Envy vs. Zo

[23:56] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "Hiya!"
[23:56] Zo asks, "...Who're you?"
[23:56] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "I'm Roxanne!"
[23:57] Zo asks, "Uh-huh... Y' stupid or somethin'?"
[23:57] Roxanne Lonval asks, "Huh?"
[23:57] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "I'm exploring!"
[23:57] Zo asks, "Y' know where yer headin' right?"
[23:57] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "High up!"
[23:57] Zo asks, "Actually, y'know what, nevermind that. I'm reaaaal familiar with where yer goin'... Lemme show you around, eh?"
[23:58] Zo says, "Th' names Zo."
[23:58] Roxanne Lonval asks, "What do you mean by that?"
[23:58] Zo says, "Well, s'best not t' go alone up th' mountain."
[23:58] Zo says, "Some people up there don't take too kindly t' visitors."
[23:59] Zo says, "S' my home y'see, so it's fine for me."
[23:59] Zo says, "An' if I say yer a guest, they'll treat ya right."
[23:59] Roxanne Lonval asks, "And you take kindly?"
[23:59] Roxanne Lonval says, "Hm..."
[23:59] Zo says, "I'm not so bad, look at me, I'm jus' a kid."
[23:59] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "I don't know if I want to be the guest of someone who called me stupid!"
[23:59] Zo says, "Couldn't hurt a fly."
[23:59] Zo says, "To be fair, didnae call y' stupid, I asked if y' were."
[00:00] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "It's just as bad!"
[00:00] Zo asks, "Well, would y' rather I apologize first then?"
[00:01] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "Nope!"
[00:01] Roxanne Lonval says, "An apology won't do."
[00:01] Zo says, "Ah well, suit yerself."
[00:03] Shrugging, Zo loses interest in the ditzy blonde. He didn't have the patience to deal with someone like that right now. Raising his burn-scarred right arm, he'd offer her a dismissive wave.

"See y' round. Maybe you'll get lucky an next time you'll have some nice jewelry 'round yer neck." He'd say with something short of sincere kindness, chuckling as he begins heading down the path.
(Zo)
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[00:05] Roxanne's right hand reached up to her cheek. She scratched at it and spoke.

"That's an awfully rude thing to say, young man. Where are your parents?"
(Roxanne Lonval)
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[00:06] Zo's chuckle turns into a cackle at that question, and he glances over his shoulder at her.

"Dead an' gone lady, dead an' gone." He'd reply, still walking away.
(Zo)
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[00:07] Roxanne Lonval asks, "And they never taught you manners?"
[00:07] Roxanne Lonval exclaims, "Hm!"
[00:08] Roxanne made the decision to follow after the teenager upon that realization. It was for his own good, after all! If he wanted to live up on the mountain, then there was but one important thing to learn.

"Maybe I should teach you some manners!"
(Roxanne Lonval)
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[00:18] Stopping dead in his tracks, Zo feels his nonchalant attitude lapse. His head snapping back and his body arching backwards so that he's looking at her upside down. His blackened mithril prosthetic is glowing brightly, pulsing with mana. Slowly, it's cyan hue shifts though, becoming a violent purple, then darker still as blackish-red lines join the mix. His natural eye becomes bloodshot with black veins, and his mouth...

His mouth blooms into an absolutely monstrous grin, his menacingly sharp fangs making him look rather unnatural and predatory.

"Ooooh, yer gonna teach lil' ol' Zo some manners are y'? Gonna give me a spankin'?" He asks with a wretchedly lasviscious tone that didn't belong on the lips of someone so young. Then, his tongue drags across his fangs, an ugly purple thing.

With a flash his mana floods over him, manifesting as blackened feathers twisted and burnt by the depravity that seemed to completely suffuse the teenager in that moment.

What was more? The spectral head sprouting from his neck began to scream bloody murder, as if it was in a tremendous deal of pain, absolute agony and despair carrying on it's ethereal chords.

"Well c'mon then y' blond bimbo, lets see if y' got any bite for all that bark, or if yer really just tits for brains!" He'd snarl, flipping up into the air and disappearing briefly into the darkness as he covers his bright potion, only to descend with his blade in hand and a raging hurricane of purple-black wind screaming along it's length.

