Estylwen

The Dark Beyond: Adventures in Candyland (Prequel)

Thanks for the update, Lexi! And happy valentine's, everyone! :>

Iris Ascendis

Ciara Ventura

Acendia, Room 103 Fountain
@Nanaya

---

"The righteous indignation of a paladin, and the hunger of an Umbralist... though, that's not quite been confirmed yet, has it?”

Ciara's head jerked up, staring at the professor as she pressed her sword against his midsection.

He knew about the duel?

Near immediately, her eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a snarl.

“Even so, it's apparent that you fight with a temper, with voracity - and in that respect, you would have many things in common with that death cult regardless.”

A small gasp escaped Ciara's lips as she felt the sting from the professor's words. She narrowed her eyes, furious.

But nothing could have prepared her for what came next. If the professor’s words were a stinging slap, the sounds rattling in her mind after were the maddening element necessary to disarm her. She pressed a hand to her head, wincing, her breath coming in ragged gulps, as the screams of the damned tore at her mentality.

Like touching a hot coal, the tendrils withdrew from Professor Alto in an effort to make the maddening voices stop. Before latching on once again in greater fury. Ciara growled and cursed, failing to prepare against the thorns and vines that assaulted her once again. She felt blows against her barrier once, twice, and the third blow, landing at the elbows, broke through.

“AAAARGH!!!”

Ciara stood there, gulping air and hissing through her teeth, as the thorns and vines cut across the muscles of her inner elbow, severing muscle and creating large gashes.

The pain did some good, though. It snapped her out of the mental hellscape she was privy to.

Ciara dropped the sword, wincing, her eyes glaring hot at the professor. Quickly, shadows picked up the sword, holding it aloft in front of her, ready for his counter attack. Shadows reached out with tendrils, feeling the limbs of the professor, so she could ‘see’ his moves in the dark.

She could almost feel that cruel smile on the professor's face as he took a step forward. There was a rush of sparks as his sword met her own, and she parried against him at every turn, blinking through the pain she felt.

“...I have a remnant to attend to…”

“Remnant?! Damn you, professor! That's not who I am!” Ciara shrieked, mustering all her anger, burning her throat.

As the thorns struck again, Ciara was ready this time, and melted into the shadows. She reappeared behind the professor, and slashed at his back with the sword held in her shadowy grip. When he would turn, she would disappear once again, and reappear behind his back, and slash again. She would continue to repeat this with increased hunger, fervor and speed, desperate to break his barrier. She continued until she became a blur, appearing and disappearing with dizzying speed around the professor, careful to avoid Iraleth as she did so.

She had something to prove now, didn't she? Duel be damned, she'd go all out on the professor. She had to now. He dared to associate her with them.

As she moved, she began to pant. It was getting hot. Unbearably so…

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Chaotic element, hell yeah. Win for the graveyard. :>

Tayla Choi is shaping up to be very, very interesting...

Revue of Annihilation

@Estylwen@Theyra Right, pick one skill, not two, for your Personal Refinement.

@ERode

For sure, I've updated my CS. How's it look now?

And I'll fill out the sheet when I have a moment, and send it over!

Revue of Annihilation

Elys Adair

Elys Adair

Human | 27 | Female | 5’5 | 120 lbs.
0th Circle | Void

Elys grew up with her family in the woods. The nearest village was a half hour walk, where her mother would go to bring necessary supplies like medicine. Besides That, her home had everything it needed for them to live in moderate comfort - a garden, and a couple chickens.

Elys was born blind, and only knew the comfort of home, the sound of the chicken, the voices of her parents as an only child. She was happy.

At least, until they got raided. One night, bandits came down from the mainland, ravaging the nearby village, and finding their home. Elys was told to hide under the loose floorboards, and she held her breath. Horrifying sounds she heard, horrifying screams as the raiders killed her parents and set her home ablaze. Elys kept herself hidden as long as possible before she throw aside the floorboards and fled her home, tripping over overturned furniture and cutlery.

