Lewascan2

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

@Double
I know I gave the approval in the discord, but approved here also for posterity.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

The Scheming Serpent

"Mou~~! It's a shame really. I gave them everything, you know? The keys to the future, to pull themselves from their filthy rut of pollution and stagnation! They had so much potential, could have revolutionized the world and salvaged their reputation... Instead, they would pervert my work? Use it for war and decimation, rather than creation and advancement? Well, if that's how it is... then they should know they deserve every bit of what's coming to them~."
Appearance: A tall, shapely woman with a distinctly unnerving air to her, her gaze almost hungrily taking in everything around her. Her emerald-green hair and oddly colored eyes are "natural", and her demeanor gives off the distinct impression of a predator surrounded by prey. Even when affecting a friendly air, she seems like an opportunistic viper, ready to strike. Dresses extremely eccentrically -even salaciously- in a rather combat-impractical green and black cyberpunk dress, almost as if bragging about her A-Rank status visually, despite not doing so verbally. Rain or shine, formal or informal, she seems unbothered by the conditions and boldly flaunts her body as though she were her own magnum opus... a far from incorrect assumption. Her form is inhumanly "perfect", to an uncanny degree that often sets other humans on edge, ironically imperfect in its perfection. The observant may pick out the utter lack of blemishes on her skin, the way she never needs to bathe for cleanliness except as a luxury, the way she takes far fewer meals than needed, and more besides.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 147 lbs.
Build: Shapely, but strangely toned.

Name: Lei Qingshe (Jormungandr (black ops codename), The Snake - 6th of The Zodiac)
Age: 21 (appears 18) (Born 2001, Year of the Snake)
Nationality: Chinese (defector)

Noble Arm Name & Appearance: [Ouroboros], a 5 foot tall green and black cyberpunk tower shield with bladed edges and spikes.

Ouroboros

Noble Arm Rank: A

A

Power: B+ (Creations)
Speed: B- (Analysis speed)
Range: B+ (Creations)
Persistence: D+ (Self-Modifications)
Precision: A
Potential: D

Due to self/NA modifications and the nature of her NA's power itself, Qingshe's original ratings have become subject to... fluctuation. Her original true classification of B has been, in practice, found to vastly undersell her tactical value, both on and off the battlefield.

Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Variable-Range Electric Support-type.

Noble Arm Abilities

Modified -using its own powers turned against it- from its original state as a mere dated tower shield into a cyberpunk construct of the future, Ouroboros is far more resilient than the average Noble Arm, its biotech structure making it capable of withstanding ludicrous force and even visually repairing itself if damaged. It can hover independently of its user's grasp, utilizing a magnetic force to orbit the user, often trailing just behind them. It has basic light-bending cloaking, allowing the user to keep it discreetly summoned. However, that cloaking doesn't hold up under combat conditions where it must physically obstruct an attack. Due to its modifications, it provides basic access to its powers even when not summoned at all.

Publicly Derivable Knowledge

Ravenous Knowledge, the All-Consuming Shadow

Considered to potentially be the true core of her Noble Arm's power, Qingshe seemingly possesses some manner of "shadow world" formed of green-black biotech "fluid". Accessed through her malleable shadow, she can seemingly drag targets into it or expel them. It seems to be some manner of extradimensional plane, as teleportation experiments have thus-far failed to take others to or from it. Qingshe seems to have full control of what and who can pass through her shadow when and where she desires, but it is closed and impassable by default. She is known to be one of the most capable of The Zodiac at taking live prisoners, along with being able to transport large amounts of equipment and materials with ease. Those that have reported on their experience within the shadow world have only been able to describe a single room with no exits, furnished most often as either a prison or lab, but there was no sign of the other objects she was known to possess at the time. It is conclusively clear then that Qingshe has some level of control over the shape of her shadow world and that it is both larger than expected and able to "sort" targets she drags into it into separate sections of itself.

The functionality of it is also unknown, but swallowing targets into her shadow also seems to allow Qingshe to rapidly reverse engineer them and the principles behind their creation, her scientific knowledge and talent expanding at a rate that boggles the mind.

The Present Future, Workings of the Serpent

In the outside world, Qingshe's primary public usage of her ability is through shaping the green-black biotech "fluid" of her shadow, expanding and shaping it into a multitude of forms limited only by her technical, practical knowledge and personal experimentation. It can take on any material composition she understands in any quantity, shape or size permitted by the size of her shadow. Spears, blades, spiked walls, barriers and other more mundane and utility objects alike, she can shape her shadow any way she likes and never seems to run out of the "fluid" used to create workings. The shadow can be shaped in the blink of an eye, acting at the speed of thought to do her bidding.

Any fluid that becomes separated from the whole either dissipates if it was unshaped or becomes in truth the object it was shaped into, entirely free of Qingshe's domain unless she should swallow it again. Most formless constructs take on a similar green-black cyberpunk look as her shadow, but Qingshe can just as easily form objects with entirely normal appearances. The "fluid" cannot be reverse engineered, as it simply "becomes" in truth what it was shaped into once separated from the whole. The "fluid", both unshaped and not, remains under Qingshe's psychokinetic control until separated from the main mass.

Further, with her "understanding" of targets comes the ability to both repair and "innovate". Beings inside (or partially within) her shadow world can be healed through converting the "fluid" into new mass that then becomes independent of the whole. With the right level of understanding and the right subject, she can perform genetic modification to allow inhuman biological base capabilities or even add cyborg enhancements to those that either cannot be healed otherwise... or desire to become more than human.

As her shadow grows, she can both more rapidly expand it and create larger and more complex objects. Or, at least, this is what she allows others to believe. While it has a grain of truth to it, her shadow can at any time travel speeds in excess of hundreds of feet per second, able to transform vast swathes of land into her personal playground in moments. This is hardly hyperbole, as expanding her shadow is akin to transforming the surface of the world around her into a facsimile of her shadow world. She has a basic awareness of anything in physical contact with her shadow and can hear through its surface and exit her shadow at any location it covers. With sufficient widespread coverage, she can thus act as a makeshift teleporter for herself and others.

While the durability of her constructs depends on the material she transmutes them into, her growing shadow itself is effectively a space-time gap and is thus generally impervious to anything that cannot pierce such things, allowing her to ward large areas against collateral damage.

List of Creations (to be expanded):

• Qingshe's personal "battlesuit": A salacious, dress-like affair, its weave far more durable than one might expect, even more-so than Qingshe's modified body, a feat in itself for such... form-fitting material.
• Holder.

The Next Step, Jormungandr

Qingshe's magnum opus, her own body, heavily genetically, biologically and technologically modified. It is hard to say if she can truly still be called human. Although she would argue that the answer is not just "yes", but that the same would hold true for anyone else that underwent similar or divergent modifications to become what she truly believes is the next step in human evolution, one where humanity takes things into their own hands, rather than any "god".