If Roxanne had had the time too look closely, she might see the tortured faces of the damned caught in those winds.
(Zo)
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[00:23] You learned the spell Energy Burst.
[00:23] You learned the spell Energy Burst V2.
[00:28] Perhaps she had been the one looking for it. Or maybe there was an ulterior motive to all of her actions. Regardless, her words had been enough to provoke the young teenager before her. Enough for him to ready his blade and go right at her.

And that's about when Roxanne's expression shifted. From an angry, upset frown in a smirk that was unmistakably sinister. As the winds gathered around his weapon and his blade came crashing down a powerful blast of energy came rushing out of her palm, practically exploding from her fingertips as it pushed back Zo.

This... would feel unlike anything the teenager had ever felt, too. It was familiar, yet placing a finger on why that manifestation of energy numerous magi were able to use felt so familiar would be for another time.

Right now the blonde had stepped up to the challenge, wielding in hand a masterfully crafted weapon as crimson as the ichor that ran through Zo's veins, a nodachi that was created to be the perfect weapon. It held a new few swordsmen knew of:

Masamune

Just who had Zo stumbled upon?
(Roxanne Lonval)
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[00:36] This was not what Zo had expected, not at all. No... He'd dealt with MAGES in the past, dealt with countless annoying mages that so enjoyed dancing around and dodging his assaults. But this woman? She didn't act at all how he expected, she pushed forward with an invisible force he'd seen an uncountable number of times wielded by none other than Lord Ultovex himself...

Zo didn't know what to call it, besides the physical manifestation of her will.

Was it the fact he'd seen it so many times that made it feel so familiar, or was it something else, something he couldn't yet understand...? Gritting his teeth, he braced himself to continue, despite knowing just how outmatched he was against this woman now.

His eyes flit to the nodachi with it's strange aura about it. He'd seen something almost like it before, when he'd been speaking with Sors, he thought...

Shaking his head, he'd hold Drake's claw between them and raise it overhead, preparing to attempt to cut through the invisible force next time she use it and strike her directly!

...This was sure to fail.
(Zo)
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[00:43] It was unfair. It was... a beatdown. A horrible, one-sided beatdown by the blonde. She was faster than he was, stronger than he was, more experienced, more talented, more everything. Oh, did it feel good. It felt great to finally be at the top. To feel like she had the upper-hand, like she was where she should be.

She sliced her weapon through the air, blood sent splattering upon the white snow as she approaches Zo's downed body step by step, still wearing that sinister smile. It was as if she knew of what would happen, of what was to come. She lowered herself before the boy, bringing her blade up and slightly knicking his cheek in the process while she spoke.

"I hope you've learned a valuable lesson on manners today. Now, what will you do?"

She allowed him to choose, to decide his own fate here. Would he be smart and run or would he leave himself at her mercy? She wanted to see fear. To see that feeling of... inferiority.

Zo would feel it; a sinful, horrible magic tugging at the strings of his heart. Jealousy, desires, and needs were all magnified. For Roxanne was no other than the embodiment of entitlement itself.

And he had provided her with the status she thought she deserved.
(Roxanne Lonval)
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[00:53] A normal boy might have been afraid for his life. A normal boy might have been cowering and begging for mercy or trying to flee. A normal boy might have been crying. Unfortunately for Zo, he was no normal boy. He'd long since lost his mind at the hands of a Nethradin, had it shattered utterly as his body and soul were suffused by raw, unfettered depravity, the very same manner of magic he now used.

No, Zo was not normal.

He didn't pull back from that blade, instead his predatory grin would grow wider as he lay there with his blood staining the snow. Reaching up he'd grasp the blade of the Nodachi in his shaky hand, his eye still burning with the raw occult mana welling up from inside him. Blood began to bead where his hand touch the blade, flowing down along it's length.

"Ooooh, is that all you've got? I thought this was supposed to be a lesson, but if you're trying to punish me you're going to have to do worse than that y' old hag. C'mon, cut me up more, see if you can make me feel something, anything!" He'd taunt and tease in an uncomfortably sadomasochistic way, pressing his cheek forward onto that blade until it began to cut him a wider smile than he already had.

