project phoenix 3

There was due time for things like these.

With Osrona marching upon them, bringing whole world as their ally, is it any wonder that they simply could not wait? Truth be told, this project should've been finished much sooner, but..

Given the circumstances across the decades, it was not possible.

Where Marcel leads Ksena inside the house, she could already see a grand construction of unfathomable design- a sphere that surrounds the heated object within, sealed in a tomb, for it is far too hot to be exposed outside; yet the runic tracing clearly feeds the energy from within outward.

Constantly supplying the endless flow - and in the center is disabled enhanced spire shard, not yet activated to distribute its power, but it had plethora of time to soak up the energy output from the sphere.

"Ksena." He briefly addresses her.

"I've been working on this with Amelia for quite a while, after I got all of the things Ineeded from that expedition."

He almost died as result, but.. it might just be worth it.

"Care to help me test something out?"

Without another word, it seems he goes to withdraw a peculiar device- something that looks like an exo-skeleton, designed with a core in the center in mind, as well as stretches towards the rest of the limbs to secure them.

How quaint.
(Marcel Delisle)

There is always a bumbling curiosity when she enters the home of the Delisle. She is always afflicted with wanderlust of the eyes...Her lips pursing ever so slightly, her smile widening considerably at what he might've discovered during his 'years' of working. After all, this project wasn't just some 'normal' thing...It would, essentially become, his namesake. A magnum opus. Something that....Would carry on his name for years and years to come until it falls apart. Or is somehow...Stolen. But to digress..

"...I've figured that you would be terribly close to it by now. I'm certain that many of our men can't wait to see your desires in action."

Her smile widens, if only briefly. "It's a treat...To be the first one to see such a thing. And to have that pleasure for myself. So, certainly." A creation. Something,in which, she could possibly give him tips upon if needed. And if not...

Then she, most certainly, would love to see just how far he has come with this miniature sun. And the power of an 'ascended' spire shard. "Now...what will you have me do?"
(Ksena)

This will make them,
or break them.

Some could say that this is desperation, and perhaps to a certain extent it is- when they had entire world facing against them in such manner, they had to work twice as hard to ensure that they would not falter, or else it would end up something that'd dissolve all of their efforts over the years.

And even if at some point Marcel was ready to let go.. he knows that he still has his children to live for, to work for- his own family, and her as well.

He wouldn't just lay down and die.
Not without a fight.

"It will be something that could provide advantage to entire army."

"Unfortunately constructing each device like this is rather costly, and requires Arcanium - but our peak fighters could be armed with this nonetheless."

Then again, why would they waste it on anyone weak? That'd be unnecessary, so the costs could be offset regardless.

Yet, already the magitech device is carefully stretched out- he begins to idly adjust it towards himself, if only to glance towards Ksena once and remark.

"Dress me in this." An exo-skeleton, meant to align with the body and lay across his limbs and torso alike.

As for him? Already he begins seeking the runewriting that was previously laid by him and Amelia alike- the process of activating the Sphere would take a bit, yet it's already naturally connected to the magitech device - a clear intention ahead of time to ensure it would function correctly.

"Make sure you place it across my limbs carefully."
(Marcel Delisle)

"Is it wise for you to do this when you've no injuries?" She questions, glancing up at the Delisle. Certainly...He possesses scars from his battle, but she is quite unaware if anything would have...Permanently affected his mana system. Naturally, he'd heal himself through those wounds or would find someone else to do such a thing before she could even dress him for such. Or perhaps...He'd always win his battles. But to digress. "...To a degree, I suppose. But you'd have to be careful. Even though we imagine things to be limitless, there are times when it can put a strain on the body it's being used upon." A warning..

To not be so gung-ho about the situation But to digress...The woman would ease forward. "However, if you want me to dress you then I will." A smile is given as sheeases forward... The device is carefully placed across each of his limbs....A mild, gentle hum spilling past her lips in retort.

"Okay... Now what?"
(Ksena)

Did they have a choice?

If they were to stall any further, they might as well simply not find any time for them to finish this project and contribute further. Quite frankly, this could end up something akin to a lost project that would simply cease to exist, the longer it gets stalled..

And he cannot allow it.

"I already had a fairly severe injury from the long time ago."

"If my work was done correctly, then I should feel its effects lessen in my body." And hopefully, it was actually done correctly. Otherwise..

They just wasted a lot of time.

"The way it works is that it'd be connected to the supporting core- for efficient use, there might be an alternative of performing a surgery for Arcanium core next to the heart." A pause, to which he adds.

"But I already got one a long time ago."

"I almost died on expedition, and Amelia installed such life support core in me. It could be a supplement."

A dangerous procedure to an extent, because if it were to fail, then he might as well no longer feel the life support from that core. Then again.. given the fact that it's created out of Arcanium and the finest runes, would it really falter like that?

Not a chance.

"Now-"

The runic activation begins to thrum; the Sphere comes to life, and the output in the enhanced Shard is evidently picking up the pace. Through the control panel based on runework, he could direct the output of the energy within the tomb towards the Shard.

Then onto Sphere,
then onto recharging station.

".. if I'm doing it correctly, the magitech device on me should begin to subtly glow." Marcel was operating the device, already steadily connected the device to himself.

