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[h1][color=slateblue]Abyssal Forge - Love and Hate[/color][/h1][/center]
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	[color=757163][i]Xiuyang confronts Pluurii, Seviin's would-be assassin, and finds a broken woman that threatens to be a reflection of herself. Like a predator, she stalks her, but unable to find her, she comes to her senses and tries to find it in her heart to spare her, at least for now—but Pluurii seizes the opportunity for a sneak attack, then threatens to kill everyone Xiuyang cares for. For the first time in her life, the former follower of Oraff—now an agent of Eshiran—knows true hatred.[/i][/color]
[hider=The True Face of Cowardice][color=757163]Evidence of blood suggested Pluurii was nearby. Concealed, potentially preying on Xiuyang at this very moment. It was another laboratory, one focused more on machine maintenance than any sort of biological freakshow. Many large parts were scattered about as a result of the recent battle in the dome shaped facility. 

Then, the lights went off. Everything turned off. All the little lights, the contraptions and even a nearby vending machine were turned off. And, just a couple of seconds later, the emergency dim lights activated all over the Forge. 

Shadows moved within Xiuyang's peripherals. There was definitely something here.

The sight of blood excited the tendrils, but Xiuyang forcibly calmed them. The unlikely alliance between her devouring blood and the Hegelans' technology could most likely handle whatever disease Pluurii had, but it was worth not taking the chance of a debilitating effect from taking on unnecessary battles.

Instead, the illuminant metal cabinet caught her eye. It contained organic matter of various strange blends that just reminded her of the contents of a person's stomach. They were arranged in symmetrical rows that were a bit uncanny, too. There were other things in there, but she wasn't quite sure what any of it was.

It was about that time that the power flickered off. Xiuyang canted her head and peered around. She noticed that she could see quite well in the dark, now. Unfortunately, the darkness was not to last, but the dim lights that followed were more than adequate.  She stalked around the space for a moment, moving with the terrifying silence of a predator.

[color=slateblue]"Well done,"[/color] she said as her tendrils suddenly began noisily peeling off the face of the vending machine like the top of a tin can. It would have to do. The tendrils had already sneakily consumed all the food in her medicine box while she was preoccupied with talking to the others.

[color=slateblue]"You played your role well. I'm actually impressed by your work ethic. If only you'd left it at that: completing the mission you were sent here to accomplish."[/color] Xiuyang instinctively tried to reach for one of the strange concoctions—a hypocritical thought, perhaps, given the nature of her own created foodstuffs—but her arms refused to move, still.

In a rage, she picked up a coiled-up cable on an iron spool with two of her tendrils and hurled it, sending it rolling through the lab and destroying various objects like a bull in a Retan shop, eliminating some hiding spaces. [color=slateblue]"I don't know why you tried to kill her, but I don't care. You come within a [i]tethered's[/i] range of her again, and I [i]will[/i] make you regret ever being born."[/color] There was a sick feeling in her stomach as soon as the venom left her mouth. If anyone in all of Ersand'Enise should have been able to understand Pluurii's pain—a body hidden beneath bandages, slowly eating itself—it should have been her.

Things should not have turned out this way—yet war was coming, and she would surely come to know this feeling of regret intimately. It only enraged her all the more. A piece of her humanity had been taken from her already; why couldn't this part have been taken away as well, so taking lives and saying farewell to former friends could be so easy, as someone like Pluurii must surely do. Tearing down some ceiling panels, she leaped up to a higher floor and seemed to abandon the chase, for now. Blood would not make the unsettling in her stomach subside.

She wasn't sure what would, but it would start with her knowing that Seviin, Kaureerah and Yvain were okay. Then, there was... Ciro. Her eyes caught her reflection in a mirror as she neared an intersection in the medical area—the scars were gone. Her face was immaculate. Xiuyang was still here.

[color=slateblue][i]What a cruel joke, Ipte... We're done for, aren't we?[/i][/color]

[color=#10401d][i]Bang.[/i][/color]

Lurking in the shadows was the rotting woman. A predator that stalked other predators. She had regained the ability to walk but her pitiful state demanded more attention than crude battlefield medicine. Still, pain meant little to a creature masquerading as a Yasoi. She circled her would-be murderer whilst staying in the safety of darkness and keeping up her Magusjaeger veil. And every few seconds, she erected her pointer finger to point at Xiuyang and raised her thumb to form the shape of a gun.

[color=#10401d][i]Bang.[/i][/color]

Every occasion she imaged as optimal for a kill shot, she took it. Every chance she had to riddle Seviin's [i]friend[/i] with holes was a good one to articulate through juvenile gestures. She stood behind the tentacular menace when a piece of metal fell in a corner further away.

[color=#10401d][i]Bang.[/i][/color]

How did Seviin pull it off? She was a freak too. A sanctimonious weirdo that didn't belong outside of her line. And yet here was this spider, ready to die for a chance at the healer's would-be assassin. That wasn't very fair, for Pluurii had also stepped out of the island back at the trials. And yet no friends were to be found. Did any of them even remember her name? Of course not, she hadn't even given it.

[color=#10401d][i]Bang.[/i][/color]

She wanted to feel closer to this one. Surely, in a sense, they could understand one another. But it wasn't enough to just understand - one had to BE Pluurii. The unjust had to be the norm, whether administered by the world or oneself. How she wanted to just riddle this girl with holes until she gurgled in agony. Just because.

[color=#10401d][i]Bang. Bang. Bang.[/i][/color]

Surely, they'd have a connection then. Not friends, that was for people. But for a moment in time, they'd be the same. The question was, how much would she need to take from this girl before they could truly be kindred? Be this close like Seviin was to her? Goodness, she yearned for this connection, but this was the only way she knew how.

[color=#10401d][i]Bang.[/i][/color]

Her real gun took aim at the ceiling and fire a perfectly silent shot. Still, with the threads of space and time tugged, Xiuyang could be tipped off. It was of little help, however, when debris and a big piece of machinery descended upon the Revidian.

Pluurii would have none of her self-righteous clinging to what remained of her pacifist tendencies. A stitch in time was manipulated somewhere nearby, and another of those metal behemoths descended through the floor above. She hastily dodged the worst outcome, but was still sent tumbling back to the previous floor along with many heavy metal panels and supports.

A pile of broken, inhuman legs twitched like those of a dying insect. Was it pain, or rage? The Revidian buried beneath was silent as the legs regenerated themselves with crackling and squelching noises.

Then, abruptly, they stood up one by one. Wide eyes filled with a primal rage glanced over in Pluurii's general direction. The girl's flimsy control over the symbiotic appendages' bloodlust was slipping. [color=slateblue]"Ah. There you are,"[/color] she said dispassionately as she stalked closer. [color=slateblue]"The others are finding ways to neutralize the seeds. Your odds of dying for your kill are going up. Still going to gamble at one in four? How about one in three?!"[/color] She ranted in fury as she tore the lab apart looking for the mummified yasoi woman.

[color=#10401d]“Let's make it an even one in two.”[/color] Pluurii spoke for the first time, still concealed in the shadows and just barely avoiding one of Xiuyang's thrashings. The voice came from one place, but the sniper was in another. 

[i]Click. Clank.[/i]

The cocking of her gun was not hidden and her position was revealed as she stepped into one of the dim lights. [color=#10401d]“Flip a coin. Right now. Heads I live. Tails ...”[/color] it was hard to tell if she was smiling, her deformed and burnt face was more skeletal than anything else. [color=#10401d]“Do it or I'll kill ALL of them and then your boyfriend and then your sister and then your blah blah blah, DO IT!”[/color] yelled the monster, utterly maniacal. [color=#10401d]“I need it. Make it not make sense.”[/color]

For a moment, the Revidian ignored the woman's deranged ramblings. If she truly thought she was still in a good enough condition to take a meaningful shot at her, the others—or, laughably, Ciro—she could go ahead and try, or so it seemed. Then, she paused, because that was when Xiuyang realized what she was looking at.

This was a broken woman, used and abused by her country until she could no longer bear the weight of her own actions. If there was no one in power to decide for her, she would let "fate" decide. Xiuyang, of the so-called cowardly family of Solari, now saw the true face of cowardice. If running from death was the lowest and most excusable form of cowardice, fleeing from the responsibility of one's own Dami-given choices was the worst of the worst.

It was also what Xiuyang would become by the end of this war, if she did not seize with both hands what this wretch was running away from—a broken husk who could do nothing but follow orders and dance to the motions of the strings that bound her. Xiuyang pondered this as she hung from the tendrils on her back like an idle puppet waiting for its user's input.

If it were possible, Xiuyang's eyes widened all the more as she slowly [i]forced[/i] a trembling arm to move toward a nearby vending machine that had been trashed. She took a small, golden coin from the wreckage, eyes locked on to Pluurii. For a moment, she considered the absurdity of trying to win a coin flip against a temporal mage, but then—

—she bit the small disc of chocolate in two. [color=slateblue]"...Tempting, but worthless—just like your ideals,"[/color] she judged, rushing at her. [color=slateblue]"YOU DON'T GET TO RUN FROM WHAT YOU'VE DONE!!"[/color] she screeched.

Xiuyang rushed at Pluurii in a murderous rage, not sure what to do about the Sirrahi's seeds. Perhaps she could dissect the woman and remove them like she threatened to do. Maybe she could rely on the Omniphage Coils here—as they seemed to know the aspects of Oraff's magic that the school held as contemptible more deeply than she did—and turn the seeds inert, somehow. She had one body to experiment on, and if it worked, she could extract them from herself, and then her friends, and remove the snake's trump card from the table, if Kaureerah wasn't already working on it.

Then, suddenly, they were no longer a problem. The Revidian felt her new body's muscles swell and her power surge as the fog in her mind cleared. Xiuyang knew—in a vapid, factual sense—that she was a strong mage, but she had so many run-ins with much more powerful monsters that she never really felt like it. For the first time in a long time, however, she felt [i]truly, monstrously[/i] powerful.

She would not have even a moment to enjoy it. She was hurled into the ceiling by the sudden quaking of the leviathan's awakening, her head hit a metal beam, and she crumpled to the floor. For a moment, perhaps, she would have seemed easy prey for Pluurii, but the tendrils moved of their own accord, leaping to the floor above and skittering away with inhuman speed.

The yasoi priestess was worthy of trust, and had some power over time and space. She was their only real exit away from what was to come. This was the only "thought" that occupied the creature's mind in response to the Marhazannet on all fours that quickly rendered Pluurii into a mere inconvenience.

Xiuyang's dash was cut short by a sudden snake in the way. He did not move.

[color=#b0a158]“Ah!”[/color] hands at snake-shoulder levels, Hu He wiggled his fingers in some sort of greeting. [color=#b0a158]“I'm glad to see you unh-”[/color] his wide maw remained agape for a second. Upon further inspection, her held its exceptionally long forked-tongue. [color=#b0a158]“In one piece?”[/color]

The serpent refocused the purpose of the exchange after a brief throat clearing. [color=#b0a158]“Your friends are fine, if that is your concern. However, they may not be if we do not resolve this core issue. Do you agree?”[/color]

The Revidian stopped exactly one step short of trampling the Sirrahi. At first, there was no reply other than a guttural hiss. The girl had taken a blow to the head and lost her senses to the animal inside. The blood trickling down her face wasn't quite so alarming as it would be to someone without her healing factor. It was an easy fix with just a touch of quick binding.

The hissing stopped, but her mouth remained agape for a moment until she took hold of her consciousness. [color=slateblue]"Why [i]isn't[/i] the core back on..?"[/color] she wondered aloud, absently. Then, she blinked. [color=slateblue]"The [i]CORE?!"[/i][/color] she roared. [color=slateblue]"That thing's going to take an army of you and me, and a god or two at the vanguard for good measure, and you're worried about the damn [i]CORE?!"[/i][/color] she reiterated, gesticulating wildly at the turtloid face that had become the horizon. She didn't even seem to notice that she'd regained the use of her arms.

[color=slateblue]"[i]Tell me[/i] you prepared a plan for this situation in advance! No one told [i]me[/i] this would happen!"[/color] Her eyes were frantic and full of primal rage and fear as a realization hit her: this thing was the consequences of her own actions. She had, in fact, been told some variation of "this would happen."

There was no escaping it. There was no "if I didn't accept the mission, somebody else would have done it." This was her mess to clean up, and at least three hells awaited her if she shirked the duty—the only thing [i]more[/i] terrifying than a god-sized monster that could not be slain by mere mortals was the gods themselves.

[color=#b0a158]“Oh my.”[/color] binding magic was quick to correct any perceived and superficial imperfection on Xiuyang's pretty little head as the result of the Pluurii scuffle. [color=#b0a158]“You're not aware of your purpose here?”[/color] his approach was gentle and barely felt to begin with, and his voice was a complete contrast to the urgency shown by the Revidian. 

The serpent leaned in with a glint in his eye. [color=#b0a158]“You were sent to shut down this core too, were you not?”[/color] he began to smile again. [color=#b0a158]“What power hungry war monger would not DREAM of having a living weapon wake up all of a sudden?”[/color] he hoped the young unwilling soldier pieced it together by then. He straightened his posture and gestured to the general direction of the core. [color=#b0a158]“Simple logic would dictate that if shutting off the core would prompt its ire, then ...”[/color] he gestured his hand in a circular motion, as if coaxing the girl to finish his string of thoughts for her, like a passionate professor teaching to an equally dispassionate amphitheater.

Xiuyang leaned in, eyes narrowed. [color=slateblue]"No one told me the so-called 'weapon' was a big-ass turtle,"[/color] she quietly seethed, not quite frantic enough to blow her cover completely to anyone else who may be listening just yet. [color=slateblue]"How could anyone control that thing? Are they a fool?"[/color] Her tone was somewhere between probing and judgmental.

