My Grandma Once Said...

[14:37] {NARRATION} To the deserts they went. Weeks of travel, for Esshar was not a small place, avoiding the ever present enemies, until even those faded away from distance. It was not a particularly dangerous journey, though it was an uncomfortable one, with scorching heat pouring down from above.

Then the shivering cold of the night, just in case anyone was fine with being too hot.

Further, there'd be a general anxious feeling, as though you were approaching something woefully unprepared. The first signs of your journey came into view as the sands turned to dirt. Not fertile dirt, for there was no life here. Soemthing had leeched it all away. The heat was unbearable. Was that what had done it?

No, heat could make gigantic craters in the ground. Everywhere one looked, the ground was pitted and torn. Sometimes haphazardly stacked, at other times leading down so far into the ground that there was no visible bottom.

Far in the distance, stormclouds rumbled, though these didn't seem to bring life-giving waters. Only the desolation of lightning. At their center lay a gigantic spire of some black stone, like a jagged knife against your vision-

The world tore. Water trickled, and flooded, covering you all as it exploded outwards like a hose. A rift of red had opened, opening a new rent in the earth, leading somewhere.

Somewhere wet.
[14:38] {LONG DISTANCE FROM: Jani}: Do you know a purple haired girl named Luna?
[14:46] At the forefront of Bruno's mind was but a single thing: To reclaim what should have been inherited. With each step his life goal grew closer and closer. Through the harsh desert heat demanding hydration to the cold nights that followed requiring dreaded proximity with others. It had to be done for a greater goal, he believed. For his own greater goals.

The storms far ahead were naught but sinister, bearing a color nearly as dark as the night itself. For one who draws lightning from his very fingertips the nature of those clouds seemed evident. Obvious.

The lone pillar of stone far ahead led Bruno to speak up.

"I believe we've finally reached-"

Before he could finish his thought reality itself was stretched; its fabric torn open, allowing for a flood of water to erupt in the midst of the dry desert, giving some much needed hydration and a far more forebodding truth:

They were no longer in the desert.

Perhaps those tears were what had drawn all life from the earth, whisking away part of its crust itself.

Bruno's left hand reached for Anna's arm while his right grabbed onto Ryker's. Military training had been ingrained into him and if they were to be tossed about in a harsh, unknown environment keeping track of the others and remaining as a group was a priority.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[14:46] Matryona was absolutely stoned. For the travel she could only ramble- She never rambles. But it consisted of the sand and all the grains. She's fixated on it until the heat settles in.

Standard issued uniforms were dark, black, layered. Barsburg was north after all but when south and in deserts of blaring heat she feels like she's dying.

The Lieutenant went as far to attempt to strip during the day if not stopped. But everything feels so bright and clear to her. She researched the effects of Soothing Reed but never experienced it.

She's fine.

"The sand looks like the moon." She comments, voice far lighter than usual but still carrying that dryness to it. She crouches next to this craters and cups her hands. "Woooooooo..."

Wooooo...

It echoed right back ather and she stares and stares and STARES unless pried away from the crater to keep moving forward. "If I had Synthetic arms I could pick up the crater. Ryker-"

Senseless rambling and general nonsense until she felt a rumble. It's like a growl and the impaired Lieutenant jumped and stiffened.

"What is-" This sight? For her hazy gaze filled with color and grander, "It looks like a sprinkler."

Gloved hands dropped to her revolver. "Pirates, we need to stop the pirates." She points her weapon forward.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[14:47] Scorching heat and shivering cold nights. It was a journey that started off with polar extremes. During the night Ryker himself ensured none of them froze to death, given his mastery over heat and flames and even further beyond.

Yet as they traveled, he couldn't shake that feeling that he had forgotten something back home. A potion, a piece of equipment. Something, anything. He couldn't put his finger on it, and so it left him feeling anxious. That feeling of anxiety prompted him to smoke all the more, putting his typical chain smoking routine nearly to shame with the way he went through cigarettes.

A land with no life is no land at all. The soil whose very fundamentals of life giving had been stripped away and it felt nearly unbearable to be around. As if his mortal mind couldn't contemplate such a feat. Craters everywhere and in some instances boreholes into the ground that stretched seemingly for infinity.

Ryker hated all of this already.

Stormclouds rumbled but there was no promise of water. Just noise and electricity. It made his arm hair bristle. That spire lay far off in the distance, at the center of the clouds and he briefly wondered if that was where their journey led them.

Then the world tore at it's seams. A red rift, a thing the youngest Docro had never witnessed before in his life opened, and it coated them all in water. It killed that feeling of heat, shortly, before Ryker naturally dried himself off with an overwhelming wave of heat. It wouldn't do to have squishy wet boots.

He was grabbed onto by Bruno which prompted Ryker to summarily grab onto the high Matryona tightly. Stick together.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[14:49] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "Hey. HEY."
[14:49] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "Let me go."
[14:49] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "I need to kill the fire pirates, Ryker."
[14:49] Bruno pyr Aertas says, "..."
[14:50] Ryker pyr Docro exclaims, "CALM Matryona!"
[14:50] Bruno pyr Aertas says, "Never again, Ryker."
[14:50] Ryker pyr Docro says, "Never again."
[14:50] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "I'm -calm-."
[14:50] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "Let me- kill the fire pirates before they get you."
[14:50] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "You will thank me later."
[14:52] Anna observes her Lieutenant's actions from a side-eyed viewing, her uncertainty about the overall efficiency behind today's mission dropping sharply. Feelings that were only exacerbated by the general anxiety the land seemed to bring with it.

The desert heat, burning down from above, as warmly as Anna was dressed, it was incredible that she wasn't already overheating, yet she didn't seem to be even be sweating in the least.

She wasn't walking however, but floating along beside Bruno in measured silence.

Light brown hues studied the stormclouds that rumbled in the distance, and yet, her attention abruptly flicked downwards towards the area around them, the world tearing around them as water trickled and flooded inwards to consume them.

A hand came upwards, and freezing air blasted outwards from her, a reactionary attempt made to freeze a layer of the water cold before it reached them. "What is happening?" She asks towards whomever is capable of providing an answer.
(Anna)
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[14:57] {NARRATION} An attempt to freeze the water was made, but it was too slow, too weak, akin to trying to freeze the ocean. It wasn't that Anna was an incapable magi, it was that it was an impossible task, as the front wave froze solid, while the back simply shattered it and pushed on through, ensuring there was no escape.

They pushed and dragged, away from the rift-

The world tore open once more, but this time you were forced into it. Screams filled your ears, were they your own? Agony as you were stretched infinitesimally thin, nearly snapping, before-

Air. You needed air. You had been plunged from one area to another, the rift behind you closing. The water hadn't merely blasted you, it had actively worked to entrap, leaving the lot of you submerged in murky water, the stuff choking and blinding. It was bitterly cold as well, adding to the discomfort. Where was air, for you were lacking.

A small *something* brushed against Rykers leg, leaving a slimy patch where it trailed. Another one of these mystery creatures bit Matryona, her armor holding it at bay.
[15:04] Whoever had wished they were no longer in the desert had cursed them greatly. This place was no better and while Bruno did not physically scream part of his mind refused such a fate; it wanted to live for much, much longer and had goals that should not be slowed down neither by the tiny mistakes of humanity nor by his own ambition.

Bruno held his breath, shifting, twisting around in an attempt to locate the surface of the water. The way up. As panic seemed to shake him down right to his core wide eyes sought a solution.

He'd lost grasp on the others, yet, they were not too far.

He worked to keep his composure, to try and locate something, anything within the deep dark. The Aertas' focus was to locate.

Could he see the light?
Could he see just what even reached his comrades?

Would he be safe?
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[15:06] They were all simultaneously pushed and dragged backwards. He had latched onto the nearly unfunctioning Matryona, while Bruno held onto his other hand. But despite Ryker's attempt at grounding themselves in this reality, it failed ultimately.

The world screamed and it tore and they tumbled helplessly backwards into the secondary rift that pulled them in akin to a hungry monster. The screams filled his ear and in response the Docro screamed back in frustration and annoyance. He was pulled, he was twisted and the pain was unlike anything he had suffered before.

He had already gone through the ringer, or so he had assumed. This put everything in comparison as nothing more than a walk in the park. The next thing he knew, his lungs were on fire. Air. He couldn't breathe.

Bubbles of precious air left his lips as he realized they were submerged within murky, freezing cold water. Then something brushed against his leg. Oh no. This would not do at all.

Mana leeched from his form, the Docro simultaneously attempting to get his bearings to locate the surface before explosions rippled across the water closest to him. Water had oxygen, therefore, he could make it go away. That was his thought process at the very least.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[15:09] Matryona never saw a rift before or tear in reality. It's only natural that she'd think it to be the work of pirates or something else her elevated mind cracked up. Normally, she'd suggest caution and observation before attempting anything reckless.

Water froze over but nothing stuck and the sudden, odd desert rift dragged them all. The force and pressure far too great for her to deny but she clung to Ryker who opted first to keep the Lieutenant close.

Someone is screaming in her ears and it's loud, consuming even. What's going on, exactly? Everything enhanced so much that she couldn't even see.

Splash.

Maybe she screamed, too, but no one would know. She submerged in water, heavy, she wears nyeshk but she can swim like any of status. Yet this water is freezing and she felt so weighed by her layers.

Not a damned thing could be spotted in the water but something surely touched her. Matryona jumped whilst submerged. If it wanted to touch her??

Her own execution of violence stepped to another level. Mellowed but then so much more. It's a clear course of action for her to reach for her revolver.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

That'll show that creature to not nibble at her leg.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[15:14] Anna's attempt at freezing the water was shut down. The ice had formed, yet she couldn't get the frozen wall thick enough before it shattered from the battering of the water behind it. It blasted into them, sending them spinning backwards like kites with their strings cut.

