[IC] Protectors.

[Skinner35]

Athe laughs softly at his partners bewilderment. "Friend, accept their help. It is easier when you do. Now, get some food, and we will be on our way." He then walks around the store, just looking at everything.

[Shadow Dragon]

He looks at him, and sadly shakes his head. "I'd love to, but look what it's doing to me." He lifts his hand, showing Athe his gauntlet. The fiery reds and oranges are slowly darkening, turning blue, and it pulsates to a unhealthy rhythm. "It's killing me." His eyes are empty, fearful.

[Skinner35]

"Then do it in moderation. Just as the humans do with alcohol and drugs." He says, continuing to look around.

[Shadow Dragon]

He nods, picking up some bread, and walks out, looking for something to fight.

[Skinner35]

As he is looking, he hears him walk out, and follows behind. Luckily, the streets are back to normal with regular traffic. "Now, let's find something for you to fight." As he is walking, he stops dead in his tracks. "Do you... Hear that?"

[Shadow Dragon]

He looks around. "Are there any fight clubs around here?" He stops, and draws his axe. "Where?"

[Skinner35]

"Maybe. But I wouldn't recommend fighting a Human. Especially with your power." He said as the ground shook. "Oh no..." As he said it, a rift opened, but nothing came out of it. It was just... Open. It just sat there in the middle of the street.

[Shadow Dragon]

He cautiously walks up to the portal, and looks through it.

[Skinner35]

"What do you see? I wouldn't recommend going through... No one has ever gone through and come back. Not that I know of, anyway." He says as he walks towards it, cautiously.

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As Xerc looks through the Rift, all he sees is devastation. A city lost to time, which has been adapted into an understanding of Hell. Everything is burning, even the Monsters that reside inside. Buildings destroyed, and ruins where civilizations should be. He sees legions of Demons scattering about, flying and running around aimlessly. The heat is close to unbearable for the Protector, which means that it would incinerate a Human. There is a "sun" in the sky, which is nothing but a flaming ball of Sin.
In this plane, everything is pain. It never ends, nor will it ever end. This is Hell.

[Shadow Dragon]

"The closest thing to home that I've ever seen." He sounds sad. "That is the most accurate picture of my life I've ever had the misfortune to see." He raises his scythe. "Should I close it?"
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As Xerces looks thought the portal, he sees suffering, death....and a sense of belonging. Of home. His disguise fades away, the flames in his body changing in heat and intercity to match the Underwold's flames.

[Skinner35]

"It's safer if you close it. It is probably just an anomaly." He says, slightly dropping his guard. 'If that is what home is to him, then this is only going to get harder from here.' He thought to himself. "Don't waste time. We have things to get done... Your disguise dropped."

[Shadow Dragon]

He puts a gauntlet to the rim of the rift, and sighs, swiping his scythe through it. It shimmers and blows away, and he stares dejectedly at the street. "What is wrong with me?" He just sounds hollow and empty.

[Skinner35]

"Nothing. You were created this way for a reason. Everything has purpose." He says as he puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Fret not. You will find your purpose soon. Now, don't think about it. Let's go train." He then begins to walk down the street, his disguise fluttering on.

[Shadow Dragon]

His hand burns on contact with his armour, and he walks after him, pulling up his human disguse as he goes. "My purpose is war."

[Skinner35]

"If your purpose is war, then when one starts, you will be perfect for it." He says as he walks. Pedestrians pass as usual.

[Shadow Dragon]

"I know that. I've fought in almost every war and battle in the history of this race." He looks around. "Why did a Rift open, but nothing came out? I thought that the Demons and Angels were the ones that opened them while they were fighting....unless....something already came though." He stops, and looks around. "Was anything.....off, the last time you saw the other Protectors?"

[Skinner35]

"Sometimes anomalies happen. Just as long as nothing came through." He says as he looks around. "If something did come out, we need to find it before it causes a problem." He looks at Xerc. "Last time I saw a Protector, he went into a rift, and never came out."

[Shadow Dragon]

"He went into one of the Gates? That's suicide."

[Skinner35]

"He thought that he could hold off a legion by himself. He fought them back to the rift, and followed them in." He says, remembering the incident while walking. "That was roughly six months ago. you are the only Protector that I have seen since then."

[Shadow Dragon]

"I wonder what's happened to the rest..." He trails off. "Something did come through. Someone opened that portal to go there, but they didn't have the power to close it. Is someone taking mortals, or is a mortal jumping between worlds?"