Goggy

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Grima & Yayama & Primrose

Level 6 (holding 2 level ups)
11/60 EXP

Location: Forbidden Kingdom - Swopes Farm
Wordcount: 1559 (+2)

Reconvening with the rest of the Seekers, Grima managed to learn of their target. The mention of a Quetzel caused the vessel to instinctively frown. If she had access to her true body, such a creature would be easy pickings. But regardless of that, they had a fair bit of time to kill before their prey wandered into their trap. And so, Grima had to spend that time wisely.

… Especially with the annoyance of Robin still speaking in her head.

“Hm… Perhaps a bit of hunting would suffice? I- We’ve overheard the other Seekers talk about always being in the need of food.”

“Why would I sully my hands with hunting for sport?

“It’s not for sport if you use everything. I used to hunt regularly with the rest of the Shepards, and I remember those times fondly. Plus, if anyone else tags along, you might be able to learn more about these Seekers. We ARE working with them now.

Robin’s words gave Grima pause for a moment, the vessel instinctively narrowing her eyes at her unwanted companion. Their argument was sound, but Grima could tell that Robin had her own goal for the suggestion.

… Yet the prospect of a warm meal was too tempting to ignore. A fact that Grima cursed as part of her vessel’s limitations.

“You may all prepare your ambush. I will go and hunt some food for this little band” Grima said aloud, already turning to head into the Yellow Wind Ridge.

“Oh, I’ll come along,” Yayama said, ambling over in Grima’s direction with her rented chocobo. She didn’t know much about them, but the fell dragon had piqued her curiosity - and her caution. “I’ve got some experience hunting notorious monsters, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

Grima glances back, regarding the Lalafel knight with a momentary examination, then simply shrugs, “Very well. This should not take long” she comments as her own Chocobo moves forward, bringing Grima (and now Yayama) into the Yellow Wind Ridge.

A voice called out to them once they arrived. "Would you mind if I tagged along as well?"

After approaching the pair, Primrose stood with one hand on her hip and a dainty smile on her lips. She was not much of a hunter, and it was possible that the other women would be able to see that, which meant that the dancer must have had some ulterior motive for joining a hunting expedition - however short it would be.

Of course ulterior motives did not have to be sinister in nature. The truth was that Primrose just wanted to learn more about her new comrades. She had spoken with Yayama before and felt she was gaining a good grasp on the diminutive woman's personality, but she still hadn't had a chance to really observe her combat style. On the other hand Grima was a complete stranger. If Primrose was going to fulfill her role well she'd have to see what sort of approach to fighting these two took in order to strengthen them even further.

“Not a problem at all,” Yayama said in reply to Primrose, waving her over with one hand as she looked over the landscape. (And, of course, preempting any complaints from Grima.) “Reminds me a bit of home out here,” the dark knight commented as more of the terrain came into view. The Yellow Wind Ridge was an inhospitable place, but even in lands such as this, life could find a way to thrive. And it didn’t take long for Grima and Yayama to find a perfect prey for their hunt: A small herd of shelled reptiles near a small pond, four in total, and currently grazing upon the sparse grass that inhabited the area.

“Those seem promising,” Yayama noted, sizing up the creatures. “They don’t look predatory, decent sized, and if we found them this fast, they’re probably not exactly rare. Now, do either of you have anything for a clean takedown at range, or is someone going to have to get up in there?”

“A bow would be the simplest option, if not for the shells these beasts possess. But I have an alternative” Grima raises her hand as she says this, a magic sigil forming in her palm before crackling with electricity and quickly condensing into a lance of pure lightning. Lightning wasn’t ordinarily a magic school Grima was proficient in… But Robin had learned plenty, enough that the Fell Dragon’s vessel could easily utilize, “This should handle one of them” she comments.

And then, she threw the lance, the electric weapon blasting through the air and slamming into the side of one of the grazing Apceros.

The effect was immediate as the targeted herbivore let out a howl of pain, the force knocking them off their feat and onto their side. The other three responded in their own way, with two moving in front of the wounded Apceros in a protective formation, roaring aggressively at the Hunters to try to scare them away. The third, however, did something different… It had begun to run. Not away, but up the path that would allow it to get to the Hunters directly.

Devoid of any ranged options but her own magic, Primrose was content to let Grima show her stuff. That was what the dancer wanted to seem, after all. She watched closely, interested in the elemental lance as it was fairly close to the kind that she could summon herself.

"Grima, was it? So you're a magic user," she commented, watching the one Apceros split from the back and charge up towards the group. She didn't move to intercept it, at least not yet. Instead she glanced at the lalafell. "And your armor suggests you prefer a closer encounter, Yayama?"

“I am more than just a mage, but that moniker will suffice for now” Grima comments, shaking her hand to rid herself of the remaining electricity from her magic.

Yayama nodded. “I’m what they call a dark knight. Charge ahead, take the hits, don’t fall down even when you ought to. Speaking of.” She gestured toward the Apceros currently charging at them. “I’ll head that one off, see if I can’t get Churro to spook him.” The lalafell slid off her jennet and hefted her sword, taking a few steps to place her in the herbivore’s path.

Being a simple minded monster, the Apceros could not see the difference in strength between it and its target. Once on level ground with the Seekers, it bounded towards Yayama and turned to swing its spiked club of a tail at her. All the while Primrose observed, saving her magic for now.

The lalafell effortlessly deflected the blow, then slammed her blade into the ground. Waves of roiling darkness erupted from it, forming a menacing silhouette easily five times the height of Yayama. The display held no real capacity for harm, but the reptilian creature didn’t know that. Choosing survival over what appeared to be obvious death, it shrieked in fright, turned around as fast as its shelled body could manage, and ran.