The raiders left with the chickens and the harvest, and Elys was alone. She lived in the smoking ruins of her home for some time, finding the bones of her parents and burying them. Then, she began to wander, uncovering her father's sword and trying to make a life for herself.

It was then she felt such strong bloodlust and revenge for the raiders who stole everything from her. She could still hear their voices in her mind, and swore she'd find them and end them one by one.

She received practice with the sword when wolves started to prey on her at night. It was this practiced listening and striking that Elys began to experience independence for the first time in her life. It terrified her to the core, but she soon got used to the adrenaline rush, started to look forward to when the wolves would come by. She found she already had some talent with the sword anyway.

If was a few years of wandering that she felt she had honed her skills enough, working as a monster-slayer of low grade monsters.

But she felt she had hit a cap, and she stopped improving. She didnt have enough power, and her lack of sight impeded her from taking on stronger bounties. This was when she began to pray fervently for the power to avenge her family.

And, one night, she saw a dream where she was walking up the narrow stairs. She knew there was a throne at the end of the circling staircase, and she felt such anticipation. Then she awoke, and something felt different. She could see. Except it was more of a feeling, a sense within her, extending up to a radius of about 10 meters.

No longer inhibited by her eyes, rather, she was now empowered by her eyes, she took her travels to the next level, and found herself in Oratorio.

Path to Ascension

0th Circle Ichor-Blessed

Ichor: 0
Wealth: 0
Followers: 0
Resources: Personal Refinement (Sword skills.)
Artifacts: None.
Property: None.

Divine Protection of Void

Domain of the Void - Like black holes affecting one another, Elys can feel the effect of gravity and its interactions with other forces. For example, she can feel how large of a mass (a person) is moving across a surface (the world) as it moves towards her. Smaller or joined objects, however, tend to blend together.

Starting Benefit

Personal Refinement - Tier 3 capabilities in a particular craft or art. Before becoming Ichor-Blessed, you had already refined your skills to the limits of a mundane mortal.

Revue of Annihilation

Pseudo-Daredevil hijinks at base sounds good. Don't overdo it though. Just so you know though, Oratorio's probably gonna fuck with her considering how concentrated the mortals are there compared to the environments she's been in before.

Yes boss, I've made some edits to the CS. Please lemme know how it looks now. I will relish torturing her a bit with the sensory overload....

For her Domain, it'd be good if you could tell me what kinda of following you'd imagine she'd be gathering up in the future.

The down-trodden, the one's kicked to the curb, the used and abused, the ones seeking revenge. Her personal goal is to track down and end those who did her and her family wrong, so it would make sense her following would be seeking power or revenge.

Hm, should I make her passive more battle-centered so there's no overlap? Didn't realize Souls already had something similar set up. Might make more sense for her to have something power or revenge related anyways.

I can tweak it, re-write it, just let me know!

Also: The Power Gauntlet.

Revue of Annihilation

Hey ya'll. :> I got a little something written up, please lemme know how it looks, ERode.

Elys Adair

Elys Adair

Human | 27 | Female | 5’5 | 120 lbs.
0th Circle | Void

Elys grew up with her family in the woods. The nearest village was a half hour walk, where her mother would go to bring necessary supplies like medicine. Besides That, her home had everything it needed for them to live in moderate comfort - a garden, and a couple chickens.

Elys was born blind, and only knew the comfort of home, the sound of the chicken, the voices of her parents as an only child. She was happy.

At least, until they got raided. One night, bandits came down from the mainland, ravaging the nearby village, and finding their home. Elys was told to hide under the loose floorboards, and she held her breath. Horrifying sounds she heard, horrifying screams as the raiders killed her parents and set her home ablaze. Elys kept herself hidden as long as possible before she throw aside the floorboards and fled her home, tripping over overturned furniture and cutlery.

