[ ANDERS WOULD LIKE TO BUT THERES THREE DEMONS IN THE WAY OF THE DOOR.
kaworu, with one last act of kindness, you let the boy go and -- almost miraculously he scrambles for the door way and bolts out and out and out into the passageways and keeps fucking running. who knows if he makes it. none of you are about to find out, because you don't get the feeling you are going to make it very far from here.
between shadowhearts slash and jq's teeth and claws and violence, the woman is basically just ... meat now. whatever creature she was isn't even a creature anymore, she's simply splattered. kaworu, you turn to the remaining male mage - distracted as he is with watching all of this erupt into chaos - your teeth tear into him like hot knife into butter. he isn't long for this world, but as he leaves it, he projects a cone of cold - sending violent icicles out from his body and piercing whatever and whoever is in the way of it. if you happen to be standing nearby (you all are), you can get an ice stab as a treat. ]
[she's tearing into this creature that used to be a woman, tearing the meat of her to ribbons. it's easier than she imagined. the blood and body become ribbons for her, the adrenaline coursing through her prevents her from feeling sickened or afraid. maybe it's the first time in a long time she hasn't felt afraid.
and then jiaoqiu tears into her, and kaworu dives and tears into the male mage, and charlie is screaming "run" before transforming as well.
nevermind, she's afraid again after all. she makes aggressive eye contact with anders. please don't explode into demons too. i just met you but my friends, to the extent we were friends, are all demons now.
the ice stabs into her side, waking her from the terror she's feeling. she doesn't have time to hesitate or wish this wasn't happening or mourn them. she has to get the fuck out of here with anyone who can still be saved. holding her blade out in front of her and summoning lightning again, trying to strike all of them.]
[ something in him hesitates, when he sees shadowheart - when he sees the fear in her eyes, he isn't sure anymore. a flash of something in his memories, of standing in an infirmary and trying to coax a smile out of her, letting her tease him. for just a moment, he hesitates, gold eyes wide and sad. does he have to? does she have to be part of starting over?
and then the ice hits, slamming into his side, and the lightning follows right after, and it's a shock to his system. the wolf roars, moving to try and ram shadowheart out of the way, turning to the other monsters in the room.
it goes for kaworu first, for the most disturbing one - and exhales, dripping awful green liquid from its mouth before launching forward, digging claws and teeth in. there's something about those bites and claws, just an almost burning sensation, acid-y, sickly. like poison, the way pride is, digging into its veins. anything that gets close might get a taste of that as the wolf digs teeth in and wrenches its head back and forth like its trying to break bones, break a neck. the poison flies in every direction. ]
[He screams, or whatever he has become, screams. The pain of claws is one thing but the poison is something entirely different. He's experienced pain but not like this. It's eating him alive from the inside out and consuming all of his senses and his thoughts and shoving whatever used to be a person further below the surface.
His arms reach for Jiaoqiu's neck, trying to close around it. If they manage to do so, they'll suddenly extend, pushing him back and down against the corner of the room, trying to crush his throat so he can bear down on what used to be a fellow mage. But it doesn't matter because Jiaoqiu disgusts him. Mages disgust him. This world is fucking disgusting and he's tired of it.]
[ well. okay!!!!!! this is happening!!! charlie's getting stabbed and hit by lightning! she is a demon, but damb. rude af ]
[ she's fully transformed now, not quite as monstrous as the other two, but still taller than anders and shadowheart, looming, with increasingly inhuman features. ]
[ shadowheart attacked first, so!! there she goes!! she roars in pain and rage, swiping at her--- but. ]
[ there might be a trace of humanity (elfanity?) in her, because she almost seems to be... holding back? a little? aiming to slam the sword out of her hands, rather than directly attack. (mind you, she still hits like a truck) ]
[ anders is, uh, freaking out! he's never been in a fight before? what the hell are you supposed to surrounded by twelve demons all fighting each other-- and then Charlie starts attacking shadowheart too. he'll concentrate on boosting her magic, since it seems like she knows what she's doing. Anything she tries now will feel twice as strong, but maybe that will make her reckless.
