Eyes on Me

[23:09] Lea Elisheva says, "What a wonderful day we're having today in the spirit realm."
[23:09] Lea Elisheva says, "Surely nothing awful is about to happen to me."

[18:26]
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[22:43] Lea Elisheva says, "See? Nothing bad happened to me yesterday."
[22:51] It was a world untouched by human hands, and in many ways, it still was. Dusk and Aurum would look around the Void's Net in silence, a place separated from the world, only accessible via rift. And a place that was safer then the worldscape, a place only he had seen. No other mage could reach this sanctum, not the kings and queens of the worldscape, and no other mage either.

A world for himself to prosper as much as he needed, to collect all the souls he desired. And so, amid the pale green light that stemmed down endlessly from the pale star, the Ultovexian would use his abilities to weave parts of the ethereal energy down from his creation, and draw forth the body of Lea from a rift.

The filling of circuits to him was easy. It began at the head, circuits flaring up across the forehead them moving downwards, covering the spine. From the encasement of the spine, the mana would flow into the muscular system, and from the muscles it dove into the heart, forcing it to beat anew. The mana would beat around the circuits, moving from one to the next before moving south, going into the stomach.

Beat, beat, as the body filled with coursing mana. The stomach would be flooded with it, moving onwards before finally the body would begin to twitch, Lea's eyes fluttering.

She was alive anew. But still lacking the soul. That was, until he would drag it downwards. The Pale star had absorbed her soul initially, and so from the star it is taken, channeled and stolen away from his energy source to be distributed back into the body.

And with that, the invisible chains shackled the soul to the body anew. Ripped from the afterlife, ripped from the world, Lea would be unable to leave the Void's net for now.

"Lea,"

"Return ta ma side."
(Despair)
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[22:55] ** Moderator Nots has inflicted an injury upon Lea Elisheva. ("Undead Nerf", "Lea Elisheva has been revived as an undead. Due to the nature of death, her body has been weakened from the Ordeal and the distruption to the lifestream.", "Permanent", "Severity: MODERATE (-20 Vit)") **
[23:31] It was a long time.

The spirit world had been surprisingly kind to Lea, as she spent most of it asleep, being awakened only sparingly. It was peaceful- similar to the eternal oblivion spoken of in various other traditions, and perhaps the one Sors desired. And yet, after years of being asleep, Lea's rest had been disturbed.

She felt a pull.

She was awoken from her slumber.

She sought not to resist, either. Deep within the realm of the spirits, her eyes shot open, and she rose up from oblivion. She stood up, gazed forward, and bore witness to a bright green eye that had appeared before her, one that she, without hesitation, walked through. She knew what this was about.

She knew what this was for.

And so, Lea returned to her body. Her heart beat, and yet, her skin was cold. She felt no warmth, no cold, no nothing, and all she did was gaze down at the ground, an expression of despair visible within her posture. Her wings, once proudly worn,were now wilted. They began to twist and turn in ways that were likely to be unsettling even by the standards of the Ultovexian, appearing more like vile facsimiles of wings than anything even vaguely similar to divine.

Lea, while still Lea in personality and appearance, had become naught but a pale copy of the original thing, her divinity torn from her just as her life had been granted back.

"...V...Vexie...?"

Her voice was weak, and her gaze trailed up to Sors. It immediately became clear that any semblance of light had left her eyes, none of the happiness and joy she once held present within. No, she couldn't feel anything like that; all she could feel was despair over the fact that her life had been torn from her, and fear over it happening again.

Fear...

She felt a lot of fear right now. More than she ever expected. She sought comfort from this fear; she needed that comfort, even! She didn't want people to betray her. She didn't want people to leave her. She didn't want people to let her down anymore, and she didn't want to let them down! Her life had gone to waste and she died with a whimper instead of a bang and she hurt so many people and-

She held herself. She held herself to try to offer herself the warmth and comfort that she'd normally beckon others for. And while she felt the pressure of her hands up against her arms...

She felt no relief. No warmth. No love, even from herself. Her nerve endings were dead, and her ability to feel was torn from her.

"N...No... No...!"

No, that's not accurate. Lea could still feel, but...

All she could feel were her emotions.

And she felt them all at once.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And so, Lea screamed. She screamed as loudly as she could, out of fear of what was to come, out of shame for her failure to be a hero, shame that she died when she had so much to live for, and sadness that all of this had to happen. It didn't have to happen! None of this had to happen! It all could've been avoided if she had just made one less mistake, if people had just been a bit more merciful and trusting of her...!

Why... why did I... I mean she, why did she let this happen to her? Why did she let herself be abused? Be manipulated? What were we... was she thinking?! If only she listened to other people, if only she stuck to her ideals, if only she didn't let herself be controlled by fear! If only she didn't rely on people to sacrifice things for her, to stick up for her! Maybe then... maybe none of this would've happened!

