I'm sitting with sunny in his room, he's doing something or the other and I'm practicing making gun parts, when he blinks a few times. He leans over
"They have a way to check if someone was taken my mordret."
I shrug seems about right
"They thought I may have been him and pfft, they keep checking you"
I snicker
"I mean I have been copying the way he moves to mess with them....?"
I note he got a weird look at the end. Not because of me im sure but.... wait is he spying on them? That idiot. He suddenly gets up nods to the door and I follow him.
I follow him to the court yard and.... I summon my mask and I snicker to myself. Oh my oh my it seems she's dealing with a version of herself. Like I did that one time... I got my ass beat. To be fair I was injured and tired and it was seemingly classes above me.
"How dare you wear that face, you vile thing?"
The copy bows with a smile, creepy.
"A... present... for my dear sister."
Is prince really that dramatic?
"Come... soon. I missed... you a lot."
Gods he is such a theater kid. I slide behind sunny as morgan rushes forward stabbing the copy. Lucky....
"So, he wanted to deliver a message. What message could it be?"
Sunny frowns. There's a few clearly, i could have gotten in at any time, you'll end up like the copy, you wouldn't find out i was here until I'm long gone. All that you know and the box too.
"Could there be something dangerous inside?"
She opens like box trying, and failing, to not seem rattled. Its a skull with a... third eye. I feel sunny pull his arm away. When had I grabbed him? I know it wasn't on purpose in any way shape or form but it reminds me of the titanic battle between the walking statue of the builder and the depth dweller.
"What is it?"
Heh heh... good question
"...It's Shtad. It's Shtad's head."
I sit with sunny as he drives the APC.
"...Are... you going to join one side?"
I take a long long sip of my drink. He sighs heavily
"I know you hate them but still..."
I look up at him from the floor of the APC
"You really think I'd help either side. I would sooner kill them both and take the citadel for myself as a good bargaining chip."
He shakes his head muttering to himself
"God there's two."
He then speaks up
"Okay even if someone isn't listening right now, someone could easily divine this."
I shake me head
"No they really really can't. I am not saying this out of some sense of arrogance. I'm saying I know there's no way in hell anyone is going to do that sunny"
I once I see the government people I tun right off. I make no attempt to stay with valor. I dont like any of them anyways, too pompous the lot of them. Soon we find the gate, and Mordret as well. I notice him looking everyone over so... I as innocently as possible do a swinging motion. For a second I see amusement in his eyes. Then his eyes pass over me. That was a damn threat from a divine aspect user he shouldn't take it so lightly.
"You've finally arrived."
God damn like a, heh, mirror image, the two blood siblings are.
"...Sister."
I... something is wrong, I mean I've felt it for a bit now. Still it is far worse now. Its the feeling of a gate about to open. Now my system isn't the best i will admit that. But... I think either a ton of category three gates are about to appear, or a few with titans in them. About 6, maybe even if its the titans.
"I am very sorry to interrupt this touching family reunion, but... ah... at the risk of sounding petty, could I maybe receive some explanations? Prince Mordret, if I may... why couldn't you just follow the damned plan? Don't tell me that you've been secretly working for your father this whole time. That would be... such a disappointment."
I try not to snicker, hey a distraction is nice.
"I understand why you might be angry and distrustful, my lady. But please believe me - my intention is and always has been to help your mother achieve victory over Clan Valor. My family has to pay for what they've done to me. There's no one - no one! - who wants to see them fall more than me. I would have followed the plan if there was the smallest chance of success, but now... well... all I could do is offer you my blade."
Definitely would have went into acting.
"....And use it to cut them down!"
Thats a rather bit corny
I watch with very little interest as the fight starts. I know that it does not in fact matter at all. What i am interest in is the fight with the two siblings. From what I know of prince and from my experience fighting with sunny, I was able to tell how best to fight morgan.
That is with a very familiar fighting style, one I used to use back before I hired healer on the forgotten shores. It's essence is to go all in for punishing attacks for both parties. Aka let yourself get injured only stopping lethal attacks to get in more damage into the opponent faster. I haven't used that kind of thing in years so I'm a rather bit rusty, but knowing prince he is not and he'd be able to use it to a far better extent.
"Listen saint Wake of Ruin. I don't like you much. We both know that, but I am not willingly going to let you die for no reason. All of the government forces need to leave, now."