As Yayama drove off the Apceros, Grima spurred her mount into gear, leaping off the ledge to approach the two holding their ground, “You must have quite a bond with this one to be willing to risk your lives to protect them, even now. But I have no care for handling with three corpses. Begone” Grima states, waving her hand in front of her, black flames erupting directly in front of the Apceros to spook them further. And while they were protective, they were still animals. And the sudden appearance of fire did the trick as the two panicked and broke, turning tail and running, leaving their now still friend behind.

If she wanted to get chunks of meat from the monster, or carve any pieces off of it for that matter, she would have to do it quickly before its body did what all do in Galeem's world: turn to mushy ash, leaving nothing but a spirit behind - though she could take her chances in crushing said spirit to see if she got anything meal-worthy out of it.

And having done no work at all, Primrose still smiled lightly and called out, "nice work, ladies."

When the two of them regrouped with her ahead of meeting back up with the rest of the Seekers in the ridge preparing for the ambush, she said, "I had just wanted to get a look at how the both of you fight. I'm a dancer by trade, you see~" last time she spoke with Yayama, the lalafell had mentioned knowing a dancer's worth on the battlefield - but she went on a little more in case Grima was not so well versed in those kinds of arts. It was only fair now that Primrose had seen a little of them in action, for her to let them know a little of what she could do, too.

"So I'll be shoring up your weak points, and making your strong points stronger, once the real battle starts."

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
47/80

Location: Location: Frozen Highlands - Moon Mountain
Wordcount: 260 (+1)

Mokou simply looks over her shoulder as chaos erupts, locking eyes with the Moon Man and rolling her eyes, “Always something isn’t it” she comments, taking her hands off of the sun for a brief moment to reposition herself above the construct, still blasting off streams of fire in order to fuel it, “Hands off pal. Scurry back into the shadows, you’ll only have them for a little bit longer” she called out, tilting her head to the side as one of the dark’s spheres flew by her head.

As was normal, Mokou did not have to try too hard to avoid the various projectiles coming her way. In terms of Danmaku, it was juvenile at best. And with the multiple targets the foes were dealing with (namely, every other Seeker) as well as the buffs placed on her thanks to Roxas, it was trivial to dodge, letting Mokou continue focusing on pumping her magic into the Sun. Although as the gouts of fire continued to flow, Mokou noticed that it wasn’t making much more progress at the rate she was going. It needed more fuel to start up, not just a casual jet of fire.

“Greedy little bastard… Alright, fine. More fuel it is” the phoenix said, cracking her knuckles… Moments before she herself ignited in a pillar of fire that swiftly turned into a blue hue. She was forgoing the slower but steadier path and instead putting her own lifeforce into the Sun to get it to ignite faster.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
46/80

Location: Location: Frozen Highlands - Moon Mountain
Wordcount: 370 (+1)

Mokou stands stock still in the entryway of the “Moon”, staring at the “Sun” that floated in the center. Kaene had rolled further into the structure, albeit hesitantly, as if even they could sense the strangeness of this place. Heismay’s comment on it being ‘metaphorical’ rang in her ears, the phoenix remembering many tales of a similar nature back in Gensokyo. While it made little sense to the traditional mind, many metaphorical suns could exist, even at the same time depending on the place. So it wasn’t as much of a stretch to apply the same logic to this construct.

So, if it was a dead sun, then it needed life.

“... Never done something like this before, but I think I have an idea” Mokou comments as she finally steps forward, casually walking past Heismay and the others, “If it’s a sun that has lost its spark, then it means that it’ll need something new to give it back” she comments, bringing out her pokeball, retrieving Kaene before her actual work began, the phoenix lifting herself into the air.

Floating up to the construct, Mokou lifted a hand, a fiery feather forming in her palm. Then, she willed it forward, sending the feather floating softly to the Sun… And once it made contact, the feather immediately dissipated, the particles that made its form being scattered and absorbed into the Sun’s surface with the greed of a man that had never seen water.

“Looks like it does need a jump start” Mokou commented aloud, rolling her shoulders and glancing back to the party, “Might want to take a step back. Reigniting a star, even metaphorically, is going to get a bit hot. So if you’re not fireproof, get scarce” the Phoenix warns the party. Then she let out a small breath and placed her two hands on the Sun, beginning to fuel it with her magic. Fire coiled around her entire being, snaking into the Sun rapidly. She knew that this Sun was going to take a lot out of her… And if she was anyone else, it might have demanded her very life to fuel it.

But she was someone with infinite life to give. So it was in luck.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Grima & Nadia

Level 6 (holding 2 level ups)
8/60 EXP

Location: Forbidden Kingdom - Fields of Gold
Wordcount: 2400 (+3 exp)

While Nadia had no idea what Amaterasu was doing or how she was doing it, her work on the bridge quickly convinced the feral of two things: that Nadia didn’t need to do anything, and that she did in fact have some time to do what she wanted. Two of her favorite things! Without any contrary evidence, Nadia accepted this state of affairs straightaway. “Aaaalrighty! Well, I wooden mind helpin’, but I’d definitely get board, so, if you’re not gonna rope me into fixin’ the bridge, I’m gonna stretch my legs. Just be careful not to fall in the water, or you’ll get planked-on!”

Chuckling to herself, Nadia turned tail and sauntered away. She gave a friendly greeting to the young vendors from the village but left them for the Koopa Kids to chat with as she walked upriver, mostly curious about those round blue critters atop the cliffs upstream but eager to see whatever this lovely little valley had to offer in general. As she walked along the riverside, a spray of water prompted her to look back over her shoulder and see Rika skating across the sparkling current. That reminded her that her own rigging pack was still sitting in the NMO dojo’s locker room, along with her boxcutters and blade case. Dangit. Missing out on the fun of waterskating was no fun, but now that the catgirl had fused with Maya’s spirit, she actually did need her dual blades back sooner rather than later. Still, as long as the Seekers’ afternoon journey didn’t have lots more water in store for them, it’d be fine for now.