Maybe Lea would be in a better place. Maybe she would be happy! Maybe all of this suffering could've been avoided! Maybe the world would be a better place! Maybe... maybe...

Maybe I shouldn't ask maybes. Maybe I shouldn't ask what ifs.

Maybe she shouldn't think of them. Maybe neither of us should.

Maybe I should just let her get angry.

And so, a scream that was once out of sadness, fear, and despair slowly began to twist into one of anger the likes of which Lea had never even dreamt of until now. And... it didn't take much time for that scream to turn into a roar. And so she roared out the name of the one who caused all this-

"RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!!!"

-...and, in a horrible twist of fate, it was also the name of the person she loved the most.

Lea's divinity had left her.

And in its place, there was a wrath so powerful that it shook the very heavens her power had just returned to.

On this day, Sors did not bring an angel back to life. He had summoned something far, far worse.
(Lea Elisheva)
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[23:40] So much raw emotion. So much feeling from the undead as she was once more placed back into her body. And yet, it would be different. This world was not the world that she had left. It was a pocket of it's own, a dimension that solely belonged to the Ultovexian. Arms crossed over his chest, watching the newly risen hug herself yet find no relief.

Divinity had left her. The blessings of the Demi-angels twisted into that of an undead and that of the Void. And more then that, as she was brought back, she would be infected. Infected with the void plague, the strand made specifically for undead.

Whispers crawled in her mind, the feeling of eyes staring towards her as she arrived once more along the living. Well, that was incorrect, arrived once more in front of the only one who was still alive in this realm.

"You know who you are. Mos' undead seem to have memory problems, but ya recall who you are, and that saves a lot of time."

"Lea, you have been brought back to life. Originally, you were supposed to be brought back to life once Rindou completed her task. But it seems that's not to be. I asked her for an update, and she hasn't been working towards it. She's been movin' on with her ability to find new life. But you?"

"You were trapped by death, only to be revived now."

"You are mine."

He would let it seep in as he moved across the void. The sound of his rattling chains was around them, but this time it would also be inside of her, his commands inside who she was herself.

"You were killed. I do not know the exact circumstances. But once more you are here."

"This is the Void's Net. My world."
(Despair)
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[23:49] When her roar had finally subsided, Lea gasped for air. She did not need to, nor did it help, but the reflexes of the living nevertheless transitioned to the dead. She felt the gaze of the eyes upon her, and the whispers from the void in her mind, but she appeared strangely... calm. Relaxed. At peace. She stood up and turned around towards Sors, her expression quickly transitioning from one of pure rage to one of calm, and spoke.

"Why wouldn't I be yours, Vexie?"

Despite being brought back from the dead, and ostensibly his slave, she still spoke as if she were his best friend. She felt- and acted as if- she was.

"You're my best friend and the only person who never let me down. Even if I didn't die- even if you didn't bring me back- I'd still be yours. Forever."

Her words were completely honest, spoken as if shewere entirely independent of Sors' influence.

"Thank you for giving me this chance. It means a lot to me."
(Lea Elisheva)
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[23:54] The question brought minor pause.

"Ain't know. Jus' bes' ta let people know. We're bes' friends, an' ya are mine. Real the same thang. It's unfortunate tha' ya died. Eventually tha'll lead ta ya body rottin', an' this ain't the worldscape. I ain't got a way ta prevent tha' yet. Mite b able to think up something but it'll b a long while."

"Even when ya die, ya soul will return ta the Pale Star. So it ain't goodbye forever. A way no one ever leaves ma, jus' as we both desired. Wha' is mine is mine forever."

His head nodded, turning around and looking towards the once Demi-angel again.

"It ain't no thang. But fer the time bein' ya will need to stay here. When I require ya ta come ta ma aid,"

Blacklines would suddenly spread across the body of the Ultovexian. There would be a feeling, a tugging on Lea's very existence as a rift opened, dragging her to him.

"I can even summon ya now."
(Despair)
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[00:01] Lea looked strangely amused as space and time were bent to drag her to Sors. She was, at her core, still the same person; still the excitable and childlike character she always was.

Just... as a zombie. A cold, dead, rotting zombie.

"Vexie..."

Except... one that had allowed a darkness to seep in, which was cultivated caused to sprout once she was revived. And this was evident in her expression: One of malice. Lea wanted revenge.

"I want to hurt her. I want to hurt Rindou. I want to hurt her worse than anyone else ever has."

"She stole my life from me. I want to steal something from her."
(Lea Elisheva)
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[00:05] "O'?"

The words drew interest within the Ultovexian, Dusk raising it's brow towards the words spoken by the Elishevian undead. Corruption was held in the air around him as his lips slowly curled up into a sadistic smirk.

"She did take ya life from ya. An' you should desire to hurt those who would take things from you. But it's interestin'. I never heard of you wanting anything from her before. Not to take from her, o' hurt her."