She resisted the tendrils' urge to kill the snake man on sight, but the girl had limited willpower with which to buy time for him. There was none that could be spared for examples of things that could not simply be undone to show that the logic was not sound. She just had to follow the orders from on high and hope that the ones giving them weren't Shune-damned fools who will get them all killed. [color=slateblue]"Seviin better be okay, and this better work,"[/color] she muttered as she skittered off in the indicated direction of the core. Hopefully it was still there when she arrived, and not destroyed on account of the leviathan stubbing its toe on a misplaced island.

[color=#b0a158]“Where there is a will, there is a way.”[/color] Hu He quipped, still oozing with misplaced enthusiasm. His own tail began to rattle and palpitate in a show of dominance toward the rival appendages. [color=#b0a158]“I am sure she'll survive just about anything. Your three friends are safe.”[/color]

Off they were toward the core and Xiuyang's new slithering friend did not stray too far from her. The trip was quick and they once again found themselves where Pluurii's grenade had gone off, and the last known location of Leon and Juulet. Maiv had since joined the group, and her presence was clearly warranted when they laid eyes on the sorry state of the core's control center. 

[color=#b0a158]“Oh my.”[/color] the Exemplar spoke up with his usual opener. Orvil quickly drew his weapon and levied it at the two new arrivals. His translator had sustained many hits on this day, but the grenade had just about done it in. Stray words like "Back" and "Finished" made through the broken speaker.

Maiv, however, could speak. [color=#b481c7]“If you are here to stop it-”[/color] she emerged from within the bowels of wires and motherboards, goggles on and welding torch in hand. [color=#b481c7]“Then I have some bad news.”[/color] there wasn't the rage that Orvil held. Just the disposition of a woman that, in spite of it all, refused to just die without trying. [color=#b481c7]“If we want to turn this back on, we'll need replacements. Fast.”[/color]

Xiuyang's eyes regarded Orvil with only a moment's worth of lazy-lidded disappointment. Glancing around, she also did not find Leon or Juulet. Either Leon had a change of heart at the last second or was lying about his goals and was now locked in combat with Juulet somewhere, or they were en route to fight the leviathan together—barking mad, both.

The Revidian glanced deferentially at the Sirrahi, who surely knew far more useful information about these things than she, whose best guess at what a motherboard was would involve woodcarving or architecture. [color=slateblue]"If there is anything I can do, tell me. Otherwise..."[/color] she glanced upwards at nothing in particular. [color=slateblue]"I go to meet Eshiran on my own terms, I suppose,"[/color] she volunteered, detached. If Eshiran sent her here to free the prisoners of Halge Larchelon, perhaps this situation was her way of ensuring that Xiuyang returned them to her in a timely manner.

Orvil's rage was entirely dedicated to the snake. He battled his own instincts to not take a shot at this monster - this invader! What made the veteran stood right by the serpentine menace, and then Maiv's resolve. A fight here could mean the death of everybody and he had seen enough death today. 

[color=#b0a158]“Replacement parts? If it's mere springs and wires ...”[/color] the Sirrahi approached with a trifecta of newly made metal spheres floating over his palm.

Maiv shook her head. [color=#b481c7]“Circuits. The old sort but most things have been replaced.”[/color] an answer that made Orvil punch a nearby pile of scraps. [color=#b481c7]“Unless-”[/color]

[color=#b0a158]“The vending machines have remained the same since my tenure. I must say, outrageously underrated seasoning.”[/color] Hu He grinned.

Maiv snapped her fingers. [color=#b481c7]“My thoughts exactly.”[/color]

And in that moment, as a common goal was found by both parties, the lingering tension in the air had fallen dramatically. 

[color=#b0a158]“Well, Miss Solari, you are now presented with a choice.”[/color] the snake twisted to face her and presented a hand, palm faced up. [color=#b0a158]“You may help prevent this cataclysm at your own, very likely peril.”[/color] then came the other hand. [color=#b0a158]“Or flee with a mission accomplished.”[/color] he watched her close. He drank [b]everything[/b] that her new body communicated.

The Hegelans did too. The proverbial spotlight was on the spider-like Revidian.

Xiuyang glanced sideways at the Sirrahi, as though his advice were either confusing or unwelcome. He presented a choice where the Revidian saw none. He presented a mission complete where there was none. No, not until Pluurii's plan to implicate the others for her actions had backfired completely—herself the fall girl on behalf of Revidia. The job was not done until that woman became the villain of this operation, Xiuyang absolved of any willing participation in it, and her country given plausible deniability against having colluded with Tarlon, given Leon didn't mess it up for her.

Xiuyang's face betrayed no fear or schemes. The symbiote continued to be wary of every movement of the snake, but she maintained her control over them. She regarded the leviathan in the distance. [color=slateblue]"I am no god. I will bring the vendor machines,"[/color] she said as she turned to go. It was not a big stretch to guess at what they were based on the name.

Seviin's eyes flicked over the destroyed consoles and machinery, though she did not even truly have a concept of what a 'machine' was. Someone here had knocked her out earlier. She was not unaware of this fact, but they also hadn't injured her. It sat there in the rear of her mind, unanswered and nagging for one. 

In the meantime, they had to save, well... everyone. At mention of the vendor machines, however, she dashed off ahead of... Xiuyang, coins jingling in her pockets. Skidding to a stop in front of one, she scrolled rapidly through its options, having done so once or twice already. Only, this time, she would satisfy her curiosity. She selected the strange 'egg', pulled the coins from her pocket, and sent one, two, three, [i]four[/i] tumbling down the little chute.

[color=F0FFF0]"I do not know the treasures that these contain, suunei,"[/color] she remarked to the approaching... Xiuyang. [color=F0FFF0]"but I think they could be worth it before we take them away from their magnetic power."[/color]

It was the closest Xiuyang had ever come to thinking something along the lines of "stupid yasoi." She treasured that curiosity, truly she did. It was Shune-Zept's blessing in the purest form found on Sipenta, and she wished humans had been given as much. Now was not the time to talk about any of this, however. She closed her eyes, lest she see the light in Seviin's eyes go dark along with the machine. [color=slateblue]"Forgive me Shune this dark light of ignorance, for I must do the work of Oraff,"[/color] she prayed. [color=slateblue]"I do this out of love, Seviin."[/color] Her tendrils, poised like can openers, loomed closer to the machine.

The most obnoxious of gambling app sound effects played once the four coins were in. The screen zoomed into the black egg Seviin had been coveting the entire time, with a pop-up appearing with two options.

One was green. The other red. Both with unreadable glyphs. 

Could she make the right choice on time?!

Sensing that her time to make a choice was nearly up, Seviin considered. [i]Red.[/i] Red was the colour of Mother Oirase. That was the option that she jammed as ...Xiuyang rapidly approached.

Processing ...

Pop!

Out came an egg. Smooth in texture with no imperfection. It smelled ... Sweet. The texture was silky smooth and a little bit of the chocolatey surface would immediately melt onto Seviin's digits.

With Seviin having secured her treat, Xiuyang ripped the entire machine unceremoniously from the wall. She had no hope of imagining what in the five hells a mother board was, and so it would be delivered to the Hegelans wholesale. [color=slateblue]"From one merchant to another, know that I will compensate for the damages,"[/color] she helpfully offered to the machine for its sacrifice.

With care, the now-towering Revidian tipped it over onto its side for Maiv and Orvil to work on it. [color=slateblue][i]Vendors replaced with machines... food replaced with... fossilized nutrients? Is this the future?[/i][/color] she thought regrettably. [color=slateblue]"What now?"[/color] she inquired of the two, hoping in vain that there was more she could do.

Orvil had since disappeared, leaving Maiv as the sole technician left standing. With minimal effort, she pried the circuitboard from the crudely ripped innards of the wall-vendor. She took just a few seconds to regard Xiuyang with a intense gaze. [color=#b481c7]“Stop that thing at all cost.”[/color] her translator took away some of the solemnity in her voice.

[color=slateblue][i]Easy for you to say, 'at all costs,'[/i][/color] Xiuyang pondered Maiv's command—that was what it felt like—irritably, resisting the urge to comment on it. Leon had said that she ought to consider herself on the level of the Twin Emperors after this adventure, and she thought that he'd better be right.

They had used the word 'machine' for this thing, and Seviin rolled it over on her tongue under her breath. Nonetheless, they delivered it and, in a strange sort of way, she was sad to see it killed. Gone were its bright colours and blinking lights and its pleasant little voice. It had spoken to her. It had offered her choices. 

She moved quickly, nonetheless, for time was of the essence here and they had all been party to a dire sin by unleashing the Leviathan upon Sagand. And yet... it occupied her thoughts: how it was not quite a living thing but, somehow, more than an object. It had possessed a life of its own, in some sense, and they had dispassionately ripped it free of the energy on which it fed, like a tree uprooted from the soil or hidden from the sun, torn its face open, and gutted it on the spot. It would not live again.

[color=F0FFF0]"Suunei, are you with me?"[/color] she called back to ...Xiuyang, secretly a little bit afraid of her, but that was irrational. It was immaterial, too. They needed to make it to the surface. They needed to stop Seimax'omal. They needed to - [color=blue]"Avincian and Tarlonese languages detected,"[/color] said a small muffled female voice from her pocket. [color=blue]"downloading language packs now."[/color]

Xiuyang regarded Seviin as they rushed to the surface. [color=slateblue]"I doubt I can do much to this thing without you backing me up,"[/color] she replied in what she seemed to hope was a morale-boosting quip. She glanced at her pocket as it spoke, but it was all nonsense to her. [color=slateblue]"...I'm sorry, Seviin. The sniper got away."[/color] Her facial muscles were working again, regret evident in her eyes.

[color=F0FFF0]"She is vile,"[/color] the priestess affirmed, [color=F0FFF0]"and I appreciate your concern, but our purpose remains undoing some of this damage we have wrought in our foolishness, not... protecting me."[/color] Seviin turned, briefly, eyes searching Xiuyang with some unease. What had happened to her friend!? What had this evil place [i]done[/i] to her? [color=F0FFF0]"Promise that you won't risk yourself on my account."[/color] she shook her head as she came to a stop and began to pull upon space to send her into the struggle above. [color=F0FFF0]"My life means much to me, but much less, still, than those of the millions who might perish otherwise."[/color]

As if to illustrate the point, there was a colossal jolt and panes of glass shattered. Seviin was caught unprepared as she concentrated on her spell, and a sharp shard dug right into her shoulder. She let out a squeak of pain and wavered, blood immediately trickling down to stain her white robes, but she did not do much more than flinch. [color=F0FFF0]"Suunei,"[/color] she asked softly, [color=F0FFF0]"Can you pull it from me?"[/color]

No sooner had the words left the yasoi's mouth than a fissure opened up, threatening to swallow the Revidian whole. Her new limbs reflexively extended, grabbing on to the newly formed cliff. As she frantically climbed back up, one of her handholds failed and flew down to her, but she was ready for it this time. Eyes wide, her head moved and the rock hit her shoulder instead.

[color=slateblue]"Wups,"[/color] she remarked, as if her injury were no less mundane than dropping a jar of common medicine while reaching up to a high shelf. Though the tendrils did all of the climbing, sweat rolled down her brow. Inaudibly, she muttered something about "ain't no Hugo," "stupid," "save the world again," and "bullshit."

Safely on her feet, she plucked the offending shard of debris from Seviin's shoulder. [color=slateblue]"I can't think about the millions, Seviin. My heart is much smaller than yours. I'd be paralyzed under the pressure."[/color] She offered the smallest touch of binding to stop the bleeding, saving the bulk of her energy for the fight ahead. [color=slateblue]"I'm doing this for you and... me,"[/color] she put a hand to her stomach as though it were upset by something. [color=slateblue]"Send me up there."[/color]

Juulet popped into existence right by the duo of girls.

[color=8B008B]“Ladies.”[/color] she had a bloody nose and was drenched in rapidly drying sweat. The air around her was sweltering! At the very least they would be spared the sporadic cold snaps manifested by the big turtle. [color=8B008B]“Upsies, you said?”[/color] she grinned right at Xiuyang.

Her wicked hand reached out for the Revidian with the goal of sending her up high. Really high. Right near that Monsigneus to be exact.

Seviin took a moment to gather all of the energy that she could to Xiuyang's rather alien form, imbuing her with the chemical and kinetic strength to carry out a powerful act. Then, she refocused on space and the two of them appeared on the surface, close to those already dubiously engaged with the primordial titan. 

Suddenly, Juulet was there and, with scarcely any delay, the priestess of Oirase interposed herself between the Mad Avatar and her target. [abbr=Maybe we should ask?][color=F0FFF0]"Pelosh let cash coi?"[/color][/abbr] she suggested in accented Mycormiish.

Xiuyang regarded Juulet with completely serious eyes. [color=slateblue]"Yes."[/color] She started to point to the top of the leaning tower as she spoke. [color=slateblue]"Send me up to the—"[/color] She did not get to finish her request.

Juulet raised a brow at Seviin and shrugged. [color=8B008B]“You heard her.”[/color] although it wouldn't be the top of the tower, but much higher in the sky! At the same altitude as the roaming dragon, to be more specific. If she were to fall perfectly straight, she WOULD end up on top the tower.

[color=slateblue]"FFFUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKKKKK YYYYOOOOOOUUUUUU!!"[/color] Xiuyang screeched as she fell, for the second time, from a portal at great height. Her original target was below her, but there was a dragon in the way—of the "big, fuck-off" variety, as a certain suspicious but endearing Vossoriyan would say.

The surreal nature of the constant struggles of the day allowed her to narrow her focus. The past was gone and tomorrow was more dream than promise. The only moment of any significance was the present, and what she needed to do to not die.