Nadia’s attention quickly turned to a handful of small, colorful fish she spotted swimming in the river. “Ooh~” She knelt by the edge of the water and considered how much bother it would be to try and catch some. Her time at Bancho Sushi in Mafia Town had really brought her around on raw fish, but Bancho was a long, long way from here, and it would take a while to dry out if she got wet. Still, she enjoyed just watching them, so she crouched there for a few moments longer. “Here, fishy, fishy…if you came straight to me, it would be very e-fish-ient…”

With the journey halted, Grima had ended up taking a walk, not even intending to go anywhere specific. Yet she still ended up walking upstream as well, her eyes staring at her reflection in the water as she walked. Eventually, she came across Nadia, nearly continuing on her way without a second thought… At least, before she sensed something of note on the catgirl. A faint trail of an immortal life, ever-so distinct from regular mortals.

And if it was notable enough to get her attention, it was enough to try and investigate further.

“Hunting for a quick meal, I suppose?” Grima asked calmly, taking a step to stand at Nadia’s side, still facing the water but glancing to the side to look down at the catgirl.

The feral glanced up, not used to Grima’s voice. Although the swordswoman didn’t exactly look friendly, the fact that she’d approached Nadia to initiate conversation was a good sign. And if Nadia could get along with Ganondorf (or at least reach enough of an understanding to hunt pigeons with him) she could probably get along with anyone.

So naturally, a little teasing was in order.

“Huh? Catch and eat raw fish, like some kind of animal? Just what do you take me for?” Nadia feigned indignation for all of three seconds, then relaxed with a chuckle and a grin. “Haha, just kiddin’. Although it’s true I’m not big on raw fish, actually. Unless they’re made into sushi by Chef Bancho. Now that’s good eatin’.”

Her tail swished from side to side as rose to her feet on the riverbank. Her height had shifted slightly thanks to her latest fusion, but as it stood, Nadia was slightly taller. There was still something offputting and a little intimidating about Robin that she couldn’t quite place, but Nadia put her apprehensions aside, and her hands on her hips. “So, ‘water’ you up to? I was gonna check out those li’l blue guys upstream. Looks like they’re in a pickle of some kind.”

Grima held her tongue to avoid stating that she *did* think of her as a kind of animal, as she did all mortal life. But she (or more accurately, Robin) restrained her from saying so. Instead, she simply sighed at Nadia’s pun, “I am simply taking a walk. We have time to spare due to the bridge repairs” she pointed out, now slightly turning to the upstream again to see the blue creatures ahead, “...Do they need help? If they were smart, they would simply try to find another crossing. Or simply wait for us to fix our bridge then use that.”

“We-he-hell, not everyone has the luxury of an intellect like ours,” Nadia confidently told Grima, who was too new to the team to be familiar with the kind of intelligence quotient Nadia brought to the table. “And even if they don’t, I figured I might as well check ‘em out, see what they’re up to. Never know what you’ll get if you step off the beaten path.” So saying, she led the way by continuing upriver, hopping and climbing up the elevation changes when necessary. “This one time, we were fightin’ our way through this giant evil flesh tree, and I leaf no stone unturned. Got into this little lab thing and found a couple pistols made of meat that shot bone bullets. They didn’t work that great, but they were purr-etty cool!”

Nadia rotated her head all the way around to raise an eyebrow at Grima. “So whadda you do? If we’re gonna be teammates we oughta know each other’s strengths. Me, I’m a scrapper. Whoever we’re up against, I get in close and cut ‘em up, fast as lightning. You’ll see.”

“Pistols made of meat? Human ingenuity to create the most needless weapons of war never ceases to astound” Grima thought to herself, letting out a sigh as she found herself instinctively walking alongside Nadia, her body moving on its own, “I am many things. A mage, a swordswoman, a strategist. Alas, I appear to have lost much of my skills during the recreation of this world… But nevertheless, I remain strong enough.”

After only a minute or two, the duo finished their short climb and reached the rocky ridge upriver from Qingce Village, where a pair of rope bridges spanned two opposing cliffs. Nadia got a better look at the round blue creatures on the near side, which glanced at her when she arrived but otherwise did not react much to her presence. Though their bodies seemed identical they featured a variety of eyes, nose colors, legs, and hairstyles, and all seemed focused on the situation at hand. The cliff on the far side sported two stone faces, and when a zoombini with sunglasses attempted to cross, it sent the poor thing flying back toward the rest of its companions. More worryingly, it loosened one of the four remaining pegs that for some reason kept not one but both bridges up. Nadia inspected the spot, incredulous. Even she could see how dumb this was…who designed this thing? As she watched, the zoombini that got blasted stepped back up and crossed the other bridge without issue, where it joined two other zoombinis with yellow noses on the other side.

After a moment, Nadia’s eyes went wide. “Wait…is this a puzzle!? Oh no.”

“... This is insultingly simple. These bridges are tied to specific traits to these creatures” Grima pointed out, gesturing in the direction of the cliff faces, “The yellow nosed creatures can move without issue over a specific bridge. Which tells me that the faces do not react to certain physical traits. So, you figure out what they don’t react to and cross appropriately. Or, you can simply take the easier option” Grima explains, raising a hand to aim at one of the cliff faces, several rings of magic appearing around as she prepared a magical blast.

The stone face shifted to an expression of terror. “Wait, wait! Can’t we talk about this!?”

“We can’t help being allergic!” the other face cried.

Nadia was all for cheating, but the please of the cliff faces made her feel bad. Theirs had to be a pretty sucky existence, but not so bad that it warranted putting them out of their misery. “Uh, hang on, one sec!” she said as she stepped forward, motioning with her hands for Grima to settle down. “There’s an even easier option than that! Watch this.”