He doesn't move at the mental link
"And why is that."
Hes annoyed.
"Multiple categories three gates, maybe even a few titans are about to appear."
He stops his head turning towards me slightly
"Why do you think that?"
I sigh
"I may not have perfect knowledge of this as its a newer ability of mine but as you've likely heard i can predict gates and even to a point what will come out of them. And right now I am sensing a lot of that."
He turns back to the battle
"Do you think you could convince them of that?"
I sigh speaking this time
"Of course not"
I watch with heat sense that battle. It seems it was right in how he would fight. Taking large risks to both tire her out and give her substantial wounds. They seem to heal but still thats more and more of her essence gone. Smart and enough it would seem. He's actually about to win when.
"What the fuck"
Thats oh god. I feel sick. Its so much worse then I thought. Thats, thats.... category 4 gates. My stomach, no everything seems to be in pain and the call... the call is horrid. I have to get away, and now. I desperately pull on my dream realm anchor. Even still, will everyone else be okay? Will they all die like my first cohort? No, no they cant die just like that.
I fall onto soft sand and I throw up. Gates had been making me a little sick after I had gotten shadow gods lineage but that was so immense. I wipe my mouth off grabbing a water bottle and I rinse my mouth out. I look around, no hollow mountains. Shit shit shit. I scramble up and I jump into the air looking around, i see some ruins that i focus on. Suddenly I almost fall from the sky. I have to, no i need to escape. Its.... its a terror a great terror thats what's in that ruin. Its horrid, almost as bad as those gates. I put everything i can into running.
I spend only the dead gods know how long running. Terrors in so many places. But even still I was able to calm myself. It appears that the same thing that let's me sense gates can do the same for corruption...oh thats what a gate is, probably. But it seems harder to do with nightmare creatures.
"Why are there so many?!"
God its terrible. I'm barely able to hide in a very far away from all that ruin when night is about to fall. That night I sit huddled up as I hear horrid sounds of a earth shattering battle. I'm forced to leave at morning as a terror is getting closer.
I lean on a wall eating, I've moved any time one of those terrors got close, when two saints and a master come towards the hiding place. Cassie, a song saint and a valor saint. When they get close enough I loudly say
"There's a human in here please do not be startled. I would not like to be turned into paste."
The three enter with weapons up. I wave to them
"Hey cassie! Oh hello you two."
Saint beast lifts her weapon up more clearly ready to fight, the hell? Saint summer grips his sword pointing it at me. Cassie studies me then sighs loudly
"Dont worry its really heat seeker"
The two sigh heavily and the three sit down.
"And what's the problem here? What did you think i was prince, hah! Like he could"
Saint beast shakes her head
"No no... wait do you not know?"
I tilt my head with a scowl
"About what? Maybe about those great terrors on the prowl, i know about them."
Saint summer studies me
"No.... no the skin walker"
I blink
"The what?"
I hold my head in my hands in a circle, a rather large one as the two saints stay far apart, with the three
"Holy shit. Its him but worse."
Cassie nods
"Yes. Although how have you completely avoided it without knowing about it"
I shrug
"Well..."
I look at the two saints
"So about my gate thing, how much so you two know?"
The two glance at each other, that is quite the slash to her face. Saint summer speaks
"Well... valor is aware of your ability to predict where a gate will appear and I believe song is as well"
I nod
"It appears I can do something similar with nightmare creatures of a high enough rank. I really didn't want to poke a great terror so I run away when ever I thought they where about to get too close. So I never actually encountered them"
The three look at each other, Saint beast comments with a clearly trying to be flattering tone
"That is rather helpful, with that will will be able to avoid the skin walker, you know that is the kind of ability any clan would love to have"
I stare at her with a very very overplayed grimace. Saint summer doesn't seem very happy as well. She lifts her hands in mock innocence
"I was only stating the truth"
We leave the ruin in the morning I summon flame and a few soldiers to put on its armor.
"You know.... I heard from seishan you are very physically cold...."
I make two blocks of ice that I throw back. The two saints catch them
"Oh that was quite-"
"Its so you wouldn't even ask to touch me. Cassie can but you two can not"
The two saints go silent for a bit
"Well... I must say you are.... as interesting of a character as seishan described, although in a different way."
I shrug runner pipes up trying to be friendly
"Eell it was mentioned that you very much dislike anyone touching you so.... its not too shocking you didn't want us to..."
