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 Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 2:59 pm
Arsenolite hummed happily as he walked around, having what was probably one of the best nights of his life. He didn't quite know why he was in such a good mood, just that he was. His brother was being receptive to patching things up, which was nice, but things had been that way for a little bit, so he was pretty sure it wasn't that. Ah well. He was, however, having a bit of a time finding a good target for draining. Too many people were out in groups, nobody was out and about by themselves. But he had confidence he'd find someone by themselves eventually. He was in a very good mood, after all. He sensed a Squire nearby, but he chose not to worry about it unless they got closer or something. He doubted anything would happen, not when the universe was pretty much on his side right now.
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 1:26 am
Aokigahara was not of the opinion that the universe sohuld be on any Negaverse officer's side. He could feel that darkness, and it made him furious, especially with the memory of the poor Cadet's death right in front of his eyes--the awful, crushing sight of a soul being utterly destroyed.
It simply would not do to let another officer roam freely. Not when there were so many people at risk.
So he called upon his Aspect, the gift of silent movement, to get in close, come up from behind, and he only dropped it as he took the last footfall into range of his magic.
The lantern flared, lighting him eerie purple, and the ghosts writhed forward, grasping, crying.Quote: Aokigahara Squire holds up his lantern, and the flame inside becomes brighter, bathing a six foot radius around him in an eerie purple light. Anyone within the radius, including Aokigahara himself, will hallucinate gruesome ghostly shapes - essentially ghosts that look like they died VERY violently- grabbing on them and trying to get their attention, and hear the sound of ghostly voices begging for help. These pleas will generally be nonspecific - "help me, help me please!" or "avenge me!" or the like, but it is generally fairly unsettling, though exact reactions are up to the player. Aokigahara can channel for up to 30 seconds at this stage.
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 12:59 pm
For Arsenolite, nothing was happening, and then suddenly, everything was happening. It had been a nice, lovely, peaceful night, with a little bite in the air to make him feel even more alive as he prowled the streets, seeking those he could take advantage of, and then there was a footfall behind him, and he didn't even have but half a second to try and turn his head to see who was there and tell them to back off, whoever they were (it didn't matter that he didn't know, or even wouldn't know, their name, all that was important was that it was a freaking Squire and damnit, he really wished he was a Captain already so he'd at least be on even footing with this monster), because the moment he tried to move his head was the moment the entire street (or so it felt) turned a sickly purple that somehow reminded him of the Disney villains like Frollo, Maleficant, and the... the shadow, or voodoo, or whatever his actual name was guy from the... the one with Tiana. (Nobody ever said he was a perfect connoisseur of Disney movies, alright!). And from the purple light emerged strange shadows that solidified into people. People that had died a horrible, gruesome death, and all of them begging for his help. Yeah, no. Arsenolite wasn't going to be helping them or avenging them or anything. Not when it seemed like the very sudden and very real zombie apocalypse was upon them. He screamed (though he'd later deny it) and began smacking at them with his slingshot and kicking at them to get them off of him. It didn't matter that was probably just illusion magic. It was awful, and he wanted it to stop. Somehow, he remained standing for the moment.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 1:13 am
It was a terrible power, Aokigahara's magic. He was numb, by now, to the horrors it could inflict on others; with his Wonder put to rest, he no longer feared that he was disturbing the rest of real ghosts. These were merely images, projections; a ghost of a ghost of pain and suffering, a thousand years old.
And that pain and suffering could, at his will, be inflicted upon those he deemed worthy of the punishment.
Was this, he wondered sometimes, what Rin had done? Going from world to world, seeking answers to awful mysteries, and inflicting judgement on the people he discovered to be guilty? Was that the responsibility, instead, of the people of the world he left, whoever their authorities were? Answers he doubted he would have, ever, if he was honest. He could only see what Rin had done on Aokigahara itself, for the most part; unless he'd discussed it, explained, he would likely never understand the full duties of the Inquisitor of Aokigahara. But that, he supposed, didn't matter. Who Rin had been was relevant to who Taiki was, certainly, but it was not relevant to when and how he used his powers.
And, certainly, it was easy to deem any Negaverse officer guilty, especially with the atrocities he had seen their ilk commit eagerly, thoughtlessly, and without recompense.
So his gaze upon this particular officer was cold, and pitiless, and flat. His screams of terror did not move Aokigahara at all, nor did they encourage him to turn off the magic, grant a reprieve.
There would be no reprieve, not until his spell burned dry.
"Tell me, Lieutenant," he said, and he reached up to pull the hairsicks from his ponytail, letting them float above his palm, "how many bodies have you left in your wake, as an officer? And don't lie." He smiled, but it was not a friendly smile, especially lit in the eerie purple of his lantern's glow. It was, in fact, less of a welcoming look and more of a threat. "I'll know. And I think you can tell that you don't want to make me, or them--" he nodded to the ghosts clawing at the Lieutenant's feet, not that it would change anything about them, but he didn't need to know that--"angry."
Perhaps he did enjoy the power, a little bit.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:28 pm
Oh, God. He could taste the fear in the back of his throat, his hair standing on end. Every inch of this sucked, and he trembled, cursing himself for showing fear but unable to make himself act courageous. "N-None!" he blurted his answer, shivering, "None, I swear. No starseed taking at all. Just energy draining. I haven't—I haven't killed anyone." Yet, but like hell was he going to be stupid enough to actually say that.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:56 pm
The hairsticks did not cross.
Aokigahara gave a short nod, and turned off his magic. Best to keep the last of his magic pool, just in case there was someone else.
"Good." The smile on his face remained purely threatening, as he tucked the hairsticks back into his ponytail.
"Now, run. Go home. Don't do anything stupid tonight. And if we meet again, and your answer has changed, I will be very displeased."
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 1:12 pm
Arsenolite nodded frantically, though he didn't really care about displeasing some Knight, no matter how upsetting his magic was. Arsenolite would just have to deal with it, because all he wanted was to impress the officers and the queen of the Negaverse. And to do that, he very much had to do murders. He would have nightmares about this for a long time, he feared, as he sprinted away.
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