The feral grabbed two zoombinis, tucking one under each arm like a basketball, and crouched down. She pumped blood into her ankles, increasing the blood pressure sharply, then after a moment allowed her seam to separate enough to let the pressurized blood out. As a result she launched into the air, leaving a bloody trail behind as she soared over the gap between the cliffs. After landing with a roll in the grass near the other zoombinis, she dropped the two off and dusted her hands. “Five down, one, two three, four, fivesixseveneightnineten, eleven to go!”

The pleas of the cliff faces normally wouldn’t have stopped Grima. But Nadia’s request to hold on was effective enough for the Fell Vessel to let out a sharp ‘tsk’ and quickly disperse their magic, “I will not be putting that much effort for this” she commented, yet reached down to pick up one of the zoombinis with a yellow nose by the head to guide them to the bridge. Had she possessed proper wind magic, she could easily just blow the zoombinis to the other side, but the slow way would have to do.

Although, Nadia’s performance was interesting. Grima had noted the blood trails that erupted from their feet. Evidently, they did have some strange biology. The next time she did something like that, she’d have to pay closer attention.

… Nevertheless, for now she simply organized the zoombinis to a proper order to get across the bridge. Hopefully the threat of death would encourage the cliff faces to hold their breath.

Even with Grima’s minimum effort, the two made quick work of the task at hand. Nadia ended up having an even better idea than manually ferrying two zoombinis across at a time: hyper-extending her arms by stretching out the muscle fibers that linked her segments, which allowed her to more-or-less grappling hook the critters across. In the end, while the rather rough treatment of the zoombinis left most of them a bit discombobulated, all of them wound up on the far side of the canyon with the bridge still intact.

The zoombinis gathered around Nadia as she patted their heads one by one to make sure all were okay. “You guys good? Those faces nearly ‘blue’ you away!” Their made happy gibbering noises endeared them to the feral somewhat, and she ended up feeling pretty glad that she made this particular detour. Her feelings only improved when one of the zoombinis offered her its colorful baseball cap. “Oh, thanks!” Nadia put it on more to show her gratitude than anything, but with it on her head she did get a faint impression of being just a little bit sturdier. After that, the zoombinis began to trickle away, resuming their logical journey. “See ya later!”

At the same time, one of the stone faces addressed Grima. “Ahem! Please, allow us to thank you for sparing us. Here, this is yours.” He made a chewing motion with his mouth, then hawked out an object. It flew up from the gorge and landed atop the cliff at Grima’s feet: a hard stone with the power to boost the equipper’s rock-type moves.

… A stone was a pitiful tribute to someone like Grima, and for a moment she debated destroying the faces for the insultingly simple offering. Yet, she could feel… Something of note within the stone. So she restrained herself, simply kneeling to pick up the stone and then placing it within her cloak, already turning around to return to the rest of the group with Nadia.

The catgirl ran over across one of the rope bridges, but luckily the stone face on that side wasn’t allergic to felines. She fell in alongside Grima as the two began to retrace their steps downriver toward the broken bridge, anticipating that it wouldn’t take Ammy much longer if she wasn’t done already. On the wait, Nadia spoke up again. “So, I guess you’re a no-nonsense, shoot first, ask questions later kinda gal? There’s a guy on the other team named Ganondorf, I bet you two’d get along.” If the Fell Dragon hadn’t already realized, Nadia was something of a chatterbox. “I’m pretty sure he wants to rule everything once this is all over though. Some of us wanna take out Galeem to put things back how they were. Others would rather take over the World of Light for themselves. Me, I dunno…what’re you hopin’ to get outta all this?”

“I don’t intend to rule if that is your concern. I would much rather undo this farce and return to the originals. But that is a far off goal. For now…” Grima tilted her head slightly, pondering just how much to divulge to the feral. Pit already knew plenty, but did he seem like the person to lay out all her goals in one conversation?

… Yes, actually.

“... This vessel is but a tool to interact with the world. My true self is locked away. So, I help you Seekers with your long term goal… You help me be free from my chains. Everyone wins, as they say” the Fell Dragon says with a shrug, continuing on without care. The Seekers were clearly willing to work with other individuals similar to her, so there would be no issues with them knowing some of her intentions.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
45/80

Location: Location: Frozen Highlands - Moon Mountain
Wordcount: 167 (+1)

The mountain had tried to seep through Mokou’s resolve. The voices that trailed around her were unceasing, and the faces that lingered were filled with hate and disappointment. Yet the weight of Kaene in her arms, as well as the memory of those she considered friends, kept her focused. And soon enough, the dark receded, returning to the cold mountain path. The Phoenix was, specifically, in a narrow passage with a round door barring their path… And several other Seekers already present. And judging by the mood in the air, she was not the only one to have gone through an ordeal.

“Sphea! Sphea!”

Kaene called out from her arms, bouncing slightly at the sight of their friends, a fact that caused Mokou to sigh and place them down on the ground, allowing them to freely roll towards the Seekers in greeting. At the very least, she could know that one of them had no regrets haunting them.

Such was the blissful innocence of a newborn life.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
43/80

Location: Location: Frozen Highlands - Moon Mountain
Wordcount: 925 (+2)

Mokou, as per usual, was not bothered much by the mountain as they ascended. Her hands were kept in her pockets, the Immortal barely making marks in the snow as she walked on top of it thanks to her natural flight. Mokou’s thoughts often trailed onto herself, so she did not initially notice the mountain’s strange effects. It was only when the darkness slowly overtook all sight and sound that Mokou stopped, standing stock still in a pitch black void with not even a breeze.

“... Another trial. This place sure likes its tests” Mokou comments, slowly turning around to investigate her surroundings, pulling out a hand from her pockets and forming a ball of fire at her fingertips. She was used to these trials at this point, and whatever else was coming next, she’d handle just as easily.

