[h1]Abyssal Forge - Residential District[/h1] [hr]Includes: Xiuyang, Seviin, Yuliya.[@Emeth][@Force and Fury][hr] Yuliya awoke on an old mattress. The sheets had decayed into just a few patches of fabric and the foundations of the bed rusted into nothing. Somehow, the material used for the bedding itself had survived the test of time, albeit barely. She was in a bedroom where a nightstand still held up, perhaps due to the strange white material it was made of. Xiuyang awoke on the skeleton of a couch, the springs still holding up despite the rest and the metallic mesh at the base was robust enough to withstand a woman of her build. The living room wasn’t particularly big, and the first thing she saw was a hollowed out box made of similarly peculiar material as the nightstand Yuli would find and a big hole on the side that faced her. It stood on a broken down wooden shelf that had since collapsed, but the box itself had survived. Seviin was in a ceramic bathtub. Once white, now mucked up by dust and other accumulations of dirt. The bathroom was the least decayed due to what composed it, though it also looked to be the dirtiest. The latrine had an interesting design, being a seat a tad too small for a Yasoi like her, or even the average human. It reeked of metal along with the usual dust and dirt all could taste. The speaking box was in the dining room connected to the one Xiuyang was in, on top of a table that seemed better maintained than anything else in the interior. The living room connected to a balcony with a vantage point of about fifteen metres. The platform itself was … Flimsy to say the least. But they could see the city just outside of the shattered glass just fine. There were other buildings like this one, and they seemed to be at the top floor of this residential building. Many of the other buildings had collapsed into themselves and condemned many roads. The tower was quite far too, suggesting they were near the outskirts, much like the industrial district. The radio buzzed again. Seviin rose from the tub with some modicum of grace, though perhaps less than she'd intended. She stretched and strode in the direction that the voice was coming from. First, however, she stopped in front of the others just as they were stirring. She felt a burning tingle all over her body and vaguely registered the words. If she felt bad, they could very well be worse. She took, first, Xiuyang's pulse, and then Yuliya's. She checked for any obvious damage. Then, she stopped in front of the strange pills. This was a place cursed of the Gods, or perhaps blessed by the devils. She could not be certain. All that she knew was that Mother Oirase would watch over her no matter where she was, so long as she was worthy. She picked the three small objects up and slipped them into her sleeve. [color=F0FFF0]"I trust that you will help us,"[/color] she announced to the voice in the box, even as those of people she knew - or was at least acquainted with - came through. [color=F0FFF0]"But what is it that you want us to do? What do you consider a victory?"[/color] Yuliya awoke with a yawn and a large carefree stretch, before realizing she had company, and did not exactly remember where she was. The last she recalled, there was a tavern... and now she was in a tattered bedroom with naught but her clothes and the strange static of a sirrahi-adjacent device. She heard a voice coming from nearby, and the sounds of movement, a distinctly yasoi accent. Not one that she particularly recognized, but alas, she didn't feel the need to press further. She rose to her feet and barely acknowledged the yasoi girl, choosing instead to focus on the radio. It was then that she recalled some familiar voices. Yvain and Leon? Juulet? The fact they'd ended up in this mess too spelled trouble. How could they capture four of the strongest people in the world and put them in a situation like this? And why did the voice go through the trouble? She felt a tinge of annoyance as she too began to speak into the radio. [color=pink]"Why the wild goose hunt, Mr Shithead Voice? If you can be placing us in random spot in this shitpile city, why not just go yourself? You are lazy fat man?"[/color] Darkness. Xiuyang was calmly floating through the infinite void that sometimes returned to haunt her in her nightmares ever since the incident at Mano e Mano. It had become almost banal, now, as she immediately fell into her routine. Her focus was on her breathing, on the beating of her heart, the pumping of blood and the tingling of her nerves as they heightened their sensitivity, trying to find something, anything in this vast emptiness. Eventually, in due time, the real world would find its way to her eyelids. A sudden jolt, as she began to hear voices. They were distant, muffled, indistinct. She was in a dark room, on something crude that she imagined might be in a jail cell. She tried to reach out with the Gift to see who had entered the room, but she could not find her Gift. The