[center][abbr=Octopath Travelers][img]https://i.ibb.co/88KWNj5/OTbanner.png[/img][/abbr]
[sup]____________________________________________________[/sup]
[color=FFC6C6][u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 163/100[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]7[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 214/70[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color] [color=2e2c2c]----------------------------[/color] [color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color]
[color=lightgray]Word Count: 703 (+2 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: The Under - Dirthmouth[/color][/center]
Being above ground was going to do wonders for the group. They'd be able to get some fresh air, rest in relative safety, and recuperate their minds before delving back into the chasm tomorrow. They had the Dreamcatcher and all of the mask pieces, so there was only one task left to them: their confrontation with the area's Guardian.

In a way Therion was looking forward to that. Not because he wanted to fight whatever it was they'd find (the Red Eye had been crazy, he couldn't imagine what they'd have to contend with this time), but because it would mark the end of their mission in the Under. Hopefully they'd all be afforded a break after that, and then maybe the next location would actually be somewhere nice. A tropical island? A country with wide open plains and quaint villages? Hell, he might even take a desert again over being stuck with cliffs and tunnels. 

But all of those thoughts could wait until the next day. For now, getting the hell out of there and above ground. The cheerfulness of Nadia's friend the Magikrab followed by the swift arrival of the horse-sized stag beetles lifted Primrose and Therion's spirits a little. Both of them, like many of the other Seekers, were running low on stamina. Today had been quite a lot, and it ended on a somber, unpleasant note. Hopefully the rest of the night was easier. The two Orsterrans shared the same beetle, with Therion hopping up into the back seat and reaching down to help Primrose up to the front. 

The ride itself was about as nice as it could be given the steeds and the route. It wasn't too bumpy nor too long, so thankfully neither of the Travelers were left saddle sore. They disembarked easily, watching Ms. Fortune speed ahead as Primrose gave their beetle a few grateful pats. Though she and Therion took the lift themselves, they weren't slow about it. They both hurried over and practically jumped off of it once it took them up above ground.

The air was brisk and fresh, and the moon and starlight was a welcome change from a cavern's darkness. Primrose made her way over to where Ms. Fortune and the elder bug were speaking to overhear what the latter had to say. Therion was content to bask in the night for a little while, parking himself on a small boulder and looking out over the abandoned town and the chasm. 

[i]Wonder where Tingyun and the dwarves ended up?[/i] he thought. He squinted, surveying the landscape further away as best he could. If not for that map the Seekers had gotten early on, it would have been nearly impossible to tell where they were under ground - which made it all the harder to guess where the dwarves would have arrived after going straight up. 

He gave up looking long before Primrose came to fetch him, letting him know that they were free to stay in any of the huts in the area that weren't already claimed by someone else. 

[color=BC8DBF]"Sounds good,"[/color] he said, hopping off of his perch. He stretched his arms out, giving the area one last look. It was basically devoid of life now, the few miners gone and little establishments dark. He had no want to explore, so he figured he might as well get some sleep while it was available. Hopefully without another weird nightmare.

After Therion swiped one of the remaining pizzas for himself and Primrose to share, the two of them wandered through the town as they ate. [color=D34C25]"We're quite spoiled for choice, hm?"[/color] the Dancer said facetiously. All of the huts looked the same on the outside, and the insides weren't much better. [color=D34C25]"I think Sectonia and Ms. Fortune went that way. We'd might as well keep nearby in case something happens."[/color]

With no arguments from Therion, the two picked out a pair of neighboring huts. They bid goodnight to each other, after which Therion entered his chosen sleeping place and closed the door. Primrose lingered outside of her own a little longer. She'd caught sight of a flickering flame in the distance as they were walking around, something she'd nearly forgotten about...

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/4DgO1VH.png[/img]
[sub][color=lightgray]ft. [@Lugubrious] as Jiji[/color][/sub][/center]
Primrose strode to the Confessor's home with purpose, but when she reached it she did not immediately enter. She stood at the door, her face cast in shadow. She only had her assumptions about how the Confessor's power worked, and she didn't even know if she had the right "food," but even so... whose spirit would she ask the bug to fetch?

Yusufa's? Did she remain dead as last Primrose knew her, or did she return to life in the World of Light? Did she meet an early end again, here?

Could she ask after her father's soul? If he was made to live again, the pursuit that Primrose had dedicated her life to would vanish. Her heart would be empty - would her father's presence after all of these years fill it?