Her question would be left unanswered as she grit her teeth, and then they were all sent through a rift. One that tore the world asunder once again. The stretching ripped a groan from her as the trans-locational magic sent her crashing into Elsewhere.

Air.

Her eyes opened within the murky, struggling to find the pathway that lead up. Everything was so clouded however, she couldn't find the way up through vision alone. Her legs kicked, her torso twisted, and the glittering flash of a crystal clear wellspring spread outwards from her, pushing back the murky depths of the waves around her.

Light brown hues look around frantically as she attempts to see something. Anyone. Though most preferably, she wants to see the light of the sun, so that she knew which way she needed to go to get out of the water.
(Anna)
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[15:23] {NARRATION} Matryona's response was the simplest and most effective - for mana based weapons were not impeded by water in the same way that physical attacks would be. The creature was blown to bits by the attack, having no durability at all, more akin to a predatory fish.

The issue was that there were more than one.

Ryker's response to the water was an intriguing one, physically blasting the water apart, creating huge swathes of steam instead that rippled through. It helped to light things as well, each boom providing more insight-

Like the rift at the bottom of the pool, a constant whirlpool sucking water away. The answer was not down, it was up, as Anna would find when she looked for the sky. It was grueling labor, forcing back the pressure of what must've been a lake. There was no sky or sun, but rather a roof. This was an artificial chamber. Her efforts did find something at the very top, however, a faint bluish glow seeming to radiate from a fist sized object.

Getting to it, and then escaping would be no easy task, even for a water magi.

As for Bruno, his attempts to search for light, light beyond what Ryker's explosions provided, would be in vain, though thankfully the Docro's wanton magic had the effect of illuminating the way out.

Another creature bit at Bruno this time, chewing on his foot. It might be best to leave before more swarmed.
[15:30] The instant that Bruno felt something biting against him was when he'd produce a proper response. His body shrouded itself with a vile occult darkness, its influence quickly spreading all around his body and towards the creature that bit him. His aim was not to merely kill the one that dared chew at his foot, but to rot it alive.

Panic had gotten to him and his unstable mind did not help him any. With the light produced by Ryker, the Aertas — after having rid eternia of such a foul fish — quickly began swimming towards the whirlpool. There could have been more time for exploration if his lungs were not begging for air and if his body was not being struck by creatures who knew no better.

Any that would come in his way would find themselves facing corruption, pure and clear.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[15:32] If there was one thing Ryker did well it was make situations far more intriguing than they already were. Also the violence. Always the violence. As the water was ripped apart by his own brand of magic, he continued to tear and rip, blasting it apart further and further. The steam cleared their perceptions, and enabled to light things marvelously well.

All around him the water would ripple and turn to steam decisively. This wasn't a lake, it was a chamber. The idea that they could possibly be stuck irritated him, the impulsive and rash Ryker continuing to do what he could.

With the help of his magic uncovering the way out, Ryker swam downwards. It felt counterintuitive, but he knew it was the way. As he swam swiftly downwards every single fish that came to close to him?

Would be ripped apart at the seams of life itself, terrible magic not just exploding them within the water. It was melting the fish. A natural defense response whenpresented with the unknown. Had he noticed the item at the very top?

No, he typically had a one track mind after all.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[15:34] Mana bullets collide with something but light produced by Ryker's explosions revealed glimpses of more. She's not 'tweaking', or maybe she is. But the possibility of being eaten alive in dirty water was not how she envisioned this.

I'm not cake! She would've yelled out at the fish could she breathe. On that, it's hard to breathe and no matter her efforts to remain stagnant, she's being pulled down.

Does she go with the flow? Those explosions reveal a rift like before. It functions like the higher class plumbing systems in Barsburg, sucking all down and away.

Is she going to die?!

The thought was much lighter than before and better than dying to them. But she's sinking down and there's no real way for the heavy armor wearing Lieutenant to swim up.

So down she goes down. This feels artificial. Then again, aren't rifts and portals artificial? What are they here for again? The elevated thoughts clouded the purpose. Bruno, something, something, grandma- Oh.

Matryona just didn't care.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[15:40] It was the glow of light that immediately attracted her attention. It was what she was looking for, light, air. A way out was seen, and that glistening water that spread outwards to mingle with the whirlpool around her, was released from her control.

She wanted to focus all of her magical ability on escape, her twisting torso abruptly reversed as the water next to her began to rotate along with her. She launched herself forwards like a jet against the current that worked to drag her downwards, adding on the penetrating power of rotation to counter-balance the whirling waters.

Anna sought freedom from the waters, a single breath of fresh air. With hands stretched out towards the light seemed to promise her.
(Anna)
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[15:43] {NARRATION} Three going down, one going up. To melt, to rot, to shoot and destroy. These were all fine solutions to the predatory little fish, though for every one that was slain, dozens, if not hundreds more came out to play, drawn by the scent of their fellows blood. And while the magi were powerful, this was not their element. Perhaps if they were sirenians?

As it was, escape was the only option that promised safety from the damnable things, and it was escape that they all ventured towards.

Well. Almost all.

Matryona, Bruno and Ryker all came crashing out at the bottom of the rift, immediately able to breath, albeit soaked, in a chamber of blackened stone, ill-lit by half burning candles. As for Anna?

She went for her own light, hands clutching around it - Just as her magic gave out. She could not hold back a lake forever, and with only one living creature left within the tank, would it even be possible to escape with her prize? Down she would have to travel, drowning and being consumed alive.
[15:48] Cough. Cough. Cough.

Bruno did his best to fill his lungs with air once again while on a pitch-black surface, though definitely out of the water. He would take a few seconds before actually rising back up to his feet, looking around the dimly-lit chamber and trying to locate anything. The sickening flames of the occult danced around his frame with a bit more vigor when the Aertas finally speaks.

"Where is Anna?"

He began looking around the room with a pace he would describe as frantic, though others would merely see worry. He just hoped to find her - or a hint of her.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[15:49] Ryker tumbled through the rift with all of the others, having successfully made it out. His lungs burned and he took in a deep gaping breath of fresh air, soaked.

Heat washed over him, drying him out once more. Half burning candles and blackened stone. He squinted through the half darkness. Beastial eyes were far better to see in the dark, and he utilized that to his advantage naturally.

"I don't know."

He answered Bruno without even thinking about it. The jades of the Docro were turned upwards, where he assumed they had supposedly come. Was the rift still active?
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[15:51] {NARRATION} Not only was the rift still active, but it still poured great gouts of water down upon the assembled group.
[15:54] Spat out and into a room- a chamber of obsidian stone. She gasps, taking in air finally and coughing quite a bit before slowly rising to her feet.

One, two... Wait there was four of them? Oh, she's the third, where's the fourth?

Matryona looked between her brother and Ryker. From what she gathered, her newest Private was ambitious when it came to collecting intel.

She went rather far this time. Submerged in water and still performing her job well- Anna acted on the front lines and Matryona put things together.

"This is a trap." She says while staring up at the pouring water from the rift. The Lieutenant then searched. First a pool of water that funneled into a chamber. It was clearly going for quite some time so the room wasn't quite filling.

There's an exit somewhere. "She's a smart young woman, she'll be okay." Wiping at her face, Matryona sought to quickly search the chamber for a means of escape for the water.

That is unless it was already at their knees, thighs, pelvis, torso? Or not, because the room how means for the water to seep out.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[16:02] As Anna reached for the light that promised her false hope, her hope for breath was abruptly dashed. The light was a trap, one that she had fallen right into. Common logic dictates that where there is light, there would also be air, but in this situation, it was not the case.

Her hands pressed against the walls of the ceiling that trapped her within, and then she couldn't help but reflexively breathe. Water rushed in as her magic faded. she fell back down through the whirlpool towards the rift within the waves.

Attempts were made to summon a shield of ice around her, to fill the gaps in her armors defense, but she couldn't muster anything. She had used it all just reaching what she had assumed to be the surface.

Have you ever been eaten alive before?

Panic started to set in, her mouth opened in a choked scream as water rushed to fill her mouth once again. Blood tainted the water around her, darkness started tocreep slowly over her vision as the fish tore at her.

The white of bone could be seen as her flesh was stripped down to it, and by the time she crashed down through the flood of water.. That crystal, her one and only prize, was clutched within an almost entirely skeletal hand, the fish having picked it nearly completely clean.

A torrent of crimson red came down from above as Anna finally emerged through the rift, fish still wriggling as their teeth bit into her. A terrifying sight to behold.

She could do nothing to protect herself, and it showed.

An inch away from death.
(Anna)
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[16:07] {NARRATION} The room did appear to have drains, thick metallic grates built over holes in the ground. Water poured over them, but it did not gather thankfully. Where did it even go? Who could guess to the mechanisms of this place, though...

It might leave the Achyonians wondering as to the reason for the rift out in the first place. Why give an escape? Perhaps becuase it was as Matryona said, this was not escape.

It was a funnel.

Anna came crashing through the grate, suffering immensely from dozens of bleeding wounds, some minor while others exposed pearly white bone, the blood washed cleanly away.

She was in dire straits, and needed immediate medical attention and magical healing.

Laughter echoed towards them as the air split once more. Something screamed, and your bones burned, though this time it wasn't you that was traveling. Something had just entered the chamber, its presence colossal, like a nail had just been driven into your frontal cortex. To Bruno it was the worst, as not only was the mere presence painful, it tried to subvert him.

His will became not his own for the briefest of moments, and he felt all too real how one could fall into servitude and subservience, their mind rewritten to follow another.