Shadowheart you strike out with lightning and it jumps from demon to demon like a chain, wracking its way through bodies and out to the floor - it's a good, solid hit and will leave a mark everyone, though it doesn't seem to be slowing them down entirely yet.
jiaoqiu and kaworu lock into battle with each other, kaworu taking the full brunt of poison coursing through his system - boiling its way along his veins, his vision narrowing to a dark tunnel as it starts to take hold, and hissing against flesh wherever it hits - but he presses his arms, his weight against jiaoqiu's neck and starts to cut off his breath, his claws and teeth scrambling and digging into flesh - tearing at jiaoqiu face, across an eye and leaving skin in tatters.
charlie, as you attack you feel something press at the back of your mind. your mother's voice in your ear, the feeling of a warm hug around your shoulders. `Don't worry, dear. You're helping them. You're doing the right thing.` ]
[thanks, anders. she feels twice as strong physically, maybe, but mentally, she's completely terrified. she certainly hasn't fought demons before; at most, she's probably recklessly fought both with magic and with her fists and nails in the circle at moments she could think she might get away with it without being caught.
this is something different. it was different when there were three mages fighting against them, too, but she was so focused on escape, on staying fierce and steady, that she didn't register it then. but now, she no longer has that same adrenaline of needing to survive, needing to make decisions, coursing through her. this isn't a fight she imagines she could possibly win, not against all of these monsters. nor does she feel very certain of herself right now. she remembers all too well the close call in the fade. the way she'd told that man, "perhaps, maybe, but..." instead of no like she was meant to. she has to wonder, is she next? she didn't feel any different, but would she? or would it just happen to her, burst out of her suddenly?
she's petrified by the sight of the wolf monster as it comes towards her, unable to move even to defend herself, but when it simply rams her out of the way, attacks the other demon, she can't register in it any sort of protective instinct or desire to spare her. it only looks like a mindless monster, and she somehow evaded its jaws for the moment through a stroke of luck.
nor does she register any sort of hesitation in charlie's features or actions. she's too terrified, trying too hard to steady her own heart. but it's hard, it's almost impossible, to think to drive this sword through a creature that still looks even a little like charlie. charlie was the first person here to ever be kind to her, the one who reached out a hand towards her no matter how much she tried to push it away. the first person who made her feel that if she wanted to try to trust and form friendships here, that might even be possible.]
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
[it used to be charlie, but charlie is gone now. she doesn't hold back. she will summon the golden glow of light around her sword again and drive it with all of the enhanced strength she was given into the demon's body.]
[ there's a sudden pain of a slice through its face. and while it hurts, more than anything, it terrifies. the slice of claw through its eye, taking out the perfect vision that it has been trying so hard to keep, the one thing that would make it so that he'd never be left behind. the whole reason he'd accepted the deal in the first place. he could be useful. he could make it to the end at her side, at... their side, all of the people who he loves most.
it causes the wolf to have a meltdown, biting over and over and over, trying to crunch through bone or flesh or whatever it can reach, thrashing about. the electricity makes those bites far more tense, makes its whole body rattle and seize. that poison continues to overflow from its mouth, from the wounds it has all over, burning holes through the floor.
feixiao - will she leave him, if he can't see? is she even here? is he all on his own again? who even is... is he supposed to know her? he was so certain that he did. he'd do anything for her.
it starts lashing its heavy, bristling tail around - tries to slice at charlie, the fur sharp like knives. kind of like being hit by porcupine but made of kitchen knives. it doesn't mean to aim for shadowheart, but. well. it isn't like it is aiming very well, with how panicked it is.
and besides that, shadowheart is taking things into her own hands. not that the demon notices. it's a little lost in trying to remember what its purpose is. ]
[Kaworu is driven by desire now. To be seen, to be noticed, to matter. So when Jiaoqiu starts to meltdown, no longer fighting him, but just fighting, he loses interest even as poison burns through his flesh. With all his strength, he flings the wolf from his twisted form, bashing it against the wall until it ceases its attack.
Panting, wheezing, yearning, he turns towards whatever prey is left in the room. It's arms extend towards Charlie, elongating and distorting, before it grabs her around the neck. Once he her pinned, he pulls himself towards her. His mouth waters and drips out through jagged spaced out teeth. It leans down to consume whatever it can of her. He keeps choking her, pressure increasing every time she moves.]
[ her mother whispers in her ear, and charlie feels her doubts and fears of hurting shadowheart, of hurting any of them, slip away. ]
[ that's right. she's helping them. it's for their own good. it's to help. shadowheart's making a mistake right now, she has to help her! make her see that she's making a mistake. ]
[ the sword cuts straight through charlie -- or what used to be charlie, anyway -- and she screams, a horrible, guttural noise once again. she lashes out wildly, even more when that other beast, whatever it is -- grabs her around the neck. the noise becomes haunting, and her thrashes become even wilder, more animalistic. her claws elongate, becoming as hot as fire, inflicting whatever injuries anyone wants ]
it's a little funny now, jiaoqiu, that in these moments your vision is worse than ever. one eye is ruined and the other is dimming as the fight starts to fade out of you. you feel for the warmth of that sun, of her pride in you, and it feels so distant and cold now. what hope do you have if you could not even do this simple task for her?
kaworu, it's complicated. to be desired. to desire things. it's the most human emotion you've ever felt, even now, when you're the least human you've ever been. still, you burn for more. please. anything. someone who might be willing to try.