Yet another terrible option came to her. What of the other six people she called friends? Alfyn, Olberic, Tressa, Ophilia, Cyrus, H'aanit... She wanted to know that they fared well, somewhere out there. Jiji would be able to tell if one of them had been reduced to a spirit if she asked, surely? ...but what would she do if they [i]had[/i] died?

Primrose stood there and breathed. She reached for the dagger she always carried with her, caressing its hilt. She knew she was agonizing over a choice she didn’t have to make, with a crucial lack of information. She had to speak with Jiji.

Her eyes flickered to the doorknob, finding it was still unlocked since Therion had picked it a few days ago. Much too slowly for her own liking Primrose took hold of it and pushed the door open.

[color=D34C25]"...Jiji?"[/color] she called, stepping into the space. Her voice was harder than she would have liked, so Primrose quietly cleared her throat. [color=D34C25]"I came by the other day seeking your ability."[/color]

The rotund insect turned toward the newcomer, bright eyes peering out from a featureless, ink-black face. When she saw Primrose, the bottoms of her eyes rose in an expression of gladness. “Ah, hello again. How have you been faring? Have you come to me because of your regrets?”

[i]Regrets…[/i] That was how she spoke of her ability last time too. The dancer wouldn’t have put it that way, but she supposed it was right all the same. Parting often led to regrets, via death or not. Primrose didn’t reply, instead she dropped her bag from her person and knelt to take out the container storing the rancid egg. 

Soft, round, with a noticeable smell; that was the food Jiji had mentioned she needed to perform her spirit power. Therion had guessed that as an insect, Jiji might like berries - but bugs were attracted to these kinds of things too. The acrid stench of rot tingled Primrose’s nose in a bad way when she unscrewed the lid and took the egg out. She held one hand up to pinch her nostrils closed while the other offered the egg to the Confessor. It certainly fit the qualities Jiji described.

[color=D34C25]"Could this have been what you wanted?"[/color]

The moment she caught a whiff of the oozy, gelatinous globule, Jiji started wriggling her stubby little limbs with excitement. As gloomy and no-nonsense as the Confessor normally seemed to be, it was easy to imagine her salivating. “Ooh, yes! That sublime odor, the miracle of life gone delectably sour…there’s truly nothing better. If you will allow me to enjoy this morsel, then I promise you my services.”

The sight was amusing enough that it momentarily pulled Primrose out of the pit of heavy thoughts she’d been digging in her own mind. She smiled slightly, handing the egg to Jiji. She was all too eager to be rid of it anyway. [color=D34C25]"It’s all yours."[/color]

Jiji accepted the egg graciously, then delicately set it aside on a shelf against one of the walls, just far enough that the odor would be less intolerable for her client. Though the Confessor delighted in these uncommon delicacies, she was temperate -and considerate- enough to know that not everyone shared her unique tastes. Besides, there was no guarantee that Primrose possessed any lingering regrets. The meal could wait until after services had been rendered.

While she watched Jiji stow the egg, Primrose considered what else she’d heard from the Master of Masters so many days ago now. Different kinds of revival arts, procuring an empty vessel to rejuvenate a spirit’s “ka”... would she have to prepare that in tandem with Jiji bringing the spirit itself to her? When the bug was finished, Primrose spoke.

[color=D34C25]"Could you explain your powers to me?"[/color] she asked. Previously it had been a little hard to understand the Confessor, but whether she knowingly kept her words vague or was just addled from sleep and hunger, Primrose would soon find out. [color=D34C25]"How does the… procedure work?"[/color]

After sitting herself back down, Jiji faced her client with a solemn gaze. “It is not for me to question the workings of the masters. Only to practice the art that has been bestowed upon me, so that the weight of this world’s guilty might bear down a little less heavily. I can only tell you that my ritual will return to you what you’ve lost, giving you the chance to confront your regrets face to face. How you deal with them is up to you.” She paused for a moment, peering into Primrose’s eyes. “...Yes, I can see the regrets you’ve left behind. A dark stain hidden away in the darkness.”

The dancer held her gaze. So Jiji sensed something… and Primrose wasn’t about to walk away before finding out what, especially if it meant the possibility of bringing a loved one back.