The raiders left with the chickens and the harvest, and Elys was alone. She lived in the smoking ruins of her home for some time, finding the bones of her parents and burying them. Then, she began to wander, uncovering her father's sword and trying to make a life for herself.

It was then she felt such strong bloodlust and revenge for the raiders who stole everything from her. She could still hear their voices in her mind, and swore she'd find them and end them one by one.

She received practice with the sword when wolves started to prey on her at night. It was this practiced listening and striking that Elys began to experience independence for the first time in her life. It terrified her to the core, but she soon got used to the adrenaline rush, started to look forward to when the wolves would come by. She found she already had some talent with the sword anyway.

If was a few years of wandering that she felt she had honed her skills enough, working as a monster-slayer of low grade monsters.

But she felt she had hit a cap, and she stopped improving. She didnt have enough power, and her lack of sight impeded her from taking on stronger bounties. This was when she began to pray fervently for the power to avenge her family.

And, one night, she saw a dream where she was walking up the narrow stairs. She knew there was a throne at the end of the circling staircase, and she felt such anticipation. Then she awoke, and something felt different. She could see. Except it was more of a feeling, a sense within her, extending up to a radius of about 10 meters.

No longer inhibited by her eyes, rather, she was now empowered by her eyes, she took her travels to the next level, and found herself in Oratorio.

Path to Ascension

0th Circle Ichor-Blessed

Ichor: 0
Wealth: 0
Followers: 0
Resources: Personal Refinement (Sword skills.)
Artifacts: None.
Property: None.

Divine Protection of Void

Domain of the Void - Like black holes affecting one another, Elys can feel the effect of gravity and its interactions with other forces. For example, she can feel how large of a mass (a person) is moving across a surface (the world) as it moves towards her. Smaller or joined objects, however, tend to blend together.

Starting Benefit

Personal Refinement - Tier 3 capabilities in a particular craft or art. Before becoming Ichor-Blessed, you had already refined your skills to the limits of a mundane mortal.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

No one can beat me when it comes to the race of sending characters to the graveyard. :p

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

&

Britney Williams,
Stormy Carson and
the Temple

Location: The Shimmer, The Temple
_{In collaboration with @Punished GN, @Blizz and @AtomicEmperor}

---

The group arrived in The Shimmer, back at the tree that Clarissa had smashed a portal open initially. It was a grand circle that brought them back into the light of day. Met by several Temple cultists, there were unsurprisingly a few faces from the night before when Britney had visited their place, and Furio began to direct them without hesitation. He didn’t even bother to see who was who, pulling the keys for the car they’d driven in from his pocket and handing them off.

”Etienne, Hari, there’s a Camry, red, aover in that lot. Wait for the woman who's coming to get it, then ring for a ride home. Mind your surroundings!”

The other three led the rest of the group toward a black van, into which they were piled and brought back to the Temple grounds.

Void occupied a seal beside Layla, watching her try to keep it together.

“Give me your hands.”

She did.

“No, the other ones.”

Layla blinked, before withdrawing her pale fingers, the phantom hands appearing in small form in front of her, held out. With a slight seethe through the teeth, Void procured a small, weak void hand, dampened by Stomy's influence. A baby-sized thumb ran across the back of Layla's phantom hand, softly caressing. The comfort registered in Layla's face, and she squeezed her eyes shut, holding back more sobs.

Arriving at the Temple, the small troop was greeted with quite the welcome. Maybe sixty people gathered about the front and sides of the main church building in which everything seemed to mostly take place. The same banners that hung inside were hung on poles outside the entrance, and the black clad patrons watched with their hands clenched together as Layla and the Void Heart were brought through their midst, guided by Furio’s hand that gently held the girl’s shoulder.

Within, the Matron Lynette stood alongside some other unfamiliar faces. They had been in discussion until the party arrived, and she looked a bit shocked to see them all.

”Oh my Stars… No, no, so quickly!? Void Heart!?”

Furio and Clarissa, the latter of which had been at the back of the line to keep an eye on Stormy and Britney, both bowed before Lynette.