intruder, or kidnapper, smelled like a homeless person. They grabbed her forearm. Xiuyang struggled, but her body couldn't move aside from her eyes and the tips of her fingers. Though she was awake, she was still paralyzed. As the voices became clearer, she would listen, and what she heard frightened her. Ironshaper couldn't manage? She was in over her head. How could she have been so foolish? Did Ciro know? Had he... no, he wouldn't do this to her. If he wanted to call the whole thing off, he'd just say so. He wouldn't toss her to the wolves like a piece of meat! The voices, they were Seviin and Yuli. She also thought she could hear Juulet, but she wasn't in the room. She couldn't hear that infernal hopping she would do as she threatened someone. It gave her enough confidence to open her eyes and look around, but she wouldn't go anywhere. Without the Gift, she was utterly defenseless. But she felt the Second Chancer poke into her hip as she rolled over to look at the other two. Then, she had an idea. A completely awful idea. If Juulet was in the same boat as her, she was vulnerable, and Xiuyang had a [i]gun.[/i] She just needed to watch her ammo and powder, since she only carried a little as a backup. Xiuyang sat up and made a shushing gesture with her finger. She seemed to want to pretend that she wasn't here, and theirs was the group of two. But Xiuyang would not remain quiet for long. She listened as the voice mocked Yvain with how much control he allegedly had over them, and she lost her temper. [color=slateblue]"Can such a convenient magic really exist? Even a humble merchant like myself can alter their voice, make shit up as they go, and claim to hold all the cards. If you want us to believe in your expertise and sincerity, how about offering up some [i]practical[/i] advice: how to protect ourselves against these 'ghosts' of yours? And this mysterious fog? Show some goodwill, and maybe we'll act favorably."[/color] Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly, and would come across the indistinct radio as something close to calm, cool and collected. But her face plainly showed terror, fury, and even disgust at what she was hearing. [color=F0FFF0][/color] came a brief pinch message, meant only for Xiuyang. Then, Yuliya came and took one. She spoke bitterly. Seviin tilted her head, not sure what to make of matters. She had learned lessons at the seminary beyond the ones she was supposed to learn, however. She used one of these now. [color=F0FFF0][/color] she messaged Yuliya, not so much as looking at her. [color=F0FFF0][/color] It occurred to her that the Vossoriyan might not know whose words these were. [color=F0FFF0][/color] She took one pill and made as if she were swallowing it, though she did not. [color=F0FFF0]"She is right. We have little choice but to follow. Trust in Mother Oirase. Trust in your instincts."[/color] They had a direction of sorts. Seviin did her best to shoot Xiuyang a sympathetic look. Eyes wide and morbidly curious, she stared out the balcony as she began to move. Xiuyang regarded the other two with eyes that might've been calculating if she weren't among friends. At least, Yuli had been friendly enough to her at Queen Hylaenii's reception, but now... was it her she was displeased with, or Seviin? She decided that it didn't matter. They were forced to work together anyway, and if anything she felt a little relieved upon seeing how [i]strong[/i] Yuli was, even with her Gift suppressed. There were only a few reasons why that could be the case, she reasoned, but it didn't bother her. She knew all but formally that Ingrid was one, and her blood type would protect her from Yuli's appetite, if it happened to strike her. Additional comfort came from Seviin. Xiuyang knew she could trust her, and if there would be one of them who wasn't thrall, it was an advantage she would eagerly select Seviin to have. So, seeing as Yuli neither immediately perished, nor made any moves to force the drug down Xiuyang's throat, there was only one thing left to do. She grimaced in disgust and swallowed it, entrusting her safety to these two, the sanctity of her mind and body to her blood, and should its effects prove stubborn, entrusted her future to Ciro's bag of tricks that ever exceeded her humble merchant's expectations, and which she had all but convinced herself could do just about anything. [color=slateblue]"We go,"[/color] she agreed. They were in the sixth floor of a tall building and the balcony's integrity was questionable at best. There was, however, a stairway just outside of the apartment's door. Decayed paint on walls revealed an architecture mostly made of stone and rusted metal, should they not forget their lanterns on the way out. The ceiling was very low on the stairs, very low, especially for Seviin. Plumes of dust accumulated with every step as they descended down, every floor looking the same with the occasional broken down door. The perpetual darkness made it all seem grayer than it