Qingshe's body is now formed of the same biotech fluid that comprises her shadow world, malleable in unnatural ways and divorced from humanity except by the barest technicalities and most outward appearances. Visually, the primary signs of her transhumanism are now "naturally" green hair and slitted, reptilian eyes that seem to shift between green, yellow, blue and red as her mood shifts. Less obvious is the smooth hairlessness of her body below the neck, devoid of blemishes and "flaws", becoming distinctly unnervingly imperfect in its perfection. Her hair and body retain an almost shine of health even without maintenance.

Beyond the visual level, the changes are far more severe, as Qingshe sought to become a "perfect lifeform" and even today continues to tweak and modify her alterations as improvements present themselves. The extent of these modifications are unknown to either the public or intelligence, but they are confirmed to be drastic.

The Truth

On the surface, Qingshe's Noble Arm would seem to have unlimited Potential, endlessly spawning new abilities, weapons and utilities, but the terrifying reality is that such is far from the case, not in the conventional sense. No, Qingshe possesses but a single ability of vast breadth, a multifaceted chimera that she has made extensive and creative use of over the years, and her Noble Arm has not given up a single new power since obtaining it. It is an ability that suits her wholly, growing ever stronger that more she learns and experiences, and her Noble Arm has dedicated all of its capacity to this with no room for any other ability.

To explain her ability, we must reach to the conceptual root nature of Noble Arms. Derived from Occult Programming Language as they are, every Noble Arm ultimately has a designated function as a "program" in the grand System that governs reality. A Noble Arm usually accesses a single "skill tree" of sorts, often multiple. Instead of accessing multiple, Qingshe's ability delved deeply into a single tree and shot for the stars.

Qingshe's ability is to have access to and control over an isolated "programming test zone" in the System. Her ability's true nature and element is [Data Manipulation], and all that it does is derived from this. In essence, her ability allows her to peer upon, dissect and manipulate the "code of reality", limited by her personal understanding and only so long as her manipulations occur while they are inside the "test zone", otherwise perceived as her "world of data". This "test zone" exists entirely within the raw data realm that can perhaps be perceived as the "upper planes" of reality. Because of being attuned to this specific form of [Data], Qingshe's ability also makes her Noble Arm one of the rare few that can interact with unstructured Occult Programming Language, enough to make Qingshe a fair hand at it on the side.

Qingshe can draw things into her test zone or expel them freely, converting targets into data or vice-versa. When doing so, she expands a "shadow" across surfaces from her position, which she must maintain physical contact with to keep open. The shadow -it should be noted- is centered on her physical body, not her soul or the Noble Arm itself. Her body is used as a conduit to transfer energy to the portal. Anything that she has created from the ground up can be freely controlled as long as it's not physically separated from the shadow, after which point it becomes entirely independent in theory. As long as it does not, however, she can freely control what she expels and retract it at any time, allowing her to exert some measure of power on reality that pales in comparison to her grasp of her personal data space.

Her shadow's range caps out at 2 kilometers from her position in any direction and can extend to any size and shape within that spherical range as long as the environment provides, able to manifest across nearly any solid surface, including water tension. Because she draws energy from the System itself instead of a personal reservoir, Qingshe doesn't -strictly speaking- have a limit on how much she can create and never seems to run out of mass. The real problem is her stamina, as her body being a conduit to pass energy through her shadow gateway puts incredible and painful strain on her body, enough to paralyze her from the electric currents... Or, so it used to. In her pursuit of transhumanism, she has heavily modified her body to handle this strain and can now casually reach and sustain heights she never could have dreamed of touching as a child. Solving this stamina issue is what largely propelled her to the heights needed be considered A-Rank.

To boil her ability down, it can best be summarized in three parts:

• A): She has the ability to access and manipulate an expanding "world of data" that's gateway and unshaped internals take visual form and manifestation as electrified ooze. It grows larger the more "knowledge" it absorbs.
• B): She has the ability to draw energy from said "data space", largely in the form of electricity, which uses her body as a conduit to empower her shadow and pass things to or from the data realm.
• C): She has borderline omniscient and fine awareness of the data world through which to best manipulate it, and it effectively radically expands her memory capacity in order to store more knowledge and most efficiently access anything she knows.

Misc Abilities

Tech Wiz: An effective super-genius in many scientific fields (especially biochemistry and genetics)
Intrigue: Skilled in deception and navigating social environments.
Inhuman Mentality: Has an incredible mental resilience and pain tolerance.
Cook: Can cook edible and safe food, despite any rumors to the contrary. Though taste is... debatable.
Polylingual: Knows most major languages (English, French, Chinese, Russian, Japanese etc.).
Soldier: A former -and current- soldier of sorts, she has undergone standardized martial training. It's nothing she's particularly passionate about, but she's not useless in CQC, and her unconventional methods of fighting tend to even the odds. Despite being a creature of modern lab comforts, she's no slouch in survival skills, and she can handle a gun with... well, not the best of them, certainly. But she won't fall behind.
Occult Programming Language V1: Qingshe has long studied the mysterious occult practices that are currently quietly attributed to the advent of Noble Arms after being misused on a worldwide scale during World War 2. This gives her a grasp on the concepts behind Noble Arm functionality. Though, hers is not as strong as the advanced V2 language developed by the Paragons of Science. Still, she is capable of creating comparatively rough "magitech", like restraints that bind, suppresses or otherwise weaken Noble Arms.

Personality

A snake in more than one sense of the word, Lei Qingshe is manipulative, sly and proud of her power, yet restrained enough to avoid megalomania. Analytical and introspective, she has a powerful grasp on her own nature and desires, along with the will to see them through at any cost. To the public, she is simultaneously caring to those under her care, often with a strangely motherly bent... while also being horrifyingly ruthless to her enemies, willing to casually commit abject atrocities for the sake of the slightest sliver of progress in her research and victory as a whole. This juxtaposition often makes it difficult to tell where her "lines in the sand" are, assuming she has many at all, and it is further unclear whether she holds any true morals or if she simply puts on airs of civility so as to not be treated as an uncontrollable threat.

Qingshe can oft be described as "married to her work" with both little interest or time to dedicate to other pursuits, a state of affairs she is satisfied with... or so she tells herself. She seems to find no greater joy in anything but advancing her knowledge, ravenously gorging her mind on any biological or technological subject she can grasp. Driven to an admittedly obsessive degree, she is an avid transhumanist, and were her definition of a potential "humanity" not so broadly inclusive, she'd likely be a shoe-in for the interests of the likes of the Paragons of Science. Despite her loose morals, she is never cruel for cruelty's sake and, in fact, despises such things as being "wasteful" of "human resources". Self aware as she is, she acknowledges that her beliefs and attitude are in opposition to the widely held "common sense". As such, she lives by the adage of "faking it till you make it" as a social chameleon, often affecting a playful and mildly seductive air... Genuine or not, despite her disdain for the current "weakness of the flesh" that is "plaguing" humanity, she admires humans as a whole for their will to survive and capacity to evolve mentally... and especially physically.

When she cares to be, she is bold in her opinions and unrepentant in her views. She believes that she is correct and that others will inevitably understand her way of thinking or be outgrown by her, and that is all that she needs to feel validated. She believes that in the face of Noble Arms upending peace and disturbing prosperity, the core concept of humanity must evolve to meet them to once more manifest a world where "all men are created equal". In her mind, once all humans are supernatural beings in their own right, Noble Arms will be mostly obsolete or equalized. In other words, at her core, she seeks to bring humanity peace again... but most would perhaps disagree on the price that is reasonable to pay for that future.