charlie, you tried so, so hard. you wanted to help everyone in the world, you wanted to cure all the ills of society, but everything is broken already. it feels impossible in this moment to concieve of a world where anything is fixed at all, ever. nothing will help. nothing will solve it. burning it down might be the only answer.
shadowheart. you aren't alone yet at least, but anders gaze is flickering towards the door and judging his chances, though he at least seems to feel badly enough about the idea of leaving you here to be eaten by monsters and forgotten in a dark pit in the ground. so, he stays. and, with more bravery than you've seen from this fuckass so far, going to strike the kaworu demon across the face with his staff - the sharp, pointed end. ]
alli, you started saying shadowheart and then dropped it, but you went to go wash your face so i can't ask you if you forgot to write something or it was just a copy/paste error.
she cuts into the monster, feels the blood and gore gush out onto her fingertips, tries not to think about charlie. tries not to be sorry. there's nothing to be sorry about. especially because the monster is wounded, but it is lashing out, slashing across her chest and shoulder with long nasty claws. and the other monster is battering her, cutting her with the jagged pieces of his tail.
and there's a sort of clarity of thought, as she realizes the obvious truth that she is going to die. maybe of these wounds, when she bleeds and bleeds and there's no one to help her, but more likely she will simply be devoured.
but then, once again, luck. the other monster, the one that used to be kaworu, turns on charlie. she starts to back away from charlie, letting her flesh tear as she rips herself from the grasp. she looks at anders and she sees him looking at the door. well, she can't blame him for that, not at all. she would also like to make a run for the door. considering how these things will stop to tear apart whatever is in their way, it may only be a matter of who is the faster runner, anders or shadowheart.
well, he has the longer legs and he isn't ripped to shreds by claws, so she isn't putting money on herself. so that's fine, then. that's fine.
only then he doesn't bolt. he strikes the kaworu demon across the face. and something in her crumbles at that. some other memory, from far away. lying in the dark bleeding, trying to be grateful that he might live even if she wouldn't. he didn't run this time. he didn't run. the amount of gratitude and loyalty she feels back to him for that one small action is immense.
if that's the way it's going to be, they'll just have to live, won't they?
maybe kaworu and charlie will kill each other. the wolf, though. jiaoqiu, she reminds herself. he's hurt, but if she turns her back on it, it's almost certain to pick itself back up and come after her. so she takes her sword and she approaches it, hands shaking slightly.
it's a little too pitiful, in this state. she doesn't have the utter terror for her life that she had to give her the strength to stab charlie. when she saw him earlier, she found this monstrous form terrifying, so terrifying it was almost invigorating, but now she only sees a wounded animal. she can only ascribe sentimental traits to it. sad, hurting. she can almost imagine that its failure to kill her in one snap of its jaw was out of some sense of loyalty, as impossible as that would be.
maybe it's only sentimentality for jiaoqiu. he was always so patient with her, however little she deserved it. talking things through with her, sharing food from the kitchens and healing, but more than that. she can remember reaching for him, a lifeline, an example to hold onto. someone she could trust to want to protect her, to hear her secrets and listen with a kind ear. it's too easy to let sentimentality get the better of her and see all of that kindness and exhausted wisdom in the form of a wounded animal, but sentimentality will get you dead faster than anything else in this world.
so while there might be tears on her face, she won't hesitate to drive the blade as deeply as it will go, sending a surge of fire along with it.]
everything is slowly fading away from him - he never had much hope in the first place, but even the meager amount he did have is gone now. he's cold, curled up against the wall, oozing out blood and poison and a sort of weary, awful sadness that he remembers. he's not sure how he remembers it. he's not even really that old, not here. but he has always been alone, and now, as he's lost all of what's given him any power at all, he figures that's fitting.
when shadowheart comes towards him, he doesn't have the energy to snap at her. what's the point, right? this is the end for him either way. in some other life, he remembers sitting next to her on a hospital bed, talking her through. he remembers a cafe and a flower and every time that something seemed to ring true. something in him is proud of her. the warmth that was gone from the sun comes back just a little bit, and his tail twitches, as if maybe if he weren't so exhausted, it'd wag.
she lifts her sword. she drives the blade in, and he doesn't much get the chance to do anything but just... reach, a little bit, a claw shuddering forward to rest on her foot. just a little bit of the last bit of loyalty he can muster.
at least this time he isn't the last one left. maybe she'll hear a quiet little thank you, somehow, even if it shouldn't really be possible. and then there's no more inhale, no more exhale - the beast is still. ]
[Kaworu shrieks as her nails cut across his eye burning white hot. The pain drives him to retaliate further. He grabs her with all his might and starts to crush her leaning towards her to increase the force.