“It’s over… That woman has destroyed me…”

Mokou’s immediately froze as a voice reached her ears, one that she hadn’t heard in the thousand years she had lived. Her eyes slowly shifted, and within the void was a familiar sight… Her old home. Complete with a smaller, younger Mokou and her Father in a sight she remembered all too vividly. The day he had been humiliated by Kaguya for failing one of her ‘trials’, and the day she had seen his descent into self destruction, his reputation forever sullied by Kaguya’s actions. The Fujiwara name was left shattered, which was a death knell for her Father.

And she knew exactly why this was being shown to her… Because this was the exact moment where she made her decision to get revenge.

The scene before her shifted, showing a quiet mountain pass. The site where a young Mokou was standing before a dead courier, holding a distinct vial in her hands with a grim expression. The present Mokou didn’t cry out, already knowing what was about to happen as the young girl uncorked the vial and drank from it. The single biggest regret she would ever have.

“You think that just showing me past events is going to get me, huh?” Mokou asks aloud, her voice not as solid as she would have liked. She was used to illusions, this was no different.

But the illusions didn’t stop. In fact, they kept shifting, showing other moments of her life. Her father's hatred when he learned what she had done, her years as an outcast, her attempts at befriending others only to watch them wither away, her first attempt at undoing her immortality. And with each vision, a new voice spoke out. Each one filled with hatred and disgust at Mokou. The Phoenix was a woman who was hard to rattle… But each voice put a knife to her heart, jabbing at each of her regrets from a life filled with them.

“Ungrateful.” “Heartless!” “Demon!” “Murderer!” “Fool.”

Mokou’s eyes squeezed tight, her hands clasped over her ears as the cacophony rose higher and higher with voices from her past. People she outlived, people she had killed, all assaulting her with their collective rage and hate. She shouldn’t have taken that Elixir. She didn’t deserve it. The immortal life that had awaited her selfish act was one filled with pain, regret, and apathy.

“Shut up” she muttered as the voices kept growing around her, a faint orange aura shimmering around her. Alas, the visions seemed to take the statement as a challenge, swiftly intensifying before Mokou yelled “SHUT UP!" and threw her hand out in a sweeping motion, a torrent of fire tearing through the air to simply burn away the past. Unlike her normal magic, this one was far more primal and unfocused, not at all similar to her condensed and elegant volleys.

… Yet, that simply made the regrets grow, and whatever she did burn away simply returned with greater force. The momentary anger dissipated within Mokou, leaving her to try to shield herself from the hate bearing down at her from all sides-

“Sphea?”

Suddenly, the cacophony died out as Mokou’s eyes snapped open. The sight didn’t vanish, a maelstrom of faces and discord… But in front of her was a clearing… And a familiar white haired woman. At least, for a second, before Mokou blinked and realized it was just her Spheal, looking up at her with innocent eyes.

“Sphea? Sphea!” the Pokemon cried out, bouncing forward and nuzzling her leg. It didn’t seem to know why she was so distraught, but it was clearly demonstrating that it was here for her. That it cared for her.

“I can’t help you cure your curse… But, so long as I live, I can help make your days worth living. A future means nothing if you can’t live in the present.”

The voice of her old friend ran through Mokou’s mind as she stared down at the Spheal who shared that individual’s name. And slowly, she smiled. Barely noticeable, but still evident as she knelt down to pick up Spheal and cradle them in her arms, the voices still present but beginning to dissipate.

She had hundreds… Nay, thousands of regrets over the course of her long life. Mistakes that she could never take back no matter how much she tried. But there were still those who cared about her… And moreover, a world that she needed to restore.

One day she’ll finally find a way to achieve a perfect rest. But in the meantime… She’d live. Not just because of the Hourai Elixir, but for those who lived for her too.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Grima

Level 6 (holding 2 level ups)
10/60 EXP

Location: Esaka - Arena
Wordcount: 756 (+2 exp)

FINAL ROUND!

FIGHT

In a shift from the previous rounds, Terumi was not the one to engage first. Instead, Grima herself dashed forward, slashing her blade out as the serpent jumped back, yelling “Idiot!” and throwing out his hand to release a dark wave… One that was easily avoided by Grima, who practically twirled out of the way and fired off her own blast of magic that caught Terumi straight in the chest.

While their previous rounds were blitz finishes, this one went on for far longer. The two fighters were in tandem with one another. While both were able to land glancing blows, neither were able to fully capitalize on the other’s openings. The ringing of steel echoed throughout the arena as the two fought, each going on extended clashes.

But as the fight went on, the glancing hits accumulated, and the two fighters grew more and more weary. And it was with that weariness that the final confrontation became apparent as Grima parried another knife strike from Terumi, countering by slashing with her blade and swiftly repositioning it above her head to swing down.

“THERE!” Terumi suddenly yelled as Grima swung her sword down, twisting his body around to kick her hand, knocking her back and her sword free from her hand, the Fell Vessel’s eyes widening a fraction.

“Grima, look out!”

“Cease your blathering, I know!

“Eternal Wrath…” the serpent said with a grin, two massive chains wrapped around her arms. There was a brief pause as time itself seemed to slow, with Grima raising her hand, the mark of Grima on the back gleaming with red light… Before Terumi threw both chains forward, both coiling around her and quickly binding her as a large ring formed behind Terumi. And then a torrent of dark serpents flew out from the ring, shooting through the air and crashing into Grima repeatedly, “OF THE BASILISK! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Terumi began to laugh maniacly, having gotten Grima to the point where he wanted them. His Astral Heat was a surefire kill, a final blow that he utilized to end a match with sufficient style.

… Except, it wasn’t as surefire as it normally was.