[color=D34C25]"Bring it here,"[/color] she breathed, [color=D34C25]"I have to know."[/color]

“Then as promised, we will begin the ritual,” Jiji said, her voice ominous. “Please stand back. And ready yourself. Our lingering regrets are not easily dealt with.”

After the dancer backed away, Jiji extended two of her limbs out from beneath her cloak and waved them like the legs of a swimmer. She began a wordless chant, her cry rising in pitch with each intonation. Almost immediately, the ground in front of her began to churn with some sort of black substance like oil or tar, but as it gathered it rose into the air, somewhere between ash and shadow. In streams the darkness coalesced around a central point, quickly growing outward as it accumulated to form a body, a head, arms, and legs. The whole process, bizarrely fast, came to a head within seconds. The dark mass solidified with a wave of displaced air that expanded throughout the Confessor’s home, instantly blowing out the dozens of candles and sending Jiji herself skittering into the shadows, panicked.

Only her eyes were visible, peering from a safe distance, as a woman landed on the ground. She possessed a captivating elegance, wearing a coy smile as easily as she donned crimson silks and jingling gold embellishments. Her sizeable ponytail was a rich dark brown, much like her eyes, but the light within had been snuffed out long ago. [url=https://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-37/art/ot-primrose-concept1.jpg]The dancer[/url] stared at the broken mirror before her with revulsion, maybe even indignation. Then, without a word, she attacked. 

What happened was unlike anything Primrose had considered. So bewildered was she by the conjured reflection that she could only stare until she felt the sharp sting of a dagger start to sink to her stomach. Primrose backed away quickly, pressing a hand to her new wound. It wasn't deep enough to be deadly.

The woman, the other Primrose, stood up straight and reset her battle posture... no, not quite - she looked like she was going to dance. She wasn't a copy of Primrose as she was now, but a reflection of the past. The "original" Primrose. It was hard to tell from when. As she'd awoken in this world? From a time before? By the look in her eyes, perhaps even before she'd started to travel Orsterra in earnest.

[color=D34C25]"What is this?"[/color] Primrose demanded. Her eyes searched for Jiji's in the darkness while her counterpart performed the familiar steps of the Peacock Strut. Recognizing that the other Primrose was about to go back on the offensive, this time with empowered magic, the Seeker began conjuring her own spell to counter. Two Moonlight Waltzes crashed together in the center of the room, engulfing it in total blackness for a moment as the shadow magic burst apart. 

When the spells faded out, the other Primrose was already completing the last steps of another dance. She’d used the shadows as cover while the current Primrose had drawn her polearm. The two women clashed, one with a lance in hand and the other wielding a dagger in one hand and a fan in the other. 

It had taken two rousing dances for the shade, but now both Primroses were about equal in terms of their magical and physical strengths. But if the conjured “regret” was from an earlier time in her life, then the other Primrose had much less battle experience.

The Vengeful Spirit blasted out of Primrose and through her counterpart. She was resilient, but she staggered long enough for a swipe of the ice lance to take her legs out from under her. The shade’s back hit the ground, and she stared up at Primrose in quiet fury. It was surreal.

[color=D34C25]"What is going on?"[/color] Primrose asked, her voice showing some anger that matched her double’s. The Confessor herself had always been vague, but had she been duped by the Master of Masters? Had her expectations just run wild, leading to this? Unfortunately the answers she sought didn’t come to her. Jiji was still hidden away, and the other Primrose surged up from the ground to engage her double once more. She swiped at her opponent with the fan, a chaotic blow that slapped Primrose about until she regained her senses and shoved the other woman away with the shaft of the lance. It was clear she would have to deal with this, whatever it was, before anything else.

Primrose spun the lance in her hand and then struck, slicing through the other dancer’s side as she twisted away and conjured another spell. Her own Dirge of Dusk swirled above her hand, dark and ominous. Three shadowy orbs shot out, though all were neatly punctured or deflected before they could reach their target. Jiji’s home shook slightly with the shocks of battle.

Both Primroses stared each other down, one desperate and angry and the other stubborn and contemptuous. The latter seemed to realize that in a drawn out battle, she would lose. She activated her Battle Boost, giving her body a shimmery glowing aura. Not to be outdone, the first Primrose did the same with a mirthless smile. The building’s interior lit up, light and shadow flickering and bouncing around the room. 