”Lady Richoux… Our friend here has little choice now; he’s done it with the Sycamore Tree Coven, and the pact has been broken. Our hand is forced, and there will be no more rehabilitation.”

Lynette’s gaze went from warm concern to cold disinterest within moments.

”Speak for yourself, Void Heart. You have been woefully resilient to our methodology, and now you’ve aroused the ire of the Heroes of St. Portwell. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Void felt painfully naked in front of the woman. One could never get used to those eyes. His eyes were on the ground before he felt a tug on his hand. Layla, standing beside him, her own phantom hands gripping his dwarfed hand with an iron grip. He stared at her for a moment, seeing the pain she was desperately trying to hide, the hope she didn't want to let go of, the despair she couldn't give into - he saw it all, and he knew… he was about to make it infinitely worse.

His eyes flickered up to the woman of the Temple. She spoke the truth. But he had his own reasons for standing in front of her.

What do you have to say for yourself?

“I…”

It may be the last time he spoke with these people. His teeth clenched, and he hovered a little taller.

“I fucked up, Lady Richoux. I got caught, pushed it too far, and Furio was about to take a fall he didn't deserve. No one-”

A breath.

“-No one deserves to die for my sake. Especially not again. Not… Not like Alizée.”

He grimaced at his own words, his gaze dropping.

“Just… try not to make this painful for Layla. I'm content with sleeping my years away, but Layla… she…”

Another breath. His voice cracked, pleading.

“She's just a child.”

Britney put a hand on her hip, flicking the Noble Vow, as she rolled her eyes, at that comment, “Now that’s hilarious…” She then faced Lynette and said, “Fancy meeting you here again… We’re not looking for a fight or to cause any trouble. We just want Layla to be safe. That’s the root of all this, keeping our friends safe.” She gently touched her own chest.

Lynette listened as a noblewoman on the throne would, face unwavering and unwilling to give up her position or disposition. Whatever trouble Void Heart had stirred up, they were far ahead of schedule in this entire ordeal. Observing him, she could easily see that Void was a step away from being sealed already; he just needed a push over the edge.
However cold she was, Layla was a soft spot. Britney was correct; their only concern now was the rehabilitation of this poor girl.

“By chance, you understand that for all intents and purposes, she may be rather unwilling to let go of her friend, no?”

Furio spoke up.

“This is known, Ma’am. But he has given up.”

“And if this wasn’t the best decision?”

“It would be our burden to bear, Ma’am.” Clarissa spoke up, the two of them remaining with their heads bowed to Lynette like she was God on High.

The frosty woman’s head turned to look directly into Layla’s cold blue eyes. She was looking for some semblance of willpower to fight the tide, anything to prove to the Sycamore before her that she wasn’t one of them. That whatever she’d done to participate didn’t mean anything.

As she looked, Layla's eyes looked back, unable to hide the denial and pleading deep in her effervescent eyes. She was looking for mercy, still naively depending on the elders around her, even if they were about to turn out the lights and begin her forever night.

It was what they tried to explain to Alizee with little result. Void Heart simply thought he was above the reproach that was coming. He made deals with a checkbook and an empty bank account.

She waved her hand at the group, practically brushing aside the air of tension.
“Come… It’s time for your last meal then.”
As she clapped, the room began to rearrange. Not by magic, simply by the many hands of attendants.
“Void Heart has requested to see the Beloved Interred one final time, Ma’am.”[/color]
Lynette stared, narrowing her eyes to daggers at Void Heart. She didn’t care; but to let some Sycamore face see that she didn’t was the opposite of the optic she wanted.
“I leave such a decision to the discretion of the Sycamore Coven. A token of peace, as I’m sure we are not without blood in this melee.”

Britney sighed, “Yeah, your men shot Jack and brained Auri…” She let the words hang in the air. “He may see Alizee one last time, even though that parasite does not deserve the luxury of seeing my friend after what he did to her...”