As the torrent of serpents flew, a sudden eruption of dark magic pillared from the storm, quickly dispersing Terumi’s serpents and the ring behind him. The shadowy form of Grima towered over him, curling around the arena and bearing down with blazing red eyes, “ARROGANT WORM. I TIRE OF THIS GAME OF YOURS. KNEEL BEFORE YOUR GOD” the shadow said before it began to rear back, an even bigger mass of dark magic beginning to form within its maw.

Terumi was somewhat shocked for a few moments, but with Grima rearing back, he simply… Grinned, “So that’s what ol’ Hazzy saw. Quite the ambitious project. But a ‘god’? Ha” Terumi stated before he hunched over, his body swiftly becoming covered in his black and green mist… And soon enough, a new figure emerged. , bringing his hands together and swiftly forming a massive blade

“LET ME SHOW YOU… TRUE DIVINITY!”

“EXPERATION!”

With that, Terumi twisted his new body around, swinging the blackened blade just as Grima’s shadow fired forth a blast of dark magic. The resulting impact from the two attacks momentarily resulted in nothing… before erupting into a concussive wave that shook the stands and kicked up a massive cloud of dust and debris.

K.O

Anyone within the stands would be left for a few seconds wondering who was the victor as the dust fell, the announcer seemingly taking a moment to leave things in suspense, before…

GRIMA. WINS!

As the smoke cleared, Grima fell to a knee as the chains that bound her dispersed, planting her blade to keep herself up. Her foe had collapsed face first on the ground, overpowered by Grima’s ultimate spell. Pride crept through her, the knowledge that she had defeated another worm.

But it was a small victory, compared to the rest of her thoughts.

She was being too visible now. A few showcases of her true form were fine, but her true nature would attract attention that she didn’t need. And not only that… She could feel a familiar scent from Terumi. The horrid stench of the divine. He was unfinished, a part of a greater whole, just like her.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Grima

Level 6 (holding 2 level ups)
7/60 EXP

Location: Esaka - Arena
Wordcount: 746 (+1 exp)

Round 2

FIGHT!

Unlike before, Terumi did not go full gung-ho with his opening. While he did immediately dash forward, he did not slash at Grima. Instead, he took advantage of her immediate blocking to grab her by the arm to open her up for a throw, only to be stopped by a shimmering field that threw him back, a small spell that Grima had thrown up in an instant once she realized what he was doing.

“Not a chance vermin. You’ve had enough opportunity to lay your lowly hands upon me” Grima says as she throws a hand up, causing an eruption of spikes to spear Terumi once again.

“Lowly? Ha! Says the child stuck using a toy to talk!” Terumi retorts, kicking the ground to throw up a wave of his own dark energy, slamming into the spikes and smashing them into pieces, jumping back as Grima leapt over the shattered spikes and slashed through the air where he was mere moments before. Then he dashed forward, swinging with his own knife at Grima’s throat, only for it to be knocked away as Grima’s sword spun in her hand. And for a moment, the two traded blows in perfect tandem, Terumi’s various knives from both his hands and shoes being redirected by Grima’s blade.

Eventually, Terumi took a step back as Grima countered a wave of his dark energy with a miniature wave of dark magic, yelling “GLEAMING FANG!” as more energy surrounded him yet again, followed by him charging forward. But unlike before, Grima did not send out a wave of spikes to futilely try to stop him… Nor did she simply block the hit. Instead, she simply narrowed her eyes… And just before the serpent reached her, she shot out her hand, two tendrils of dark magic shooting out and binding Terumi from within his own energy, which continued forth but harmlessly dispersed without its host sustaining it, “W-What?!”

“Predictable little worm” was all the retort Grima gave Terumi as she proceeded to overload the two tendrils, blasting Terumi away and sending him tumbling across the ground. However, when he nearly came to a stop, a singular dark spike erupted from the ground and slammed into his back, sending him flying back to Grima, who brought her sword up in a rising motion that slashed across Terumi’s chest, knocking him into the air and vulnerable to Grima’s downward slash that sent them both back to the ground.

With a frustrated growl, Terumi quickly recovered from his position, rolling away from Grima and back to his feet, “Cocky bitch” he grumbled, shoving his hand into the arena floor. For a moment, Grima simply tilted her head, before she glanced behind her and noticed the dark green chain erupting from the ground behind her and flying towards her back. An attack that she easily avoided by just jumping in the air, holding her hand out as a magical sigil quickly formed in front of it, “Ruination” the Fell Vessel said calmly, before similar magical sigils quickly formed around Terumi as he tore his hand from the ground, unable to recover and block fast enough as two spears of darkness formed out of the air and quickly stabbed themselves into Terumi’s body… And then erupted into an explosion of dark magic from within.

GRIMA WINS

Landing back on the ground, Grima rose to her feet with a small ‘hmph’, “So worm, still feeling confident? Or must I put you deeper into the dirt before you learn your lesson?” she asked the small smoke cloud that had formed from her attack.

It only took a few moments for Terumi to respond, the smoke clearing after a few moments… Revealing his body half blown apart, quickly repairing itself with dark energy. It wasn’t the bloody kind of damage, but rather as if a vase had been broken apart, “Got lucky with that one. Don’t expect the same result. This time, I’ll fucking kill you”

Grima couldn’t help but laugh slightly at that, “Kill me? Even if the rules allowed it… Greater mortals than you have tried. Greater gods have tried. You lack the proper methods to rid my spirit” Grima comments, causing Terumi to grin, wiping his hand on his pants as he stood back up.

“Oh, trust me. I have my ways”

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
41/80

Location: Location:
Wordcount: 887 (+2)

“Sandalphon, roll again. Whatever pops out, I’ll handle it” Mokou calls out from her place in the air, glancing over at the angel in question. This was taking too long, and they needed to keep the momentum. Especially with how close they were to leaving already.