On the whole, Qingshe despises the Big Three. In particular, she blames the Downward Descent for fanning the flames, vices and sins of her home country into a new world war instead of using her technology to escape their pit of stagnation, and she views them and their agents as no better than animals and plagues upon the world that have thrown away their humanity for nothing. At one time, she had seen much in the Paragons of Science to admire; however, after discovering that the advancements and power they offered were a poisoned chalice rather than true, freely given boons to humanity, she grew resentful, viewing it as a betrayal of the glorious image of evolution she had pictured. Even were The Seven Virtues' price for their power tenable, Qingshe would -perhaps ironically- be unnerved by them and their claims, and their proposed ideals for what humanity should be set an ominous pit in her stomach that... something just isn't right.

Likes: Research, progress, small animals, useful things, staying up late, junk food, spicy food.

Dislikes: Stagnation, ignorance, waste (resources, time, etc), obstacles to her studies, getting up early, The Big Three (especially The Downward Descent), excessively sweet or sour food.

Fears: Losing sight of herself. Death.

Bio

Enter: Lei Qingshe. Codename: Jormungandr. "A monster in the shape of a human", they call her. Something "beyond". The next step in Arms Master evolution. It certainly doesn't help that she is known to those with an ear to the ground to have been a key figure in the rapid military advancement of China in the past half decade. Her origins and recently acquired lack of firm loyalty to any cause or nation make her intentions suspect, and yet, her power and willingness to -at least ostensibly- use it for good in the present day make her aid impossible to deny, given the stakes.

To the majority of the public, she is known as The Snake - 6th of The Zodiac, China's most well-known and public group of "superheroes", acting as blatant -if effective- PR for the nation to both its citizens and the world at large. The group, composed of all A-Rank Arms Masters or the equivalent in some manner, handles large-scale disasters and crimes. To those with more access to far more sensitive intelligence, however, they are also known to be a ruthless nigh-unstoppable black-ops hit-squad that do China's dirty work seemingly without qualms. It is also known to such intelligence operatives that Qingshe was heavily and seemingly unashamedly involved in many of the worst of China's concealed biological war-crimes and human experimentation. In fact, she was at the forefront of those advancements, seemingly leading the charge with a frightening zeal.

While she isn't exactly blasting it on the airwaves, there are many -often suppressed- clips from Q&A's, other private or public conversations and classified leaks that clearly demonstrate Qingshe has a zealous belief in advancing and further accelerating the evolution of humanity, even partially agreeing with the ideals of The Paragons of Science and The Seven Virtues on occasion. Her dedication to "progress" is to the point that there are rumors that she was mad enough to test her human experiments on herself... resulting in her becoming something more.

Thus, with her track record of loyalty and unwavering dedication, her abrupt disappearance 11 months ago came as a shock to the public in large. Behind far more secure closed curtains, however, a different worry has sprouted in light of the fact that she has violently defected and gone AWOL from China's grasp. The reasons are unknown, but she did do great damage to their research facilities and classified data on her way out. The only thing left of Qingshe's former lab complex is an unnervingly smooth crater...

Current Goal:
Short Term: To acquire more "materials" and further her research... Hmm? Oh yes, and to save the Philippines. Sure, that too.
Long term: The human condition is weak... but it could be less weak. To improve humanity... and make the sacrifices worth it.

Military or Civilian Rank: QRS Special Liaison (LNO), R&D Consultant, Medic and Volunteer Arms Master Soldier.

Theme(s)

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

The Scheming Serpent

"Mou~~! It's a shame really. I gave them everything, you know? The keys to the future, to pull themselves from their filthy rut of pollution and stagnation! They had so much potential, could have revolutionized the world and salvaged their reputation... Instead, they would pervert my work? Use it for war and decimation, rather than creation and advancement? Well, if that's how it is... then they should know they deserve every bit of what's coming to them~."
Appearance: A tall, shapely woman with a distinctly unnerving air to her, her gaze almost hungrily taking in everything around her. Her emerald-green hair and oddly colored eyes are "natural", and her demeanor gives off the distinct impression of a predator surrounded by prey. Even when affecting a friendly air, she seems like an opportunistic viper, ready to strike. Dresses extremely eccentrically -even salaciously- in a rather combat-impractical green and black cyberpunk dress, almost as if bragging about her A-Rank status visually, despite not doing so verbally. Rain or shine, formal or informal, she seems unbothered by the conditions and boldly flaunts her body as though she were her own magnum opus... a far from incorrect assumption. Her form is inhumanly "perfect", to an uncanny degree that often sets other humans on edge, ironically imperfect in its perfection. The observant may pick out the utter lack of blemishes on her skin, the way she never needs to bathe for cleanliness except as a luxury, the way she takes far fewer meals than needed, and more besides.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 147 lbs.
Build: Shapely, but strangely toned.

Name: Lei Qingshe (Jormungandr (black ops codename), The Snake - 6th of The Zodiac)
Age: 21 (appears 18) (Born 2001, Year of the Snake)
Nationality: Chinese (defector)

Noble Arm Name & Appearance: [Ouroboros], a 5 foot tall green and black cyberpunk tower shield with bladed edges and spikes.

Ouroboros

Noble Arm Rank: A

Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Variable-Range Electric Support-type.

Noble Arm Abilities

Modified -using its own powers turned against it- from its original state as a mere dated tower shield into a cyberpunk construct of the future, Ouroboros is far more resilient than the average Noble Arm, its biotech structure making it capable of withstanding ludicrous force and even visually repairing itself if damaged. It can hover independently of its user's grasp, utilizing a magnetic force to orbit the user, often trailing just behind them. It has basic light-bending cloaking, allowing the user to keep it discreetly summoned. However, that cloaking doesn't hold up under combat conditions where it must physically obstruct an attack. Due to its modifications, it provides basic access to its powers even when not summoned at all.

Ravenous Knowledge, the All-Consuming Shadow

Considered to potentially be the true core of her Noble Arm's power, Qingshe seemingly possesses some manner of "shadow world" formed of green-black biotech "fluid". Accessed through her malleable shadow, she can seemingly drag targets into it or expel them. It seems to be some manner of extradimensional plane, as teleportation experiments have thus-far failed to take others to or from it. Qingshe seems to have full control of what and who can pass through her shadow when and where she desires, but it is closed and impassable by default. She is known to be one of the most capable of The Zodiac at taking live prisoners, along with being able to transport large amounts of equipment and materials with ease. Those that have reported on their experience within the shadow world have only been able to describe a single room with no exits, furnished most often as either a prison or lab, but there was no sign of the other objects she was known to possess at the time. It is conclusively clear then that Qingshe has some level of control over the shape of her shadow world and that she can it is both larger than expected and able to "sort" targets she drags into it into separate sections of itself.