The figure was some eight feet tall, with metallic greaves and a helmet of black steel. Their torso was exposed, oddly human and pale for what they were, rippling with scars and muscles.

A weapon sat upon its back. "Couldn't even handle the fish." It chided cruelly, laughing again, the sound nearly causing your ears to bleed.
[16:09] Anna's injuries weren't quite as bad as they felt thankfully. While she did look quite horrible, and she was in dire straits indeed, she would live.

She would certainly need some help though.
(Anna)
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[16:15] Anna finally fell through the rift, and her condition prompted Ryker to reach into his suit vest. A potion, one made of crushed fairies, came into view. No, it wasn't Sylavanum though he should have brought some just in case. It was an elixir.

It was offered to Anna right as the laughter began to enter his mind. His bones burned and his mind felt a sharp stabbing pain. His hands reached up, flattening against the sides of his head as he applied pressure. He fared better than Bruno, clearly. Whether it was Ryker's unmatchable power of will or Bruno's occultism which damaged his mind remained to be seen however.

The one who entered the chamber prompted a stare followed by a languid set of blinks towards the shirtless man who laughed at them? Was he laughing at him? Annoyance flashed across his features, his lips settling into a sneer.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked before painovertook him again, causing his form to wobble.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[16:16] Relief washed over his demeanor when he saw Anna returning. Wounds could heal, pain was temporary, but losing her like that would have been naught but guilt over having killed his precious assistant whom he was finally getting around to enjoy. Before he could speak and express his relief, however, Bruno felt it.

Such a towering frame should have been the first of his concerns, or perhaps the peculiar weapon strapped behind his back would do it. However none of these drew Bruno's attention first.

"Kh..!"

He let out a sound as a knee dropped to the ground, his left hand reaching up to his head, grasping at it with trouble - with pain. It was sharp, more than just that? It was overwhelming. Overbearing. It called for his weaknesses as if it knew all of them. It promised that the world was against him. That his sister had been stolen away. That Anna would die. That Ryker was playing them all along, working for the Docro's profit - ready to switch sides right before Silverwall's claims.

An abuse of the nature of his magic, the kind that made the young Aertas feel as if he would be better off following the gun-wielding giant. A trembling, struggling right hand slowly rose up, reaching behind his back with the intent of clutching his own weapon - to grasp back control over his own mind, his own life.

Teeth came to a grit.
They were not adapting fast enough.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[16:24] Anna, in her current state, couldn't care less about whatever she was feeling in her new area. She was still busy trying to slap the fish right off of her, and though they take another few pieces with them, she was soon free of their torment.

The elixir that was offered afterwards was accepted wordless, quickly drunk down. Her wounds soon healed in the space of a few seconds, a small pained sigh coming from her as blood and missing strips of flesh were restored to nothing more than vibrant pink scars. Scars that would soon vanish to nothing after a bit of time.

A few moments later, and she was herself again, albeit a tad shakey from the experience. She remained quiet, only looking over towards the massive man who had taunted her on her way into the room.
(Anna)
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[16:25] The question then boiled down to why.

Anna fell from the rift above looking far worse than the others. Wounded but not bleeding. Is that her bones? Her ambitious led her to injury and while not seeming grievous she's in need of immediate attention.

Before a proper order can be given for Ryker to do something, he's steps ahead of her. Trembles shot through her momentarily. Laughter and a pain in her head. Everything throbbed but she managed in her more influenced state of mind. She's okay, she's still her.

But did everyone else see the massive figure that made a sudden appearance? Someone that tall was maybe Murtock or Maertock but most people towered over the Lieutenant.

Size mattered little- Unless it came to the echoing voice that pierced her ears. It reeked of occult- Worse than Bruno currently which led her to believe that this was just a pawn.

"Who doesn't matter." But it's a chance to gain intel and insight moving forward. "You're protecting something, or would you be in it for killing intruders?" Unlike the Protector of Light within the Celestial Ruins.

Holy made people protect, their heads bigger and so on. Occult did the opposite. Nonetheless, she doesn't negotiate. Her hold on her revolver tightened.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[16:32] {NARRATION} Harsh, booming laughter answered your questions as lightning rippled and crashed around the being. "So many questions for intruders! Who am I, what am I protecting?" Beneath the helmet, only lips could be seen, curling into a massive smile of black teeth, each one a razors edge.

"You come to my abode and question my door? So rude!" A finger pointed towards Bruno. "You though, you smell familiar. Almost like this fine trinket." A hand clutched around the hilt of the weapon.

"Already you bore me. Unable to contend with mere fish and water. Your spirits will prove more malleable than flesh though." Fingers snapped, and something else was dragged forward. Pitted purple skin didn't so much as emerge from the newly opened rift, but was dragged violently through, flesh splitting from the sudden wave of force.

"Soulwarden! Tend to these wayward guests, lest you'd like to fill their ranks." And with those words, the being disappeared through the created rift, the oppressive presence vanishing with him. Of course, the brave - or foolish - could try to pursue him, and risk being cut off by the newly arrived demon.

Far more massive, this one seemed weaker somehow. Perhaps it was the lack of confidence, the way it had silently and subserviently looked towards the man, how it cowered.

"Souls, yes, must separate from pesky flesh." A rod in one hand was wielded, swung towards the group as it suddenly attacked.
[16:38] That made things simple for her.

She made be a bit shakey from her close encounter, but there was one thing that she was rarely in the mood for, and that was beating something down to nothing.

She wanted to lash out, to reassert some measure of control over the world. She didn't want to feel as powerless as she had falling through that tank.

So when the creature attacked? Her hand whipped forwards with staff in hand, and a towering cascade of freezing wind and ice cracked across the ground towards the creature before she stepped backwards. "Let's get through the guard dog quickly and efficiently then."
(Anna)
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[16:39] If this had been Ryker pre-operation he probably would have insulted and yelled at the being who smiled and declared them rude. But it wasn't. The Docro seemed passive if not a little shaky. A replacement cigarette was soon fetched, Ryker acting calm even as that demon appeared before them all, literally dragged out of a newly formed rift.

A veil of nicotine surrounded Ryker and he stared on with those jade optics of his in quiet contemplation before he eventually stepped forward. Francesca was grasped and brought forward. Amaranthine flames encircled him all at once with a wave of harsh heat that poked and prickled the skin of even those around him.

Yet, with a simple push, that halo of purple was pressed through the sword, taking advantage of the holes in the hilt and the lines that vaguely resembled mana circuitry. An impressive display all around before his teeth grit. How was it supposed to work?

"BRUNO! How do I turn this thing on?!" He queried, as the rod within the Demon's hand swung towards him. The Docro flit out of the way, hoping the man knew precisely what he was referring to. He needed it, he knew he needed that access adrenaline. Where was it?
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[16:42] Bruno's right hand gripped tightly upon the weapon behind his back, pulling, drawing, doing his damn best to point it towards the towering man who's smile only reminded him of nightmares he never shared. Inner demons were best left for what their designation implied: Inside.

Blue eyes rose up, vision blurred by this resonating pain as he watched Kalethos gripping upon the weapon he carried. That weapon it—

Everything hurt again. His thoughts were like mash. Trying to accomplish two things at once was impossible. He would think about it later. Right now they were all vulnerable. It was time to strike, to fight, to defeat.

Dark Fantasy was pointed towards the tyrant of an empty world at last. Bruno's thumb reached for what looked to be a safety mechanism on the side of his weapon.

Click.

With the click would the pain vanish, all while the young Aertas pulled upon the trigger, revealing what that small safety lever was used for. It was not about safety, no. This was an overclock function. The crystal filled with occult energies held deep within his weapon was overcharged with vile darkness, only for the barrel of the gun to shake as an immense amount of mana was unleashed at once.

A massive purple blast surrounded by lightning shifting between red and black was heading right where the large man had been.

Where the Demon now stood.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[16:45] It speaks, this... figure, the large man wielding a large weapon. Was it any special? Likely not. There's a threat in their way and she cared little for rude entry.

They are of Barsburg, all entries are rude and uncalled for.

With a snap of its fingers came something else. 'Soulwarden' it referred to the thick purple skinned creature. Would she attack the vanishing man? Hardly. Not with a demon present.

Separately soul from flesh.

"Anna, ensure Bruno and Ryker are sustained."

Duress Will whisked down to her side. Matryona isn't a Private. She's not expendable but she fared better than them all. "Kill it. Nothing useful will from come it. We've no means of shackling it."

Already was she charging forth to get its attention, skin hardening over with a thick, sturdy exterior.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[16:46] {Item} You drop Anti-Magic Restraint.
[16:46] {Item} You picked up Anti-Magic Restraint. Dropped by Bruno pyr Aertas..
[17:03] {Won Dangerous RPB against Demonic Soulwarden}
[17:03] ** Bruno pyr Aertas has inflicted an injury upon Demonic Soulwarden. ("Temporary Injury", "Temporary Injury", "Temporary", "Duration: Medium (4 days)") **
[17:11] {NARRATION} A terrible battle against the demonic entity, one who proved to be quite the threat even without possessing the terrible, all-consuming presence of its master. The chamber proved to be the worst weapon of all, bending to its every command. Spears of stone stabbed down or up, the earth trembled and crackled, walls came crushing together with sudden and explosive results.

Ryker found himself caught between two of those crushing walls, very nearly pancaked between them. Bones shattered, flesh tore, organs were pierced. A horrific wound that would take years to properly mend, on top of professional medical care.

Alongside him was Anna, caught in a blizzard of demonic bone. One such bone skewered her through the shoulder, shoving clean through and embedding in the wall behind. A gruesome injury, but mostly a fleshwound that would heal in the coming year.