At Mokou's suggestion, Sandalphon rolled the dice again. Only nine spaces remained, after all, until her team and the college refugees would be free to go. This time, it was the Seekers' turn to be disastrously unfortunate, for the magic dice rolled an astonishing five zeroes and a one. The Cryptic Overseer burst out laughing. "Bahaha, one! Just when I thought my goose was cooked, y'all gave me an extra lease on life! Well, shoot, looks like the alchemist done flown the coop, but he did leave some freaky stuff behind." From a rift flew a number of bones, which clattered to the floor in a pile. The Overseer summoned a giant, ghostly, skeletal hand, then sprinkled green particles like a chef might sprinkle salt. "My secret recipe..." When the magic suffused the bones, they came to life and stuck themselves together to form a Cryptic Vulture with a wingspan the size of a car, which took wing with a bloodcurdling shriek. "Enjoy!"

Mokou seemed rather unsurprised at the dice rolling horrifically. Instead, she simply rubbed the back of her head as the vulture turned its attention to her, seeing as how she was the nearest to it as well as airborne. With another screech, it flapped its wings, generating numerous ghastly green projectiles that flew towards Mokou.

“Really? Of all the things you could summon, you choose a bird that does shoddy danmaku?” Mokou called out to the Overseer, lazily weaving through the air, just barely dodging the various projectiles sent her way. With a snap of her fingers though, the air around her shimmered as her signature feathers appeared, counting far above what the vulture had made initially before being fired at her foe. Some feathers simply clashed with the vulture’s own bullets, but with the sheer number of feathers being created the orbs began to lose out, resulting in the vulture being peppered by dozens of fiery projectiles. Naturally, the undead beast didn’t back down from that, and instead flapped its wings to create a massive, airborne cyclone that tore its way towards Mokou… Who simply let out an mockingly impressed whistle as she flew up higher to avoid it.

In their own corner of the room, the vulture and the phoenix created a stunning display of ethereal and flaming projectiles, along with the occasional cyclone from its wings that forced Mokou to properly reposition. But, the phoenix was far more proficient in the art of projectile duels, and it quickly became evident that the vulture was being worn down by her assault. Realizing it was losing this war of attrition, the vulture shifted tactics, folding its wings and creating a massive, ethereal shield that covered its body, Mokou's various feathers bouncing off without much visible effect. And at the same time, more and more orbs began to appear, this time falling from the sky like massive raindrops.

“Hm. A shield, neat trick” Mokou comments, still weaving between the orbs with practiced ease. She had spent much of her life understanding the art of duels like this, and while she didn’t care about hurting much… Well, with her newly weakened bones, she had to exercise some caution, “Unfortunately for you, it’s too little, too late” the phoenix adds as the feathers ceased their onslaught on the shield for a moment, with Mokou herself hovering in a spot that, for a brief moment, wasn’t threatened by the raining orbs.

Then, her fire began to shift color to blue.

Every feather, every lingering flame, every essence of Mokou’s fire shifted to a vibrant, azure color. And in that same instant, the attack resumed, this time with far more pressure than before. With the boost from her enhanced fire attacks, coupled with the increased magic damage from the witch’s hat, the vulture and its shield was incapable of weathering the storm. And as the shield finally shattered under Mokou’s continued pressure, the vulture screeched as dozens of blue feathers rained into its form, scorching its bones. But in one final, desperate act, the massive skeletal bird flew up, lifting its talons and bringing them down on Mokou, both to claw at her and also to snatch her up with them. Despite having proven capable of avoiding nearly everything the bird could throw at her, Mokou didn’t even attempt to dodge this attack, letting the claw snatching her up with nothing more than an annoyed sigh.

… Before she simply self detonated, exploding into a column of blue flame. Intense enough that she didn’t just scorch the vulture: She simply disintegrated all that her flames touched. In mere moments, both the vulture and the phoenix were gone, the remaining half burned bones falling to the ground while lone embers quickly reformed in the air with Mokou appearing completely fine. Aside from a broken foot and a broken hand from her newly acquired disorder. But as with all things, Mokou didn’t seem that bothered by the pain.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Grima

Level 6 (holding 2 level ups)
4/60 EXP

Location: Esaka - Arena
Wordcount: 1560 (+3 exp)

Time was a blur to Grima. Her next match barely registered for her: A battle against an arrogant knight who went on about the corruption he felt in her soul. She had heard such high talk from mortals far too many times to count, and with a straightforward sword fight, she was not blindsided by anything they threw at her. All in all, it was an uneventful battle, and one Grima was fine with forgetting.

Her fight after that, however, was not.

As she stepped into the arena, her eyes immediately locked onto her opponent. A tall, lanky man in a distinct yellow cloak, yellow eyes shining underneath the shrouded hood. At first glance, he might have seemed unassuming… But Grima knew better. As a being who had seen plenty of them, Grima could recognize a vile soul when she saw them. And this one was especially putrid.

“Well well, you must be the poor sod that ol’ Hazzy managed to sway with his puppy eye act” the man, Terumi, before her commented as she walked towards her spot, placing his hands in his pockets and leaning back slightly, “I expected someone a bit taller, especially with the reputation. But I’m just left disappointed-”

“If I had any care on what you’d think, I would apologize for the disappointment. Alas, I do not, especially as I hardly even know who you are” Grima interrupted, rolling her eyes at Terumi’s barbs… Though she did smirk slightly when she noticed Terumi bristled slightly at her immediate dismissal, “I’m truthfully getting tired of this tournament already, but for you I’ll put in a bit of effort. Your speech tells me you need a reminder of your place, vermin.”

A bit of silence stretched in the arena, at least until Terumi laughed without any sort of mirth, straightening his posture; a clear indication that he was ready “Alright then. C’mon and do it then… ‘Fell Dragon’”

ROUND ONE.

