[center][h1][color=silver]Annabelle Irons[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h2][i]and[/i][/h2][/center] [center][h1][color=red][b][i]Lord Soth, "The Infinite Abyss"[/i][/b][/color][/h1][/center] [hr] After speaking with Regina, Soth had moved his final pieces into the now-sealed crypt. Specifically, onto the single, great lower level that had been dug into it when it was originally built. A great and spacious room, its floors and very walls were covered in sigils and symbols of strange and alien make, defiling what had once been a resting place for the dead with nothing short of a Greater Horror's influence. Dark forms, some walking on fours, some moving about on long yet slender tendrils, and others moving about in cloak and hood as they skittered about in anxious anticipation of what was to come. In the center of it all lied a stone-carved altar, carved with immaculate and inhuman levels of skill. Designs of eyes and tendrils caressed the altar's curves protectively along the sides, almost seeming alive, as dark sigils glowed upon it with a black yet soft light. Edges of it were inlaid with gold, silver, and jewels originating from Earth and other alien worlds. It was indeed a sight to behold, and lying on top of it was the most important part. A large white sheet, under which the still form of a human corpse could be perceived. The body of a dead magical girl, prepared with implanted organs and fluids and magic beyond what mankind could hope to grasp...at least, not without going utterly [i]mad[/i] in the process. Multiple beings were looking over it, making magical marks upon the sheet and speaking to each other in a hushed but alien tongue. Further, the room was lit in an eerie glow, purple orbs around the area lighting it up well enough to easily make one's way about. [color=red][i]'Good, good! Now then, it is time to begin the ritual. [b]Now[/b]. Our guests are being entertained, and deployment from the school to targeted areas is going smoothly. The fodder is doing its job nicely as well.'[/i][/color] The Greater Horror's words rung against the walls, an eerie echo that bounced about the greater chamber like it was some kind of chasm. A certain magical girl, who had been leaning against the far wall across from the stairs since her arrival, then stepped forward. White hair glowed softly in the light, and her red eyes were a striking fire amidst the fleeting shadows. An orb floated next to her, inky black like the abyss it had come from, and her attire stood out like some kind of cultist garb. However her face wore a mixed expression, filled with concern and worry, and tinged with hints of curiosity and frustration alike. [color=silver]"Boss...you'e not saying everything. I've helped you all this time, and nothing's been bad i mean, but after getting here i've been getting a strange feeling more and more. I want to know what is [i]really[/i] going on here...what is this ritual supposed to do? Are you just making another magical girl?"[/color] Annabelle's words caused the great horror to seemingly take a brief pause, and the air seemed to ripple about her as if something was...thinking. No, debating something? It was hard to read the mood of a Greater Horror all of the time, even when one had been mentally warped by him. Monster parts, people parts, tricking her, and now the body of a magical girl? [color=red][i]'Listen well, young ones. For the longest time, i have destroyed worlds, removed civilizations. I have seen the stars be born in all their brilliance, only to watch their lights fizzle out into an empty abyss. When i emerge in full, the erasure of what i touch is inevitable. So I eventually came to a curious question...what would it be like to experience things myself? To see all of this through a mortal’s eyes, without any danger to myself?'[/i][/color] As he spoke, Soth produced several tentacles from a portal forming on the ceiling of the chamber, and several eyes came out alongside them. One tentacle gestured towards the sky somewhat, as if to help illustrate his point. His tone, as ever, seemed relaxed and cordial, though somewhat perplexed if not fascinated in a fashion as well. [color=red][i]’Thus i came here, this little planet so many seem to glance at with...opportunity. You may call them gods, or ‘lesser forces’, or ‘puuchu’, or ‘horrors’, but regardless their petty squabbles have been most amusing to watch. Such narrow perspective...so, mortal. So much like the sapient flesh-bound creatures dominating most of the planet, i sought out a mortal of my own. Eventually, i found a mortal compatible with my power, fueled with the desperation and despair that made them a worthy candidate. So i extended myself to them, sought to make them a vessel, an avatar if you will....'[/i][/color] Soth’s eyes seemed to then look between the body on the altar, and then to Annabelle, before he continued once more. [color=red][i]’….but the first one failed miserably. Of course, that failure was what became you, [b]“dear”[/b] Annabelle. Of course, it was but an experiment, nothing that which has seen the movement of all time would dare to fuss over.'