The rest, due to either luck or skill, were left battered and weary, but ultimately healthy and able to continue pushing onwards when the battle reached its fevered conclusion, a rampant attack shattering the demons rod and tearing through organs and flesh alike, leaving it dead on the ground with wounds from the variety of magics used.

That now familiar feeling of wrongness as the world twisted and tore rippled through again, a new rift opening up, the smell of ozone filling the air.
[17:20] Ryker had admittedly never fought against a Demon. They were far less prevalent now than they had been when Barsburg officially touched down within Osrona in what seemed to the teenager to be hundreds of years ago. It wasn't that long ago.

But he had been raised and instilled with Barsburg's thoughts on demons: war machines, only useful when shackled. He gave it his all, amaranthine flames encircling the Demon as Ryker danced around him.

Yet, the chamber itself obeyed the Demon's will and the very container they were in worked against them. Spears of stone and the walls themselves pressed all around them. The Docro was placed between a rock and a hard place (literally), the sound of bones snapping and the resultant scream from the teenager could be heard.

He was left wounded and bleeding. But even still, he pushed himself to a stand. Was it his own stubborn will or that build in durability that his family seemed to possess? His leg? Hisleg was dislocated. Pain was relative. While he had yet to earn his official certificate of medical usage, he knew enough to know what he had to do.

Francesca was tucked onto his back, both hands gripping the area where he'd have to fix. There was a twist, a sudden snap and scream that accompanied as he put his leg back into place. The rest would have to be worked through and managed.

"BRUNO!" He called out, near breathless. A boot offered a very firm kick to the demon, as if in post-death payback. "How the FUCK do I activate the adrenaline?! REALLY NEED IT RIGHT NOW!" He exclaimed.

Then the world screamed again, another rift. Another area. Could they go on?
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[17:21] Pain was met before the entity none could deny was strong. Though its presence was far from being on the same level as its master it remained a threat. Wild, wide areas were corrupted and left desolate by its sheer presence. The room bending to its will, allowing the pitch-black ground underneath their feet to twist and prod at their every step.

This beast was a terrifying one. One that deserved not to live, however. Bruno recalled vague stories from his grandparents about how despicable and horrible Demons were. How the Empire dominated them. The details were blurry for the moment, but the Aertas felt it in his blood:

He was to subjugate this beast.

Even while cornered it stopped not the occultist from manifesting Hel's own crashing lightning, zipping around sporting red and black as his entire body was zapped from one corner of the room to the other. A swift maneuver, one none could deny was terrifying in any battle.

To shoot from afar. Bruno had always taken the backline and made it his own world. This was no exception. A barrage of red lightning pelted away at the beast's flesh, twisting along jagged earth and heated flames.

All held together by a dedicated soul promising his well-being.

Thought grew more vast, though he spoke nothing of it. This was neither the place nor the time. His appreciation and demand had been stated prior to the expedition, after all.

With another rift opening Bruno led the way, sparks of crimson and darkness paving the way towards this new location.

Ryker's question is answered.

"Matryona will tell you."

He wasn't going to do her job for her.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[17:29] Anna fought from a distance, sending typhoons of freezing water cascading after the demonic guard dog, shards of ice flying outwards, or towering walls of cracking ice that chased after the creature to slam into it over and over again.

All while her soothing waters rippled across Ryker and Bruno whenever she was close enough to do so. During one of those moments when her attention briefly shifted towards Ryker, the wellspring gurgling up through the cracks in between the stones, a spike of bone stamped clean through her shoulder and a small cry of pained surprise was elicited from her.

Thankfully, it wasn't long afterwards that the beast was dropped, her hand hovering over the hole in her shoulder, once again drenching her in blood as it spilled outwards from the hole therein.

She was starting to have a bad feeling about this place.

A pained inhale is audible, before she straightens and hisses a breath outwards. "I'm.. Okay. Just need something to stop the bleeding.." Taking the lax that Ryker offered, she moved off to the side to lean against one of the walls, beginning to apply a quick field treatment to the clean puncture wound.

Bandages were wrapped around her shoulder and the Lax potion was consumed quickly. Once she had herself in order, she stood up and began to move after the group.
(Anna)
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[17:30] Bruno pyr Aertas whispers: You're not allowed to die, Anna.
[17:31] Bruno pyr Aertas whispers: Be.. careful.
[17:33] Anna whispers: Understood sir.
[17:34] No matter she'd cut it down. Demons? Nothing but an obstacle for the soldiers. A majority of them battled with a near angelic being who kept guard of a Primordial.

A demon...? While strong it could not compare. She fought with the demon and the room as it twisted and turned. At times, she enacted her own will through force if she had to.

Keeping close was dangerous. Bone like structures shot up and even pierced Anna. Ryker got the worst of it she thought but thoughts needed to cease if the demon were to fall.

Pummeled in turn but someone okay, be it her durability or some dumb, sheer luck. Her state allowed her to handle it all, in feeling, like pain washed over. Everything sounds like rushing rivers.

Her blade cut through, shots connected. Filthy, demonic blood stained her uniform. Her breath felt so heavy but she kept on breathing, alive, somehow.

"What?" She looked at Bruno then Ryker. Activating the stuff? Of course she listened to the audio logs but everything was screaming and loud and before she knew it an opening rift distracted her causing her nose to twitch.

"Mat something."

Then it all can rushing in. Whoooossshhh, it sounds like water. Wuuuussshshshshsh. There's something at the back of his neck. Regulator, mood, she listened to it before sleeping after the operation.

But she's so damn high right now.

Why couldn't be something easy to remember like 'Fuck Murtock Reave'.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[17:35] Ryker pyr Docro exclaims, "Mat something?!"
[17:35] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "Everything's so loud stop YELLING."
[17:36] Anna as she moves to rejoin the group, she gives a cursory glance around the room they were in, her first chance to really take a decent look around the room she had been deposited in earler.
(Anna)
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[17:38] Bruno looks over his shoulder towards the stragglers. The argument and his sister being intoxicated was far from optimal during this expedition. A few steps brought him closer to the pair - Ryker being spoken to first.

"For Matryona. That is the trigger. You... say it. That's all."

He then looks towards his sister. Peeved.

"Get a grip."

Is this how she saw him? No wonder she hated him.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[17:40] Ryker gazed around, double checking the chamber before stepping into the rift proper. A crystal, with veins of rainbowesque colors caught his eye. The Docro, naturally greedy, swiped it. He tossed it up into the air as Bruno filled in the gaps of what he needed to do in order to activate the project.

For Matryona huh?

The stone was pocketed at long last before Ryker brought up the rear.

"Did she come up with that?" He asked, though it didn't matter. It seemed oddly appropriate, but would also be oddly strange to say in the midst of fighting. He didn't mind it. "Come along, Matryona. You'll feel better soon!"
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[17:40] Also he went into the rift with the others once they did. Yes.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[17:40] {NARRATION} The chamber seemed to exist for a sole purpose, to be a funnel for those captured by the watery rifts of the wasteland outside. Blood, both new and old, covered the floor, while bones and the like sat in the corners, forgotten. How many had escaped that watery grave, only to die here, to the Soulwarden?
[17:41] Upon getting her first decent look at the room they were in, she shook her head slightly. "This place is a death trap. Was this how the expedition supposed to go, Sergeant Aertas?" She asks.
(Anna)
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[17:42] Bruno pyr Aertas says, "There was a risk involved, yes. I did not expect there to be someone waiting for us, however."
[17:43] Ryker pyr Docro exclaims, "I didn't expect to finally see a demon up close!"
[17:44] Anna asks, "Is that what that was?"
[17:44] Anna says, "I thought demons normally took the same of animals."
[17:45] Ryker pyr Docro says, "I actually don't know."
[17:45] For Matryona.

"What?"

That is the most EMBARRASSING- Why would he do that? There's no way she's saying that out loud, no way, nope, never. Matryona turned to the rift and it's weird smell.

Should she have had any medical experience she could be of some help to Anna. Smelling the odor in the air made her chest hurt. Everything is spinning.

Wooooo...

No, get a grip. She walked through the rift with the others, those words not yet uttered. For whatever reason, even when not present her brother enjoyed tormenting her.

It made sense now at least.

Matryona stared forward then down when the smell became absolutely apparent to her. Blood caked the ground and she stumbled back. While she got used to splatters, seeing it in this manner, spread out, made her stomach turn.

She's a soldier, she's brutal, but she's stilla seventeen year old girl, one under the influence to make her feel better but she only feels worse.

One hand lingered over her nose while the other clutched her revolver. She doesn't say anything, she's trying to get ahold of herself.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[17:46] Anna says, "Hm."
[17:46] Anna says, "Regardless, it doesn't help that Ryker has intoxicated the chain of command"
[17:46] Bruno pyr Aertas says, "I agree."
[17:46] Ryker pyr Docro exclaims, "She's FINE!"
[17:46] She occupied herself by staring at the bodies. Wait- Did one of them move? No, she's tweaking, but she's staring to distract herself.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[17:46] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "The bodies are moving..."
[17:46] Anna says, "She wanted to be sand, Mister Docro."
[17:46] Matryona pyr Aertas exclaims, "They're moving!"
[17:46] Matryona pyr Aertas says, "RUN."
[17:47] Ryker pyr Docro asks, "Wh- Matryona?"
[17:48] Ryker pyr Docro exclaims, "CAN WE GO INTO THE FUCKING RIFT?!"
[17:48] Anna glances towards the small piles of bleached bones in the corners of the room. Then she turned to stare at Ryker as though she was asking a single, simple question. 'You were saying?'
(Anna)
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[17:49] She rose her revolver.

BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.