Britney narrowed her eyes at Void Heart.

“I just hope it makes you happy what lengths you drove that poor girl to.”

Void met her stare with a blank one of his own. He could feel the pain of her words drive into his heart like a stake, but tried to give himself the dignity of not letting it show on his face. How successful he was, he wasn't sure.

Lynette nodded in a slow, methodical way. Like it was scripted, or like she was some kind of non-playable character in a game. The people all around continued to rearrange the room, but Lynette’s body turned toward the stairs.

“Come. Layla, Britney, Clarissa. Boys, stay here and chat.”
And without another word, Lynette brought the girls into the dark of the morgue that Alizee’s body was being kept in.

They had gone through this same process last night, when Layla arrived to sleep. The sorrow. She had always imagined one day Alizee would make a good match for Leon when it came time for the line to continue… Now all hope was lost, and he’d be a playboy forever, listless and in quick water.

She opened the freezer rack and pulled it out into the air again, and once more the same body was there. Eyes closed, arms crossed, serene as the nature of one’s final slumber.

“Void Heart… You never told me of your truths. You never gave me everything I sought to learn from you. But the Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals will take your consequences upon ourselves. Look at what you lost, when we offered you everything you ever needed.”

“Some truths I'll take to my final resting place.” Void said slowly, pain in his voice as he moved closer to the freezer rack. He could feel the chill of the air, the sharp stab of the knife as the woman of the temple spoke the truth to him. But all of that disappeared as he took in the face of his precious Alizée. He hovered closer, almost in a trance, as he cupped her face in his dwarfed hands. Analyzing the serenity of her features, studying her closely, before he swallowed, and spoke.

“I had… So many plans. So many unfinished goals. My heart is heavy with regret. I wanted to take you there, to meet her. To show you what you devoted your life to, every piece taken to be given back, to open those gates. I wanted you to see the other side with me, where we could frolic and life in bliss, and forget this life of pain forever.”

His breath hitched.

“Alas… I will never see the gates of paradise. I will be… alone. And you lost your life trying to save me, refusing to leave my side… it's my fault. It's my fault, Alizée- and I'm sorry! I'm…”

Tears seeped down like smoke.

“I'm so sorry.”

He bent over Alizée's face, like a lover whispering into her ear. “Please… please open your eyes. I can't pay this price. I can't bear it. I can't… I just want to go home…”

There was a wordless moment as Void hovered there, whimpering like a child, before he lapsed into silence. Slowly, he raised a hand, and glanced at Layla, motioning for her to come closer.

Layla did so, barely holding back her own tears. Void drew Layla to the other side of Alizée, holding her phantom hands in his own.

“Layla-”

“Don't say goodbye.” Layla snapped bitterly.

Void grimaced, “You have to face this.”

“No! They're not taking you away from me!”

“Layla, you have your whole life ahead of you. You should live a beautiful life, one free of hardship-”

“You're still trying to say goodbye, like this is okay. It's not. Nothing about this is okay. I hate it. I hate that you're okay with this! I hate everyone here involved!”

“You don't mean that-”

“I do!” Frustrated tears pooled in Layla’s eyes.

“I'm gonna be left alone, and the curse of the Hyacinthus will become my bed once again! Why does no one understand?!”

Void was silent for a moment, before he raised a soft, small hand to Layla’s face, causing a shiver to run down her spine as the contact weakened her. He looked deep into her eyes.

“Please… please forgive me. This is it. This is all I got. I hate it as much as you, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices.”

Layla stiffened, staring at Void for a long moment, before tears poured over her waterline and down her cheek. Her face crumpled.

“It was better when you strangled me, and told me to hold my tongue. At least you wouldn't have abandoned me.”

Void’s own face crumpled, and he fell silent. His eyes fell to Alizée, staring for a moment, before a dry chuckle escaped his lips.