She could not take on a Monsigneus, but she stood a better chance against it than the Leviathan, and the Monsigneus stood a better chance against the Leviathan than any of them. It was poor math, and the numbers wouldn't warrant any consideration if she had the time. Fortunately, she [i]didn't[/i] have the time, so instead of worrying about the odds, she did something a merchant should never do: she trusted that the gods had a plan for her, and had already looked over the numbers on her behalf.

It was insanity.

It was invigorating.

It was [i]enlightenment.[/i]

[color=slateblue][i]If I manage this, I owe Zarina a lifetime of patronage for that flying lesson.[/i][/color]

Xiuyang did her best to contend with the massive creature. Just being in contact with the draconic beast as it drew energy drained her, but she also had to contend with its thrashing. Holding on with adhesive blood magic, trying to calm the beast with chemical, and using her tendrils to hook its jaws and act as improvised reins happened all at once as the simple instinct to not die took over.

She aimed for the top of the tower and hardly noticed the two boys as she set her plan into motion. Once she did see them, she could only hope that they had better odds of surviving from this height than she—with no method of flight aside from the dragon—did.

At the last moment, she tried to pull up, so that the dragon would moreso "kick" the tower than crash head-on into it. Once that was done, and the tower began to tip over, it was an almost unbelievable moment. She'd [i]actually[/i] managed to knock the thing over, and it only registered for her just then that this was a bad situation for her.

She scurried down the side of the tower as it fell, trying to get close to the base where the force of the impact would be the lightest. It was a matter of when she was thrown off, not if—and when she was, she had little in the means of kinetic to save herself from a truly nasty fall.

She arrived at the base of the fallen tower, breathless and coughing up dust. The adrenaline was higher now than when she'd fought the knower titan, and she felt sick. She was going to—

Xiuyang bent over and hurled a ball of fire at the ground. The fire came out of her mouth. She looked at the charred mark on the ground in disbelief. [color=slateblue]"Ugh. I told you not to eat that,"[/color] she scolded the tendrils.

Seviin had, perhaps, been too thunderstruck watching the tower hit the monster and sensing for Xiuyang - if she was alright. It had consumed her so that she did not register just what the leviathan was doing until she felt [i]everything[/i] - herself included - being pulled towards it with incredible force. 

At full draw, she formed an immense barrier between the monster and herself, and then a second and third. It opened its mouth and a black sun leapt from a pinhole, scything across reality. All that she could do was tug on time to make her steps faster, tug on motion, to make her feet [i]move[/i], and tug on the chemicals within her own body to will them to act.

She did not have the time to wonder why it had chosen [i]her[/i] of all people. Instead, at the very end, Seviin had a moment of clarity where she realized that all of her efforts here would not be enough.

It began with one foot not finding the ground where it should've been. Then, it was unbearably hot, and Seviin tumbled and fell, and she did not know where. All she knew was the heat and the roaring, and the fear, no—the [i]certainty[/i] of death must have been like what Yvain had experienced in the core.

And then, it was over. Seviin was on the concrete somewhere below the earth, and it was still swelteringly hot, but not unbearable. Xiuyang was holding up a dam of concrete and iron as molten rock flowed past the ledge they found themselves on and into the abyss below.

[color=slateblue]"And another reason is,"[/color] she continued as if their conversation had never been interrupted. [color=slateblue]"You don't worry about yourself, so if I don't, who's going to?"[/color] She pretended to focus hard on what she was doing, not facing Seviin as she spoke.

It was hot and dark and Seviin swallowed. She opened her eyes. She was not dead. She was not hideously burnt and broken. Xiuyang was there and she was alive because of her.

She swallowed again. She stood and added her forced to Xiuyang's to throw off the immense smoldering mass. [color=F0FFF0]"It is said,"[/color] she rasped, [color=F0FFF0]"that Mother Oirase sends her angels to protect her beloved."[/color] It was a dry, pained laugh. [color=F0FFF0]"Thank you, suunei. You are my favourite octopus."[/color]

Xiuyang blinked. [color=slateblue]"I suppose I have adopted something resembling a cuttlefish,"[/color] she replied. [color=slateblue]"Actually, I've always been a bit like that. I'm... a facemimic, so... I guess this new body doesn't bother me as much as it probably should."[/color] She decided not to mince words. There wasn't any pain in her voice over it.

[color=slateblue]"I don't think I can qualify to be an angel like this, but if the gods can use me, then I guess it doesn't matter if I'm human or not."[/color] She shrugged and took a deep breath. [color=slateblue]"You know, I used to fear that I would end up in Ypti or Oirase's hell just for being what I am, but I don't believe that anymore. That's what I meant when I said I know what it's like to hate yourself, and I'd never want you to feel that way. Sorry if I touched a nerve back there."[/color]

She paused for a moment. [color=slateblue]"Uh, I'm not dropping all this on you because I think we're gonna die or anything. I just wanted you to know before... I mean, who knows when we'll get another chance to talk... like this?"
[/color] She cut herself off awkwardly before she could dig a deeper hole.

For a moment, Seviin only stood there. They were free of the immediate danger, for now. She stood and listened. This new form of Xiuyang was... jarring, but how could she judge? How could she fear? She was something far more feral, deep down, and the Revidian had seen it too. She was sure of that. She had seen it and she had not been afraid so, perhaps...

The priestess' robes were anything but white. They were tattered and bloody and dusty and... not so very different than they had been back in Tanso, when a flood of casualties had come in. There was nothing beautiful about fighting, but sometimes you found yourself in a fight, one way or another.

She swallowed and nodded and regarded Xiuyang steadily. Her pulse, which had pounded behind her ears, settled. Her breathing slowed. Her hands relaxed. It would not be much longer, she knew. It couldn't be, and they would have the forge back on and this beast would go still [color=F0FFF0]"tomorrow,"[/color] she replied simply. [color=F0FFF0]"we will speak tomorrow, suunei."[/color] There was a smile to accompany it. [color=F0FFF0]"For now, we make that thing's path -"[/color] She glanced up at the leviathan. [color=F0FFF0]"-like stairs for a tethered."[/color]

Xiuyang's heart disquieted as she wondered what they would discuss tomorrow—but then, she understood. They would speak [i]tomorrow.[/i] It didn't need to be [i]about[/i] anything. Finally, she met Seviin's gaze and smiled. [color=slateblue]"That's a pretty big demolition project, but I know a guy,"[/color] she said with a facefull of cheeky grin. It only fully sank in now that she had seen Yvain alive and well.

Seviin's satchel beeped again.

Connection Successful! S.O.B now Operational. WARNING: Low Energy!

Seviin twisted and plucked the... remote from her satchel, turning it over in her hands. [abbr=Low energy?][color=F0FFF0]"Dyca roizex?"[/color][/abbr] She tilted her head to the side. [abbr= You can't just draw more?][color=F0FFF0]"Joi tawiip naso sein sacax yii?"[/color][/abbr] She regarded it and then looked over at Xiuyang and, beyond her, at the present situation. [abbr=What are you?][color=F0FFF0]"Elei [i]ya[/i] joi?"[/color][/abbr]

Hello [USER] and welcome to your first use of-
WARNING: Low Energy!
the S.O.B command board. Please present your face for facial scan.

Seviin tilted her head, glancing in Xiuyang's direction for a moment. She regarded the remote intently. [abbr=My face?][color=F0FFF0]"Seviinii sali yii?"[/color][/abbr] She examined the device, giving it her undivided attention. Perhaps this... machine could not draw magic. How very sad for it.

A ray of light scanned Seviin's face.

Facial scan complete. Thank you!
Would you like to s-
WARNING: Low Energy!
-ign up as a registered user?

Two options popped up. One 'Yes' in red, and one 'No' in green.

[abbr= You're welcome][color=F0FFF0]"Than'zeilei,"[/color][/abbr] the priestess replied with a certain reverence. Then, it was interrupted again by that other voice to remind it that its energy was low. [abbr= Please do not tire yourself too much, little friend!][color=F0FFF0]"Qitsiin wiip oxo yapa mitoip, hyco'lar!"[/color][/abbr] She did not know how to heal this little machine. She did not, and [i]oh[/i] how it ate at her. [abbr= Yes! I would like to register.][color=F0FFF0]"Ta! Seviin thoi socei alestoi."[/color][/abbr] She nodded vigorously. She understood red as the goddess' colour and so she pressed it.

The Leviathan roared. Its very scream was comparable to a small nuclear missile exploding. Truly, the only reason it hadn't killed everyone was due to its simplicity and singular goal. 

But now it was thoroughly aware of the insects' presence. It did not glare at one particular bug this time, however, and instead projected its blood lust onto ALL living beings that had beheld it. 

You have selected 'Yes'.

The turtle began [i]actively[/i] draw. Air currents that naturally passed by this region were ripped from their normal trajectory; the very heat of Sipenta's core was being suckled upon like an infant to its mother's breast; every little scrap of energy was being taken in by the merciless current of power that was its manas consciously drawing. All drawing was near impossible so long as the maelstrom persisted.

The result of this rapid drawing was the Leviathan retreating its six protruding limbs into its shell whilst a gargantuan mountain of hardened ice grew around it. In just two seconds, the peak had gotten higher than Halge Larchelon's central spire and kept on growing. It's width was threatening to swallow all those that kept their distance.

Please speak your name and insert a 4 number PIN as your password!

Inside was an incandescent light, a heat that was nearing the power of the very core Yvain nearly gave his life just to get close to it. It did not melt the mountain, the shell of the beast was keeping it contained.

[color=#b0a158]“Listen carefully!”[/color] it was Hu He's voice echoing through the loudspeakers of the city. [color=#b0a158]“It is about to freeze this city and likely the entire country we're in, blasting you with it.”[/color]

WARNING: Low Energy!

The unfathomably hot innards of the newly formed ice mountain was beginning to cause the mountain to steam. The shell's protection was faltering. It was going to explode. Everything in a two hundred kilometer radius was going to flash freeze. Everything would die.

[color=#b0a158]“Destroy the ice shell or find cover! ANY COVER! And pray.”[/color]

They had left a mark on the Leviathan, and now it had decided to leave a mark on the world. 

[color=8B008B]“Ah.”[/color] she realized the moment she tried to draw. [color=8B008B]“We're so fucking dead.”[/color]

Not enough to teleport away far enough.

Not enough to melt all this ice.

Not enough energy.

Energy Low- What a distracting device that thing was!

[color=8B008B]“Tone that piece of shit down, I at least wanna die in peace!”[/color] she scolded Seviin.

Then, it hit her. [color=8B008B]“Wait, wait-”[/color] 

The Mad Avatar twisted toward Leon. [color=8B008B]“Leeeeon! You don't need to suck! Do something!”[/color] she was being dramatic, but the dread was genuine. They were, in fact, going to die horribly if they didn't do anything. A Sunblessed was a solution, she believed.

For a moment, Seviin was dragged away from her interaction with the little machine. Seimax'omal itself was happening before her very eyes. [abbr= I'm sorry, little friend, but -][color=F0FFF0]"Naya suuluun, hyco'lar, cip -"[/color][/abbr] 

Then, Juulet spoke. Seviin whirled on her. [abbr= It is suffering! Have some empathy!][color=F0FFF0]"Uum ya uudei! Jex soan toalii'dorii!"[/color][/abbr] she snapped, and she decided, right there and then, to give the machine the four numbers that it wanted. [abbr= I am Seviin'delaan'taxoiya.][color=F0FFF0]"Nax ya Seviin'delaan'taxoiya,"[/color][/abbr] she began. [abbr= Your number is one-seven-one-five][color=F0FFF0]"Joia siixo ya yr-uum-yr-ix."[/color][/abbr] She took a deep breath and looked at Xiuyang, and prepared to run without magic but with all that she had.

Password accepted. Thank you Seviin'delaan'tax. 

The name was probably too long.

Please point the remote at your target.

A small screen displayed a tutorial on proper use of the remote control. It was as simple as pointing it and clicking a button.

Be sure to keep the remote control pointed for proper localization and accurate targeting.

The answer was pretty clear. He could run, freeze, and be remembered in history as one who fled. Or he could attack, and that promising archaeologist would see his frozen form diving forward with sword drawn. It was an easy choice for the portrait he wished to show the future. And if, by some miracle, he could succeed, it would only be by piercing through the mountain. It was time for that gambit again, the one that ensured his death should there be anything left to fight back, he would use everything.

[colour=fff200]"Fuck."[/colour] Eclipsed by the shadow of the newborn mountain, any grand, full-blown speech of the Sun King faltered him entirely. He was going toward his death, for if he survived this, he truly would be a god.

The performer readied his odachi and rose to the air with an increasingly blinding golden glow. The sword has little more use than a guide for Leon to channel a mighty blade of flame, under such an intensity that its simple steel composition would not survive the attack. Unsure of himself, unsure of his safety, the Sun King once again graced the skies with a frightening and far-reaching radiance. The only point to its circular form is the blade that leveled at the centre of the Leviathan's shell.

[colour=fff200][i]You are not to hit the shell, Leon, you are to going through it.[/i][/colour]

[colour=fff200][i]Oraff, Ipte, whoever will listen, please give me grace.[/i][/colour]

The Sun that now concealed the performer's form entirely dived toward the mountain at increasingly impossible speeds. Speeds with reckless disregard for his own life. The only thing that mattered was burying his sword into the tortle's shell, all else ended the same.

10 RAS to 1 RAS. The Sun falls.

Seviin's eyes widened. Was her little machine a warrior, somehow? But it was so small! Would it fly from her hand and go attack!? She couldn't see how, but she feared that it would die! [abbr= No no no!][color=F0FFF0]"Dii dii dii!"[/color][/abbr] she cried. [abbr= Do not throw your life away!][color=F0FFF0]"Wiip maas joia leloi pathiir!"[/color][/abbr] It kept trying to tell her how to release it to do its work, though. It did not give up. It was unconvinced. Could a machine even [i]be[/i] convinced? What she had learned so far told her that they were very stubborn and set in their ways. They completed their assigned tasks with the utmost focus. 