The functionality of it is also unknown, but swallowing targets into her shadow also seems to allow Qingshe to rapidly reverse engineer them and the principles behind their creation, her scientific knowledge and talent expanding at a rate that boggles the mind.

The Present Future, Workings of the Serpent

In the outside world, Qingshe's primary public usage of her ability is through shaping the green-black biotech "fluid" of her shadow, expanding and shaping it into a multitude of forms limited only by her technical, practical knowledge and personal experimentation. It can take on any material composition she understands in any quantity, shape or size permitted by the size of her shadow. Spears, blades, spiked walls, barriers and other more mundane and utility objects alike, she can shape her shadow any way she likes and never seems to run out of the "fluid" used to create workings. The shadow can be shaped in the blink of an eye, acting at the speed of thought to do her bidding.

Any fluid that becomes separated from the whole either dissipates if it was unshaped or becomes in truth the object it was shaped into, entirely free of Qingshe's domain unless she should swallow it again. Most formless constructs take on a similar green-black cyberpunk look as her shadow, but Qingshe can just as easily form objects with entirely normal appearances. The "fluid" cannot be reverse engineered, as it simply "becomes" in truth what it was shaped into once separated from the whole. The "fluid", both unshaped and not, remains under Qingshe's psychokinetic control until separated from the main mass.

Further, with her "understanding" of targets comes the ability to both repair and "innovate". Beings inside (or partially within) her shadow world can be healed through converting the "fluid" into new mass that then becomes independent of the whole. With the right level of understanding and the right subject, she can perform genetic modification to allow inhuman biological base capabilities or even add cyborg enhancements to those that either cannot be healed otherwise... or desire to become more than human.

As her shadow grows, she can both more rapidly expand it and create larger and more complex objects. Or, at least, this is what she allows others to believe. While it has a grain of truth to it, her shadow can at any time travel speeds in excess of hundreds of feet per second, able to transform vast swathes of land into her personal playground in moments. This is hardly hyperbole, as expanding her shadow is akin to transforming the surface of the world around her into a facsimile of her shadow world. She has a basic awareness of anything in physical contact with her shadow and can hear through its surface and exit her data world at any location it covers. With sufficient widespread coverage, she can thus act as a makeshift teleporter for herself and others.

While the durability of her constructs depends on the material she transmutes them into, her growing shadow itself is effectively a space-time gap and is thus generally impervious to anything that cannot pierce such things, allowing her to ward large areas against collateral damage.

List of Creations (to be expanded):

• Holder.

The Next Step, Jormungandr

Qingshe's magnum opus, her own body, heavily genetically, biologically and technologically modified. It is hard to say if she can truly still be called human. Although she would argue that the answer is not just "yes", but that the same would hold true for anyone else that underwent similar or divergent modifications to become what she truly believes is the next step in human evolution, one where humanity takes things into their own hands, rather than any "god".

Qingshe's body is now formed of the same biotech fluid that comprises her shadow world, malleable in unnatural ways and divorced from humanity except by the barest technicalities and most outward appearances. Visually, the primary signs of her transhumanism are now "naturally" green hair and slitted, reptilian eyes that seem to shift between green, yellow, blue and red as her mood shifts. Less obvious is the smooth hairlessness of her body below the neck, devoid of blemishes and "flaws", becoming distinctly unnervingly imperfect in its perfection. Her hair and body retain an almost shine of health even without maintenance.

Beyond the visual level, the changes are far more severe, as Qingshe sought to become a "perfect lifeform" and even today continues to tweak and modify her alterations as improvements present themselves. The extent of these modifications are unknown to either the public or intelligence, but they are confirmed to be drastic.

Misc Abilities

Tech Wiz: An effective super-genius in many scientific fields (especially biochemistry and genetics)
Intrigue: Skilled in deception and navigating social environments.
Inhuman Mentality: Has an incredible mental resilience and pain tolerance.
Cook: Can cook edible and safe food, despite any rumors to the contrary. Though taste is... debatable.
Polylingual: Knows most major languages (English, French, Chinese, Russian, Japanese etc.).
Soldier: A former -and current- soldier of sorts, she has undergone standardized martial training. It's nothing she's particularly passionate about, but she's not useless in CQC, and her unconventional methods of fighting tend to even the odds. Despite being a creature of modern lab comforts, she's no slouch in survival skills, and she can handle a gun with... well, not the best of them, certainly. But she won't fall behind.

Personality

A snake in more than one sense of the word, Lei Qingshe is manipulative, sly and proud of her power, yet restrained enough to avoid megalomania. Analytical and introspective, she has a powerful grasp on her own nature and desires, along with the will to see them through at any cost. To the public, she is simultaneously caring to those under her care, often with a strangely motherly bent... while also being horrifyingly ruthless to her enemies, willing to casually commit abject atrocities for the sake of the slightest sliver of progress in her research and victory as a whole. This juxtaposition often makes it difficult to tell where her "lines in the sand" are, assuming she has many at all, and it is further unclear whether she holds any true morals or if she simply puts on airs of civility so as to not be treated as an uncontrollable threat.

Qingshe can oft be described as "married to her work" with both little interest or time to dedicate to other pursuits, a state of affairs she is satisfied with... or so she tells herself. She seems to find no greater joy in anything but advancing her knowledge, ravenously gorging her mind on any biological or technological subject she can grasp. Driven to an admittedly obsessive degree, she is an avid transhumanist, and were her definition of a potential "humanity" not so broadly inclusive, she'd likely be a shoe-in for the interests of the likes of the Paragons of Science. Despite her loose morals, she is never cruel for cruelty's sake and, in fact, despises such things as being "wasteful" of "human resources". Self aware as she is, she acknowledges that her beliefs and attitude are in opposition to the widely held "common sense". As such, she lives by the adage of "faking it till you make it" as a social chameleon, often affecting a playful and mildly seductive air... Genuine or not, despite her disdain for the current "weakness of the flesh" that is "plaguing" humanity, she admires humans as a whole for their will to survive and capacity to evolve mentally... and especially physically.

When she cares to be, she is bold in her opinions and unrepentant in her views. She believes that she is correct and that others will inevitably understand her way of thinking or be outgrown by her, and that is all that she needs to feel validated. She believes that in the face of Noble Arms upending peace and disturbing prosperity, the core concept of humanity must evolve to meet them to once more manifest a world where "all men are created equal". In her mind, once all humans are supernatural beings in their own right, Noble Arms will be mostly obsolete or equalized. In other words, at her core, she seeks to bring humanity peace again... but most would perhaps disagree on the price that is reasonable to pay for that future.

Likes: Research, progress, small animals, useful things, staying up late, The Paragons of Science, junk food, spicy food.

Dislikes: Stagnation, ignorance, waste (resources, time, etc), obstacles to her studies, getting up early, The Downward Descent, excessively sweet or sour food.

Fears: For such a feared monster, one wonders what they fear in turn.

Bio

Enter: Lei Qingshe. Codename: Jormungandr. "A monster in the shape of a human", they call her. Something "beyond". The next step in Arms Master evolution. It certainly doesn't help that she is known to those with an ear to the ground to have been a key figure in the rapid military advancement of China in the past half decade. Her origins and recently acquired lack of firm loyalty to any cause or nation make her intentions suspect, and yet, her power and willingness to -at least ostensibly- use it for good in the present day make her aid impossible to deny, given the stakes.