“Alizée would have found that funny…”

He hovered a little straighter, moving slightly away from the table. His heart yearned to be closer to Alizée, but he knew there was no point in delaying what was coming next. His eyes glanced at Britney, then towards Lady Richoux.

“We’re ready.”

And as she watched, she accepted the grief that was passed along once more from Void Heart onto them. She spoke with solemn conviction.

”Layla Hyacinthus. You will NEVER be alone to your suffering again. We will seek Paradise, and you both will see one another again. I would take an oath that I speak the truth.-” Lynette’s voice didn’t waver or break, nor did she skip a beat to lose her authority. “-Come, Noble Souls.”

The lowest layer of the Temple was more like a maze or a bunker than any basement. Hallways spanned long and thin through the darkness, padded walls never giving up light or noise from the hidden rooms behind them. Lynette led the others some span before stopping at a wall and bending down to pull it open from the bottom corner.

The mechanism of the door saw panels slide up and to the side like some puzzle box geometry come to life. Within, the dull lights of a room filled to the brim with the delicious scent of spice and seasoning. A working kitchen sprawled out before them, and in the center of it was a great pedestal of stone with a chair sat atop it. It was a rustic ordeal, ornate metal legs bolted directly to the pedestal; and around stone, a staircase was carved from the block’s once mighty breadth.

A man in a black chef’s jacket quickly approached the group. Voidheart would know him as the Mealbringer, the Chef de Cuisine of the Temple, and their Arch Sealer. The Butcher of Beyond. Andrade cut a handsome figure, cheeks tight to his face and beard cleanly maintained. The chef’s hat kept his hair from falling, and it was tied back in a long ponytail.

”Madame Richoux, beloved in Light.-” he spoke with a smooth voice, latin accent and all. ”And, guests… Well met, I suppose we’re gathered here for our favorite… Favorite meatball? Void Heart… I never thought we’d be meeting like this.”

---

While Britney saw to the sealing, Stormy stayed in the chapel as the Temple’s servants arranged for dinner. He stayed by a wall, out of their way and just observed. All this, for a singular apparition who caused grief wherever he went? Leon’s family always were big on ceremonious things, and Stormy wasn’t a big fan of hanging around places where he wasn’t welcome, back in the old days.

But they were here on business, and turning down food was always an easy way of making enemies. Enemies which they couldn’t afford to have right now.

”All this for the Void Heart?” He asked Furio, trying to start a conversation.

Furio, who was overseeing the group furiously converting the large room into a dining area, was really not doing much. It was kind of a joke, honestly, and it pissed him off just a little bit.
”No, not really. All this is for Alizee. It was her dedication and drive that kept those two here for so long. This is how we honor our dead; by fulfilling their ends and bringing justice to those who do them harm.”

He spoke, and he said words, but it was definitely cult bullshit he was reading off a script. Furio’s voice didn’t do a good job of hiding it, and it definitely didn’t do a good job of hiding his discomfort about the whole ordeal.
He got a bit closer to Stormy.
”Frankly, Void Heart deserves this one way or another. But, when Alizee came here, they both brokered a pact. This is Void Heart’s end of the bargain, for allowing the girl to be overcome by him. But, you didn’t hear that from me…”

Stormy nodded, not fully convinced they were honoring anyone here, but not willing to push it. ”This may have gone down differently, had he not been so quick to bond with Layla. We have… more important things to be occupying ourselves with at the moment, and none of us are particularly calm right now, not enough to let him be. Like you said, he deserves this.”

”For what it’s worth, I don’t take your ambush personally. The others might, and they have the right to, but as far as I can tell? This seems to be just a matter of business for you and yours. We would’ve done the same thing if you were holding one of us hostage.” Probably. Stormy was a bit temperamental when it came to his old coven members being hurt in one way or another, but his stubborn nature went both ways. It benefited everyone if they didn’t accumulate more bad blood.