She took a deep breath and did as the machine asked. [abbr= Be careful][color=F0FFF0]"Ya dila'doin,"[/color][/abbr] She pointed it unerringly at the mountain of death and decided to believe. [abbr= Please, Mother Oirase, deliver us.][color=F0FFF0]"Qitsiin, Oirase'aloi, tan'dax luum."[/color][/abbr]

Target found.

A progress bar was rapidly filling on the screen.

Calibrating ...

Beep beep beep beep ...

[color=deb887][i]At least I had a front row seat,[/i][/color] Kaureerah mused. She could see Leon doing something incredible that only he could do. He was giving everything: all of his energy. The yasoi priestess was pointing something at the leviathan. Maybe it was some sort of ritual item? Maybe she was trying to [i]purify[/i] it? The eeaiko would not scoff, this time. People would deal with marhazannet each in their own ways. Kaureerah did not bother try to run. She could feel the very energy being sucked from her where she stood. 

She did not move. What a life. What a life she'd had. If only it could've ended better. All of her triumphs and failures occupied her mind's eye. She had survived the progenitor and a whole island full of people who had wanted to kill her. She had survived a millennia-old monster in the bowels of the Lost City. The Gods would not kill her, she knew. They would not let her taste victory either, but she would not die until it was her time.

Maybe this was it.

She imagined that surge of energy begin released but, strangely, it came fromt he heavens, instead. It surrounded the gargantuan dragon-turtle and bathed it in light. Maybe that was Leon. Maybe it was one of the Gods, come to answer Seviin's prayer. That was just how it appeared to Kaureerah, and she would have to make do with that.

When the snake-man's voice came, Xiuyang grumbled something under her breath as she stalked closer to the mountain of ice. The sensation in her chest was unfamiliar, like a burning in her heart. The Director's instinct to protect the Forge was bleeding into her own feelings. Rage was building. Now, the burning was in her throat. She tried to speak, but had to choke the words back, lest her friends be annihilated by this power.

She consumed the last of the draconic horn and drew as much of the surrounding terrain as she dared, until she was perched on a pedestal of rubble surrounded by a moat of nothing. There was hardly any energy, but there was substance, and though the conversion would take precious seconds, she would only get one shot anyway. [color=slateblue][i]I know there must be souls in the heavens that yearn to be reunited with these, but I also want to be reunited with the ones I love. Can I not be allowed the selfishness of youth and ask for a few more years?[/i][/color] She prayed for Eshiran to spare her once more as she prepared to unleash the infernal breath on the leviathan's shell.

The invigorating feeling of his attack landing onto such a behemoth was unlike anything.

. . .

Which was quickly replaced by annoyance.
[color=00e600]"Barely a scratch? . . tsk, insulting."[/color] 
His hand met his hip as he witnessed the nuclear device go off with similar results. 

Yvain took his stance again, preparing to do the same once more. [color=00e600]"Two times the charm."[/color] He tried to draw in for another fiery attack, but quickly noticed it was not enough 

Not enough to throw his flames upon the iceberg, even the blade could barely draw in any heat by itself. 

The options for energy were very limited, but he had one idea. It might not even work, but he had to try something, but the idea of it succeeding gave him the biggest smile.

He tried to excite and split the very air to gain the energy for a heavenly lance.

Calibration complete.

WARNING: Low Energy!

Sipenta Orbital Blaster ready.

Are you sure of this decision?

Another Yes - No option appeared.

[color=F0FFF0]"Do [i]you[/i] want to do this, Hyco'lar?"[/color] she asked, waiting momentarily for a response.

Confirmation needed.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Seviin did not understand machine! Not when it spoke its own strange tongue. Time was of the essence. The Gods had placed this power within her hands. It seemed... [i]eager[/i], she supposed?

She selected 'yes'.

None backed down. They were in it to win. Curious that the mad one of the bunch was initially the most rattled.

But Juulet saw them all fight - all of them, non-Gods, biting back. Even Seviin, the deranged pacifist, had time to care for others in a time of imminent death. 

So, as the destined Avatar to guide all toward a better world, what was she? 

Yvain, the near-dead Huusoi gave it his all in an encore with death.

Kaureerah, the weakest among them, channeled every bit of her will to their success.

Xiuyang, a girl that hated her guts, embraced her monstrous new state and unleashed the rage of Halge Larchelon.

Then there was Leon, now a shining star in the heavens. 

What kind of guide would she be if she just ran away?

From the VOID she drank. From time immemorial she gorged herself. 

 Below the base of the iceberg formed two, molten hands faster than any spell of this size could normally be. They both embraced the block of frost and squeezed. The frigid walls were tenderized from their combined assaults, perfect for the Sun King's arrival.

Confirmed.

The remote control spoke, nearly distracting Juulet from her moment.

A red beam of light befell the peak of the mountain. It didn't do anything other than reflect on the smooth, icy surface. 

Firing in-

Leon descended down like a shooting star while endless flames and lava hands never relented.

3

The shell within the cold casing was about to burst. It wasn't enough! They should've had hid!

2

Leon was just about to crash into the melting mountain's surface. Could he do it? Was he truly worthy of being the people's shining light?

1

Just as the Sun King cast the sun upon the imminent death of all in Sagand, the wrath of the Gods came with him.

The red beam became a blinding white all too similar to the ray unleashed by the Leviathan half a minute ago. It instantaneously pierced through the iceberg and attacked the center of the turtle's core. 

There was a delay. A single second where the light of incandescence had vanished. 

Then, it all blew up. A mighty light show that made the still dark-blue sky light up as brightly as a summer afternoon. What was meant to be a country-wiping explosion had turned into an implosion that swallowed all of the frost and took the Leviathan in a plume of white mist and smoke. The Sun King's gambit had paid off, the frigid death had stayed contained within the monster that mindless sought to spread it.

In that second where all had gone silent, the Avatar had fulfilled her duties. To her people, to her close allies. 

[color=8B008B]“Leon!”[/color]

She called out, but she was too late. The blinding light nearly took her too. All was gone, including their saviour. Juulet was left panting by the Forge's entrance, where there happened to be the snake-man, conveniently returned right as the final shockwave had passed.

Thank you for using S.O.B.

WARNING: Low Energy!

Please wait until new cal-

SHUTTING DOWN

The remote control was no longer responsive. It died giving its all for its new friend. A decisive blow that saved countless lives. A hero, to be sure.

A hero among heroes. And hero's job is never over.

As the mist cleared and the high of surviving what would have been a world-changing event passed, they'd see the shadow of the Leviathan once more. Head, tail, arms and legs out. It seemed ... Fine. 

Except, the very center of its shell had cracked with burnt pieces flung about and lodged into a few nearby piles of rubble. It did not bleed per se, but they had wounded it. 

Not that it would stop it.

[color=#b0a158]“Over here!”[/color] he stood before the broken elevator leading to the Forge with an exhausted Juulet by his side. Instead of his golden vestments, however, he wore an apron with a sky-blue tee below it. And-

What's that smell? It smelled of meat, smoky meat.

The guy had a barbecue right in front of him and a spatula in his hand. A variety of meats and even some vegetables were being prepped in different parts of the grill.

[color=#b0a158]“Just one final push. I believe in you all. Now, eat! I've tailored the menu just for you-”[/color]

Hu He blinked as he sprayed some sort of BBQ sauce on a patty.

[color=#b0a158]“What has happened to the Sunblessed?”[/color]

[color=slateblue]"What,"[/color] Xiuyang responded flatly, rising to her feet—claws—after staggering from the shockwave.

[color=slateblue]"The [i]fuck[/i] are you doing while we're all fighting to not die out here? Oi."[/color] She leered at the snake-man with wide eyes in a manner that was uncomfortably like Juulet. Her new limbs yearned to feed, however, and nearly seemed to forget who the man was as she approached.

She loathed to admit it, but she was not going to be repelling the beast any more without a pick-me-up. She was going to be taking a handout from the man who used her, and it made her furious that she was more starved than mad.

The Sirrahi raised his hand. [color=#b0a158]“Just try it. You'll understand.”[/color] calm, collected but keen on keeping his distance, he leaned his head back a little.

The snake man was speaking. The world was saved. Hyco'lan was dead. Powerful. He had been powerful beyond her wildest dreams. He had given it his everything. She turned the tiny machine over in her hands. There had been a subtle warmth to him while he lived: a little hum. That was gone. His glowing face was dark and cooling. [color=F0FFF0]"Are you there?"[/color] she asked, dreading and knowing the answer at once. [color=F0FFF0]"Hello?"[/color] Gently, she tapped Hyco'lan. There was no response.

Again and again, she turned him over in her hands: this strange little being that was not quite living and yet was more than a mere object. She could heal almost any damaged body. Yvain's survival was, at least in [i]small[/i] part, her doing. She could not heal a machine, though. She did not understand them but, surely, there must be a way! [color=F0FFF0]"Suuluun, Hyco'lan,"[/color] she murmured. [color=F0FFF0]"Suuluun. Naya'l luin zan juu seng joi pel."[/color] She gave the little machine a small glum squeeze and slipped him back into her satchel.

Everyone else was okay. Xiuyang was okay. The snake man was... [i]barbecuing[/i]!? She had little choice but to gather there, finding the entire thing at least a bit distasteful.

He was so focused on his own efforts that he had barely noticed that his companion had seemingly given his life. At first it was just the Given and Preserver of life that had blessed him,  but now he could not only thank the Bringer of War for shaping his very being into his instrument. The Seeker of Knowledge had also blessed him this day. His intellect matched by very few after furthering his knowledge of Deep Arcane. . . . . or so he at least thought for now. 

Yvain's joy was slightly hindered by the shockwave that had made him stumble back. His eyes dawned upon the leviathan that still did not seem to have been felled after all of it. [color=00e600]"Making that thresher look like an afternoon snack."[/color] The words resonated into his mind, it reminded him of the barbaric southerners of Eskand. . . 

The man was prepared to continue his assault, yet the voice of the snake man confused him. To his own dismay, his stomach rumbled. Perhaps he could take at least a small bite. He swiftly jumped off and made his way towards the serpent. [color=00e600]"Usually a feast comes after victory."[/color]

Kaureerah had known that she would be okay, but was Leon. She couldn't see him. She couldn't find him. She lifted from the ground as the leviathan stood there, still and smoking and shattered, but definitively not dead. By the same token, she suspected that this would not be the end of Leon either. She floated over to where Hu He was and was not shy about helping herself to the food.

Leon fell ass first onto the ground a little behind Hu He. It wasn't like there was any indication of his arrival, he was just suddenly there about a meter off the ground. He let himself collapse, sprawling out of the cold lifeless ground with face and chest skyward. His right sleeve had been ripped off, his hair was a complete mess, he had a bright shiny red clown nose on, and a big shit-eating grin painted his face. Slowly, he got up and looked at the rest of the party that had fought the Leviathan, then laughed and laughed and laughed, he was rolling around on the floor like an idiot.

[colour=fff200]"HAHAHAHAHA, haha, ha, oooh yeeaah....."[/colour] Finally settled, he fully sat up. [colour=fff200]"Did you miss me?"[/colour] Perhaps the performer lost his mind.

Kaureerah arched an eyebrow and plucked a burger from the grille for him. [color=deb887]"Waus waundereeng when yoo'd be beck."[/color] She cracked a lopsided smile.

Juulet's react was more extreme. Perhaps it was the meal that made her go over the moon, or the immense relief alone. In any case, the Yasoi ended up poucing the burger-eater for a big hug. [color=8B008B]“You stupid fuck-o!”[/color]

Xiuyang begrudged the Sirrahi a half-grin once she'd partaken of the barbecued food. It was a well-used grill, and the encyclopedia of beasts that had been charred upon it graced the meat with a flavor that may have [i]actually[/i] been of a divine nature. [color=slateblue]"Mm. Understood,"[/color] she agreed.

She turned back to the turtloid problem at hand. [color=slateblue]"If you want me to participate in round two, then I want seconds,"[/color] she demanded—but, before receiving an answer, heat began to build in her chest. She pounded just above her heart in vain as if it could stave off the burning. [color=slateblue][i]Ugh, I shouldn't. I shouldn't, but I'm going to.[/i][/color]

Yvain's expression was one of surprise, before turning into a soft smile. [color=00e600]"Look at you, back in one piece."[/color] The man could not help but snort softly as the Mad Avatar pounced the man. 

[color=00e600]"I've heard of people being incredibly lucky, but having the Lady of Fortune all over you is a bit much, don't you think?"[/color] His face soon showed that the irony of his statement was not lost on him.

Seviin... enjoyed the ketchup enough to lick her fingers, and she remembered to thank the chef, but he had still gotten all of them into this in the first place. There was still a seimax'omal-inducing monster a mere kilometer or two from them. Hyco'lan was still... dead, inasmuch as a machine could be.

Leon plucked the burger from her hand with performative flair and bowed his head in thank you. How chipper he was now, had the Leon from Forge died and replaced with the most enthusiastic of ones fresh from Ersand'Enise? For a moment though, had his eyes rested unusually long on the hand that once carried the burger?

Again, it seemed his movements savored every action and had little regard for excess energy spent. He flamboyantly devoured each bite like an ancient Avincian to a bowl of grapes, regal and gluttonous. [colour=fff200]"By the gods, this sandwich is better than sex right now, you wouldn't believe it."[/colour] He pulled in Kaureerah and gave her a kiss to the forehead, burger crumbs still present on his lips. And yet, for a woman so good at reading people, such a piggish action did not feel like disrespect was intended, it was an excess of passion that forced manners to the way side. What the hell had happened to him?