[/i][/color] Annabelle’s face went as pale as a ghost at the words, and a tremble rocked through her body. She...she hadn't been intended to be a magical girl?! W-What had happened at the stadium made sense then....she was part of him, he was part of her. But then-!? [color=red][i]’Yet after that event I searched for this place, a nexus of magical energy and phenomenon, and brought my influence here. I secured the essence of spirits, the parts of monsters, the furnished flesh of some humans…. I also acquired a black coin from a foolish member of the Ebon Mint as well, and finally now this body of a deceased magical girl to infuse it all with. All of this to make...a more useful one ultimately, one even more compatible with containing some of my essence to act as an [u][b]avatar[/b][/u].'[/i][/color] [color=silver]"Then why am i here?! Why keep me a-around if i am some...some failure! Why want me here at the ritual site if you have all you need-!"[/color] Before Annabelle could finish her outburst, tears nearly coming out of her eyes as the anger and frustrations finally peaked within her, the voice of the Greater Horror cut of her off in a heartbeat. [color=red][i]'Because, young one, you have been of great use to me...and the greatest purpose you can serve is here and now. The body cannot be made my avatar if it remains...deceased. [b]And your life force is most fitting for this task of reviving this deceased form.[/b] After all, you survived the failed possession of your body, though your past was quite lost in the process. I had to rebuild that personality and such things, even. Then as agreed, once i am within my avatar your body will be released from my service and handed to that 'Regina Bates' as she calls herself.’[/i][/color] As the horror finished, Annabelle acted instinctively and attempted to lash out at the altar itself with magic from her left hand. It was an action that came from the basest desire of humans, that primal urge that had led their species to take over this planet...life. The will to live, to continue onward, to avoid the penalty of death, as it were. Equally as fast, the tentacles of the greater horror appeared from the orb next to her in a heartbeat, grasping her left arm. Then another tentacle shot out and grasped her right arm, then another to wrap around her mid-torso, and then two more respectively to grab each of her legs. The tendrils held on with a tight grip, gentle enough to not break her body, but hard enough to stop her movements physically. The inky black orb moved around behind her, holding her up in the air by the tentacles themselves. It was like she had been chained to a wall, but in this case it was the tendrils of her own patron tying her down and keeping her still. Like a parent, scolding a foolish child. [color=silver]"You...you [b]bastard[/b]!!! You lied to [b]Regina[/b]...you lied to [b]all[/b] of us dammit!"[/color] Annabelle shouted, teeth gritted in a look of pure rage as she attempted to struggle against her bonds, albeit fruitlessly in this case, [color=silver]"You knew what your were saying, you knew it all along!"[/color] [color=red][i]'I lied not in my promise to her, though i fear the human tongue has failed to convey the true nature of her agreement with myself. One cannot truly say i lied, for i told nothing but truth to all of you. The fault lies with this 'language', though the concept has its useful points. But it is truly nothing to worry about. In fact, i must thank you all, if i am to properly practice and learn about mortal standards for after my incarnation. With this, i shall grasp many a good millennium of amusement from examining the mortal condition. To see that which will only return to my domain in due time, but through another lens i have not yet been able to see through. Albeit, it will be fascinating to see if this world can handle my arrival, haha! Though even if it does not end up so, i have anchored this place here in space-time just in case. It is but one world among the sea of stars, but this mere token of my power guarantees my vessel remains intact at least. You mortals would call it a 'precautionary measure', as it were.'[/i][/color] Annabelle merely glared back daggers at the Greater Horror as he spoke, before a small but swiftly growing laugh rung out from Soth himself. It was an almost guttural and primal sound, inexperienced, something unlike any other she'd heard from him or others before. It reverberated through the earthen walls, through even the walls of the crypt itself. Those close enough to the crypt could perhaps even hear it as well, almost like an earthquake as it shook the land. The calm and ever-existent cordiality never seemed to fade with this Horror, but this was different. It felt like more than that...like a child learning to laugh for the first time after seeing a goofy cartoon. It was the most terrifying thing she had ever witnessed in her life. [@Flamelord][@FamishedPants][@ERode][@DarkwolfX37][@Ariamis][@Card Captor][@BrokenPromise][@Rune_Alchemist][@Vocab]