To the majority of the public, she is known as The Snake - 6th of The Zodiac, China's most well-known and public group of "superheroes", acting as blatant -if effective- PR for the nation to both its citizens and the world at large. The group, composed of all A-Rank Arms Masters or the equivalent in some manner, handles large-scale disasters and crimes. To those with more access to far more sensitive intelligence, however, they are also known to be a ruthless nigh-unstoppable black-ops hit-squad that do China's dirty work seemingly without qualms. It is also known to such intelligence operatives that Qingshe was heavily and seemingly unashamedly involved in many of the worst of China's concealed biological war-crimes and human experimentation. In fact, she was at the forefront of those advancements, seemingly leading the charge with a frightening zeal.

While she isn't exactly blasting it on the airwaves, there are many -often suppressed- clips from Q&A's, other private or public conversations and classified leaks that clearly demonstrate Qingshe has a zealous belief in advancing and further accelerating the evolution of humanity, even partially agreeing with the ideals of The Paragons of Science and The Seven Virtues on occasion. Her dedication to "progress" is to the point that there are rumors that she was mad enough to test her human experiments on herself... resulting in her becoming something more.

Thus, with her track record of loyalty and unwavering dedication, her abrupt disappearance a month ago came as a shock to the public in large. Behind far more secure closed curtains, however, a different worry has sprouted in light of the fact that she has violently defected and gone AWOL from China's grasp. The reasons are unknown, but she did do great damage to their research facilities and classified data on her way out. The only thing left of Qingshe's former lab complex is an unnervingly smooth crater...

Current Goal:
Short Term: To acquire more "materials" and further her research... Hmm? Oh yes, and to save the Philippines. Sure, that too.
Long term: The human condition is weak... but it could be less weak.

Military or Civilian Rank: Civilian? Volunteer Arms Master Soldier and Field Medic.

Theme(s)

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

@MagusDream
Squints at final ability.
Approved. Let's see where you're going with this.

@Double
I see no issues here. Looks neat! I see you too are a cultured appreciator of tower shields!
As I'm the third and final approval needed, go ahead and pop them in the CS tab.
Oh yeah, for sanity's sake, just edit your Alain post and replace him with the new ones.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

After much headbanging, I am... still kinda stumped. Is a complete rewrite or different character entirely in order here? Nothing else seems to come to mind.

@Double

If that's how far you feel you need to go, then sure. If your current concept just can't be adjusted no matter how much you try, then maybe starting fresh will be the key to making headway.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

@Senhara
He dropped a second PC.
Back to the grind, I suppose.
XD

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

Cracks knuckles.
Alrighty, let's blow through all these real quick, shall we?

@MagusDream
Approved. The discussion in the Discord was fruitful. I look forward to seeing your strategies play out, chess master.

@Sniblet
Approved on the condition that you buff that shit straight to B+. Resurrection of any kind is A-Rank territory. And that sheer cold and freezing stuff definitely gives her offense that extra kick that makes her especially dangerous as a defensive juggernaut, even if her attack might not be quite B-Rank worthy on its own. So, yeah, overall judgement is that since she can resurrect and can't really be conventionally stopped from coming back to life, that's B+. Make the change, and you have my vote.

@Senhara
Approved. Lol, sorry about that wait. Really had you chomping at the bit. XD

@Vergil
Easy pass.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

@Senhara
I double-checked, and I think everyone in the CS tab except Alain is fully good to go. Alain only needs backstory adjustment, however, but that's yet to be edited. Other than that needing fixing, everyone else essentially got approved either here or the interest check... although Aisede did also slip up for a bit there too.

To Everyone:
But yeah, overall, peeps, please do ensure that every last section of your CS has been completed and approved before moving them to the CS tab.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War

I do believe I'll be along for the ride. :)

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Chinami Nadakai

@Dezuel@Letter Bee

Chinami could only assume Reverio was entirely missing the point, but at this stage, she just wasn't in any mood to continue this fruitless conversation. She didn't even need the "Scumsuza Filter" anymore to parse through the blonde's words and actions with her usual mental alacrity. By now, it seemed she had well and truly inoculated herself to the hormonal nonsense that had been gripping her... and she couldn't help feeling a mentally draining disappointment at what she'd found. Here she was, thinking she'd struck gold... but like everything else in her life, it was too good to be true. She wasn't sure if she'd entirely burned that bridge, but at the least, it was on fire... and she wasn't sure if she wanted to put it out.

She understood the implicit dismissal and nodded tersely. She had overstayed her welcome. "It's been washed, but I could do nothing for the holes. I'm no seamstress," she said mildly in parting, striding towards the door in Reverio's wake. Honestly, she was glad this was over. Things had really started to feel awkward, now that she thought about it. The way this had turned into a home visit when it was just supposed to be a quick coat return. The way Ken had been getting unfortunately -almost rudely- sidelined in their conversation. The way Chinami felt like she was imposing as a guest, despite being invited in. It almost felt shameful to argue with genuine heat with the host, but she ultimately didn't regret anything she'd said. Certainly not enough to retract a single word.

Ken's high-pitched cry snapped her gaze back around, and... Chinami found her abrupt alarm quickly bleeding out into annoyance and an open sneer on her face. "Negativity? Hah," she scoffed derisively. "Well, I'm feeling pretty 'negative' right now. You think I'm going to keep tolerating the catalysts? Fat cha-"

Chinami froze, her pallor turning ashen. "Yo-!" She almost seemed say something, before her teeth clicked together and stopped.

The ***** in the Details

"Remain." Chinami froze at the baritone voice she knew only she could hear.

"You again!" She bristled. "Get out of my head!"

"Such is presently unfeasible," rumbled the Voice, as unhurried and unbothered as ever.

"'Unfeasible' my ass!" Chinami bristled. "Don't even try to pretend like a mental invasion is just some bullshit that 'can't be helped' or some shit!"

"Thine unsolicited hostility shalt aid thee not," the Voice stated calmly, unthreatened.

"The hell it won't!" Chinami seethed. "What the fuck do you mean, 'remain'?!"

The Voice rumbled in thought. "Wouldst thou not consider it a favor owed?"

Chinami snorted mentally. "I don't owe you shit. Sure, you may perhaps have saved my life, but I can't confirm that. There's no way for me to tell that anything you told me back then was actually the truth. Just because I'm not stupid enough to push my luck, just because I may have a hunch that you were right on the money, that doesn't mean I ever agreed to do anything for you in return," she snapped. "If you wanted favors, you should have made a deal." Somehow, she almost felt a certain weight to that final word, and oddness that was almost tangible, but Chinami shook off the sensation.

"Hmmm," the Voice mused. "Verily. This One hast mayhap presumed above This One's station. Very well. Tis a deal thou wishes? Tis a deal thou shalt recieve. What say thee?"