Then he got pounced on by a Mad Avatar. Such unexpected force had him stumble, but he very quickly sprung back. He accepted her into his other arm with a hug. [colour=fff200]"If diving into a space laser makes be stupid, then..."[/colour] No, she was right. 

He had seemed just a friendly to Juulet, but to the more observant, there was some hesitation in the performer. It wasn't easy to spot, but it was the first trace of hesitation or pause with anything Leon had done since his short time back.

[colour=fff200]"Back in two pieces."[/colour] Leon corrected Yvain with a smile before tilting his head forward and letting the clown nose fall to the floor with a squeak.

The Sirrahi wasn't so sentimental.

[color=#b0a158]“Now that you've all had your fill.”[/color] he shot an a promising nod at Xiuyang.

He pointed at the lumbering God coming their way. A massive set of claws pushed through the Fontaine Plaza. The Leviathan was coming.

[color=#b0a158]“We've unfinished business.”[/color]

Juulet scoffed. [color=8B008B]“Pffft. Old fucking news.”[/color] spoke the wannabe Goddess, high off her Enthish meal. Her grin was maniacal, but her eyes were filled with resolved rather than madness. Or were they really the same? [color=8B008B]“And if we do die, at least we made it sweat for it.”[/color] 

The scales on the turtle had hardened. It had adapted to them. The steam that gushed out of it was unbearable, even from their distance. This thing had never been more terrifying. And yet none of them would feel any more intimidated. They had survived the apocalypse, what was a few more moments with that pea-brained turtle?

Hu He checked his watch. [color=#b0a158]“Eleven seconds!”[/color] he yelled just as the next arm dragged it through where there once was a massive fog.

[color=8B008B]“Easy.”[/color]

Seviin steeled herself. It would be up to them to finish what had been started. Leon was... happier than she had ever seen him. Kaureerah was blushing and looking slightly... confused. The eeaiko had rallied, however. [color=deb887]"Aull auf yoo,"[/color] she announced, [color=deb887]"I em caunnected too."[/color] She traced a line down one of her arteries with a finger. [color=deb887]"My manas."[/color] She looked up and nodded. [color=deb887]"Aull auf aur pauwer cen be joined toogether. Wee aull drauw end I will heve to be the focaus."[/color]

Seviin swallowed as the beast began moving again. It was difficult to miss. [color=F0FFF0]"But will that... be enough?"[/color] she wondered aloud.

[color=00e600]"Not much we can do against this thing. One of my most powerful hits barely scratched it."[/color] He addressed the snake. [color=00e600]"Unless you want everything to come crashing down, then I could probably hit it like no other."[/color] The Perrenchman was still unsure if using an atomic spell on that level would be the most wise of a decision.

All connected, huh? Leon's mouth moved into a wry smile as something fun came to mind. From what he remembered, eleven seconds was nothing compared to the rest of that fight. He sat back down, took a deep breath in, and then channeled manifestation. For some reason, he had felt even stronger to channel after that burger. He flooded the new goldblood network with as much raw power as possible and let the others use it for their means.

Juulet crutched forward, taking the role of vanguard for this ragtag group of survivor. She raised her palm up high, and from a small spark she created an orb of plasma no bigger than a melon. 

[color=8B008B]“You guys hug-box all you want. I've got my ways of doing things.”[/color]

The ball swelled, now as big as a carriage. Then some more, and more. Until it matched the head of the beast. By then she had taken to the air as to not accidentally burn one of her allies. Her monsigneus-sized death sphere burned bright and did not fail to get a fleeting glance from the beast.

[color=8B008B]“Eat this, Emperor FUCK-O!”[/color]

The miniature star was hurled, collision imminent in a few seconds. It wasn't particularly fast, but the turtle was inteviably going to meet with it.

Yvain clicked his tongue, he did not wish to be outdone, especially not by another Avatar. Semi-divine people are to be ascended above. The man rushed forward, plans be damned. 

He drew in tandem to the sword's autonomous drawing. The very air heated up where he passed, the energy of it becoming more excited and unstable. Was he initiating a loop through air alone?

Realizing what the abbot in Vossoriya had done, Yvain began to charge an enormous spell at tremendous speed. His knowledge in the art of Deep Arcane had transcended and now he would put it to the test. 

A cataclysm in the making.

Hu He watched, spatula still in hand. And so his free hand found Kaureerah's. 

The Eeaiko felt her energy level swell even more and by quite a substantial amount.

The nuclear reaction was the base, the pyrokinetic properties of the immense heat generated from it only helped to enhance it. The Shockwave of the explosion would be bounced back by the school of Dami. 

A Touch of Fire to just crank up his heat even further and a [i]shock[/i] as the cherry on top. Through the heat built up, pillars of fire formed around it.

What he threw at this beast was no mere cataclysm as your everyday atomic mage might know it, it became [b]Divine Devastation[/b]

Eleven seconds wasn't enough to offer congratulations, condolences, suggestions or excuses. There was only the opportunity before her: Juulet had drawn its attention upwards, and soon the underside of its head would likely be exposed, and with any luck, its neck too. [color=slateblue]"There!!"[/color] she decided, grinning madly as she dashed forward. Each skittering step left a small crater as she drew at the floor in her wake, preparing another monster of an attack.

As she held back the burning in her throat for an opportune moment to strike, she realized from something like a memory that she could channel the infernal heat elsewhere. She stopped right in front of the leviathan's path, pointed all four of her tendrils at the beast, and joined four separate focused beams into a massive heat ray.

Kaureerah's eyes widened. Somehow, for [i]some[/i] reason, this felt more like the Leon she had known, the Leon she had fallen in love with. Was that a terribly cliched thought of hers? She did not have much chance to evaluate it, but she knew what she felt: as if she could fly without magic, as if they were a force to be reckoned with. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek as he channeled all of his power to manifest. She drew as much as she could. He drew, and then some. [color=deb887]"I won't let you down, Leon,"[/color] she said, dropping the accent that she had put on for some time now. [color=deb887]"We'll win, because the Gods have decided it."[/color]

The snake man's gift only confirmed such. He was shady and untrustworthy, despite his excellent cooking, but he was an ally for now, and they needed those. Then there came Seviin as well, pulling until her eyes started to become bloodshot. They began to collect an absurd amount of energy and Kaureerah worked to focus it. 

It would hit. She could imagine it like a great arcing tsunami of energy: taller than the leviathan itself. slamming into it like a wall, washing over it, catching it in its massive wake, and tumbling it backwards. This was everything. She felt like a tiny little child at the reins of a behemoth. The eeaiko trembled. Sweat beaded on her brow. The others launched their attacks, one by one and, for a moment, a wave of doubt consumed her. With them, they'd have had enough for certain, but making people work together, she had learned, was often like herding threshers. No matter. There was only one thing to do:

She released it.

Orvil had taken cover once the grand glacier had promised nothing but horrible end to all life. What could he do, now that his rocket had been fired? He was but an old man that had lived like a cave dweller for the majority of his life, he had long since lost his wanderlust and forgotten many of the experiences that made the man he was. Still, he wanted to live, but wisdom trumped the irrational will to fight back, especially when he lacked the power these outsiders did.

He had made his shelter in the ruins, not too far from the events - had no super speed after all. He could only watch, and even that was a terrible idea if he wanted a [i]chance[/i] at life. The veteran couldn't help it, these people were not what they had be brought to believe. Sure, they could see them as harbingers of the end - they had caused all of this.

But have they truly? This fate felt inevitable. No, it wasn't just a feeling. He had gotten wise enough to know it was a fact that their aging and isolate civilization was going to end. The outside world caught up and they were lucky enough to have well-intentioned men and women. 

A bright light flashed. They had done it. They stopped the great calamity. 

When it stood back up, they continued to fight. That right there, it brought him back to his own foolish youth. When he could still ride the boats like most of his people. He never wanted to admit that he had made a mistake to remain a reservist for the next fifty years, all because he felt a sense of duty when their Director fell. Fifty years ... 

Cruelty to outsiders, the enemy, had become normal.

Hatred of the other became mandatory for survival.

Fear reigned supreme.

And yet here they were, risking their lives for the Forge. Perhaps it wasn't just for his people, but surely they could have plundered what they wanted by the time that thing had its way with the place. But they fought regardless, against a God that wouldn't negotiate.

Orvil had one last trick up his sleeve. He seized his heavy launcher and dragged it as close as he could to the beast.

A massive orb of heat descended upon its head.

A ray of of heat trounced its neck as it had raised it to engage the sphere.

From high up, a magnificent beam of power befell the cracked shell, forcing the beast to strain its limbs to keep itself standing.

And finally, square on its beak, was the final and biggest release of power he had ever seen - at least from something that wasn't a turtle.

Yet, this thing still stood, roaring in rage as it resisted. And so, for once in his life he could break free of the shackles of regret and fear. He charged in, well within the danger range of the Leviathan. His suit slowly began to peel, and so did his skin, but he didn't care. He needed to get close enough ...

With a mighty heave, he threw his rocket launched with two grenades attached right by its fuel container. And just as it landed by the thing's strained claws, it exploded in a mini-mini-nuke. Just enough to have it lose its footing-

It fell! Right on its underbelly. The Leviathan hadn't just been stopped it was forced to recoil back! 

Surely, they had finally done it ...

The Leviathan fell. Its face burn and its shell wound sore. The question of whether it was dead or not shouldn't even be asked; there was no killing this thing. If satellite lasers weren't enough to truly wound it, then what chance did they have?

But they had bought a lot of time. Enough so that, unbeknownst to these heroes, the reactivation process had begun. The black orbs that constituted the unusual fuel of the core began to move and rotate in their electromagnetic bubble. A light hum could be heard throughout the forge. 

The turtle, briefly rattled, stood again after discovering rage and hatred for the first time in thousands of years. Its eyes burned with a primal rage that could not be satiated. Its charred beak opened the moment the smoke cleared and energy gathered into its throat - ten times the amount it had unleashed on Seviin a minute before. 

So much power. No being on this planet had ever matched this without some sort of forbidden school complimenting it, and this creature just did through its basic bodily functions. It was a pure, white light that generated it own gravity as the creature's head flailed about in fury.

This was it. The light at the end of the tunnel. Death by turtle. 

As it readied itself to vomit its stream of legendary destruction, a certain warmth washed through the entirety of Halge Larchelon. A pleasant sensation that trumped the gravitational grandeur of the death ray and the dread some may have felt as the inevitable came regardless of their actions. Feelings of injustice - this was completely unfair! - feelings of betrayal and the loss of all hope washed away.

Just as the sheer vehemence boiling in the Leviathan faded to nothing. The core was back, it sensed, and so its prime directive had been dashed. There was no need for destruction, and there was no need to maintain this excessive show of power in its mouth.

Once again, if flailed and attempted to close its beak. The sheer might of his jaw clamping down and gnawing at all that energy compressed it all into a certain point. 

First, it became black, distorting space and time itself- not just that, reality faltered. Time slowed down and accelerated, gravity grew and then reduced itself to zero, colours became smells and sounds became complex concepts. All so dizzying to think about, but this lightshow was but a fraction of a second before ...

It belched. Not a chaos marble. Not its last meal. But an iridescent mass of ... Something. It pulsed like a heartbeat. It flashed of many colours. It radiated something ... Pleasant. Inviting. A perfect confluence of temporal, dimensional and reality warping. It floated right near the grill.

With the poison purged, the Leviathan began its slow attempt as a U-turn. Very slow. Like a turtle.[/color][/hider]

	[color=757163][i]Xiuyang comes away from her battle with the Leviathan certain that her most uncertain times were guided by the gods. As she comes to terms with her new body and her new role as an agent of Eshiran, one question remains: does someone like her still belong on Sipenta? Will she ever again have a place to call home, and people to call family, or will she have to wait until the day of her soul's redemption? [b]Can[/b] she be redeemed..?[/i][/color]
[hider=The Hearthkeeper's Signet][color=757163]Leon had seemed taken aback by Kaureerah's dropped accent. For such a simple answer as her dropping what she had propped up with intention, he wordlessly seemed to make a lot more out of it. Cogs in the head churning with some visible notice to those that knew him. But the performer shook his head and smiled back at her. [colour=fff200]"I believe in [i]you[/i]"[/colour] he said back, seemingly in reply to her comment about the gods.

He didn't do much physically during. He had put a great deal of effort into channeling and flooding the goldblood network with power, but he sat back with his hands rested behind him. His mind pondered those shaded spectacles that he had seen the bandaged woman where in the Fountain District, those would be perfect right now as he admired the others go to work. Alas, he had not the time to manifest them and he would have to go without.

He seemed relatively unbothered by the leviathan's retort. The increasing danger gave him little pause and it didn't seem to paint his face with fear. Only when the beast had leveled its laser at the group had Leon expression changed. Something came over him, the smile faded, was it form of sadness or an accepting frustration. He brought his hands up and slightly bent in front of him; it was almost as though he was going to do a backflip from a sitting position. But then the core had been restored, the tortle settled, and Leon placed his hands back beside him in a sun bathing position. He basked in the splendor of unknowable, reality-warping matter that floated toward the grill.

[colour=fff200]"I don't suppose you know what that is, do you Cojones?"[/colour] A finger pointed to the new centre of attention now that the leviatian was walking away.

Juulet fell from up high, softening her landing at the last second to end up flat on her back. 

[color=8B008B]“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!”[/color] she outstretched her limbs like a star. Well, a star with a very short fifth point. [color=8B008B]“Weeee did it~”[/color] 

Then, she perked up, sitting perfectly upright and sniffed the air.