Just stay close. Just see all the things that he can do. The things that he could do. Charlie would be so impressed that she'd never want to leave his side. Just stay stay for a little bit... But no, she could always leave. She would leave. Just like everyone will... to other friends, to lovers, to family, to far off places, all more important than him. So he just has to keep her near. The thing that used to be Kaworu tears into Charlie, consuming her, blurring lines of where one begins and one ends.
When he's done, there's a moment of silence as he looks down on what's left of Charlie, as though in a horrifying moment he realizes what he's done. Then there's movement that he catches from his left eye. It's Anders heading for the door. No, no, don't leave. Please don't leave. What ever he's done wrong, he'll try again. He leaps on the young mage grabbing him and lifting him up in his twisted hands to look at him. Why wasn't he good enough to be brought along? They could have escaped together or maybe they still can... in a single bite the demon consumes Anders' upper torso and then drops the rest to the floor.
It looks at the blood pooling from the corpse and then looks around. Everyone is dead, except for one. He'll never see them again in the halls or at meal times. Kaworu paces around the room, lost and confused, like a trapped and wounded animal.
Why don't you love me? Why do you hurt me? Please don't kill me.
It looks at Shadowheart and then starts making its way towards here. But there's something defeated about the way it moves.]
[she's catching her breath after slaying jiaoqiu. wiping the tears from her face, the ones she's so surprised to find there. even though she shouldn't be. she's just killed one of her friends, one of the only friends she has, and as tough as she acts she's just a girl who has been locked in a tower for a long time, but somehow it feels both like shedding tears are something that she never does - especially not when there's a fight to finish, things still to do - and also that she's crying for something deeper and more painful.
and then with a shaky breath she turns. almost, almost, almost. it's starting to feel like this is possible. that they might live. and then she turns and sees the remaining creature bite anders in two.
she screams. somehow this is the thing that shatters her heart. she hardly even knew him, but it's only just that -
this morning she had a place, a home, a purpose. maybe it was awful, maybe it was ugly, maybe there was a constant threat of abuse and violence, and maybe she put up walls and kept herself at arms length from becoming truly friends with anyone else imprisoned here. but still. she had something to do when she woke in the morning. she had people around her who were familiar. she knew what the day held, and she could dream of better days, and she could predict the things that would likely keep her safe and the things she could do to adapt and survive.
and then the attack on the templars. she knows that idiot little mage managed to knock them all out, putting each and every one of them in scalding hot water, without even a scrap of a plan. but even as she was confronted with the knowledge that he had stolen for her any possibility of staying in this place, condemned her to a life away from the tenuous comfort of captivity by people whose malice is familiar and predictable, there was a part of her that was excited. there was a part of her that felt she could do this. there was some unexpected courage that awoke inside her, and she didn't freeze, or hide, or beg their captors for forgiveness. she wanted to take charge, make plans, escape, survive. there's a whole world out there she only remembers from what are primarily nightmares, but... there must be things in it that are good, too. and she could imagine seeing them for herself.
but she could only believe in that, she could only imagine that, because she wasn't alone. she doesn't need to depend on anyone, she doesn't need to rely on anyone, she doesn't need anyone to protect her or have a plan or know what to do, but she cannot just be alone. leaving this place and going out into the world, any world, on her own, hunted, never knowing what's safe or whether anyone can be trusted, she just - she can't. she'll sooner give up and wait for the templars to wake, and find her, and blame her for everything that just happened to her. at least their blame and their punishment is something within the realm of her imagination and not endless terrifying unknowns, a life lost and abandoned in the woods chased by threats she can't even visualize now.
charlie is gone. jiaoqiu is gone. anders is gone. this thing that's left isn't kaworu, either. there's no one coming to save her. there isn't even anyone for her to save.
she faces the defeated monster, a defeated thing herself, nothing to live for and no mana left to draw on, but still there's something in her heart saying that she has to live. no matter what else, no matter how pointless, no matter what they do to her, she's going to live. she'll use her sword and slash at him, but without the magic imbuing it, she's just a girl swinging a blade she has little experience in using, slashing desperately against a monster.
she wanted to be strong, no matter what. and that's why she tried to learn other things, other ways, reserves she could draw upon when what she was given wasn't enough. she's never expected what she was given from anyone else would be enough, so may as well figure out how to be your own source of power, right? she hasn't tried it before, of course. never had the nerve.
but if there's one resource this room isn't lacking for at the moment, it's fresh blood. so she will draw on that, clumsily, letting out another scream, this one less terrified and instead filled at all of the rage she feels for everyone who deserted her, everyone who forced her to fend for herself.
and she will try to summon a tear inside his chest and break him to pieces.]