really was. A truly colorless world. The exit door was gone, leaving only a rectangular door frame for them to cross through into the cold and murky air of Halge Larchelon. A paved path stretching about two hundred meters passed through patched of empty and dry earth. Perhaps there had once been greenery where children could play and adults to enjoy strolls through. Perhaps it was mere decor. Parallels between one's own cultures could be drawn, speculations infinite in their contents. One day, one may think, what they held dear may one day look like this too. For some it may even feel like an inevitability. If a city so developed and well structured fell to such a decrepit state, what chance did other places some called home have? As they found the road, one bigger in width than the smaller connected ones on different streets, they also found rows upon rows of metallic, throughly rusted chassis. Most of them hollowed out with holes on all sides. Some still had barely functional doors to them, some even had a wheel or two still inserted. The biggest catch would be the first trace of what was once life: A group of skeletons in one of those metal boxes. One on what remained of each seat at the front, and three sets scrambled in the back, with only skulls really distinguishing the numbers there. Most of the bones had withered, but the heads had remained resilient to time. Two were particularly small. There was a light bit of tension in the air - palpable tension. Like they had just entered a thunderstorm or a thunderchild's range. Yuliya was particularly sensitive to it given her own affinity. [youtube]https://youtu.be/3WT7ja9rYRE[/youtube] Xiuyang looked around, taking in the sights for pragmatic reasons more so than curiosity. Reminders were all around them that though civilizations outlived generations of people, they too would one day perish. Nothing was immortal, perhaps not even the gods. After all, cheating death always seemed to come with conditions. Not even memories or stories or legacies could last. Entropy would claim all one day. Would even the gates of the heavens stand against it? She had to believe that they could, or her heart would give in to despair. What she considered a "normal and happy life" could only occur due to her mind's ability to ignore the constant threat of its sudden and inevitable end. The gods were a hope which protected both the present and the future she was building with Ciro. Nihilism was the death of hope before its time. It was both a friend she knew well and one she refused to entertain anymore. She inspected the bizarre metal box on wheels. Cultural familiarity would dictate a carriage of some kind, but why made of metal? Did they possess wealth beyond her wildest dreams, or were they dangerous prisoners—and, what had killed them so abruptly? There was a strange pressure, and Xiuyang's skin crawled. Remembering what the voice had said about ghosts, she backed away from the skeletons and made the sign of the Pentad, to... show that she came peacefully? Morbidly, she wondered if this place was so old that any restless spirits that were here wouldn't even know how to interpret or relate to that. [color=slateblue]"Let's... move on."[/color] It began to hurt. At first, it was an intensifying burning numbness in her fingers, toes, and hands. Then, it was nausea. Her thoughts became cloudy and the Gift - it was barely present. Seviin shook her head to clear it. She tried to call on the healing energies of Mother Oirase, but those were mostly beyond her. Then, the priestess stumbled. She stumbled and nearly fell and that was it. With fumbling fingers, she reached into her robes and extracted the pill and swallowed it. She had slipped to the rear of their group when she caught sight of the... wheeled prisons? Covered wagons? Instinctively, she looked for the remains of some kind of draft animal, but there were none. She did not understand and could not dwell, even as her body began to recover. Something or some[i]one[/i] had done this. These people - they were hegelan, by their stature and the shapes of their skulls - had been killed, and rapidly. It had been long ago, though - centuries, most likely, the remains of their remains preserved only because of the extreme cold. Maybe that was what Esuul and Cascal were after: the thing that had been able to do this. The issue [i]was[/i]... She had listened to the various voices and had not heard a Tarlonese accent among them. There was an agent. She had been warned that there would be, but they were either separated from the others, laying low, or not [i]actually[/i] Tarlonese. She could not let them succeed. She could not let a weapon like that fall into the hands of the tyrants. Blood would spill and it - Seviin caught herself. There were three moons and the creature stirred beneath her skin. She knew it for what it was. Was Yuliya, perhaps, something similar? That strength she had displayed earlier had been unnatural. This entire situation was bad, and she knew it. She was helpless, at least for now, and it made her - Seviin caught herself. Anger came easily, even on three moons. Anger was occasionally justified, but it could shrink into violence all too easily. Instead, she began singing. [abbr=Mother sun I know you love me, even when I go to sleep.][color=F0FFF0]"Aloi lor nash thal joi chel Seviin, suum elo nash cal saluuv."