as the point grew in strength, and the point continued to give off a feel of antipathy and malice. A trace of power escaped from the point, giving off a familiar scent. "Hell," he would whisper softly to no one.
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:34 am
Kara wandered back into the room after having played with the thermostat to no avail and missed Kyrai's comment. "Hey sis, hey Kyrai. How goes it today? And how bout this crap? The A/C must be broken or something."
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:42 pm
Yadi sat up with a small jump. The exhaustion had obviously been a bit greater than she thought if she hadn't noticed herself dozing off.
"Hey there pretty girl." She greeted softly straightening up and stretching her arms up into the air. "Actually I think it's nicer in here than it is outside." She added before flashing a quick smile at Kyrai who she had failed to notice was in the room earlier.
"Though I get what you mean." She said gathering her hair up with both hands. "It's usually just a little bit colder in here." She agreed holding her long hair up with one hand and fanning herself with the other one. She was usually one to be comfortable in warm climates, but the weather seemed to be a bit warmer than the regular room temperature.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 2:17 pm
The opening increased in size even further, spilling out an air of pure evil. A pale green light flashed through the room as the portal finally gave way. The sound of a hundred screams echoed through the halls, followed by the enraged shrieks of a hundred demons. A red mist flowed out and settled around ankle level, bearing the sensation of that dream you always have, where you're terrified for your life but something is grabbing at your ankles, slowing you down, defeating you no matter how hard your legs pump or how much your hands scrape at the ground. Finally, a silhouette could be made out. It grew larger and larger, and as the portal reached the size of a door frame, an armored man fell from the portal, entangled with two other blood-thirsty hellspawn. They ripped feverishly at his body, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were in a different dimension of space, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. The opening immediately started decreasing in size, and as it closed, many inexplicable demon parts fell through, primarily severed demon hands, and claws. A head fell through as well, followed by a number of demon fangs, and even a lone eyeball. It was as though the portal had sliced off anything that wasn't all the way through it when it closed.
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Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:51 pm
Yadi stared in utter shock at the scene before her. In spite of the heat, she couldn't help the shivers that went up her spine at the eerie feeling from the mist that engulfed her feet. Slowly pulling her feet off the ground and onto the couch she absentmindedly wrapped her hand around her ankles, the sensation of being pulled and held down lingered. Her lips parted into a small O gazing in horror as random limbs started falling from the unexpected hole that had appeared moments earlier. It was like a scary movie, terrifying staring into the abyss where the demons seem to claw out of, yet she was unable to look away from the gruesome scene that played out in front of her. Momentarily she forgot she wasn't the only one in the room but even when she finally remembered she couldn't manage to look away to see if anyone else was seeing the same thing she was
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:20 am
Kara stood still in stark terror, her muscles locked and unwilling to move until the portal closed down and the figure grappled with the hideous creatures. She became vaguely aware that someone was screaming and realized that it was her. She forced herself to stop and drew on her long unused powers to throw up a bubble shield around Yadi. Her mind flexed almost like a muscle and it groaned from disuse. She was not going to lose another sister, even if it did give her a migraine later.
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