"Double-check the runes for me."

"Are any of them dim, or didn't even enable at all?"

He can't do that on his own- he can't look at every single bit and be absolutely certain that it's working, on top of operating the Sphere.

So she'll have to help him out. But surely it's working correct.. right?
(Marcel Delisle)

When the entirety of the world is stepping on your door...what more could one possibly expect? Desperation? A desire to work tired nights and restless days...She imagines that these bags underneath his eyes aren't just from his project. She imagines that his 'greying' hairs...Aren't just from him being a leader. In the end...She merely nods. "...Try to not think of the negatives. This, here, is nothing more than a test run. We'll make improvements as needed."

But with that being said...Her gaze drifts elsewhere when he speaks of the injury and she nods. "Understandable..." To believe that he was willing to nearly 'die' for such an advancement attests to just how much he has tried already. To put his heart, blood, sweat, and soul into the cog. To hope that the machine could churn...If not for him, than for her own people.

"No worries...I'll simply refresh the runes so we won't have to worry about any of them becoming dim." A hand extends briefly...Passing gently over each one ranging from Mannaz to dagaz. "As far as I'm concerned, each of them activated prior....We're ready to move on to the next stage..."
(Ksena)

The Empire must always move forward.

If not him, then who? The likes of Amelia, while helpful, were essentially retired from it all - he shouldn't expect her to be doing much of the work, and the rest of the old generation were pretty much gone, save for the likes of Nidaz.

Even then, he was working on creating various monstrosities more than he was working on anything else. As admirable as it was.. it hardly advanced the Empire for them all.

"I don't."

"We're in desperate situation, but I don't think of the negatives." A pause. "Quite on the contrary, I keep thinking about positives and what we can do about the situation."

Perhaps partially a lie.. for he seems rather cold and silent as of late- not because he was emotionless or because he became a different man, but because he was overworked and put to a constant test of his limits through all this labor.

It's easier to cope with it if one imagines themselves to be almost akin to a machine- tireless, unstoppable.

"Hm.."

With the runic activation, the shimmering light spreads in an impulse; soon settling in with a subtle glow that dims and becomes almost unnoticeable - although such light vanishes, what remains is the evident functioning runes all across his body.

There, he steps away from the control panel at last- and if it's done correctly, then..

It should protect him. His head turns to Ksena.

"Hit me with your magic."

"Anything works."

He pretty much meant that. Not that it was necessary for her to injure him.. but if this works correctly, then enduring magical hits shouldn't exhaust him either.

It should grant him unmatched vigor to allow great feats.
(Marcel Delisle)

"...." She shifts ever so slightly, her gaze flickering in thought as she goes onward. "Are we...Truly in a desperate situation?" She questions. "We've been desperate since we were teens...Children, even. I don't think we can call these desperate measures anymore. I think it's quite the opposite." A jest. "Leisure moments...Times of sitting back and going, 'this is the life'" A joke. A bad one but...One htat's fitting nonetheless..


"There's not much that we can do about the situation though...Other than continuing to be those 'flowers' that grow through the concrete." A struggle. Many of them die before they can even bloom...But it makes them stronger. Emotionally. Physically....Mentally."Don't worry...I think- no, I know that you've done well."  If only glory could possibly come that easily...

But it can't..

Instead...As she continues, her hand would shift ever so slightly into a fist. Manifested would be a maleficent dragon...Darkness coalescing, threading betwixt her fingertips. Promise etching itself across reality...Until she suddenly lurches forward...

THUNK!

He is launched - together, they rush towards the wall, leaving a 'crater' where the two would hit the wood. Surely...It would bruise his ribs, if it wouldn't outright break them.
(Ksena)

Were they truly in desperate situation?

He believed that Achyon was always at war, and while Amelia says that they've had a similar situation back in the past, and perhaps one that was even worse than the current one..

There's something about them never getting a footing that almost seems... annoying.

Was Esshar truly this opposed to the progress? Was it the unending numbers of Osrona that simply can't seem to die, no matter how many of them you kill?

It's why he believes that at some point it becomes redundant. The strong must be culled, of course - but there will always be more for them.

"We stand against the entire world, and our men die daily."

"I would say it's quite a desperate situation."

The push against the Silverwall mines will soon determine the fate of the Empire going forward. But for now, he braces for the impact in this testing- where Ksena begins to rile upher magic, gathering enough of dark shadows..

The powerful blow comes.

He does not guard against it- if his work is a failure, then he ought to suffer for his mistakes; and yet, the powerful runes imbue his body with powerful mana that is often used by magi to harden their own bodies - except this time it almost becomes automatic.

The bio-based runes work to negate, as well as heal any damage done, ensuring that he would not be harmed- the furniture about is broken, but despite the brief shock, Marcel only blinks - finding himself relatively unscathed.

"--I suppose you can't discover the secrets of the universe without breaking a few eggs." A reference to the mess that was made just now, no doubt.

"But it seems that testing is successful."

At least it appears so. If it wasn't, then he wouldn't be standing like this right now.. or perhaps even breathing.

"I believe all that's left is tuning the runework a bit in the meantime, but.."

"I would say that it's done."

And now? Only certain parameters might need tweaking.

But that's miscellaneous work to be done every now and then.
(Marcel Delisle)