Several rounds unloaded into the dead bodies that were absolutely moving to her. The chain of command was too stoned for this.

She...

She ran through the rift.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[17:49] Bruno goes, too!
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[17:49] Ryker stared. Floored. Maybe he was an entirely rotten influence on Matryona. He entered the rift.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[17:50] Anna sighs, then follows afterwards.
(Anna)
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[17:52] {NARRATION} Once more, the group disappears through a rift, teleporting, stretching, tearing. Disassembled to the core and put back together in a terrible instant. They were dead, and then they were alive.

Lightning.

It was impossible not to know where they were now. The lightning storms completely raged around them, crashing down upon the top of the tower. High above the ground, looking down to the sand below.

A fall that would surely leave them splattered on the ground, should they take that route. The path they'd taken closed, and a new rift opened at the other side of the rooftop. Lightning boomed and crashed, electricity flowing across with disturbing ease, rippling and chaining.

Two metallic towers embedded in the stone, one at either edge, seemed to control the flow of power.
[17:59] When they reached their destination Bruno's gaze shifted around. Lightning. A lot of lightning. It was not unlike the storm they saw in the distance when they first arrived. Or the dark jagged knife of a spire that awaited them. The ground they were on also shared the same color as that tall building.

.. Oh. They were back in the desert. Something that the Aertas could work with better. A few steps lead him closer to one of the metallic towards embedded in the stone.

He expected his approach to be stopped in some sort of way. It would be too simple if it wasn't right?

With a natural affinity for lightning, great mastery over artificing, and a drive to uncover the mysteries that awaited them Bruno may be the best to deal with this issue.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[18:03] That indescribable tearing feeling comes, but at least this time she's somewhat ready for it. She studied the sights that were there to see before her, but for now, she simply kept quiet and left this part of their expedition to the lightning magi amongst them.

It was clearly going to be the task of the artificers and lightning magi to solve this particular puzzle.

She would do what she does best in these situations. She takes out a pen and her favorite notebook, and starts recording information about the area around them.
(Anna)
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[18:03] The rift screams in his head and it pulls, stretches. He dies and he comes back. His heart stops. His heart rate spiked. It's painful and yet energizing at the same time before they land upon the tower they had initially bore witness to in the distance.

Was this it?
Ryker silently wondered if this was where that man had gone, and the natural path led them here after him.
Could he hear bells ringing? Surely it was his mind playing tricks on him.

Ryker, despite his own magical affinity, did not have a mind for pure electricity. No, his plasmic flames came entirely straight from the mastery over fire, superheating them into near electrical light currents and then supplanting it with utilizing the oxygen in the air for devastating explosions.

As Bruno neared one of the electrical towers, Ryker remained relatively still though he did move distinctly away from the edge so he wouldn't be in danger of fucking falling off.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[18:08] Splat.

Such gave accurate description to how she felt. Like her body collided with a wall at the speed of light, flattened then reformed. She's fine but feeling like her body flung about.

Crackles of light and flashes caught her attention. Storms raged and all felt so incoherent. The hairs along her body rose, static-

But then she hit the ground. Why are there rifts??? It makes no sense but then it does! Or it doesn't? Why does it smell so bad. Matryona rose, coughing but coming to an eventual slow stand.

There's no lightning rods. Clearly anything that walked between them would be cooked and baked to smithereens. She notes, in her state, several courses of action.

Pointing forward. "If you walk there you die." Her finger trailed up to the tower on her left. "But if one is missing then?"

Can they then walk safely through? Matryona didn't know a lot about electricity. It took the path with the least amount of work. She was not well versed in physics but just good enough.

While it is easier to go to the rods, there's then another option. Underground is far too risky- Unless it isn't? Still, physics was not where she shined bright! Her thoughts spilled out.

"In theory, moving underground will have one of two options, we're fine or the electricity cooks us alive. It's unlikely, but plausible. The rods would allow the electricity to flow safely to the ground an-"

Unless they throw Bruno out to ensure all strikes go to him. Bruno, the lightning rod. "Or Bruno can conduct the lightning. Dangerous but-"

Why would she care? He's just a weapon, this is his purpose. But he's still her brother. "We can't stand here forever."
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[18:14] {NARRATION} Matryona forgot one thing about the lightning. Were it naturally formed, she'd be absolutely correct. But this lightning wasn't natural, it was magical, and when one applied physics to magic, at best you created magitech, and at worst...

Well, at worst you died because you were wildly incorrect.

Bruno's approach to one of the rods wasn't met idly. Immediately, as if the towers were sentient, lightning began to arc towards him. The first blast missed, the second redirected thanks to his mastery, the third absorbed... So it went, him getting closer, the electricity gaining strength. A blast caught him in the back, full force, and though it didn't leave lasting damage, it left him open for another.

Another blast like that would likely leave him wounded.

The tower seemed to lack any kind of technological component, instead made entirely of conductive metal and powerful runes. There was strength here, though it was impossible to study in the heat of the lightning storm. Even simply standing idle, waiting, was dangerous, for it increased the odds that a rogue strike would go blasting through them at their entrance.

None of the tower was off-limits, and they'd had several close encounters already, as detailed by now frizzed up hair.
[18:19] Bruno's 'test' was one that had him sent right back to the rest of the group. Blown away by his believe that he would be able to deflect more than a single bolt striking at him. This was dangerous, and that much was obvious. Meddling with strange runes that he barely had the time to catch with his eyes was something that the young artificer wished not to experience.

He straightened up his coat, his outfit, dusting himself off as a new theory was brought to his mind.

"I do not know how these were built. Trying to destroy one could go wrong. Incredibly so. We could undo the runes, but it will take us being closer and some patience and time."

You're going nowhere, Bruno. His blue eyes finally laid upon Anna.

"You hold the solution, I believe." He said, perhaps... surprisingly enough. "Lightning is at its strongest when electrons are agitated. In magical terms; mana vibrate very, very swiftly and creates..." He gestures around them.

".. A lot of mana has been gathered in that cloud. It is far too active." His gaze rises to the heavens. ".. But what if you froze it, Anna?"
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[18:26] The lightning strikes were magical in nature, and all around them. Ryker watched as Bruno made his way closer and closer to the one of the rods. Ryker was the opposite. He was impulsive and rash and soon enough the Docro found himself wandering in the middle of the rods themselves, heading directly to the rift. At first it was a simple run before he broke out into a swift run.

A blur of purple flames hurtling towards the rift. If he was successful without being shocked, he came to a grinding halt before entering it. His hands shook. He withdrew another cigarette, lighting it before calling out.

"Stop playing with the poles and lets get a move on!" He screamed out. "QUIT YOUR LOLLY GAGGING AND LETS GET THE LOLLY GAGGING OUT OF HERE!"
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[18:26] Sending Bruno turned out to be far too dangerous. It was wrong of her to even give the rest of the world credit when it came to structures based on science.

Everyone was far behind.

Though he had the right idea. The mana above was far to active and losing control with its release. She withdrew her ammo and dragged her finger along the casing.

Chills emitted- She wrote a rune based in ice. Click.

There are two ice magi present.

Matryona rose her weapon up to the clouds. "Merry-" Merry what? What was she going to say? It matters little. It's going to freeze over and disperse with specks of drizzling snowflakes.

Wasting no time, she sent forth an array of mana bullets infused with ice and enhanced with ice runes right towards the magical thundercloud.

Science and technology will win.

When colliding with the cloud, the rounds exploded with frost and the temperature dropped considerably. They need to move fast, she feels her hair standing--

And-

Ryker ran straight through...
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[18:29] {NARRATION} Dodging lightning and the like, Ryker's approach turns out to be... Surprisingly effective. The towers were not magi, they couldn't aim nearly as well as a sentient, thinking being could. He dodged, avoided, or was merely clipped by the stuff, able to avoid the worst of it.

And then disappeared once more into the screaming portal.
[18:32] Anna watched as Bruno went further and further into the perfect storm. "Sergeant Aertas! I don't think just walking through it is going to work!" She calls after him, though she unfortunately doesn't have a solution to the current problem.

She looks up towards the pair of pillars, the way that they conducted energy was damn impressive. She would love to be able to stay here for days on end to learn what secrets she could from them, but now wasn't the time for her obsessions.

Light brown hues flick back towards Bruno as he mentions someone holding the solution, and a surprised look runs through her.

That makes sense to her.

She steps forwards and takes a deep breath as a freezing wind picks up around her. "I'll try." Brown orbs shift upwards, her arms raising upwards as she begins to freeze the very air around her. Her breath mists in front of her, ice cracks off of her she rose ever so slightly into the air.

Very soon, a world of white surrounded her that was sent spiraling upwards into the clouds in an attempt to weaken the energy that the lightning storm contained.

Allowing them safe passage.
(Anna)
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[18:39] {NARRATION} ping
[18:48] {NARRATION} Too long. Perhaps Ryker had held the right idea, impulsive as it was, to sprint across. The close proximity of the lightning strikes strayed from warning, and into reality, as a sudden ripple of electricity shot across the assorted Magi.

Matryona escaped unharmed, but Anna and Bruno would find themselves painfully shocked by the lightning blast.

As for the freezing of the cloud itself, it seemed... Effective? It was hard to tell, and there were multiple clouds, alongside the rods which focused and directed them.

It was another matter of scale, perhaps. Freezing an entire thunderstorm was simply beyond the scale of a magi, beyond two magi. It was a feat that even the most powerful legends of the world would likely have difficulty accomplishing.
[18:50] ** DM-Catmin has inflicted an injury upon Bruno pyr Aertas. ("Lightning Struck", "It would be a painful blow to have his own magic rippling through his body, jolting circuitry and damaging flesh. Bruno would feel jittery, his magic not properly responding afterwards.", "Temporary", "Duration: Medium (4 days)") **
[18:53] Shocks shoot out and she got lucky.