FIGHT

Grima immediately takes a step back once the announcement calls forth, a decision that quickly proved correct as Terumi immediately lunged forth, drawing a butterfly knife with one smooth motion and slashing at the Vessel. When the knife missed, Terumi did not miss a beat, instead using the momentum to place the swinging hand on the ground and spin, kicking out with his foot, which itself had a knife jutting out of the heel of his shoe. Unfortunately for him, Grima simply parried the kick with her sword, throwing him off balance and slamming her sword hilt first into Terumi’s head as he tried recovering. The further disorientation was followed by several slashes from the Fell Dragon’s vessel, culminating in a leg sweep that knocked Terumi to the ground and onto his back. Grima didn’t give him much time to breath still as she leapt into the air and used gravity to slam her sword into where he lay, a lethal strike that he barely avoided by rolling out of the way.

With a small, frustrated ‘tsk’, Terumi went back on the offensive as Grima tore her sword out of the ground. While his first attack was a reckless lunge, this time he was more methodical, dashing in close and testing Grima’s defense with short attacks that were spaced enough to give her openings to try to counter, but not large enough that she could properly strike him in between his pokes. Eventually, his plan did come to fruition as Grima blocked a slash from his butterfly knife, attempting to counter with her hilt jab and getting kneed in the gut for her trouble. However, he did not follow up with a combo: instead, Grima was able to recover, being placed right back into a defensive position.

And after a few more moments, Terumi pulled his hand back, a series of chains wrapping around his open palm… And it became clear that Terumi simply wanted to force her into a defensive position so he could forcefully open her up.

“Retailiating- GAH!” Terumi began to throw his hand forward, only for Grima to suddenly dash in and strike Terumi in the chest with her sword, causing him to stagger slightly and leave him open for Grima’s followup: A dark magic blast that sent him flying. However, he managed to recover quickly, rolling to his feet, growling under his breath, “You bitch! GLEAMING FANG! immediately, a large amount of dark green energy formed around Terumi before it lunged forward in the shape of a massive snake head, surging towards Grima.

“Fool” Grima answered with a hint of smugness in her voice, pulling her hand back as a series of black spikes erupted from the ground, creating a wall to stop the latter’s charge… Or, it would have. If the snake head didn’t simply phase through the spikes and continue its path towards Grima, barely giving her a chance to realize her mistake before it slammed into her. The hit itself launched Grima into the air slightly, allowing Terumi, who had been present within the snake head as it charged, to follow up on her, kicking up some more dark energy as if kicking sand and then jumping into the air to rapidly slash at Grima with a pair of butterknives before slamming her back to the ground with an overhead energy strike.

Grima didn’t stay on the ground long, instead rolling back to her feet. Yet as soon as she got up, Terumi was on her again, rapidly slashing with his knives once more. But unlike the last time, Grima wasn’t in a position for him to keep her on the defensive as easily as before, and Grima knew it. And when he slipped and revealed an opening that was clearly large enough for her to exploit, Grima took it and swung at Terumi’s neck.

Yet as soon as her sword reached Terumi, the man grinned, a chain whipping up to latch onto her blade and pull it back before Terumi himself dashed forward, easily getting behind Grima and yanking her sword arm so towards her own chest. Then, as several more chains wrapped around Grima’s legs and torso, Terumi leapt back over Grima, wrapping the various chains that now constricted Grima around his own fingers, “Venamous… BITE!” he yelled, yanking his hands down and causing each chain to dig into Grima before erupting into dark energy. Despite how quickly they disappeared, it felt as if Grima was being nearly torn in half.

But Terumi wasn’t done.

Immediately as Grima staggered from the devastating counter, Terumi turned around and brought his hands to his face, “Time to DIE!” he shouted with glee as he brought his hand back down, activating his Overdrive to let him continue his own combo. Which he did as he brought his leg up, kicking Grima in the face and then quickly bringing his foot back down, a knife jutting out of the sole of his shoe and slamming into Grima’s chest. He then thrust a hand forward, another one of his chains shooting out and slamming into Grima’s torso, launching her into the air before she was abruptly dragged back to the ground and slammed into the arena once more. And then, once she was properly on the ground, Terumi spun in place, his foot raised one more time, “Serpent’s Laceration!”

And then he brought his foot down, literally curbstomping Grima’s head. And then stomped again. And again. Once. Twice. Thrice. Each stomp that Terumi inflicted upon Grima caused him to speed up, rapidly racking up and beginning to damage the ground that Grima was being stomped into. Eventually, around the 20th stomp, the man rapidly slowed down, instead choosing to lean down and grind his foot into the back of Grima’s head, “C’mon, put me in my place~ Idiot!”

Then in one smooth motion, Terumi kicked Grima’s head, launching her off the ground and, with a spin, he slammed his foot into Grima’s stomach to send her flying away.

K.O!

TERUMI WINS!

Tumbling head over heel, Grima eventually slid to a stop facedown upon the ground. She didn’t stay there for long however, instead groaning and pushing herself to her feet,

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re already tired! I’m still waiting for you to start sucking less!” Terumi called out, snickering to himself as he backstepped to his initial starting position.

“Grima, we can’t be playing to his tempo, you have to-”

“I am aware of the issue. I do not require you providing tips, worm” Grima immediately snapped back towards Robin, rising to her feet and twirling her sword in her hand, “A singular round won, and you act as though you’ve already won. Standard mortal overconfidence” the Fell Dragon states, taking her place for the next round.

“Oh, but I already have! I mean, if that was the best you got, then I’m honestly shocked you got even this far! Then again, this place is full of losers, so maybe you’re just the best out of trash!” Terumi replied, clearly aiming to get a rise out of Grima… And seemingly getting his kick when she let out an annoyed ‘tsk’ at him.