The snake had let out a sign of relief and, like a warrior relinquishing his sword when the war was finally declared to be over, dropped his apron on the handle by his grill. Like many others, his attention was taken by the pulsating mass of multi-coloured power before them, although he wasn't nearly as enraptured as the others. [color=#b0a158]“I prefer Hu He. Or, if you'd like my real name, Mychal One.”[/color] he bowed her head like it was a new introduction.

[color=#b0a158]“As for-”[/color]

[color=8B008B]“Pulsating Ab!”[/color] interrupted Juulet, prompting the snake to lower is finger that had promised a long explanation on the phenomenon. [color=8B008B]“The best treat there is, fuckos!”[/color] she hopped on her one foot and rapidly crutched toward it with her hand already hovering near the echoing sphere of power.

Orvil had since caught up, completely out of breath, knees flexed and hands upon them. The poor old man was very much at his limit.

The turtle still hadn't even gotten half-way through it spin. But when it did and its eyes was angled just right to capture the group, it stopped.

[h1]"MMMMMRRRRRPPPPPPP."[/h1]

A deep voice caused the whole world around them to vibrate. The Leviathan stared at them for just a second before continuing its revolution.

[color=#b0a158]“I think it was, for a second, curious about us.”[/color]

Death retreated from the survivors of Halge Larchelon.

Xiuyang watched as the turtle slowly turned around. She was unable to take her eyes off of it. It was less than a god, but it was about as close as any mortal being could get to one. Something about it walking away with a wound on its back was mesmerizing. There were people in the world who wanted to control it, she remembered. [color=slateblue][i]Perhaps, the next time we meet, I'll be fighting to free you from those who would use you,[/i][/color] she thought.

Then it... chirped. Like a warrior giving a nod of respect after a hard-fought battle, it acknowledged them. Xiuyang felt as if Eshiran herself had acknowledged her, too—her right to exist, her strength and her... courage. Yes. She had seen the true face of cowardice today, and she'd chosen another way. She was not a coward. She was brave, and strong. Maybe Ashon was right; she could really be a hero.

Tears ran down her cheeks as the emotions she'd had no time to feel caught up to her. She cried with a smile, knowing that she would not fear death anymore. What remained was a profound faith in the gods, the relief of a burden of fear and regret, and the gratitude of being given more time after having made peace with Eshiran and laid her own fate willingly into her pale hands. How beautiful life could be, embraced as a temporary gift, unburdened by the fearful grasping of the heart that clings too desperately to it.

The Revidian's tendrils folded up, unraveled themselves and wrapped around her body like ribbons. The girl nearly stumbled as her weight was once again placed on her own legs—her human legs. Her new legs felt sore, and to ease the pain, she reached for her shoulders. It was a strange thing—alien, even—but there was no rage or bitterness over what the Hegelans had "done to her."

There was only a feeling of peace that surpassed all understanding—Seviin, whom she hugged—and the colorful wonder that enraptured the excitable Juulet. Xiuyang walked to her, lacking the viper-like tension of their earlier encounter in the sewers—like a person who just happened to be sharing the same space right now. The pulsating aberration gave her a feeling that reminded her of the revolution, and that time she and her friends had been birthed from an egg and met the goddess of another land. She gave Juulet a nod.

Then, she spotted Orvil, looking very tired. She flashed him a smile and sent a blessing of vigor his way. She, too, gave him a warrior's nod of respect.

The drums of war that beat within Yvain's heart began to roll to their conclusion.

His eyes were cast upon the Leviathan that seemed to turn back. [color=00e600]"Hah. . ."[/color] A chuckle left the man's lips as he sheathed his blade. [color=00e600]"Bwahahahahaha!"[/color] His arms spread upwards, addressing the very heavens. [color=00e600]"Did you witness me, Castello?"[/color] the roar of laughter intensified. [color=00e600]"Great-grandfather! I am not your pale imitation! I am your equal! . . . No, I will rise above you, O' Blessed King Verusand !"[/color] 

His entire pantheon had endorsed him. He had sacrificed himself to become an instrument of the Destroyer. The Judge and Creator had approved of his actions. The Learner had given him inside in his times of need, from learning to excite the air to taming the metal-horned beasts. The Lover had blessed him from birth, something he had always seen as a curse. . . yet he could not think of it that way any longer. All of them were blessings and he should treat them as such.

Now he knew how the late Paradigm Hunghorasz felt, he was just like him. Having the power to opress, to destroy. . but he will follow his footsteps and protect, praying to the Creator to be granted a long and fulfilling live like his role model.

The Yasoi's voice broke through his thoughts of grandeur. [color=00e600][i]A what aberation?[/i][/color] His hand rubbed his chin to think. He had faced certain death so many times, but if it was as good as that Avatar stated it was. . . he could risk it again, no? Yvain needed all the strength he could muster to fill such monumental shoes. 

He rushed towards it, putting his trust in the Yasoi.

Kaureerah twisted to regard Leon. She crouched down beside him and, after a moment, sat, eyes on the horizon, watching the leviathan recede into the distance. [color=deb887]"It's a bit jarring, isn't it?"[/color] Was she referring to her dropped accent or to the retreating colossus. She leaned back and the wind stirred her long dark hair. The sun warmed her skin. [color=deb887]"But I think I believe, Mister Sun, that the Gods have a plan for each of us."[/color] She shook her head. [color=deb887]"I'm not afraid anymore."[/color] 

Her gaze shifted in the direction of the pulsating aberration as Seviin spoke. The priestess dripped with moral condescension, thinly-veiled, but she was not a bad person. Kaureerah rose and reached out for the multicoloured mass. [color=deb887]"Something sweet that won't ham me sounds pretty good right now, dontcha think?"[/color]

Seviin regarded the pulsating sphere with some degree of wonder. She knew what it was. It would open a path to the dimensions of the Gods. She had been blessed enough to have been invited in the past in this manner. 

The priestess looked around. How triumphant the others looked, how [i]eager[/i], but did they truly deserve it? Had they earned this? How many lay dead from their efforts: man, beast, and machine? How many more would join them in the coming months or years with what they had released?

There was something inside of her: that same instinct that had pushed her to search for coins and interact with machines and make the leap of coming to Ersand'Enise, and yet... Seviin scowled. It begged her to touch the shiny thing. It promised her reward - oh so sweet a reward. 

All that they had done was to offset some of the immediate harm that they had caused through their selfish greed and ignorance. How they strutted and crowed; how they patted themselves on the back in self-congratulation, but this was the most hollow of 'victories': a price paid by the rest of the world so that the personal power of a handful might grow.

It was not, the priestess knew, what Mother Oirase would want. Seviin had come here to protect Xiuyang and the others. She had come here to prevent Pluurii from achieving the Emperor and Empress' goals. She had succeeded, after a fashion, at the first; she had failed utterly at the second.

[abbr= Many are the fruits offered by Levidan. You will know them by their sweetness, for they must pretend to be what they are not. Meanwhile, doing the right thing is its own reward.][color=F0FFF0][i]Coan ya pa cryax el'senoi tii Leviidan. Joi wes'al tuum tii tuumo po'qit, taxen tuum hiing niimost juu ya elei tuum na. Edleizya, juup pa luuc siilan y'apo wasei.[/i][/color][/abbr] It came to her from the Testament of Wisdom. Proverb 5:11. 

Seviin swallowed and regarded the pulsating aberration. She looked up and nodded as they streamed in. [color=F0FFF0]"It will not injure your person,"[/color] she said, by way of answer to some of the others' wonderings. [color=F0FFF0]"It will offer you sweet reward."[/color] With that, she turned away.

Xiuyang watched Seviin's departure with a pained expression, but she quickly recovered. This was Seviin: she judged. She had appeared to be changing for a time—becoming just a bit more tolerant of both general mischief and necessary violence—but in the end, she had not changed, and that was her strength. Xiuyang was moving forward, and Seviin was staying in place. Oraff made nothing without purpose. Both would serve their disparate roles. Both could still be friends who cared for each other, even if they did not fully understand one another.

[color=slateblue]"Yes. I would rather enjoy some sweetness and light for a change,"[/color] she agreed, giving her inferno blanket an grateful and affectionate squeeze. After the hike through the sewer with Juulet and all the brushes with death, all she wanted to do was go home and take a bath—a Rettanese style bath, so hot that she almost couldn't stand it, so she could forget about this cold and lifeless city. She wanted to embrace Ciro until the dawn came, but... would he still want her in his life after what she'd become?

She could not hide it from him forever. He would ask why she was wearing bandages again, and she was a very poor liar in the company of those she cared for. It was... inevitable, she supposed, but she would think about that later. Now, she was to have the company of the gods.

It had just occurred to Juulet that Kaureerah was using normal-speak. A moment had to be taken to shoot a weirded out look at the Eeaiko. Not a long one, though, as the fear of missing out was too strong, even as her hand was just an inch away from the orb. 

[color=8B008B]“Leon.”[/color] she whistled. [color=8B008B]“Come ON!”[/color] she was going to drag the soon-to-be Revidian if she had to before finally touching the aberration.

Hu He stayed behind, near the Yasoi who had decided to do the same. [color=#b0a158]“I, for one, understand.”[/color] he stated without judgement, watching the others indulge in their spoils. [color=#b0a158]“I will stay behind too and ensure good company.”[/color]

Orvil, on the other hand, rushed over to join in the party. He knew what this is, or at least had a good idea of how they worked. If there was a chance for him to make up for all that he regretted, buy himself more good years with this power, then so be it. Perhaps, after this, he'd have the strength to lead his people to the right path now that the storm had passed.

Once the first touch was made, the pulse increased in strength. More joined until, after a few seconds, it expanded into a flash of light that encompassed all, but only took those that had dared to reach into the unknown.

Some said the experience of entering a Divine realm differed from person to person, others said it was a unique experience depending on which Gods were being visited. Leon, Juulet, Xiuyang, Orvil, Yvain and Kaureerah would believe the latter to be the truth as they all felt the same richness in the air as they took in their first breath. It was like the air nourished them with more than just oxygen, an haute-cuisine for the lungs that made them feel as invigorated as the meals the Sirrahi had made for them.

They all stood on a star-shaped stone island about the size of a typical town square with each point leading to a different, narrow bridge made of crude stone and no protective railing.

At the end of each path was pedestal with an object, illuminated by the stars above - stars, and yet they were clearing indoors, somewhere, somewhen? No, they weren't stars, but minerals that shined as bright as the night sky. 

One was a chisel, with a river of clear water passing under the bridge and spanning well beyond the darkness in the horizon.

One was a hammer, in the middle of a torrent of magma shining brighter than the any torch.

One was a flask, one the other side of a sea of bright, multi-coloured gems.

One was a sword, guarded by a peculiarly stagnant and clear liquid beneath its bridge.

One was a flame, the smallest among the lines of torches lining the bridge above a bottomless chasm.

There were no clear instructions, only options.

Xiuyang glanced curiously at each of the paths. For some reason, some of them were shorter than others. The chisel was close, but she was not an artist. There was the sword, but she was not a swordsman. However, there was a small, persistent flame that filled her with an uncertain kind of yearning she couldn't quite place.

The ribbons on her back and arms twitched as she instinctively tried to use her new limbs to walk instead of her own two legs. She let out a quiet curse—rather irreverent, she knew—as she walked across the bridge. Each passed over a different kind of obstacle that must have held some kind of meaning. She felt like she had to have this flame at the end of the path, or she would feel empty inside, like the abyss below.

Xiuyang approached the flame, but as she did, she realized that it was an out-of-place hearth, as though it had been removed from someone's home and simply placed there. Darkness encroached around her as she drew nearer—once she stood in front of it, there seemed to her to be no other source of light in the entire divine realm. She had only the flame before her. The wood snapped as it burned, and the scent of the burning logs awakened childhood memories of colder Torragonese winters, before she'd ever boarded that ship for Ersand'Enise.

Etched into an iron plate where one would normally find a chimney was a simple instruction—a task given by a divine being. She considered it and wondered. For a mage of her caliber, it should be quite simple—mundane even—but given the feeling that filled her heart as she gazed into the flame, perhaps that was the point.

[color=slateblue]"Am I to challenge a divine flame with my gift? I don't think you're interested in that kind of power,"[/color] she remarked to whatever being might be listening. [color=slateblue]"A humble, quiet and persistent strength is what I see in you, and that's how I got this far. I kept my head down and waited for the gods to provide a way."[/color]

Kneeling down, she unwrapped the inferno blanket from around herself. [color=slateblue][i]Like removing a cake from the oven,[/i][/color] she told herself, holding the blanket up with her arms in the shape of a hammock. Hands covered, she reached out for the logs, aiming to cradle them between her arms in the heat-generating blanket. If it could withstand the temperatures required to keep her body warm during even the most severe blizzard without being consumed by its own heat, it stood to reason that she could use it like an oven mitt—she hoped.

[color=steelblue][i]Did you burn your finger? Aw, sweetie. It'll be okay. Come here,[/i][/color] her mother's voice echoed in her mind. Would she ever become a mother? How [i]could[/i] she? What child would want to be mothered by such an abomination? It was all well that Eshiran had used her for a divine purpose, but what would her new life be worth if she would have no one to share it with?

No home.

No rest.

No hope.

Just an emptiness, like the chasm below. It yawned and threatened to swallow her. She was not afraid to be burned by the fire if it meant that her heart would never have to feel that emptiness again. Her hands trembled. She cradled the flame in her arms and gazed into it as if it were the only thing in her world.

[color=slateblue]"Where is... my home?"[/color] The Torragonese, Rettanese, Revidian eldritch-woman inquired softly, painfully, as though the world—the gods—owed her one. Tears flowed down her regenerated face. [color=slateblue]"[i]Amore...[/i][/color] She grit her teeth and sobbed.