It seemed impossible and Ryker, impulsive as always, had the right idea about it. Consequence did reach her but she crouched down for a moment.

She's hardly as fast as him so she'd need a running start. "The most and least obvious course of action was the right one it seems."

Then she took off as fast as she could. Earth tore from the ground and acted as a sort of shield for her. Maybe she should have ran with the others like that.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[18:54] Ryker's idea had been the best one. That much became obvious when Bruno found himself struck by lightning, shocked down to his core and reminded that his elegant solutions may have been more suitable for an army. A certain... ill-feeling welled up within himself, hands twitching, body jittery.

"Run through."

That's all he said when he realized how outmatched they were. His hands attempted to draw a bit of electricity, fingertips unable to produce but a single spark of their own. Where he thought he'd at least be able to redirect the bolts coming their way, he was wrong. A pained look was given to Anna who seemed... unlucky. This was way, way too dangerous for her.

Fuck.

His right hand reached for his gun as he moved forward - inbetween the two pillars. A single shot was unleashed towards the one to the right, carrying the mana he held that couldn't quite be cast as spells. A bullet as dark as the night aimed to strike the metallic tower while he passed through. Occult energies potent.

Screw whoever made those.

He was on the run.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[19:02] Anna does her utmost to freeze the air around them as best she can, yet she falls short. She wasn't strong enough to do what the Sergeant suggested, as much as she tried. They were thinking too big. Maybe freezing the pillars?

An abrupt cry is torn from her as lightning strikes home, arcing through her painfully. Any thoughts of switching to a different strategy is immediately cast away as frantic energy causes her to convulse.

She wasn't like Bruno with his natural proclivity for lightning. This did more than just shock and scorch her. That electric energy lingered briefly after.

She attempted to sprint after the duo, and yet as she did, she tripped as her muscles trembled from the leftover current. Her shakey, frenetic sprint turned into a face slide across the ground.

Eliciting another exclaimed cry of pain..

She really was getting the worst of it this expedition.

Anna grit her teeth as she stood up once again, though perhaps far too slowly as the storm raged around them, she once again sprinted across the top of the tower, the glittering waters of a wellspring coursing over her in an attempt to cleanse her from the electric burden.
(Anna)
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[19:10] {NARRATION} Leaving the lightning rods behind, the group thankfully managed to escape before any further blasts of lightning could be sent their way. The solitary shot fired by Bruno dented and damaged one of the towers, several runes crackling with released power. If they'd stuck around, tried more force? Perhaps they could've destroyed them outright.

Too late now.

The rift dropped them within a throne room, a rather barren one at that. Polished marble made up the floors and walls, with a single red carpet splitting the room in twain. A throne, likely stolen from some city or the like, sat at one end, while the group had been deposited at the end.

Kalethos sat upon his throne, a look of amusement upon his face. Ryker had been the first to show up, had been the first to gain the beings undivided attention. "Little rat, you made it through. Congratulations, you not entirely in one piece, hm? I smell the blood on you." Red eyes narrowed as more came through.

"Took you long enough, I do appreciate you leaving my towers in good condition. So hard to mold and forge Arcanium into something useful." His gaze fell upon Bruno, and once more that terrible, oppressive feeling returned. A contest for wills.

"You seem familiar to me, boy. Something about your blood, your magic. You wouldn't happen to be here for this trinket, now would you?

Surely you'd rather serve a proper lord, and bow to Kalethos."
[19:19] That lone shot hadn't been enough. Though with Kalethos' reaction to their arrival some important information had been gathered. A small look over his shoulder and towards the rift was given. When they were done here, if the rift still stood, he'd make it a point to go back.

Arcanium was worth a fortune, after all.

That thought was all he could muster before he felt that sharp, horrible pain ringing through his head. His heart sank and standing there on his own was as difficult as it could be. His whole body was... jittery. Pained. Hurt. Not only that, but this man's presence alone was reaching deep within him, trying to... subjugate.

How dare he?

Something about your blood

Blue eyes rose up towards the tyrant as Bruno did his best to keep his own will intact.

"If you're the one she fought then that's..."

He looked at the weapon, this relic relegated to being called a mere trinket. How insulting.

"... going to be mine soon enough." He said, straight to the point. The more he allowed his own emotions to spill out, the more he accepted them the better he felt he could stand his ground. With Dark Fantasy still within his grasp the young Aertas directed the gun's barrel towards the giant of a being.

"An Aertas hardly bows."

Keep the fact his sister was his sister a secret was all part of the plan, too. If she were to be discovered and them defeated, then... surely this hidden nature that flowed through her veins could be awakened by a being like this man. He couldn't let her end up that way. He couldn't let him notice her.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[19:24] Ryker's brash decision had won him time to do what? Loiter in the throne room of Kalethos like a true hooligan. He had leaned against a pillar, smoking near casually as Kalethos deemed him a rat. A hand rose up with a single finger.

"Not a rat. That'd be my Aunt Misha." He corrected. The pain was lingering from his previous wounds but the mixture of soothereed, crimson reed and the other calming agents in that mood regulator helped him get through it. With the prior battle against the Demon he didn't know how to break the limitation on his anger and now? He did.

There was an arrogance that came from his core, even in the face of the overwhelming Occultic force that Kalethos exuded. His bones were broken, he had been impaled and the smell of blood mingled with the smell of nicotine on the sleepless Sergeant, but he seemed to nary carry a single complaint or look of pain. At least not in front of others.

Maybe his talk with Misha had changed him, just a tiny bit.

A foot had been resting on the pillar he leaned against and with the others' arrival he pushed off of it, Francesca being drawn out once more. Those familiar amaranthine flames still licked around his body and he took up a position that indicated precisely what he was about to do.

Commit the ol' ultra violence, naturally.

"WE SERVE NO LORDS! For we ARE the lords of the oncoming revolution! YOU'RE STARING THE REVOLUTION IN THE FACE FUCKER!" Ryker cried, a familiar tone ringing through his baritone. His stance shifted, jades closing briefly. He knew what he had to say. It was just embarrassing. Yet, the words spill from his lips regardless, desiring that power. The adrenaline. The anger.

"For Matryona."

His cigarette was spat off to the side, disintegrating tobacco and wrapper alike in an inferno of explosion. The flames he wielded grew that much more out of control, scorching the red fibers of the carpet he tred upon and leaving the smoldering smell of burnt material in the nostrils. It began to melt, being reduced to absolutely nothing in his wake. The regulator was off, and the inhibitors released that stored up adrenaline all in one go.

Ryker was an amaranthine blur of raw ferocious anger, blitzing towards Kalethos.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[19:29] Anna appeared through the rift and looked around before sighting the massive standing man. An odd look to her eyes as she looked him up and down for a moment, then an elixir was removed from her persona as she quickly drank it down.

The restoring magic within the potion soon restored her completely, leaving her with only vague implications of injuries leftover. An angry pink patch of flesh where her shoulder was pierced through. A red, almost sunburnt looking patch of flesh where the arc of lightning struck her.

Maybe this place was entirely too dangerous for her, maybe she wasn't ready yet for this sort of adventure, but she was here. She wasn't about to complain about it though. It's not like she can just walk back through the door.

Suck it up.

Yet she held no words for the man before them, she left it to the others to talk.
(Anna)
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[19:30] {Item} You picked up Elixir Of Healing. Dropped by Ryker pyr Docro..
[19:34] Spat out once more into a more polished room. No blood or bodies or lightning storms. The figure from before sat on a throne of some sorts and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Faux royalty.

Though- Those pillars were made of arcanium? Now they really should be destroyed them. It's too late to return.

They came for a cursed relic their grandmother had, an artifact not quite of Aertas heritage. No, she was Rella Caller after all, a woman Matryona cared little for.

Occult and all.

She stares through her haze, grip held over her mind. Matryona wasn't Bruno, mind plagued with vile whispers. No matter how he claims it's in her blood?

It's not.

Her revolver clicked. "Servitude is left to those less than. The little cretins beneath the Empire who serve no purpose other than fodder." Matryona? Fodder? Not when she's perfection. Her will threatened to waver, pushed down, oppressed.

Though no many could move mountains. Her mind like stone, heart of glass though protected and nestled with thick layers. "Lords are dead."

"Kill it." The Lieutenant ordered.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[19:37] {NARRATION} "Ahahah!" The 'trinket' as he called it came out into his hands, charging up with dangerous occultic magics. Lightning crackled around the being, pulsating with power.

"You think you have what it takes to defeat a king? An archon? You're nothing. Dirt to be wiped away." Power. It erupted from him, so mightily that the dark chamber was suddenly aglow with fierce, crimson light, lightning crackling about his form with that same reddish hue as Bruno's own.

The air became like it was made of sand, trying to swim instead of simply walking, the oppressive terrible might of gravity.

"Come. Die. Deliver your trinkets to me."
[19:42] A small syringe was pulled from his pocket, needle inserted into his leg after the cover was popped off to cleanse his body from the irregularities from the shock he took back then. This was going to be a difficult fight; there was no time to hesitate or second-guess himself.

As his mind fell deeper under the influence of the Archon Bruno allowed his own sparks of red and black alike to be fully unleashed.

All in a single shot towards the tyrant.

"What's a King to an—"

His next words were muffled by the sound of his shot.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[19:55] {Won Dangerous RPB against Kalethos, Wasteland Tyrant}
[20:00] {NARRATION} This was nothing compared to what the Soulwarden had inflicted. Terrible magics that rivaled even the most powerful magi of the land. Even together, the assembled magi were barely able to stand against the Tyrant.