"It's entertainin'. Ya mite get the chance to do it."
(Despair)
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[00:09] Lea rose her hands up to Sors' shirt and gently grasped onto it, like a beggar asking for change. This was definitely behavior that had never been seen from Lea before, and were Sors not the person he was, he'd probably find this unsettling, too.

"I need to do it before Aurora can take that chance from me. I need to show her that she can't get away with doing this to me."

But given who he was, it was far more likely that he'd find it amusing.

"When... when can I get that chance? I want it more than anything, right now..."
(Lea Elisheva)
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[00:13] The hands would have fastened themselves to the Ultovexian's outfit, landing upon the Arcanium jacket he wore ever since the fall of Tobias. It was unusual, but expected. Undeath warped people, changed the type of person who they were away from themselves.

"Ya are correct, Aurora mite want a piece o' her. But I'll hav' to wait to see when Rindou is around fer it to occur. Aurora has a lot o' thangs. On one hand, it's much mor' difficult ta locate others as an undead. Would need to identify her out o' many."

"When ya get the chance will b sometime when luck occurs."
(Despair)
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[00:18] How vague. How annoyingly vague. That vagueness actually caused her to twitch, anger beginning to seep in. And yet, in the presence of Sors...

She couldn't find herself to actually be that angry. Not out fear, just... gratitude. That sense of gratitude she had for him still overrode the more chaotic emotions that were brewing inside of her.

"What's the point in me staying here...? I can find her. I have my ways. I just... I need to prove it to her."
(Lea Elisheva)
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[00:20] "No."

The Ultovexian's arms folded over his chest.

"I will allow ya ta fight her in ma presence. But I will not allow ya to fight her on your own. You might b able to fight her. But I want to watch. I want visual proof o' the fight is all. If you want to prove it to her, tha's allowed."

"But I also got ma way o' doin' thangs."

The vagueness was allowed to linger as the rattling of chains filled the air.

"Fer now, stay here. Focus on regainin' power."
(Despair)
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[00:27] Lea's anger deflated, his words having a calming effect on her. Her grasp on his shirt quickly faded, but it transitioned into another kind of grasp: A hug. Even if she couldn't feel it, she at least hoped he could. She had to at least make someone feel something. She had to show someone she cared about them. She had to show someone that they were loved.

She had to. She just had to. It's...

It's been so long since she had the chance.

"I won't let you down, Vexie, I'll be out of here, stronger than I've ever been before. You can bet on it."

And she just wanted to feel like she could make someone happy again, even when her personality was horribly warped and twisted by virtue of becoming an undead. You can't change the most core, fundamental aspects of someone, and this aspect of her personality was one of the few at the very heart of who Lea is.

"I trust your way of doing things. You're the only one left I can trust..."

She looked up at him, a small semblance of light returning to her eyes, and saw fit to ask a question, maybe her last one of the night.

"...did I betray you by dying, Vexie?"
(Lea Elisheva)
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[00:31] The Ultovexian had seemed fine with the grasping of his shirt, but it was the hug that took him by surprise. He did not fight it, instead let the undead clutch onto him. In time, the body would rot and such things would be unappealing, but the body had been in well kept condition, not allowed to rot yet.

"Good. I do not desire further betrayals an' upsets. Increase ya strength an' b prepared fer wha' will come."

His hands raised. He didn't quite return the hug, Lea wouldn't feel it anyways, but the clawed harm would rise, patting Lea atop the head. She would be able to see his touch at least, even if she lacked feeling it.

"I am satisfied ta hear tha'. An' it's always good ta hav' trust."

But at her question, his own eyes looked down. Empty dark mismatched hues as he nodded.

"Death is a form o' betrayal."
(Despair)
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[00:37] Lea felt a deep sadness well up within her heart as her said that. She tightened her grip ever-so-slightly after he did, but let go shortly after, allowing him to depart if he so desired.

"I'm sorry... I wish I could've been the one person who never did."

The remorse in her voice was genuine. How much of Lea's behavior and mannerisms would catch him by surprise was up to him, though, but this is nothing if not confirmation that Lea is still the same person as ever.

"Please stay safe, okay? You're all I have left..."
(Lea Elisheva)
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[00:42] Lips formed a line.

"It is expectation by this point. People say they will not abandon o' leave o' betray. But in tha' end, it is the nature o' people ta leave, ta betray, an' giv' pain to others. Ya betrayed. By now I'm used ta it."

The sadness, the darkness, it was all sharpened by him like a weapon, like his malice as he was let go of. Dusk and Aurum would stare towards her.

"Do not betray ma again."

"I will remain safe. An' should something occur tha' ain't, I hav' the ability ta bring ya." He turned around slightly, opening a rift into the Void's net as he began to float away.

"Seeya ~best friend.~"
(Despair)
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