Roxanne might have been the embodiement of entitlement, of Envy, armed with a relic and practically demanding that he show her some respect, accept his inferiority... But Zo just didn't have it in him. No, he was Hungry. Hungry for power, for knowledge, for flesh, for blood, and perhaps most of all for sensation.

If this woman was willing to play with him a little longer, why wouldn't he eat up everything she had to feed him?
(Zo)
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[01:04] As occult mana welled up within the teenager's body Roxanne's own holy magics went to work, obliterating each and every bit of nefarious, corrupt energies that slipped out from his form. It left no chance. The words he spoke were a poor, poor choice for someone in his situation. Asking Envy to make them feel something was one of the worst ideas there could be.

She moved her blade, swiftly so. His decision had been to stay - to remain and see if she really had the guts to do something so horrible to another human being. The blood that splattered from the wide gash opening up across his face would drown out his words. A cut that span from cheek to cheek, passing over his nose was the result of his cocky attitude, of his provocation.

The blonde did more than merely grant a scar, however. Green energies sunk deeply into his flesh, his wound, his heart. An insane, unfathomable ceaseless desire to be at the top of the world was infecting this boy's heart and essence. Sin magic was doing its work, marking the Zo forever with a piece of itself. A horrible curse, for Envy never rests.
(Roxanne Lonval)
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[01:10] ** Roxanne Lonval has inflicted an injury upon Zo. ("Envy", "A large cut spanning Zo's face from cheek to cheek taints his face. Beneath the cut a dark secret is hidden; vile, sinful magic affect him down to his very core. His heart and essence have been infected by Envy itself, giving him an undying feeling of inadequacy, jealousy, and entitlement. A strong desire to have what others possess will only grow if left untreated.", "Permanent", "Severity: MODERATE (-20 Vit)") **
[01:17] Zo never had been a wise boy, and this certainly wasn't any exception. He'd taunted and teased the bearer of a sin, and now he was going to suffer the consequences it seemed. His eyes went wider, as did his grin when that blade sliced across his face. He'd already had a scar across his nose, a small X shaped thin, but now it seemed he'd have a new scar as that blade sliced through his flesh and acrossed his entire face.

He felt the twisted energy soaking into him, a mockery of true Holiness. It imbued in him something he'd already had to some degree, that Hunger he felt now being twisted and manipulated by a new magic.

He felt Empty. Totally and completely, as if he'd had his soul hollowed out and been left wanting by the woman. In that instant his desire flourished and he realized he craved not only his own power, but the power of others as well. His eyes fell to the very blade that had inflicted that wound, and rather than cry out in agony he found his hand reaching out towards it again, as if desperate to feel it in his hands.

Only to stop just short as his eyes moved to her, and that feeling of inferiority overwhelmed him. As if it wasn't already frustrating enough, enduring defeat after defeat at the hands of mages, now this woman, this absolute bimbo! She'd defeated him with a blade and hardly a scrap of magic...

His smile fell into a frown, and then a grimace of frustration. Why, why, why, whywhywhywhywhywhy WHY WAS HE SO WEAK?! The voice in his mind demanded, and he might have cried out in frustration if not for the fact he was still paralyzed by the sudden fear that inferiority brought with it.

For if he was so weak, then surely he was powerless before her, completely at her mercy, right? Turning his gaze up towards Roxanne, she'd see in his eyes that fear for the first time, a fear that no one was likely to have seen before.
(Zo)
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[01:21] And she reveled in it. She couldn't help but smile as her desires were sated. Just how long had it been since she felt like she was being treated the right way? Perhaps since she died. Yes. That was back then. That was the last time anyone looked at her with the kind of feeling she wanted from the world.

The first time someone manifested the very same thing Sors inspired in others:

Fear

She struck the air with her blade, narrowly missing Zo's hair as more of the boy's blood was splattered around them both. The weapon was sheathed once again, back where it belonged. She turned, and it vanished beneath the veil of her persona. From a walk, to a skip.

She was back to being Roxanne. Innocent, cheerful, happy, ditzy, and somewhat stupid Roxanne.

She had been sated.
For now.
(Roxanne Lonval)
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