[ It's almost too easy to feel the power course through her again once she reaches for that power within herself. it becomes so clear, so obvious, why so many fall to the temptation of this kind of magic. a cornered animal will always find its claws and teeth. a lifetime of abuses and fear makes it nearly impossible to resist an easy out. a way to make everyone else pay for everything that has happened to you. it's what makes the Harrowing, the terror, so easy to fail. If you are never taught what to expect beyond fear, you will find nothing but fear.
The creature that used to be Kaworu tears apart like wet paper with the surge of power that hits her, and it's so satisfying in that moment to not feel fear, to not feel helpless in the face of everything happening to you. every use of blood magic is a deal with a demon, though, and she feels it even now - winding its way back into her veins as the silence settles on the room. nothing but gore and remains now.
she hasn't even made it out of the tower yet. so it remains impossible to say if she makes it - if she runs for the exit, if there even really is a way out through here. it took so much blood to reach this point, and there's simply no answer except for the one she already concluded herself. There isn't anyone to save but yourself.
... Well. Bye now!
Here's your summary of rewards and effects for reference! REWARDS (Pick 1 each/duplicates allowed)
Lyrium Ring - Allows one use of a single elemental spell (Ice, Fire, or Lightning)
Spirit Balm - A thick paste that smells awful, but once applied sinks into the skin and heals injuries. Slowly. Very slowly. Takes two entire days to heal up everything.
Phylactery - Find something lost (duplicate an item you’ve used previously)
EFFECTS
For 24-48 Hours on and off you’ll feel flashes of being back in the Tower, as your magesonas For 24 - 48 Hours you’ll occasionally hear a voice in your head. The demon that stalked you through the Fade has followed you here and is whispering in your ear, or next to you, trying to convince you to bring it with you out of Heaven.
For reference, your demons were Shadowheart: Envy Jiaoqiu: Pride Kaworu: Desire Charlie: Wrath
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holyspirits) wrote2025-03-23 03:14 pm
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kaworu, with one last act of kindness, you let the boy go and -- almost miraculously he scrambles for the door way and bolts out and out and out into the passageways and keeps fucking running. who knows if he makes it. none of you are about to find out, because you don't get the feeling you are going to make it very far from here.
between shadowhearts slash and jq's teeth and claws and violence, the woman is basically just ... meat now. whatever creature she was isn't even a creature anymore, she's simply splattered. kaworu, you turn to the remaining male mage - distracted as he is with watching all of this erupt into chaos - your teeth tear into him like hot knife into butter. he isn't long for this world, but as he leaves it, he projects a cone of cold - sending violent icicles out from his body and piercing whatever and whoever is in the way of it. if you happen to be standing nearby (you all are), you can get an ice stab as a treat. ]
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[she's tearing into this creature that used to be a woman, tearing the meat of her to ribbons. it's easier than she imagined. the blood and body become ribbons for her, the adrenaline coursing through her prevents her from feeling sickened or afraid. maybe it's the first time in a long time she hasn't felt afraid.
and then jiaoqiu tears into her, and kaworu dives and tears into the male mage, and charlie is screaming "run" before transforming as well.
nevermind, she's afraid again after all. she makes aggressive eye contact with anders. please don't explode into demons too. i just met you but my friends, to the extent we were friends, are all demons now.
the ice stabs into her side, waking her from the terror she's feeling. she doesn't have time to hesitate or wish this wasn't happening or mourn them. she has to get the fuck out of here with anyone who can still be saved. holding her blade out in front of her and summoning lightning again, trying to strike all of them.]
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and then the ice hits, slamming into his side, and the lightning follows right after, and it's a shock to his system. the wolf roars, moving to try and ram shadowheart out of the way, turning to the other monsters in the room.
it goes for kaworu first, for the most disturbing one - and exhales, dripping awful green liquid from its mouth before launching forward, digging claws and teeth in. there's something about those bites and claws, just an almost burning sensation, acid-y, sickly. like poison, the way pride is, digging into its veins. anything that gets close might get a taste of that as the wolf digs teeth in and wrenches its head back and forth like its trying to break bones, break a neck. the poison flies in every direction. ]
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His arms reach for Jiaoqiu's neck, trying to close around it. If they manage to do so, they'll suddenly extend, pushing him back and down against the corner of the room, trying to crush his throat so he can bear down on what used to be a fellow mage. But it doesn't matter because Jiaoqiu disgusts him. Mages disgust him. This world is fucking disgusting and he's tired of it.]