I crack open a soda as flame walks. I feel three heads turn towards me.
"Was... that a can opening?"
I dig in my bag and I hand back two beers, for effie thus I have a lot of them, and one cool lemonade for cassie.
"Well, that bag is definitely quite useful! Do you.... perhaps have something to clean up blood?"
I sigh for a long while then I hand back some wipes.
"I must thank you really"
I scoff
"Thank me by not letting anything kill me would you."
I hear a laugh. Its not funny.
I crunch on a snack, beast had cleaned herself up and so had summer. Cassie wasn't too dirty so it didn't make as much of a difference. The two are less catty now, I had not been very nice when they had started it and I can be very mean. So as to not piss off the person who's actively giving them a ride, food and drinks they don't talk to each other.
I hadn't healed them, as why would I? Neither is injured enough to need it and I need my essence just in case. I had let them ride on flame as neither is built for speed. I do not summon singer knowing what she will do. Cassie leans on my shoulder.
"Hmmm."
Then the area around flame cools down a lot as I use my dormant ability to cool it down. Its not very tiring to do so. I hear a relieved sigh from cassie. Oh yeah... she's the most at risk from the heat. I take her hand and I transfer scouts cloak.
"You'd best give that back after this all. It gives a lot of elemental resistance."
Or it has a lot. I had asked sunny for that because it would help the cloak survive longer with it. Cassie finally moves from my shoulder. Summer clears his throat
"I have to thank you for helping with the heat."
I wave my hand
"Its was for cassie. Your both saints and she's a master."
"So heat seeker, tell me about yourself"
I sigh heavily. Why is she talking to me?
"Whats to say that isn't obvious?"
She shrugs
"Well for one why exactly do you randomly draw people and things?"
I shrug
"documentation."
She laughs
"Oh well I guess, I heard you ask for people's signatures, do you want mine?"
A tease but still i do want one so I shove the notebook back at the page with a drawing of her
"I'd like one from summer night as well, his page is only one off. Don't go flipping around, even if you do you won't find any inappropriate art, or any secrets."
I hear a snicker
"Before you say something like 'why would you think about inappropriate art' I'm friends with effie take a guess."
After a bit summer passes it back
"You are as direct as they say"
I'm about to order flame to go in a different direction when I stop focusing my heat sense. I stand up as flame goes from a jog to a full blown run, i summon commanders authority, a glove appears on my hand in a rain of sparks.
"I sense the princess, as well as effie, kai, sunny and jet. There's one almost completely dead vessel and one still alive, get ready to battle!"
Then i start jumping forwards, with my new wings I can move a lot faster. Mix that with me using snow storm to reduce air drag and I'm able to move at quite high speeds.
As the skin walker turns towards song se a incredibly fast halberd cuts it in half. Then a shield bashes it away. I land in a side
"You."
Its in the body of a person. I give it no chance to attempt to heal as I start freezing. I won't be able to cut it so I summon a shield. Still its able to rush forward, a bright light blinds it and it gets hit by a saw to the chest. Kelly isn't able to react in time and in a second her head is gone.
Adam is able to move me out of the way in time but there goes luke. It gets pelted by shoots that slow it down quite a bit. As I thought it seems that the stronger the corruption, the more damage cold film does. It seems to get it and it turns to the closest person as it goes to attack beast master arrives putting a hand through its heart then cuts head head off. She rips her hand out, although a slight pale blue glow comes from her hand
"How dare you raise a hand to my sister..."
I ride on a ice PTV. I had reluctantly healed the injured enough for them to be able to walk, but still i let everyone ride on flame. Now it is big enough that I could easily ride too but being so close to that many people seems miserable. Saint Tyris... ascended roan.... are they... alive? She's the best of the best, they have to be! God damn it why couldn't that old bird even try to say anything! He'd be far more believed then I would. Also where even is prince? I hear a very confused
"Huh?"
From beast. I slowly turn my head to where she is and where singer had summoned herself. Now a chain is a off white like the moon.
"God damn it singer!"
We make it to a ruin, with me playing never ending look out of course. I'm hurt and my essence is at half.
"Gods. Can you stop drilling a hole in my forehead, Gilead? I know I am pretty... but still, a knight like you should have some manners. Stop staring."
I turn slowly to the two saints, damnation not again!
"...Were pretty. Have you looked in the mirror recently?"