"You wish your petty trinket back? COME! COME TAKE IT!" He cried as Bruno came dashing forward for an occultic beam - only to have one thrown right back at him. They clashed for the briefest of moments before Bruno's was overwhelmed and blasted straight through, the occultic power at the demons disposal infinitely stronger than the Aertas'.

"Games. Petty games!" He cried as a strike from Ryker drew blood across the floor, the black stuff bubbling and melting whatever it touched.

"COME! YOU WISH TO FIND DEATH?" The portal to the lightning towers closed, and a new rift opened, one which Kalethos disappeared through, leaving only an overwhelming and terrible heat to impact the Achyonian magi.
[20:05] ** DM-Catmin has inflicted an injury upon Bruno pyr Aertas. ("Withered", "Occultism in the best of hands was a force that none other could rival in sheer destructive capabilities. Bruno, while capable, was not the best of hands, not even close in comparison to a demon, a true master of the art. His body withered, skin melting, flesh burning down to the bone in places. A truly devastating wound that would leave him scarred for the rest of his life, both physically and mentally.", "Permanent", "Severity: MODERATE (-10 Vit)") **
[20:11] This was hardly a fair fight. Between the four of them they barely managed to keep up with the monster of a tyrant that was Kalethos. No matter where Bruno moved in the room it felt as if it was too close - as if he never had a vantage point. This was horrifying. Horrible. Deadly.

Stuck up-close and personal with the Archon, the young Aertas attempted to force it away - to drive him back by unleashing an unending beam of occult energy. Where he thought the giant would move back he found himself clashing right against the far superior force.

More and more mana was sent forth in hopes of overwhelming him, only for Bruno to find himself bested. Occult flames burned over his body, leaving naught but agony behind for him to suffer through. A scream escaped him, something he'd never quite let out in public before as he was driven further and further back, all the way into a corner where his body would lay.

Withered. Skin melted. Bone showing in some places.

He wouldn't get up from that one this fast, even with the urgency of facing that monster. Pain was audible from his lips as eyes remained shut. The torment of everything that had unfolded, of that presence over his mind was something he could hardly endure, let alone accept.

He shivered, not out of cold but out of fear.

Why did they have to venture this far?
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[20:14] Just saying that phrase had done the trick. Bruno's operation had clearly been a success. Ryker fought with all of the built up rage those inhibitors across his body had collected, being unleashed in ferocious slashes of his sword as explosions rocketed behind him.

The carpet continued to burn and melt away, revealing the ruined cobblestone underneath. Bruno attempted to trade blows and was punished for it, as that occult magic pierced straight through, showcasing the Archon's might in the realm of maddening magics.

Ryker attempted to get the jump on the demon and yet he was meant with anticipation that was beyond simple human comprehension. That claw of shadow reaved his suit open, revealing soft flesh which was slashed against. Blood dropped from the Docro.

As he was drenched in Anna's healing waters the Docro took the brazy approach once more, as he often typically did. His body screamed out to him to stop but he couldn't stop. He could never stop. He was, in his own mind, an unstoppable force of nature.

None would dare stand in his path for long.

He leapt upwards, Francesca colliding against the flesh of Kalethos savagely, drawing black blood which bubbled and sizzled against the ground. He flung the specks of blood off of his nyeshk blade swiftly to keep it's coating pristine and unharmed.

"Fucker. FUCKER! YOU FUCKER! I'LL DESTROY YOU AND ALL OF YOUR ILK! YOU'RE NOTHING THAN A DISGUSTING WAR BEAST MADE FOR OUR USE!" He screamed out, his baritone cracking into a higher pitch than usual. The injuries the others had suffered didn't register in his mind. The maddened Docro went bounding after Kalethos and into the overwhelming heat. Impulsive.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[20:19] Pretty trinket... It would be better if the damned thing stayed hidden away. Is it worth it? Some tainted artifact from a woman she didn't care about.

Such vile flames and energy coated the area. She's barely lucky throughout it all. The others- Is it because they care? Matryona didn't. If the weapon exploded she wouldn't bat an eye.

This was a demon, one massive. It'd look great in a collar. She images the things that could be tested on it. The drugs, the machinery, chemical weaponry of scale unimagined.

Blackened ooze splattered from the Ascended and he's barely pushed back. The chilling bite of her fired rounds show little effect outside of mere wound. The shake of the room and its tremble aren't enough.

Luckily, she's without any serious injury but she breathes so heavily.

Is she afraid? This is a demon, a creature to be used. No, she's not afraid, she doesn't tremble- Though the occult threatened to draw out the absolute worst in her.

If anything, exploited her sense of violence. Kalethos retreated and she followed behind Ryker.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[20:23] The moment Bruno opened fire, a wall of ice was unleashed outwards towards the demon, whirling clouds of frost fluttered through the air around her. The glittering wellspring that sprang up around her began to swirl and twist at her command. Soon forming a trio of typhoons that roared across the room to smash into the Archon.

Though the shards of ice that those waterspouts carried didn't seem to penetrate the demons skin, it was at least enough to wear down his energy enough to allow the others their moments.

Unfortunately for her, as focused as she was on creating her offensive, she didn't register the sudden change of gravity in the room. The intense feeling of being pressed downwards immediately caused her left leg to snap at the knee.

A pained shriek pulls from her lips and she goes down.

This adventure was officially not very fun or interesting. First it was a tank of carnivorous fish. Then it was that giant guard dog. THEN it was the stormof lightning. And now this big asshole?

Fuck this place.

A potion of lax essence was opened and downed, then she floated up into the air so she wouldn't have to stand on her leg.

Fuck the actual entirety of this place.

Fuck the walls, fuck this garishly red rug. Fuck it all.

. . .

When Anna is done with her moment she just grunts and moves after the rest, her expression flat and disinterested.
(Anna)
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[20:28] Bruno remained in the corner for a few more moments, trying to breathe the pain away. Evidently it was not working very well, leaving the Aertas to realize a tad too late that just about everyone was gone from the room at this point.

One breath, shallow. Another breath. It burned his throat.

".. And for a moment I thought they'd follow me no matter what." He uttered to himself. His hands pressed up against the ground below himself, pushing him up.

Where one may believe occult magic carried ill-effects for the mind on its own the truth lied in other people around the occultist.

Alone.
Abandoned.

Humanity was wretched. A Synthetic lifeform would not have left him behind.

Bruno crossed the threshold alone, yet surrounded.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[20:30] {NARRATION} This newest hellscape was something terrible. The very ground was scorched with flame, while molten rock dribbled from holes in the wall. A terrible place that no human could survive in for long, and they were expected to do battle within it.

"Come. Die for your petty prize." This time, the demon gave no chance for an attack, immediately shoving in to one himself.
[20:32] "Shut up."

A limping Bruno made his way last through the portal bearing rather aggressive words towards the Demon, far more harsh than he usually was.

Not elegant whatsoever.

He was, after all, very much burnt up.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[20:36] Anna floated along, her broken leg hanging limp. Her freezing wind was very much so stifled here, though her breath still misted out in front of her.

She looked tired, exhausted even. She was still fully intent on fighting alongside her colleagues however.
(Anna)
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[20:38] Through the rift and somewhere where the temperature increased tenfold. Are they inside of a volcano? That's what it feels like, sweltering, unbearable.

She landed and quickly expelled a chilling air around her and soon expanded it out as best she could. It's draining- But they're to fight here.

Is her brother okay? No, she saw what happened and he isn't okay.

"Get ahold of yourself. Don't you want this? You keep going on and on and on-" Matryona rose her weapon and made for the demon. No, she doesn't care at all. "About how you're perfect and why I should care. Well give me a reason to care."

Alas if she had looser lips than she'd swear up and down. But she made her attempts to encourage him. He brought them to this Hel.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[20:52] {Won Dangerous RPB against Kalethos, Wasteland Tyrant}
[21:07] {NARRATION} An absolutely horrid second round. Did this demon have no end to its reserves, to its endurance? Perhaps it was due to it wielding the environment as a weapon as much as its own magic. It was easy to manipulate already present flames, molding them into horrific explosions of power.

"You want to care?" He roared at Matryona, suddenly darting forward in not a dash, but a riftmancied teleport, grasping the womans throat and rising into the air, out of reach for the briefest of moments. "Care. Suffer."

And she would. Terrible images flashed across her mind, the dreaded occultic rot seeping in, painting the world in garish displays of violet and crimson. Voices turned to screams, thoughts turned to terrible bloodlust, and above all else, a sense of inferiority, a feeble ineptitude against the sheer might of the demon.

Before she was tossed aside like so much trash, the mental attack taking mere seconds to complete, though for Matryona it would have felt like an eternity.

Anna, the poor girl, wasn't ignored either. "You try to put out my flames? Suffer their wrath forever." Final Answer pointed towards her, firing a blast of occultic fire that impacted like any ordinary fireball, scorching what it touched - but while the flames went out, the horrible pain did not. Images of flames embedded themselves across Anna's skin, tattooing a horribly potent curse in garish orange that left her suffering the heat of the flames forever, no matter how cold the air about may seem.

There was the briefest moment, a moment where Ryker saw an attack coming, an attack that Bruno could have prevented, had he but stepped in to fight alongside him.

But Bruno, ever watchful of his own injured flesh, instead let the attack fall, to leave the demon open for a dreadful counter. "YOU WILL DIE SCREAMING!" Even then, Ryker's incredible agility kept the terrible claw from disemboweling him, and instead only the occultic force of the attack impacted, branding yet another curse, this one of terrible, crippling agony. Every motion brought new suffering, though he was thankfully prevented from applying its full force.