Chinami's brows furrowed at the strange emphasis on that word. There was a buzzing feeling there that she couldn't help but almost understand but not quite. "And just what exactly does this 'deal' entail? It sounds... No, it- It feels- Holy shit, why does it feel? It feels like it's something more than a verbal agreement. Is this some magical bullshit?" she asked warily.

"Thou presumes correctly," the Voice replied without hesitation.

Well, let it not be said that Chinami couldn't take a hint. "You're a demon, aren't you?" she grit out warily.

"This One is not."

"Oh, really now?" Chinami snipped out dryly. "And I suppose I'm supposed to just accept that as truth too?"

The voice was silent.

"No, fuck you. I'm not touching any sort of 'deal' bullshit with a thousand-meter pole. Not here. Not now. Not off the cuff. I'm not walking into that shitstorm blind," she rattled off. "I-!" Darkness swallowed her vision.

---

Chinami gasped into uncomfortable consciousness, sputtering, as her fingers scrambled for purchase on the surface beneath her. Blinking furiously at ash grey, her Spirit phased through her body, ejecting the finely ground debris from her form. Stumbling up, Chinami adjusted her collar, glancing around warily in disbelief, as sweltering heat thrummed through the air. Turning in a brief circle, the girl gaped at the wasteland of charred earth, scarred by great rivers of magma so white-hot they almost seemed to be plasma, more ominously akin to... a very familiar burning light.

Swallowing in apprehension, Chinami's crimson eyes followed the arcing landscape, as in the far distance it began to curve up... and up... and... up? Her eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of the prismatic rivers tracing up what almost seemed to be the inside of a titanic sphere... the walls of which were occupied by a multitude of landscapes, including a forest... and a sea... and a city, all of them utterly defying gravity in every conceivable way.

"What the hell?" Her arms slumped to her sides, unable to process what she was seeing. "How is this-? Where-?!"

"Dost thou appreciate thine efforts?" a familiar baritone inquired lightly.

Chinami whirled around, bristling, as her Spirit hovered between her and the Voice...

No... Not voice.

A Man.

A Shadow of Glory

He stood upon the ashen plains unbothered, arms crossed primly behind his back, a smart ebony suit adorning a broad-shouldered, looming frame. His skin almost seemed transparent in places. Or, no... Rather, an angry orange light seemed to pulse from within like a heartbeat, as radioactively green eyes bored into Chinami's crimson set. This... was almost certainly the newest invader of her mind, Chinami realized, glancing around at her surroundings with a new glint in her eye.

"So, what's this then?" she asked with deceptive calm, trying to keep the thundering of her heart to something that didn't roar in her eyes. "An illusion? More mindscape bullshit?"

"Hmmm," the man smirked. "Nothing so trite. Before thou lays thine very soul."

Chinami felt she really should have been more surprised by that declaration, even as she drawled, "Really now?"

"Thine skepticism is plain. But regardless of thine stubbornness," the man declared, briefly gesturing grandly with one arm. "Reality shalt deny thee time and again." His eyes narrowed at her. "Behold thine hubris made manifest, the cracks etched into thine self, the scars of the power beyond the boundaries."

"The... 'boundaries'?" There was that word again. Chinami's jaw tightened in speculation, but the darkly suited man only looked vaguely amused.

"In time, perhaps thou shalt discover the answer bereft of aid," he said evenly, but Chinami could almost feel the smugness emanating from him. "For now, however, This One shall assuage thine fears of a 'faceless unopposable entity' triapsing through thine mind." He spread his arms. "Therefore... here This One is."

Hardly a smidge less worried, Chinami's brows pinched, as she frowned. "Why... do you keep calling yourself that? A face doesn't really do me any good without a name to put to it."

"Wouldst thou prefer such knowledge be amended to our Deal?" he asked archly.

"Deal? What the hell are you talking about? There is no Deal," Chinami snapped, her Spirit's fists clenching. "I've already made up my mind, and there's nothing you can say that would make me rush into anything so absurd." Glancing around, she swallowed tensely. "Deal or no, this shit is too suspicious. I can't see what you could possibly offer me in a manner that I can trust."

"Verily?" the man's voice was filled was a sort of aloof faux understanding, before his expression sharpened like a fox. "Not even a cure for thine damaged soul?"

Chinami froze, before her expression turned livid. "You... piece of shit," she hissed lowly. "That's worthless. I don't even know that my soul is actually damaged to begin with! Are you deaf? For all I know, everything you've ever said to me was lies." She refused to be toyed with in such a manner!

The man shook his head. "So mistrustful. So overly cautious..." The pupils of his poisonous green eyes narrowed to reptilian slits. There was a strange mix of annoyance and... approval(?) in them. "Tis soothing to know such caution is present within the foremost of thee, but take heed... hesitation begets lost opportunity... as thou should well know. Verily, such was the reason for your loss against the 'Nightman' thou dreads so keenly..."

Chinami's teeth ground together. He... wasn't wrong. Her restraint had cost her as much as her recklessness. She had searched for a balance and failed utterly. At times, it seemed as if she could only do one or the other, so of course, restraint was what she favored. Recklessness was only advantageous if the opponent couldn't adapt to it. "And... what does that have to do with anything?"

"Obliviousness suits thee not," the man replied simply, glancing at the great sphere around them. "Didst thou suppose a Deal would not be appropriately compensatory to thee? Dost thou not comprehend the potential before thee?" He mused. "Mayhap if thou were more foolish and This One less principled, mayhap then This One should advantage This One of thine ignorance." His grin was filled with teeth. "Be grateful. This One's directives wouldst not allow This One to harm thee even did This One wish it."

"Directives...?" Chinami blinked, as an absurd realization edged at the corner of her consciousness. "Are you..." A stone dropped into her gut. "Magically bound or something?" Enslaved, she wanted to say but didn't. Not that it likely mattered in the face of a mind-reader.

"Not... as such," the man all but hemmed and hawed.

"If you want me to trust you, you'll need to start getting a lot less fucking vague," Chinami snapped. "Besides, you're surely running out of time. I can't imagine the boys are all too thrilled with me freezing in place or disappearing out of nowhere." Somehow, she already knew the argument she was making was less than valid, but the man's next words confirmed it.

"If the mind is the self, is the soul not the purest form of the mind?" the man remarked. "In such a case, would not This One's expertise in the manipulation of souls not make the task of mimicking Nightman's... 'accelerated thoughts' application trivial?" Chinami's blood ran cold with dread. "This One canst assure thou. As far as anyone else is concerned, not even a moment has passed outside." His eyes squinted proudly. "We have all the time in the world to... negotiate."

"Sure doesn't feel like much of a negotiation," Chinami hissed.

"Well, when needs must," the man replied unapologetically, ignoring her scowl. "Thine proliferent paranoia aside. For all the little comfort This One imagines it will grant thee, This One hast thine best interests in mind... not just thee but This One and others besides." He frowned, arms folding behind his back. "This One must say, This One would have delayed this meeting till much longer, but the blonde fool has forced This One's 'hand', so to speak."

"Reverio?" Chinami tensed up. "What about him? You one of those 'anti-royals'?"