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[ she's fully transformed now, not quite as monstrous as the other two, but still taller than anders and shadowheart, looming, with increasingly inhuman features. ]
[ shadowheart attacked first, so!! there she goes!! she roars in pain and rage, swiping at her--- but. ]
[ there might be a trace of humanity (elfanity?) in her, because she almost seems to be... holding back? a little? aiming to slam the sword out of her hands, rather than directly attack. (mind you, she still hits like a truck) ]
[ for as long as this may last ]
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Shadowheart you strike out with lightning and it jumps from demon to demon like a chain, wracking its way through bodies and out to the floor - it's a good, solid hit and will leave a mark everyone, though it doesn't seem to be slowing them down entirely yet.
jiaoqiu and kaworu lock into battle with each other, kaworu taking the full brunt of poison coursing through his system - boiling its way along his veins, his vision narrowing to a dark tunnel as it starts to take hold, and hissing against flesh wherever it hits - but he presses his arms, his weight against jiaoqiu's neck and starts to cut off his breath, his claws and teeth scrambling and digging into flesh - tearing at jiaoqiu face, across an eye and leaving skin in tatters.
charlie, as you attack you feel something press at the back of your mind. your mother's voice in your ear, the feeling of a warm hug around your shoulders. `Don't worry, dear. You're helping them. You're doing the right thing.` ]
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this is something different. it was different when there were three mages fighting against them, too, but she was so focused on escape, on staying fierce and steady, that she didn't register it then. but now, she no longer has that same adrenaline of needing to survive, needing to make decisions, coursing through her. this isn't a fight she imagines she could possibly win, not against all of these monsters. nor does she feel very certain of herself right now. she remembers all too well the close call in the fade. the way she'd told that man, "perhaps, maybe, but..." instead of no like she was meant to. she has to wonder, is she next? she didn't feel any different, but would she? or would it just happen to her, burst out of her suddenly?
she's petrified by the sight of the wolf monster as it comes towards her, unable to move even to defend herself, but when it simply rams her out of the way, attacks the other demon, she can't register in it any sort of protective instinct or desire to spare her. it only looks like a mindless monster, and she somehow evaded its jaws for the moment through a stroke of luck.
nor does she register any sort of hesitation in charlie's features or actions. she's too terrified, trying too hard to steady her own heart. but it's hard, it's almost impossible, to think to drive this sword through a creature that still looks even a little like charlie. charlie was the first person here to ever be kind to her, the one who reached out a hand towards her no matter how much she tried to push it away. the first person who made her feel that if she wanted to try to trust and form friendships here, that might even be possible.]
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
[it used to be charlie, but charlie is gone now. she doesn't hold back. she will summon the golden glow of light around her sword again and drive it with all of the enhanced strength she was given into the demon's body.]
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it causes the wolf to have a meltdown, biting over and over and over, trying to crunch through bone or flesh or whatever it can reach, thrashing about. the electricity makes those bites far more tense, makes its whole body rattle and seize. that poison continues to overflow from its mouth, from the wounds it has all over, burning holes through the floor.
feixiao - will she leave him, if he can't see? is she even here? is he all on his own again? who even is... is he supposed to know her? he was so certain that he did. he'd do anything for her.
it starts lashing its heavy, bristling tail around - tries to slice at charlie, the fur sharp like knives. kind of like being hit by porcupine but made of kitchen knives. it doesn't mean to aim for shadowheart, but. well. it isn't like it is aiming very well, with how panicked it is.
and besides that, shadowheart is taking things into her own hands. not that the demon notices. it's a little lost in trying to remember what its purpose is. ]
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Panting, wheezing, yearning, he turns towards whatever prey is left in the room. It's arms extend towards Charlie, elongating and distorting, before it grabs her around the neck. Once he her pinned, he pulls himself towards her. His mouth waters and drips out through jagged spaced out teeth. It leans down to consume whatever it can of her. He keeps choking her, pressure increasing every time she moves.]
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[ that's right. she's helping them. it's for their own good. it's to help. shadowheart's making a mistake right now, she has to help her! make her see that she's making a mistake. ]
[ the sword cuts straight through charlie -- or what used to be charlie, anyway -- and she screams, a horrible, guttural noise once again. she lashes out wildly, even more when that other beast, whatever it is -- grabs her around the neck. the noise becomes haunting, and her thrashes become even wilder, more animalistic. her claws elongate, becoming as hot as fire, inflicting whatever injuries anyone wants ]
[ Mom! she cries out, Help me, please! ]
[ but it's no use. there she go ]
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it's a little funny now, jiaoqiu, that in these moments your vision is worse than ever. one eye is ruined and the other is dimming as the fight starts to fade out of you. you feel for the warmth of that sun, of her pride in you, and it feels so distant and cold now. what hope do you have if you could not even do this simple task for her?
kaworu, it's complicated. to be desired. to desire things. it's the most human emotion you've ever felt, even now, when you're the least human you've ever been. still, you burn for more. please. anything. someone who might be willing to try.
charlie, you tried so, so hard. you wanted to help everyone in the world, you wanted to cure all the ills of society, but everything is broken already. it feels impossible in this moment to concieve of a world where anything is fixed at all, ever. nothing will help. nothing will solve it. burning it down might be the only answer.