The final attack came, the final strikes of lightning, bringing the finally flagging Archon down. "No..." It muttered, opening another rift, this one to the wastes. "You will... You will die here..." But too much energy had been expended, and what should have been an escape to let the Achyonians burn in the furnace instead drained him of his last ability to flee, and opened up the path to their escape.

With a final, ominous thud, the demon crashed to the ground, Final Answer swerving off into the flames.
[21:19] His actions were carried by a certain wrath as his mind delved deeper into insanity from what had happened moments prior. He'd been engulfed, overwhelmed, weakened and hurt. He was at his lowest, and when it came down to it..?

They had all left.

Each and every single one of them had gone ahead without him. Bruno had to carry himself out of that room on his own, slowly trudging and making his way through that rift.

Alone.

And so, as the fires raged on the young Aertas fought as if it were just him he needed to care about. Had Matryona been a better sister she would have helped him up. Had Ryker been a better friend he would have dragged him along. Had Anna been a better assistant she would have attempted to mend his wounds.

And so, as a claw descended down towards Ryker's body a black cloud hovered above the Demon's head. Bruno's right hand let go of Dark Fantasy as he took it upon himself to make his goal a reality. To find the answer to this suffering of his. Fingers reached for the skies.

Snap!

A storm from the depths of Hel itself descended upon the monster turned man, devastating all that remained, burning away at his body, mind, and even trying to cast his soul away. There was naught but the intent to make Kalethos suffer even more than Bruno had suffered himself. To end more than his life, but his existence.

Absolution.

Alas, the Aertas was far from a powerful enough magi to deal a hand to his opponents. Instead he walked this lonely road where those who hadn't helped him up were left to suffer on the ground, witnessing that rift opening up - witnessing Bruno walking over to the sole reason they had come here.

And so, he grasped it.

He held his answer.



.......
Why am I not satisfied yet?
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[21:19] {Item} You picked up Final Answer. Dropped by Kalethos, Wasteland Tyrant..
[21:20] {Item} You drop Final Answer.
[21:23] {Item} You picked up Final Answer. Dropped by Bruno pyr Aertas..
[21:27] A land of fire and flames. Of lava. Ryker was used to such heat, able to control it to his liking at his whim and his fancy. But this was unlike anything else he had ever experienced, truthfully! The Demon harnessed the flames like he had been born and bred for it.

Explosions rocked him, resulting in ringing in his ears near constantly. But he didn't need to hear to fight. Amaranthine flames launched themselves towards the demon, even as Ryker's own explosions battled against his. It was a thrilling fight and one that felt just a tad bit close to home, strangely enough.

Explosion magic? Great swathes of flames that commanded the battlefield? It was his family's magic come back to nearly haunt him, or perhaps even kill him.

But he pressed on regardless, the adrenaline pumping through his veins like wildfire. He seemed oddly focused for once, showcasing Bruno's ingenuity in fixing a problem Ryker had thought unfixable and only worsened by his use of Sylavanum. Yet, Kalethos was on him, the young Docro turning only at the last second to spot the rampaging Ascended Demon at his throat. Bruno could have saved him and yet?

He chose not to. He acted as if he was on his own, and Ryker felt that claw swipe through the air, the young Docro narrowly ducking underneath it, and yet the lingering occultic curse was implanted on his flesh. He stumbled and he eventually tumbled, falling flat. Everything hurt.

This time there was no ignoring the pain and walking it off. He screamed out, though not in anger but in confusion. In genuine emotion shown that wasn't the façade he put up to throw people off. Pain radiated off of him, melancholy filling him whole with dread. Canines impacted each other, teeth gritting, even as Bruno managed to grasp the very reason they had journeyed out like this.

The rift lay open, and even as Ryker laid there, in pain, jade gaze was locked onto the rift. Infinite portals and infinite answers, only simply had to react to the call.

He heard bells ringing.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[21:32] Matryona hated it here. She hated the entire spectrum of holy and occult. Vile magics, influential. Her brother's mind plagued with it in exchange for what- Power? Her judgement would remain crystal clear.

This magic is not in her blood.

No, because she's no need for it when she's perfect. Earth tore through the ground, hardened and caked with fires. Spikes shot through the demon and she gained distance. Her revolver rose and rounds unloaded onto the demon relentlessly.

She doesn't care. She doesn't care. She doesn-

Suddenly, his attention turned to her. Would she run? Yes, in order to get a better shot. The ground quaked beneath her and Duress Will swung down her side, its blade glinted when she made her own charge in return.

Alas- in the midst of a blink he was gone, through a rift and appearing somewhere else near the rather short young woman. Hands clasp around her throat and she soon dangles in the air.

Her weapon fell and gloved hands clawed at his own. Her? Care?

In an instant did more foreign feelings rush towards her closed out mind. Lips part and features twist and fan out at the same time. Screams echo, that tear at her and at a grounded thought of hers.

She isn't perfect.
She'll never be perfect.

Matryona could have been killed but she's instead, the demon tossed her body to the side. Is she like that? Something to be discarded?

Her body skid against the warm floor and she doesn't move, not a muscle. The Aertas laid there, head spiraling. If close enough, one might even see her shake.

Was it worth?
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[21:40] Anna fought alongside the group as best she could. Her ice and water were used to buffet, freeze and drown the flames of the demon.

It was a losing struggle.

From the onset, the cards had been stacked against her by the environment alone. Still did she struggle against the demon's flames, doing her utmost to remain efficient within the squad of soldiers. The staff in hand was slashed outwards towards the oncoming fireball, glaciers shot out towards it only for them to melt to nothing but vapor as the demon's attack hurtled towards her.

The incessant burning that rippled beneath her skin left her stricken, unable to move, nearly unable to breath as she felt as though she were being burned alive forever more. She screamed again, her magic no longer capable of supporting her with her broken leg on top of this new injury.

Anna lay on the ground where she had been defeated, agony coursing across her as the horrible curse mark flashed with it's garish power.

"It hurts..! It hurts so much!"

Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.

Poor Anna.
(Anna)
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[21:47] There was a lot of pain going around him. Unlike the rest of them this last battle amidst the flames had been one far more glorious for Bruno. When he was hurt in the throne room they all left him behind, they gave up on him and seemed like they couldn't care less.

.. And that hurt.

A pain much greater had to be inflicted in return, and so, the Aertas turned- towards them. Moving up to Anna first who audibly complained, reaching a hand out for her, pulling her closer and off the ground without a word, carrying her in his arms to prevent her from damaging her leg any further.

He had noticed.

If he felt the pain of abandonment, then they would feel the pain of guilt. Blue eyes briefly held themselves upon brown counterparts before he moved on to his sister, looking towards her with his hands full.

".. Ryker, are you able to stand? Come help her up."

He may wish for humanity to suffer over his own pain, but he still loved those around him. Enough to help them even if they hated him.

"I've got my hands full." He explained.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)
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[21:59] Everything in his body screamed in agony, and he felt as if he'd lay there forever, staring at the rift instead of getting up. That was easier, wasn't it?

But Matryona was in trouble. She was hurt? Bruno had finally seemingly remembered they existed and offered a hand up to Anna, supporting her upon that wounded leg. Could he stand..? His eyes clench shut as he struggles internally on the matter before forcing himself to a stand.

Not just a stand, he leapt to his feet with a visible wince, and he nearly fell to a knee from the effort. Sweat dripped down his features, not from the sweltering heat of the environment but the willpower it took to bade back the screaming of his wounds. Every step forward towards Matryona was agony. Alarm bells went off in his head, but slowly... Eventually, he managed to get to her.

And instead of just helping her to her feet? He picked her up. It may have looked effortless at first glance and usually it would have been, but the effort it took for him to bend down and draw her into his arms showed clear as day.

His breathing was shallow and his heart rate was racing.

"... We need...." He started, unable to speak for a few moments as the world spun in multiple colors around him. "Leave. Need -" He stumbled towards the rift.
(Ryker pyr Docro)
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[22:06] Anna couldn't do much at the moment, in all honesty. She was more or less incapacitated. Being perpetually burned alive is not something that you can just bounce back from, no matter how tough you are.

She may have come from a military family, but she hadn't seen war. The young woman hadn't even seen much combat for that matter.

Currently, all she could be both seen and heard doing is convulsing, whimpering. Lesser individuals had lost their sanity from constant pain such as this.

The young private doesn't last very long truthfully. In an involuntary effort to protect that very same sanity.

Anna passes out in Bruno's arms... She wasn't ready for this. Who could have been though?
(Anna)
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[22:07] Bruno pyr Aertas whispers to Anna: .. Fear not... I'll rid us of our weaknesses.
[22:07] Bruno pyr Aertas whispers to Anna: When you wake up... Everything will be better.
[22:15] Everything is spinning, or is she shaking? Matryona carried herself with her head held high but this did more than break her. Physically, she's okay. No internal bleeding or broken limbs. She does burn and there's bruises, deep ones, like at her neck.

The burns awakened a dormant injuring and her shoulder soon had issues. Is she dying? It sounds like she is, for now that inferiority settled in, much like waves. Destructive tendencies and bloodlust have yet to surface.

She feels so small...

Not one stir came from her until Ryker approached. She didn't see his struggle but she knew he was injured. Matryona couldn't bring herself to utter anything aloud but it's clearer now that she's trembling.

Shallow breaths escape her. She's not need, but was this worth it? Her mind tore into thousand of pieces over something she didn't care about.

Maybe she cares about him that much enough to taint herself or allow that taint to come over her. No matter, she'll overcome it.

There is no other choice.
(Matryona pyr Aertas)
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[22:16] Ryker pyr Docro says, "Shut up...."
[22:17] Matryona pyr Aertas says, ". . ."