Many had already made their decision, while Juulet sat in the center of the star, crutches on the floor and her one knee raised as an arm rest. Her celebratory demeanor had quickly shifted to the rarely seen pondering state of the Mad Avatar. The peaceful quietude of the realm had always done wonders in posing her and remove the static in her mind. She relished it each time she could, knowing full well time was on her side and partly enjoying the occasional anxiety the idea of choice brought to those unfamiliar. Ahn-Dami was truly a sadist, she believed.

Each point was eventually going to be chosen; she could tell how they all held themselves, how they convinced themselves to take a certain path but believed their true nature to be otherwise. The one legged Yasoi was like that too, but she hid that fact just as well as every other emotion that wasn't some sort of aggression, whether joyful or hostile. When all eyes were away from her figure, she looked to one side - the one with the strange liquid and the literal light at the end of the path. A path that, for her, was a mere few steps to its destination.

Xiuyang had taken it too, but faded into a surreal mist that defied the rules of nature they had known - the Revidian was gone. In her place was the hearth in which the flickering flame beckoned Juulet in her hesitation between it and the equally proximal sword. 

She approached it what had called for her. 

"Hold me without harm."

Written in Enthish. 

No- In Hyparish-Yasoi. Juulet blinked. It was, in the end, Avincian.

[color=8B008B][i]Hold a flame.[/i][/color] she scoffed. [color=8B008B][i]What I do all day.[/i][/color]

With both her hands, she reached out, fingers slightly hooked as if she was trying to behold an unseen orb around the fire. With a twinge of the gift, he pulled the flame into her grasp and-

It was gone. She blinked. One of her palms, she looked at it closely, and there was the faintest hint of redness, not even a burn. [color=8B008B][i]Is my pepper actually a scam?[/i][/color] she wondered before trying again. The same, utter failure. This time an amber had touched the tip of her nail. And then the next time the head had eventually warmed her palm enough for the mildest discomfort - a failure.

Juulet grew frustrated. [color=8B008B][i]What the fuck is this bullshit?[/i][/color] she wondered, alone in this small island. All the others were gone, taken by their own paths. All that was around her was a dark, cold chasm with the lightest of breezes forcing the flame to keep on dancing. No matter how much she tried, how great her power, she could not house this flame without pain. [color=8B008B][i]Why are you defying me? Can't you see you were supposed to keep me safe?![/i][/color] 

The Yasoi began to scowl. The next try, she squashed the flame with her bare hands. The time after that she tossed it off the chasm. [color=8B008B][i]You![/i][/color] the rage was building. She wanted to break something, or someone, so badly. [color=8B008B][i]You were supposed to keep ME safe![/i][/color] the wooden corners of the hearth began to catch fire. 

[color=8B008B][i]I didn't want to leave.[/i][/color] the fireplace had changed. Among the stones were drawn pictures made by a child of a family. A father, a big sister, a young but still older brother, and a little girl. The more she acknowledged it, the hotter the flame she tried to hold felt. Her hands blistered the more she tried. [color=8B008B][i]Why did you let them take me away?! I just wanted to go back home.[/i][/color] the picture began to burn, starting as a growing burn mark on the face of the father, until it was completely consumed. The chasm had changed into the drawing room she had grown up in, now empty. It caught in flame too.

All of it burned, until there was nothing but flame around Juulet. Then, she too burned. The pain was immense, the heat unbearable, yet they did not consume her eyes, nor the tear forming in it.

The hearth had turned completely into ash. All that remained was that single, distinct flame that existed. Juulet herself, now a mere human shape made entirely of flames with two, violet eyes. She regarded that flame with all the pain she had suffered through in her short lifetime. As a tear finally befell the flickering, little flame, it evaporated right before it could touch the precious thing. 

[color=8B008B][i]I can't go back. There is no home for me. I am the tempest.[/i][/color]

Like she had done the first time, she held the flame, but this time she closed her palm beneath it to lift the thing. The burning woman did not feel anything anymore. She was soon fading into nothing.

[color=8B008B][i]I'll make my own home. One for all of you, for the day you all lose yours.[/i][/color]

Juulet sniffled and embraced the flame close to herself. Too hot to let any air current tug at the flame, too hot to be harmed by such a humble light. 

[color=8B008B][i]I will be your home. I will be your warmth. I will keep you all safe.[/i][/color]

No harm came to the flame.

[color=8B008B][i]Even if I must burn. I will be your light.[/i][/color]

Juulet closed her eyes, and then opened them again. She had not become like Yvain, nor did the pain linger anywhere else than her mind. The flame she had so carefully mothered and sheltered was no more too. Only a signet with the mark of the Hearthkeeper, engraved in Torch Emerald.

They all made their choices, some braved trials, others thought long and hard on their decisions. But all emerged with the blessings of their chosen path with magical signets as proof. They found that the first finger they would fit it in, the size of the ring would adjust. Juulet chose her right thumb, while Orvil was content with his right middle finger. 

[color=blue]“A titan was lulled back to sleep.”[/color] a masculine voice echoed through the cave.

[color=red]“Two others stir in an island abundant with life.”[/color] a feminine voice, this time.

[color=yellow]“Soon the call will be heard and the world will shake altogether.”[/color] another woman's voice.

[color=green]“Find the keys to their hearts. Become masters of their rage.”[/color] a man spoke with a deeper voice.

[b]“Before the the All-Knower's Judgement befalls the world.”[/b] they all spoke in unison.

The shining star-stones above began to grow in brightness, progressively becoming one big light. 

[color=red]“You've precious little time left. Please, hurry.”[/color] a female voice pleaded as all in the realm were blinded by the singular, massive light. Then, they felt nothing. White became black and they were left floating in the space between worlds.

The pulsating aberration had given its final beats of life before expanding like a dying sun to about quadruple its size. And then, it collapsed into itself, leaving behind the group of signet-holders, all on their feet and restored from any injures they may have sustained. Before them was Mychal the snake, twisting to face them, and most of the Hegelans that had evacuated from the Forge. 

There were about fifty of them, families with young children, enforcers without helms, researchers and technicians. Zuri stood at the front, while Rurin kept close, gun in hand but did not raise it. Maiv was there too, utterly exhausted but very much alive after having revived the core on her own. 

[color=#b0a158]“Ah! You finally finished.”[/color] spoke the Sirrahi with a chipper attitude. Just as he uttered those words, a large thud could be heard in the distance. [color=#b0a158]“Just in time, the Leviathan has just found his nest.”[/color] in the horizon, their enemy had become an innocuously small island covered in frost. Right above it was the beautiful morning sun in a perfectly clear sky.

Zuri took a step forward, her new translator working without a hitch. [color=#102a4d]“On behalf of my people,”[/color] she lowered her head. [color=#102a4d]“we thank you. And we ask you to forgive us.”[/color] she got on her knees and set her hands upon them. [color=#102a4d]“Any wrongdoing may be directed toward me.”[/color] she then clenched her fingers. [color=#102a4d]“But I ask that justice be made for my husband too. He was just a scientist, he did not deserve what happened to him.”[/color]

The Exemplar turned to the group. [color=#b0a158]“Well? I'm curious to hear your intentions involving this Forge, and its people.”[/color]

Juulet, however, seemed unimpressed. [color=8B008B]“I really don't care.”[/color] she scrubbed the inside of her ear whilst approaching her serpentine associate. [color=8B008B]“Let them repent or whatever, I got what I want. And I didn't kill any dude.”[/color] there were plenty a glares levied her way, to which she glared back. [color=8B008B]“What?! Yeah, I stabbed HER-”[/color] she gestured her crutch toward the Director. [color=8B008B]“But she's fine. And she said it was totally fair game to go at her. So, fuuuuuck you.”[/color]

Mychal's attention went to the others, and Orvil had purposefully stayed quiet. Listening was the first step to proper communication and guidance, he had realized.

Yvain stared at the group gathered. He did not feel any sort of resentment, for all the trials and tribulations have made him feel like a wholly reborn man. In truth, he was rather thankful. Not that he could voice such words whilst still seeming sane to them. The voices back within that place still rang through his mind, but to chase after those massive beasts seemed like suicide. . . but there was also the thrill of attempting it despite those odds. [color=00e600][i]The keys to their heart. . .[/i][/color] He stared at the ring on his finger. 

It would be then that he realized the main reason all of this had occurred. The reason he trekked to that sun. [color=00e600]"Where is Yuliya?"[/color] He presented himself towards the Hegelan director. [color=00e600]"Are you able to save her still?"[/color] His eyes forced contact with the other. [color=00e600]"If so, that would be the first action of repentance."[/color]

[color=pink]“She is fine.”[/color]

A voice behind Yvain answered him, a familiar one he had head countless times in both dreams and reality. A gentle pat on his shoulder demonstrated that he wasn't hallucinating anymore.

[color=pink]“Sorry, I have allergy to turtle and fat snakes.”[/color] Yuliya jested. [color=pink]“But thank you for saving me, all of you.”[/color]

Xiuyang snorted, holding back a laugh. [color=slateblue][i]She called him fat. Never change, Yuli.[/i][/color] The Hearthkeeper's signet rested on her right ring finger, itself a mirror to what would hopefully one day be a wedding ring.

She sighed and shook her head. [color=slateblue]"Rather than an apology for doubting us, I'd rather you be grateful,"[/color] she began somberly. [color=slateblue]"To us, and to them,"[/color] She gestured to Orvil and to Maiv respectfully. [color=slateblue]"Apologies cannot undo what has been done, but repentance, courage and gratitude can repair the future for those left."[/color] She seemed just a touch embarrassed as soon as the words left her mouth. She thought herself more of a scoundrel than a sage.

[color=slateblue]"Concerning the Tarlonese agent..."[/color] She looked at Zuri. [color=slateblue]"Your husband's murderer not only shut down the core, she threatened everyone I care about, in word and deed. I will not sleep soundly until she is dead."[/color] Her eyes darted over to Hu He, regarding him curiously. What did the Hegelans intend to do about the one who brought them all here to shut down the Forge, when not all of them agreed to it in the first place? [color=slateblue]"You have my sympathy, and my sword."[/color]

[color=fff200][i]Find the keys to their hearts... Become masters of their rage...[/i][/color] It was a nice idea that brought a pleasant grin to his face. It was possible to control these things, swag their hearts, and negate the world ending danger they caused. However, the gods seemed to have left out any means of actually finding these 'keys'. It might as well have been a quest to 'rule the world'. Sure, everyone would want to do it, a lack of want or direction wasn't the thing that stopped people from achieving it. He dismissed the thought as he swaggered out of the aberrations final light with the Composer's Signet around his right pinky.

Leon regarded the hegelans situation. The performer's original goal was to use the power of the forge for himself then disable it so it couldn't be used in a pawn of war. Well, the hegelan's defenses now lay devestated and the very notion of turning the Forge off would awaken a world ending beast. Truly, he had failed in his goal and never had a chance of achieving it in the first place. If anything, Halge Larchalon was now more ripe for the taking than ever. He turned to Zuri with the first serious expression he had shown since coming back. [color=fff200]"Are you able to rebuild your defenses quickly? If not, I would leave this place when you can. Revidians have a habit of housing ships around remote islands and I'm sure its more than just them that have their eyes on this place."[/color] 

He didn't linger long on them nor did he wait on an answer. Bouncing back to jubilation, Leon practically waltzed over to Yuli. He took her hand, raised it up, and spun her around like a ballarina's flourish. [color=fff200]"Allergy? You seem the picture of health now, we are best to cure that with some drinks, no?"[/color]

Orvil stepped forward as both sides began to share their pieces. 

[color=#747d7c]“Zuri.”[/color] he called out with a soft voice, his hands landing on her shoulders. [color=#747d7c]“You've guided us through our darkest times. It cost you almost everything,”[/color] he sighed. [color=#747d7c]“but not your dignity. Stand with me.”[/color] slowly he helped her up. The distraught leader seemed hollow, like there would be no tomorrow.

But the older enforcer had a different demeanour, a complete antithesis. [color=#747d7c]“We will erect out defenses again, Leon”[/color] he answered to Leon, solemn and resolute. He even did an effort to use the proper accent for the name. [color=#747d7c]“We'll be prepared. Our ships will receive news of this change and surely we'll have more resources and people.”[/color] his attention then turned to Xiuyang. [color=#747d7c]“Thank you, Miss Solari.”[/color] he did not use his translator for this one as he smiled her way. [color=#747d7c]“The culprit has betrayed you, I saw this first hand and-”[/color]

[color=#b481c7]“I saw it too.”[/color] Maiv interjected. [color=#b481c7]“And this one,”[/color] she pointed right at Juulet who glared back at the Hegelans. [color=#b481c7]“she is truthful. Terrible, but says the truth. She did not kill Professor Tavin.”[/color]

Zuri shook her head and seized Orvil's bicep. [color=#102a4d]“What are you doing, old man?”[/color] the way she called him seemed to be more of a term of endearment than condescension. [color=#102a4d]“This is my responsibility. I will face the music.”[/color]

The veteran rested his hand on her's. [color=#747d7c]“You need rest and time to mourn. And we need to face the future now that the clouds have cleared for the first time in a century. Please, let me use my knowledge of the world. We can be better.”[/color]

There was a moment of silence where they shared their thoughts in their mother tongues. 