shadowheart. you aren't alone yet at least, but anders gaze is flickering towards the door and judging his chances, though he at least seems to feel badly enough about the idea of leaving you here to be eaten by monsters and forgotten in a dark pit in the ground. so, he stays. and, with more bravery than you've seen from this fuckass so far, going to strike the kaworu demon across the face with his staff - the sharp, pointed end. ]
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alli, you started saying shadowheart and then dropped it, but you went to go wash your face so i can't ask you if you forgot to write something or it was just a copy/paste error.
she cuts into the monster, feels the blood and gore gush out onto her fingertips, tries not to think about charlie. tries not to be sorry. there's nothing to be sorry about. especially because the monster is wounded, but it is lashing out, slashing across her chest and shoulder with long nasty claws. and the other monster is battering her, cutting her with the jagged pieces of his tail.
and there's a sort of clarity of thought, as she realizes the obvious truth that she is going to die. maybe of these wounds, when she bleeds and bleeds and there's no one to help her, but more likely she will simply be devoured.
but then, once again, luck. the other monster, the one that used to be kaworu, turns on charlie. she starts to back away from charlie, letting her flesh tear as she rips herself from the grasp. she looks at anders and she sees him looking at the door. well, she can't blame him for that, not at all. she would also like to make a run for the door. considering how these things will stop to tear apart whatever is in their way, it may only be a matter of who is the faster runner, anders or shadowheart.
well, he has the longer legs and he isn't ripped to shreds by claws, so she isn't putting money on herself. so that's fine, then. that's fine.
only then he doesn't bolt. he strikes the kaworu demon across the face. and something in her crumbles at that. some other memory, from far away. lying in the dark bleeding, trying to be grateful that he might live even if she wouldn't. he didn't run this time. he didn't run. the amount of gratitude and loyalty she feels back to him for that one small action is immense.
if that's the way it's going to be, they'll just have to live, won't they?
maybe kaworu and charlie will kill each other. the wolf, though. jiaoqiu, she reminds herself. he's hurt, but if she turns her back on it, it's almost certain to pick itself back up and come after her. so she takes her sword and she approaches it, hands shaking slightly.
it's a little too pitiful, in this state. she doesn't have the utter terror for her life that she had to give her the strength to stab charlie. when she saw him earlier, she found this monstrous form terrifying, so terrifying it was almost invigorating, but now she only sees a wounded animal. she can only ascribe sentimental traits to it. sad, hurting. she can almost imagine that its failure to kill her in one snap of its jaw was out of some sense of loyalty, as impossible as that would be.
maybe it's only sentimentality for jiaoqiu. he was always so patient with her, however little she deserved it. talking things through with her, sharing food from the kitchens and healing, but more than that. she can remember reaching for him, a lifeline, an example to hold onto. someone she could trust to want to protect her, to hear her secrets and listen with a kind ear. it's too easy to let sentimentality get the better of her and see all of that kindness and exhausted wisdom in the form of a wounded animal, but sentimentality will get you dead faster than anything else in this world.
so while there might be tears on her face, she won't hesitate to drive the blade as deeply as it will go, sending a surge of fire along with it.]
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everything is slowly fading away from him - he never had much hope in the first place, but even the meager amount he did have is gone now. he's cold, curled up against the wall, oozing out blood and poison and a sort of weary, awful sadness that he remembers. he's not sure how he remembers it. he's not even really that old, not here. but he has always been alone, and now, as he's lost all of what's given him any power at all, he figures that's fitting.
when shadowheart comes towards him, he doesn't have the energy to snap at her. what's the point, right? this is the end for him either way. in some other life, he remembers sitting next to her on a hospital bed, talking her through. he remembers a cafe and a flower and every time that something seemed to ring true. something in him is proud of her. the warmth that was gone from the sun comes back just a little bit, and his tail twitches, as if maybe if he weren't so exhausted, it'd wag.
she lifts her sword. she drives the blade in, and he doesn't much get the chance to do anything but just... reach, a little bit, a claw shuddering forward to rest on her foot. just a little bit of the last bit of loyalty he can muster.
at least this time he isn't the last one left. maybe she'll hear a quiet little thank you, somehow, even if it shouldn't really be possible. and then there's no more inhale, no more exhale - the beast is still. ]
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Just stay close. Just see all the things that he can do. The things that he could do. Charlie would be so impressed that she'd never want to leave his side. Just stay stay for a little bit... But no, she could always leave. She would leave. Just like everyone will... to other friends, to lovers, to family, to far off places, all more important than him. So he just has to keep her near. The thing that used to be Kaworu tears into Charlie, consuming her, blurring lines of where one begins and one ends.