I speak up
"If you two are about to start being all passive aggressive I will stop giving you cold drinks"
The two look away from each other. I hear a slight laugh, I glance at song SE. Someone finds it funny at least
"I must say heat seeker, it is true that you have changed, but some things about you stay the same."
I frown deeply
"This isn't as funny. This is just how I talk"
She nods
"Yes it is quite interesting"
I take some meat, they are all lucky I keep seasonings in my satchel, and I start eating. Song se sits next to me for some reason.
"I must ask something. I have heard you are able to sense a gate before it even appears. Why did you not say anything this time?"
I expected that, oddly enough its a lot less hostile then I thought it would be i sigh kinda loudly, I don't want to explain this again so I say it loud enough to be heard by everyone
"I did actually say something to wake of ruin but he made attempt to tell the great clans and I doubt it would have been believed if my word was alone"
She nods like thats what she expected
"That does seem about right. And its flawless reasoning as well."
After some time of traveling we make it to a spot the saints can leave
"Well. There's no point in dragging this out… Seishan and I will be leaving. It was nice knowing you all! Granted, I can take one more person with me — those of you who have fought against the great clan Song, I hope you won't be offended if I don't extend the invitation. Oh, except for you, little brother. You, Raised by Wolves....Heat Seeker, and Nightingale. I can help one of you escape this bothersome predicament."
I look at the two women with mild disinterest, I don't care to become a part of the great clan.
"I'm sorry. My mom told me not to follow strange women."
Soon kai and sunny shake their heads as well. I scoff and I lift my notebook with a very fancy 'DIE' written on it. Beast seems unamused, SE seems very amused at it.
"Are you sure you would not like to leave with us Heat Seeker. Talent like yours shouldn't be wasted here"
I laugh
"I died due to the vile thief of the snow crown with the rest of falcon scott."
She nods and soon the two women disappear.
I scowl sitting across the ruin from summer and morgan. It seems morgan is too tired to even try to hide the fact she doesn't like me much. Summer seems a little sheepish at the fact me and her are glaring at each other. I think the others find it funny. I can not believe I have to spend more time with her. I'm guessing it isnt helped by the fact I refuse to give her anything that I deem a luxury from my satchel, like candies or the real good drinks. Still singer has made no attempt to take a new chain from her... I'm guessing singer wants to get it from prince.
After the two leave, apparently prince wants to beat the third nightmare with us. I very happily take the shard prince uses to talk with us. I active the helm of screams
"Hello. I come with a offer. Want to talk mad shit about your sperm donor?"
I see him stop then he starts chuckling to himself
"now that is quite the offer. I simply must accept."
I laugh getting a few weird looks.
"How about let's start with how shitty of a father he is. Now I don't think he touches kids, but maybe he should be put on that registry just so he can't traumatize another kid."
He waves a stump
"yes, i must agree, all he cares about is making a perfect sword and he can't even get close to doing that"
I use snow storm to hold back much of the storm and the heat
"Hurry, ■■■■... you are almost there, but you must hurry. The creature is drawing close"
I nod looking around at the sand storm. It has to suck to be forced to feel the heat. Only time my never ending cold is okay. A shape slowly comes too, a block of black stone. From a nightmare creature no doubt and from a very good craftsman as well! I see a... oh its princes new look, so he can take over nightmare creatures it seems.
"Oh... don't mind me, ■■■. That body is really unsightly, huh? Let me change really quick..."
I nod
"Yeah I could tell it was you"
"Hm. Yes you do seem good at that."
The creature drops prince from its mouth and then falls dead. Prince gets up and yells
"Run! The Skinwalker is almost here!"
We all start running. As we do cassie grabs my hand transferring back scouts cloak. We get to the seed
"You better not pull anything once we're inside."
I wave my hand
"It would be stupid to do that"
Prince nods
"See they dont think so lowly of me"
I look over and its doll a swinging motion with my hand. He laughs this time. Sunny looks away
"Everyone... stay alive! We will return as Saints!"
I look at the seed. I mutter
"I might throw up...."
It isnt very nice to be so close to a seed. Soon we enter the seed
[Ascended! Prepare for your Third Trial!]
Yup yup everything looks right.
[Thirteen million, seven hundred thousand, and seventy seven brave ones... welcome to the Nightmare!]
OH FUCK OFF NOT AGAIN!