Primrose stowed her fan and cast Moonlight Waltz before rushing forward with her dagger poised to strike. Primrose let the spell hit her and jammed her hand into the ground, conjuring the Black Serpent to wind its way toward her other self. Primrose tried to dodge, but the serpent followed, engulfing her for a moment in dark flames. Primrose used the superior reach of her lance to stab at Primrose, but Primrose twirled toward Primrose. Because she wasn’t strong enough to stop the stab completely, she held her dagger up to block and let her other self’s strength push her closer until she was in stabbing range herself, of herself. Primrose raised the dagger and thrust it down toward Primrose’s heart. With a huff Primrose dropped the lance and pulled out her own dagger, moving to let Primrose’s sink into her shoulder so she could line up her own attack against Primrose. 

In the blink of an eye it was done, and the room fell into darkness again. The shade coughed, her mouth filling with blood. A lung had been punctured. Primrose didn’t let her guard down, expecting the reflection’s Encore to activate. When it didn’t, she laid her own body on the ground. The other Primrose was once again looking up at her, this time confused. The Seeker could practically hear her own thoughts; [i]how could this happen? How could I die before getting my revenge?[/i] Primrose didn’t pity her other self. How could she?

Jiji slowly, carefully crept back out of the darkness. “Ah, you seem to have come to terms with your regrets in a most novel, and dare I say brutal, fashion.” The body of the second Primrose quickly disintegrated, even the ashes seeming to fade away. Their departure left behind one thing, familiar and yet subtly horrifying at the same time: a spirit. Primrose’s spirit. “...What a joy to behold. Farewell for now. I will think of you as I savor my meal.”

It took a few moments for Primrose’s mind to catch up to what she was seeing. The “lost spirit” that Confessor Jiji was able to summon… it was her own? After an already stressful day, both physically and mentally, she could hardly process what had happened. 

[color=D34C25]"Ah, wait,"[/color] she started to say. But Jiji had already mentioned that she couldn’t say how her own powers worked, in so many words. [color=D34C25]"..."[/color]

Primrose picked up spirit gently, cradling it in both of her hands and peering at the dancer inside. She was smiling coyly in a way that had covered up the misery she’d felt at the time. 

[i]What am I to do with her?[/i] Primrose wondered. She recalled something else the Master of Masters had said; that a spirit was like a bookmark. She could treat this spirit like a bundle of data, knowing it would have the same effect on her self as any other spirit. Armed with the knowledge she had now, she could guess at what itemizing it or spirit binding it would do. Summoning her old self as a Striker… that would be a little too vain, even for her. But the thought made Primrose puff out a half-hearted giggle. She really needed some sleep.

Since Jiji had already dismissed her, Primrose made her way to the door, chased out by the sound of wet munching. She was disappointed, but that feeling was nothing new. It would have been too easy if things had turned out the way she assumed they would, and the gods had done everything in their power to make sure her life was anything [i]but[/i] easy. Before leaving the Confessor’s home, she had to deal with the spirit. She didn’t want to tell anyone else about this, let alone see the “Primrose spirit”, and leaving it behind felt wrong. There was really only one thing [i]to[/i] do, then. As she left and headed to the hut she'd picked out for a well deserved night's sleep, she took the spirit and pressed it to her heart with both hands. The gesture was reminiscent of an embrace.

[center][hider=For Primrose]Recursive Spirit Consumed:
[url=https://i.imgur.com/Q11yTBO.png][b]Primrose Azelhart[/b][/url]

The host has gotten shorter, now standing at 5'10'', still above her original height. She's lost more of her bulkiness and her bust has shrunk back to a manageable size, leaving her with a pleasing hourglass shape and toned stomach and thighs. Her hair has returned to brown for the most part, with only her ponytail bleeding from red to blonde ombre. Her dress has become two pieces again, the top regaining short sleeves. The hem of the top is fashioned with a leather band and the same pale gold ornaments as the rest of her outfit. Her gloves have gotten shorter, now reaching to her elbow, and the silver talons on her fingers have turned gold to match the other metals she wears. The black fishnets on her legs have disappeared, leaving her with sheer maroon tights. The host's personality has become more like her original, so she is less egotistical, boisterous, and vain with a stronger sense of justice. This spirit confers the power [b]Rondo of Dawn[/b], automatically giving her one extra BP when she hits an enemy with a dark element spell once per battle. As a Recursive Fusion, this spirit confers no Weakness.[/hider][/center]