"Hah!" the man chuckled, dispelling a touch of her worry. "Hardly. In a way, one might even call This One the opposite." Then the humor drained from his face, right back to business. "But This One is getting 'carried away', as they say. This One shalt prevaricate not a moment more." He began to stride forward at a slow, measured pace, seemingly not the slightest bit concerned with getting nearer to Chinami's Spirit. "The foolish Gifted thou knows as 'Reverio', the former King Marlan... This One couldst not idly abide a genuine desire to seek out the Great Evil." Chinami's mouth opened to interrupt this absurdity, but he powered through her objection. "His resolution may likely be no fantasy. Despite thine desire to believe only in the most optimistic of truths, reality is far crueler." His radioactive eyes glowed with conviction, as he entered her Spirit's range, and yet, Chinami couldn't find it in herself to strike. "The Great Evil is very much alive. Shattered? Certainly. Weakened? Without question... But dead...?" His stride stopped, as he seemed to loom over her, even from 10 feet away. The man smiled grimly. "This world could only pray in vain, for there are no gods that may oppose such unrelenting malice... The Great Evil remains, and from even a single fragment could the entirety of its strength be restored once more to swallow Creation."

"And what-" Chinami grit out, her fists clenched so tight they whitened, "-is the point of telling me this?" In her heart, she had a dread suspicion.

"Should he seek the Great Evil, Reverio shall find it," the man stated with ominous surety. "There are places... secret... dark, even to the likes of This One, concealed by the wise and knowledgeable... but not impossible to find." His gaze seemed distant for a moment. "The foolish Fallen King may be weak of mind, but his power and conviction are sufficient to uncover those lost places... and lay waste to this world."

"So, you're saying I should kill him," Chinami said distantly, a coldness rippling through her. She didn't know what bullshit this mystery man was going on about, but if the Great Evil had any chance of coming back, the most expedient thing to do would be to kill the fool that sought it before they ever had a chance to get that far.

"No. His value alive is far greater," said the man sharply, his inner glow seeming to flare for a moment. "Rather... This One would have thee aid in his foolish quest, to stand by his side. To find the remnants of Great Evil, to hunt down the hiding places of that foul rat..." His smile was filled with razor, shark teeth. "And destroy it."

"Hell no," Chinami stated bluntly, sneering dismissively. "Not just 'hell no', but fuck that shit." Her nostrils flared, as she crossed her arms. "This has nothing to do with me. I lose absolutely nothing by staying out of it. Why in the world would I tolerate these annoyances? What concern is it of mine if the Great Evil has a little hoo-rah?" she mused flippantly. "This city is filled with other wannabe 'heroes' and knuckleheaded idiots that can sacrifice themselves for their 'greater good'. Whereas me?" She scoffed. "I have an actual life to live, thank you very much." Her crimson eyes narrowed. "At the end of the day, there's nothing in it for me. Besides, I haven't known him that long, but even Reverio isn't enough of an idiot to seriously pursue the Great Evil. If even a smidge of his seeming gallantry is true, then that should be antithetical to him."

"Be not foolish. This One has read his soul truly," the man said seriously. "The Great Evil will cost us all. This world has grown soft in its absence, filled with discord and conflict, descended to petty concerns and squabbles. Mortals and immortals alike are not ready for a Great Evil that has been forced to bide its time... to become strategic and carefully scheme... to think like an underdog. The last time the Great Evil was forced to 'fight smarter, not harder', it managed to invade the heavens and nearly slaughtered the gods. Thou canst avoid the fallout of its rise... same as anyone else." Chinami scowled at that, but the man straightened his spine. "As for compensation, must This One repeat mine self again? Thine soul is damaged. This One can repair it. Thou hast This One's price."

Chinami grit her teeth, glaring at his unwavering expression. "You... You think even that would be enough to lure me away from my plans, from my quiet, peaceful life? All I have to do is be patient, and when my soul heals naturally, I'll have the power to protect what's mine, Great Evil or no. I don't even have to fight it. I just have to run away."

"And yet... thou may simply not have time. Thou twould require thine lost power to combat the Great Evil's efforts so easily, and..." the man rumbled. "After having a period to inspect the damage, This One can conclude that the damage to thine soul will not so easily heal. After all, even now, it is under outside pressure. Overwhelming power continues to leak through the cracks, preventing them from scabbing outside of insignificant increments. At this rate..." His eyes narrowed. "'Twould be a year or more henceforth that thou would be whole again. And that... is not time thou hast."

Chinami's body felt cold at the words. She didn't want to hear them, and yet... she couldn't deny. All this time, despite her words, she couldn't call the things that had been said lies. It was almost like the words and shadow of intent were being beamed directly into her, an animalistic sense that they were no falsities filling her. She wanted to rage at the feeling of creeping inevitability, but all she felt now was a looming exhaustion.

"Thine Pride and dedication to thine beliefs are admirable," the man said less harshly, his gaze almost fond. "Understand, This One is not enthused at these circumstances. Ideally, This One would not have spoken to thee even the once till long after today, but This One's hand has been forced... The Great Evil will not allow thee to retain the 'quiet life' thou cherishes so much. To face it is inevitable."

"Unless I kill Reverio," Chinami whispered with stubborn conviction, grasping for straws. "There's no need to overcomplicate this. One fist through his heart- Or better yet, through his head, just in case that healing magic of his is even stronger than it looks, and the problem is solved. No idiot seeking out the Great Evil. No chaos. Lifestyle preserved." Yes... yes, that sounded even better the more she thought about it. Never mind Rev's intentions. Only actions mattered, and she wasn't above preempting a crime when necessary. An ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure.

"The Great Evil will rise regardless," the man denied. "Mortal greed is inconveniently predictable at times such as these. If not the Foolish King, then another within thine lifetime... and sooner than thou might ever suspect. Mortals truly are greedy creatures. The only difference will be that it shan't be on thine own terms."

"And you know this how?" Chinami snapped. "You're implying this isn't the first time you've heard of this shit, and yet, you only bother to speak up now? If you were so concerned, why the hell didn't you mention anything before?! And for that matter, why me?! How did you find me? Why did you approach me? Why did you interfere in my life?!"

The man weathered the rant with little more than a resigned sigh, as it wound down. "Where art we right now?" he inquired simply, arching a brow.

Chinami's eyes narrowed, as she briefly glanced around again. "My soul... or so you say."

"Why hast This One not interfered, thou inquires? Simple." The man was silent for a long moment. "This One was... sleeping, or the closest one such as This One might get. This One was drained, nearly comatose, sustained by dregs of power and a mission alone. Even were This One to wish to act, This One was in no position to... until thine desperation opened the gateway to the feast This One needed to regain mine strength in full." Chinami swallowed apprehensively, as the man smiled hungrily. "Didst thou truly believe a mere mortal soul could endure against the pressure of the cosmos? Thou art of His line, so This One is hardly surprised by the... confidence. But the reality is that thine soul didst not crumble only for the presence of mine self... consuming the tide of unbearable power, blunting the impact. The damage sustained to thine self was purely the overflow, that which This One couldst not absorb quickly enough, and even that much nearly spelt thine end..."