When he's done, there's a moment of silence as he looks down on what's left of Charlie, as though in a horrifying moment he realizes what he's done. Then there's movement that he catches from his left eye. It's Anders heading for the door. No, no, don't leave. Please don't leave. What ever he's done wrong, he'll try again. He leaps on the young mage grabbing him and lifting him up in his twisted hands to look at him. Why wasn't he good enough to be brought along? They could have escaped together or maybe they still can... in a single bite the demon consumes Anders' upper torso and then drops the rest to the floor.
It looks at the blood pooling from the corpse and then looks around. Everyone is dead, except for one. He'll never see them again in the halls or at meal times. Kaworu paces around the room, lost and confused, like a trapped and wounded animal.
Why don't you love me? Why do you hurt me? Please don't kill me.
It looks at Shadowheart and then starts making its way towards here. But there's something defeated about the way it moves.]
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and then with a shaky breath she turns. almost, almost, almost. it's starting to feel like this is possible. that they might live. and then she turns and sees the remaining creature bite anders in two.
she screams. somehow this is the thing that shatters her heart. she hardly even knew him, but it's only just that -
this morning she had a place, a home, a purpose. maybe it was awful, maybe it was ugly, maybe there was a constant threat of abuse and violence, and maybe she put up walls and kept herself at arms length from becoming truly friends with anyone else imprisoned here. but still. she had something to do when she woke in the morning. she had people around her who were familiar. she knew what the day held, and she could dream of better days, and she could predict the things that would likely keep her safe and the things she could do to adapt and survive.
and then the attack on the templars. she knows that idiot little mage managed to knock them all out, putting each and every one of them in scalding hot water, without even a scrap of a plan. but even as she was confronted with the knowledge that he had stolen for her any possibility of staying in this place, condemned her to a life away from the tenuous comfort of captivity by people whose malice is familiar and predictable, there was a part of her that was excited. there was a part of her that felt she could do this. there was some unexpected courage that awoke inside her, and she didn't freeze, or hide, or beg their captors for forgiveness. she wanted to take charge, make plans, escape, survive. there's a whole world out there she only remembers from what are primarily nightmares, but... there must be things in it that are good, too. and she could imagine seeing them for herself.
but she could only believe in that, she could only imagine that, because she wasn't alone. she doesn't need to depend on anyone, she doesn't need to rely on anyone, she doesn't need anyone to protect her or have a plan or know what to do, but she cannot just be alone. leaving this place and going out into the world, any world, on her own, hunted, never knowing what's safe or whether anyone can be trusted, she just - she can't. she'll sooner give up and wait for the templars to wake, and find her, and blame her for everything that just happened to her. at least their blame and their punishment is something within the realm of her imagination and not endless terrifying unknowns, a life lost and abandoned in the woods chased by threats she can't even visualize now.
charlie is gone. jiaoqiu is gone. anders is gone. this thing that's left isn't kaworu, either. there's no one coming to save her. there isn't even anyone for her to save.
she faces the defeated monster, a defeated thing herself, nothing to live for and no mana left to draw on, but still there's something in her heart saying that she has to live. no matter what else, no matter how pointless, no matter what they do to her, she's going to live. she'll use her sword and slash at him, but without the magic imbuing it, she's just a girl swinging a blade she has little experience in using, slashing desperately against a monster.
she wanted to be strong, no matter what. and that's why she tried to learn other things, other ways, reserves she could draw upon when what she was given wasn't enough. she's never expected what she was given from anyone else would be enough, so may as well figure out how to be your own source of power, right? she hasn't tried it before, of course. never had the nerve.
but if there's one resource this room isn't lacking for at the moment, it's fresh blood. so she will draw on that, clumsily, letting out another scream, this one less terrified and instead filled at all of the rage she feels for everyone who deserted her, everyone who forced her to fend for herself.
and she will try to summon a tear inside his chest and break him to pieces.]
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The creature that used to be Kaworu tears apart like wet paper with the surge of power that hits her, and it's so satisfying in that moment to not feel fear, to not feel helpless in the face of everything happening to you. every use of blood magic is a deal with a demon, though, and she feels it even now - winding its way back into her veins as the silence settles on the room. nothing but gore and remains now.
she hasn't even made it out of the tower yet. so it remains impossible to say if she makes it - if she runs for the exit, if there even really is a way out through here. it took so much blood to reach this point, and there's simply no answer except for the one she already concluded herself. There isn't anyone to save but yourself.
... Well. Bye now!
Here's your summary of rewards and effects for reference!
REWARDS (Pick 1 each/duplicates allowed)
EFFECTS
For reference, your demons were
Shadowheart: Envy
Jiaoqiu: Pride
Kaworu: Desire
Charlie: Wrath