[color=#b0a158]“Well then, good work all of you.”[/color] the serpent addressed the group he had kept hostage for most of the time. [color=#b0a158]“I believe rewards are in order, hand-picked from the top shelves of the laboratories.”[/color] from a dark tear in reality, he produced three sealed jars filled with fluids. [color=#b0a158]“Yes, I've discussed this beforehand with them, and-”[/color]

Orvil spoke up to interrupt Mychal. [color=#747d7c]“As for you-”[/color] he pointed right at the snake. [color=#747d7c]“They may return, should they want our help as they helped us. But YOU are not to come again.”[/color] he demanded without ire. [color=#747d7c]“Ever. Your tyranny ends now that you have what you want.”[/color]

The snake shrugged and responded anticlimactically. [color=#b0a158]“Acceptable. I've never been one to linger on the past and mementos. Good fortune to you, nonetheless.”[/color]

Xiuyang shook her head again, this time more vigorously. [color=slateblue]"I've had enough of... [i]concoctions[/i] today. If you're in a rewarding mood, I'm more interested in arms and armor. Mine feel inadequate in light of what I've seen here."[/color]

Mychal shook his head. [color=#b0a158]“Oh but you do not drink any of these, Miss Solari.”[/color] one of the jars floated toward her. [color=#b0a158]“They go in your weapons, trinkets and vestments. And the power,”[/color] he rubbed his hands. [color=#b0a158]“oh the power these beauties can deliver ...”[/color]

He then laid barely their actual effecs in all their awesome glory. Time, space and the VOID, all in jars.

Xiuyang knew that she held in her hands the power of the VOID. This was what she had experienced in the Trials, and what Dorothea wielded in front of her fellow students with impunity during the battle of the Colas.

The [i]slaughter[/i] of the Colas, she reminded herself somberly.

This was a power she lacked: an absolute destructive force. It was a forbidden and illegal thing, which only made it more tantalizing. Some things that needed to be protected or destroyed could only be so by plunging into the depths. Loyalty and love—these things brought out Xiuyang's worst excesses.

Juulet approached, with her wide eyes and wiggly fingers. Xiuyang yet again found herself in possession of something Juulet wanted. This time, to her surprise, Xiuyang handed it to her. She didn't say a word, nod her approval or scoff bitterly. She only met her eyes with the briefest of glances, and if the look had to be described, it was one of someone who knew better than to pry.

She couldn't be sure, but she'd felt as if Juulet was there with her, by the hearth, even though she could not see her—two souls, forever out of place, who yearned for a home. Two souls who were both, perhaps, readily able to destroy a great many things for the sake of preserving the few that mattered to them.

Xiuyang's eyes turned instead to the remains of the Headless, as if their presence stirred something in the omniphage coils.

Leon danced with Yuli a little in celebration of a friend's life returned, only the address from Orvil brought his head to tilt in that direction and pause the dance for the time being. His smile didn't leave, but his voice carried distinctly less mirth. 

[colour=fff200]"That is good to hear, Orvil. In war, I suppose the biggest porcupine gets to rest. Getting those 'ghosts' and magic disruptor back will give you more than enough thorns, then you can use your knowledge of the world to think up something new. I don't want to see anything like that headless or those zombies walking Sipenta again."[/colour] As he said that, his head tilted toward Xiuyang. [colour=fff200]"No offense, of course."[/colour]

[color=slateblue]"I agree, there should only be one of me,"[/color] Xiuyang shot back playfully as she drank with the Hegelan crafters.

As rewards for their efforts were presented, he released his dance partner's hand and swayed over. Leon didn't find himself overly drawn to anything really, he plucked the time in a bottle. Given his recent... development. he would find it more comfortable if his teleportation didn't come with days stranded in the interdimensional sea.

After, he addressed the hegelans. [colour=fff200]"Hmm, I came all this way for the Forge and it looks as though we will be leaving without using it once. Would you care to enlighten me on what it does at the very least?"[/colour]

Kaureerah had taken her moments with Yuliya as well. A hug and a teasing comment that she was heavier than she looked, an earnest comment that she had done all of the hard work with the switch, and an offer to drink.

Now came the rewards. There were always rewards, whether or not she actually deserved them. There were clothes. There were scraps from the Headless and the promise that these could be used to to make exceptional items. Kaureerah was entitled to her share of those, but she had not use for them, in truth. She fiddled with the signet ring of the Speaker, newly on her finger. Then, she went to Yvain, who seemed so badly to want one, and offered hers in exchange for his support in getting something else. 

There were manas in a bottle that could commune with the VOID. If there was anything that Kaureerah was lacking most, it was the capacity to be of consequence. She'd have preferred to use her greater gifts: imagination, wit, and words, but there was no substitute for power, at times, she reflected with some sadness. It was an entry threshold to being able to use her other gifts and be taken seriously.

She stepped forward to examine the bottle, intent on making it her own. Then, Leon, who she'd been avoiding for most of the time, spoke. She furrowed her brow and nodded, seconding his question. [color=deb887]"I, too, woold like to know. It hes sauch e grend neme."[/color]

[color=F0FFF0]"A backup might make my job a little easier..."[/color] Seviin remarked teasingly to Xiuyang. She had been a bit lost. Everybody's sudden faux-cathartic chumminess didn't sit right with her. She did not trust Hu He and never would. He spoke in half-truths, like the emperor and empress, and kept a hidden agenda. He disbursed gifts, now, to those he'd been willing to use as disposable pawns before. He was linked to Juulet who was ally only to her own power, ambition, and vicious mood swings. 

These hegelans, as well, were not like other hegelans. Their tools and technology were different, and their paranoia about outsiders had manifested itself into something truly dangerous and disgusting. They were to be gently chided and forgiven for vicious crimes against Mother Oirase and the sanctity of life. It did not sit right with Seviin. She had changed in these couple of days. That, she could admit. She had changed mightily, and some for the better. 

The animal inside of her would not disappear, and she would have come to terms with that, maybe even make peace with it. She knew as much. 
This ring that she now wore was a Gift from Gods other than her own. The gods of this land were strange to her, but perhaps not unfair. It was their judgement that she might receive this, and so she had. 

Still, it did not sit right.

The tiny machine friend that she had made, who she had named Hyco'lan, was dead. She did not understand enough about machines to heal him, or repair him, or whatever it was that one did with machines. She did not even know if it was possible. Already, she had made her way to Zuri. She did not like this woman, but Seviin's group had murdered her husband. The Tarlonese agent had ruined near-everything for her people. She was, still, a person, created by the divine. She had made a variation of Xiuyang's promise.

Now, she had made a joke, of sorts. It was something to soothe the unease that she felt here, at the 'happy ending' of it all. Bittersweet. It was bittersweet. 

[color=F0FFF0]"If there is any way to revive him,"[/color] she said quietly, extracting Hyco'lan from her satchel, [color=F0FFF0]"I would be very much grateful."[/color] She stooped there, or [i]nearly[/i] did, anyhow. [color=F0FFF0]"I..."[/color] she hesitated. [color=F0FFF0]"I would like to learn about machines: how to heal them, how to work with them."[/color]

Eyeing the moments between the others and Yuliya were comforting to Yvain. He himself only watched with a smile, for could he really celebrate the same as the others when he nearly put the burden of his death onto her shoulders? No, taking in the joy was enough for now.

Then the snake man presented his gifts, magics of unspeakable power settled neatly in some bottles. Two of them reeked of the VOID and the final one was something entirely different. [color=00e600][i]Three unholy gifts.[/i][/color] He inspected them. They were not the blessings of the ten he held so dear, nor were they of the five the Hegelans. 

[color=00e600][i]Forbidden magics only exist to be enslaved by their promises of limitless power or control over the very stream of time. Dami-Sept may judge the fools who wish to forgo their natural talent, for I have been blessed to the extent where I may not do so.[/i][/color] In truth, he did not earn it. The man did not triumph over a Temporal or Dark mage and achieved it. They were gifts that were meant as a pity gift. A spell bound to an item, it’s absurd. 

The true magical gifts may only be revealed to those who work for it, these trinkets went against his very being. . . He was scared of falling into the ‘easy routes’.

It would be Kaureerah that wished for his assistance in acquiring the bottle. The past image of himself would not accept such terms, but he had changed. [color=00e600]”Take it, You are entitled to such a small bottle at the very least.”[/color] Yvain winked and presented a warm smile, thanking her.

The only thing he sought was to use these remains of the headless-turned-dragon and have it be made into something he could wear. Having earned as much from having felled it,

The true matter on his mind had to wait, for he did not wish to ruin the mood with talks about an upcoming conflict. And thus he went along with the question. [color=00e600]”If that would not be too much to ask, I would like to know as well.”[/color]

Zuri looked at the broken device and furrowed her eyebrows. Was this a joke? A cruel prank after her own life had completely shattered? The woman trembled and seemed ready to break down when Maiv stepped in. [color=#b481c7]“I can have a look.”[/color] she declared as she placed her palm on the powered-downed device. The problem was quickly identified after a couple of button presses and a long hold of the power button. [color=#b481c7]“I see, he is asleep.”[/color] she concluded, playing along with Seviin's humanizing that caught a few strange looks from the other Hegelans.

The back of Hyco'lan was pried open, revealing his innards: Two cylinder shaped objects that popped out after smacking the poor machine's corpse. They were exchanged for a new pair of batteries produced from one of the many pouches on the head technician. A few clicks later and ...

Power ON

Maiv nonchalantly offered the remote back to the Yasoi.

Connecting to satellite ...

Connection failure. Please insert username and password.

[color=#b481c7]“If you want to learn more ...”[/color] Maiv shot a hesitant look toward Orvil, waiting for his nod of approval. [color=#b481c7]“Yu could come and visit. We can make an exception for you folks, for now.”[/color] her gaze found Seviin's again. [color=#b481c7]“We're forbidden to teach this to outsiders, but maybe we can try some basics. To keep your,”[/color] she cleared her throat. [color=#b481c7]“friend awake.”[/color] she then forced a smile.

Then it was Orvil's turn to speak. [color=#747d7c]“What we make here are now weapons.”[/color] he began, his voice louder than usual as to get every participant's attention. [color=#747d7c]“We create the power source of all life, and engineer it into different forms.”[/color]

The snake interjected. [color=#b0a158]“Manas. What flows in all our veins, and in your equipment. The laboratories here focus on creating and modifying them.”[/color] his hands reached behind his back. [color=#b0a158]“Many of your unique traits may very well have been the fruit of something that happened here. Or, perhaps, they occurred naturally. It is hard to say.”[/color]

Orvil patiently let the first founder clarify in terms better understood by outside but seized his chance to speak when appropriate. [color=#747d7c]“We have means to properly integrate them in many ways and objects. Use them medicinally and for defense. But we've long since lost the art of weapon forging. Our neighbors have mastered that, and we are content with our ancient weaponry.”[/color]

Juulet, meanwhile, took her time to inspect the jar of manas she had claimed for herself. A scuffle with Xiuyang was avoided, ending with a difficult to interpret finger gun at the Revidian coupled with wink. All was fine and good, with the Mad Avatar seated on the ground and hyperfixating on the odd stink that came from the fluid within. Why was it so odd? It grossed her out, just a little.

Her and Seviin felt about the same with the state of things, although morality was not Juulet's biggest concern. This place just reeked of unpleasantness and they had nearly died in seven different horrible ways. She wanted to go home and clock in.

[color=8B008B]“Very cool stuff, guys.”[/color] Orvil got a sarcastic thumbs up. [color=8B008B]“Now that we got permission to squat here in the future, I kinda wanna go home. Or, at least, go faaaaar away from here.”[/color] she whined, more or less urging the others to finish what they were doing.

The priestess of Viisan hopped back on her good foot and crutched her way to the snake's side. The way she just stood by this unusually serpentine being suggested some degree of familiarity. [color=8B008B]“'Kay, lame ass school express go here.”[/color] straining herself just a little, a portal opened that led straight to the skies of Ersand'Enise, right above the olive tree. 

[color=8B008B]“We'll be,”[/color] she gestured toward the only visible coastal town in the distance. [color=8B008B]“over there if y'got any business with yours truly. Or this guy.”[/color] she rudely pressed her pointer finger on the Sirrahi's shoulder. [color=8B008B]“I've to make a quick errand.”[/color]

Seviin recited her name and the 'PIN' that she had needed before. [color=F0FFF0]"Hyco'lan, are you there?"[/color] she whispered, not much caring if she looked stupid to these people. They promised that she might come here and learn, and that was a gift she could not imagine herself turning down.

In the background, other things were happening, but she was focused on this one, in particular.

[colour=fff200]"That's wonderful!"[/colour] Leon exclaimed, even his eyes seemed smiling back pleasantly at the hegelans. It was almost as though he had forgotten that the last time he saw them he threatened to wipe their civilisation off the maps, he almost did, they certainly didn't. But the people here were the only hope of keeping the Forge's power from becoming a tool in the war. He needed them and they knew they didn't stand a chance against him right now. Perhaps there was a silent peace treaty formed in that which enabled the pleasant exchange they had now.

[colour=fff200]"I would be happy to visit again."[/colour] He said to Maiv in a calming voice that starkly contrasted his earlier mood.  [colour=fff200]"But another time, you should have your hands busy rebuilding."[/colour]

Presented with the portal and the distant town, Leon didn't immediately move for either. He hid it well small talking with the hegelans and pretending not to notice the choice that was in front of him. But he was waiting on others to go through that portal first.

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A question mark sign began to flash.

[color=slateblue]"A backup? Of me? That sounds more like someone else we know,"[/color] Xiuyang quipped back to Seviin.

Seviin smiled at Xiuyang's comment. Truly, it did, though she didn't say more. [color=F0FFF0]"Welcome back, Hyco'lan,"[/color] she said softly. [color=F0FFF0]"Let's help you remember me."[/color] The menu was prompting her, and so she touched the question mark.

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[color=slateblue][i]Ancient weaponry. He called it ancient.[/i][/color] Xiuyang's mind reeled a bit at the casual dismissal of the arms she'd seen here. They would make her sister Maria giddy with excitement. If these were primitive to the Hegelans, humans were fighting wars with rocks and sticks.

[color=slateblue]"Sure. Go ahead. I'm not leaving yet,"[/color] Xiuyang replied. A third portal into the sky above was not appealing in any case.[/color][/hider]