Chinami could only stare on grim comprehension. She didn't know what that 'him' line was about, but... "You... are inside my soul?" The blood had drained from her face. "How... long? Who- No, what are you?" she hissed tensely. This couldn't be happening to her. What the fuck was this?! This was like something out of a painfully generic fantasy story, and she didn't want anything to do with it! Fairy tales and myths could stay on the damn pages of fiction and history and out of her life!

"Now thou art asking the right questions." The man grinned wolfishly. "What and who This One is...? Such information must be carefully guarded. The same way the mere knowledge of Reverio's true identity is dangerous, so too is to perceive This One's true name. Only in this case, the stakes are far more severe than arousing the ire of mere petty revolutionaries."

"And you can't just... go away?" Chinami asked petulantly with a tinge of hope. Surely, there were unlucky sods out that far more easily and with foolish enthusiasm would undertake such a "grand" quest.

"Now, why would This One do that?" he grinned. "After all, thine soul is such a joyously tantalizing source of power. To touch upon the endless boundaries, to sup upon the sublime substance of infinity..." There was a growl of gluttonous hunger and a groan of deep satiation in his throat. "Tis a chance that has only twice presented itself to This One... both times many millennia past... Mistake mine intentions not, though This One may not be liberated to reveal mine goals to thee at this time, know that This One is paying a great price in this Deal... to heal thine soul and lose access to such a wellspring of power." He scowled. "Were This One's directives not so stringent, This One might even have preserved the damage to feed upon it in perpetuity... but the Great Evil takes priority."

Chinami was silent for a while, before grimacing. She was... really over a barrel here, huh... The implicit threat was clear. Though he had claimed before that he could do her no harm, he also had priorities, and at minimum, perpetuating the damage to her soul did not, in fact, directly constitute as harm. Assuming he was constrained by some sort of mental compulsions, he was clearly rules-lawyering them beautifully. He didn't have to do anything but stand in the way of healing. He didn't even have to be malicious about it.

"I'm... going to need more details before I agree." The words felt empty leaving her lips. When it came down to it, she didn't have much of a choice, and it burned her with indignity. However, even now, she wasn't about to agree to some sort of magical pact without heavily curating the wording, because she already knew that this being was the kind to utilize loopholes. And unfortunately, it did need to be a magical pact to begin with. She simply couldn't trust this being's word, no matter her strange instincts. "And what if I were to still say no, even knowing the stakes?"

"...Then This One must find other means to exterminate the Great Evil." Likely disagreeable ones for her, seemingly went unsaid. "If thine mind were to truly be made up, then This One would not forbid thine return to the waking world, nor impede thee for the spurning." Which really said nothing about the other ways he'd impede her as a consequence of seeking to accomplish his goals. He was supposedly inside her very fucking soul. There were all too many ways this could go wrong.

Gritting her teeth, Chinami nodded nonetheless and frowned. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of choice in the matter. No matter what she did, it couldn't end well for her... At least if she went along with the dark man's schemes, she'd be getting something in return and have a better chance when the inevitable occurred. "Fine then," she all but spat bitterly. "Let's talk terms."

---

The girl's gaze seemed to have glazed over for a moment, before she straightened up with a sound almost like a growl in the back of her throat. Color was rushing back into her demeanor if only to support the flush of restrained frustration. Ruby eyes flicking to the side in unison with the brief appearance of her Spirit's head, she reached up with one finger to stroke its left cheek, one of the places notably unmarred by the angry crimson lines scarring the spiritual guardian.

'That bastard really did hold up his end of the bargain,' she mentally noted begrudgingly. So, he wasn't all talk... and she wasn't sure if to find that comforting or horrifying. Both maybe? It wasn't a quick-fix or even anything close to a complete one, but she could see tangible improvement... and could now trust in the promise of more to come.

"This One is still here."

'Dammit! I know! Fuck!' Chinami squeezed her eyes closed and allowed her Spirit's head to fade away, trying very hard to not consciously consider her new lack of privacy... and the fact that she hadn't truly had any for years. Her eyes flicked to Reverio with an undecipherable light to them. 'So... stay near him, and you'll accelerate my soul's recovery proportionally.'

"A vast simplification, devoid of nuance, but not incorrect."

Rolling her eyes, Chinami straightened up, seemingly regaining her composure. 'Fine. A Deal's a Deal. You better not renege on your end, or I'll find some way to... Well, we'll cross that bridge later.'

"Threats are unnecessary. A Pact is absolute, even for one such as I."

'We'll certainly see about that, won't we.' At his silence, Chinami shook her head and furrowed her brows. What had she been addressing before? Oh, right. The utterly banal idea of going to a flower garden of all places and even out to eat after such fostering such poisonous tension between them. Were the circumstances nearly any other, the only thing she'd be doing right now is telling these idiots to get bent, going home and forgetting she'd ever met them. Certainly, Ken's pathetically naive and desperate sentiments were only making the offer even less attractive. Frankly, she couldn't think of anything she currently wanted to do less right now. She despised the idea of spending another second here, specifically with these two.

Unfortunately, she had her end of a Deal to uphold. Rather more fortunately, staying near the boys didn't mean she had to be their friend, no matter that such would be the most expedient way to further her ends. Simply put, she didn't have the patience to play games and truly pretend. This was already going to be annoying without having to fake giving a shit.

Crossing her arms, Chinami's expression displayed a barely restrained lack of patience. "Fine. You know what? Maybe I'm in a forgiving mood today." She really wasn't. "So, I'll humor your little game." Her lips curled in amused disdain. "I'd just about made up my mind, but in all my mercy, I can afford a few second chances now and again. So, make this entertaining for me, and maybe I'll humor you again." Her crimson eyes drifted to Reverio with a foxlike sharpness to them. "Not today, certainly, I don't think. Tensions are rather too high for any of us to enjoy a moment of it, but another time...? What say you, prince?" The "peasant" half of that address barely went unsaid. The soft poison dripping from her light and amused challenge was hard to miss. The special emphasis she placed on that title too was itself a mockery, telling only to those in the know that she was poking not at the title but at the fact that it didn't truly belong to him... but rather the brother that everyone thought he was.

He was too free with his secrets, and now, she would punish him for that. Oh, she wouldn't spread them around without reason certainly. She'd no intention of attracting revolutionaries, and she was hardly enough of a spiteful bitch to rip away some else's quiet life unless they were threatening her own. She'd feel like a hypocrite otherwise. That said, that didn't mean she wouldn't take advantage of that knowledge in private. She didn't like him, but was she not gracious to teach him this lesson? Truly, did her mercy know no bounds that she would grant this pathetic two-faced idealist a lesson in reality?

She wondered with morbid amusement, despite it being objectively actively detrimental to her ends, how far she could go before they would finally dislike her as much as she disliked them. She wondered how far she could go in bad faith before they finally decided to push her away, just like she preferred. She could think of plenty of ways to handle her end of the Deal, even if she were to be outright enemies with these two. Honestly, that almost sounded better, even if it might be a tad more inconvenient. And better still, it didn't risk getting her attached.

Chinami's lips curled into a smile that was all teeth. It wasn't a nice one.