[/color][/abbr] The dust and snow swirled about her as she walked through this garden of ancient decay. [abbr=Rest your head and close your eyes, for you deserve to rest as well][color=F0FFF0]"Loaz joilii tesh rey coi joi'luungex, taxen joi siist juu loaz 'uuv."[/color][/abbr] She didn't get to finish. There was a feeling - it was not what she had felt before. It was new and it was worse. Immediately the priestess cast about for its source. The sight of death was not new to Yuliya, but decay was. It was strange, seeing something that had been built to withstand almost anything look so downtrodden. A place even the gods had forgotten, but apparently not the storms. She could smell it as much as she could sense it, the sweet scent of ozone, almost like soap. Perhaps it was another presence, or simply the tricks of the mind in such a deserted place. Alas, she took Seviin's advice through her strange pinch-speak and covered her face with her cloak, nodding at the others. [color=pink]There might be... another? I don't know if friendly, but I assume not. At least Leon and Yvain don't use magic like this.."[/color] a brief pause took hold before she turned to Seviin. [color=pink]"Crazy one-legged yasoi... did she have tendency for lightning? You were on her team in trials."[/color] she asked, continuin to move at Xiuyang's behest. Seviin furrowed her brow. [color=F0FFF0]"She could use almost anything, to be honest. She was... very strong, but..."[/color] The priestess appeared uncertain. [color=F0FFF0]"Could she be weakened like us?"[/color] She followed up with pinch language. [color=F0FFF0][/color] Seviin reached out with her muted senses, casting about for the source of the disruption. Seviin, even after taking in the pill, recognized the immensely diminished range she had to work with. About a third of the normal with the primary cause being the visceral sensation they were still feeling from the very air around them. The origins of the tension were still unknown, but she could determine that it existed all around them where it hadn't about two hundred meters behind them. There was nothing their senses could pick up that would indicate an interloper or something unnatural beyond what they had already witnessed. The only way to go blindly forward. The electricity in the air never subsided, and as they progressed they would find more of these withered carriages lining the road with some of them pilled up. If a cataclysm had occurred here, it stands to reason that panic had taken the inhabitants. And with exponentially more vehicles, there were more corpses littered all over. Some better preserved than others, though all were skeletal and their clothing mere rags with no distinguishing feature. By the little bit they could determine, they had some superficial similarities to traditional outfits found in Hoagh Ahaghivan. Yuliya, in particular, could likely see the patterns. It would be Xiuyang that would sense a change first. She was, after all, a Devourer and her range was just marginally bigger. Between two totaled cars was a white humanoid figure. It glowed as if it was wearing something that radiated light all over its body. With a squint, one could determine it had a feminine allure and was gingerly walking toward them without a single sound. The being flickered in and out in a constant state of flux. A heavy focus on any sort of energy signature yielded the same result: One uniform signature. No chemical markers, no heat fluctuations. Everything, everywhere on this entity was one same thing. Yuliya paused, squinting as her eyes came into focus on the brightness. A clear imaged formed for a moment, and it immediately became apparent to her why she could feel what she felt. It was... her? She did a double take and turned to Seviin, shaking her head at the pinch message. [color=pink]"You seeing what I am? It is... me, no? Not quite as pretty though..."[/color] [color=slateblue]"There's... nobody,"[/color] Xiuyang replied, shaking as though she felt a chill. Maybe she did. She was smaller than the other two ladies. [color=slateblue]"There's no body. It's got no [i]body[/i]!"[/color] she kept saying. [color=slateblue]"It's, it's a... f-familiar spirit!"[/color] she decided, remembering the term from one of her many books on the strange, dark and mysterious. [color=slateblue]"Don't be led astray by it! Run!"[/color] She took off, but she did manage to remember the direction they were headed in before. [color=slateblue]"Shune... beacon... my footsteps... led not... arms of Eshiran..."[/color] her disjointed prayer continued as such while she fled.