”Well, frankly I know that Leon feels the exact same about you lot. I know it’s probably not much to hear from the guy who just tried takin’ shots at you, but… Well, I spend a lot of time with the big guy. You’re uh… Stormy, aintcha? He talks about you, says he wishes he wasn’t so busy.”

A few of the younger Temple members interrupted him, taking his attention away for a moment. He spoke to them directly in French, which seemed like a more common practice around the Temple than initially considered. But he pulled back to the conversation, getting a little bit closer to Stormy still.

”This Father Wolf shit? We’re looking too. It's bad for the whole area, the Heroes Coven getting killed in the dark. We consider you’s all as our extended family… We don’t like seeing your blood shed any more than our own.”

”You too?” Of course, why wouldn’t they be looking for him as well? Leon was one of them. Leon was a good person, and wasn’t defined by his attachments to a cult. He severed his Lux for the sole purpose of being a walking prison for an apparition, that sort of thing wasn’t an easy decision.

As a kid, Stormy tried not to associate with these people much. He was different, back then. He was always protective of others, but his younger self was more territorial, he didn’t go to places where he didn’t have friends. Growing up with a violent parent taught him to be fleeting outside of safe ground. But it was nice to know someone cared about their wellbeing.

”What do you know? Have you found anything we haven’t?”

Furio somberly shook his head. He didn’t have to say anything about it; it simply was what it was.
”Whoever he, she, they, whatever it is: It’s a fucking ghost. No trace. I mean, we’re not the Authorities, we’ve got ears out on the street but that’s only going to get you so much. We can find people who we know. So, at the very least, it’s not someone we know.”

Beyond them, the dining room was shaping up rather nicely. They must’ve had some sort of Lux adept assisting in the load lifting, because these monstrous tables were being pulled out from the rafters by what essentially looked like a human pyramid of teenagers and young adults.
There were even table cloths wrapped in plastic bags up there that were brought down along the wavering tower of flesh. They were, if anything, effectively disorganized.

”But, listen. Whatever else happens, we’re with you. No more of this wraparound bullshit; the Sycamore Tree Coven saved this town when groups like the Temple were waging war against one another. Saved a lot more than the town. I’ll make sure Jack knows the same when we see him at the funeral…”

”I’ll hold you to that.” He watched the mass of servants work. ”All we want is to make it out of this alive. The others might be willing to watch your backs later down the line, if we can work things out as a whole. And I’m hoping we can.”

---

I never thought we'd be meeting like this.

Void regarded Andrade with tight eyes before a smirk split his features. “My Angel Of Darkness.” He exclaimed with grim satisfaction.

Layla was half hidden behind Void, her phantom hands gripped vice-like to his. Her eyes hovered over the room before landing on the chair, her face visibly whitening.

“Wh-what's happening?” She whispered to Void, her squeaking voice easily carrying.

Void side-eyed her before gesturing to Andrade. “This is your new… friend, Layla. Mr. Salamente will be taking care of you. Of… us.”

Layla visibly shivered. “I'm scared.”

Void eyed her for a long moment before patting her head, causing her shivers to intensify.

“Just try to relax. This won't take long.”

Layla's lip trembled, feeling the weight of his words. “I can't do this…”

Void simply continued to pat her head, white flickers of light coalescing weakly around them. “You can. Show me you can.”

Layla grimaced, inhaling and holding her breath, before nodding, her eyes turning to Andrade, looking for his next cue.

Andrade held his hand out, bowing gracefully to meet the two.
“I’ll be asking for your cooperation, Miss Layla. Unfortunately, our friend here likes to root himself deeply. We’ll need to weaken that before we can sever the connection.”

Layla hesitated, then took the hand offered to her, eyes tight. “O-...okay.”

Andrade led her gently up the stone stairs to the seat in the center of the kitchen. From the position, Layla would be able to see all the other people cooking away; boiling stocks and sauces, pots of rice, lentils soaking, cuts of fresh pink fish. The aromas from up there all seemed to swirl around her position directly, the gentle breeze of all the stove-head fans blowing the smells and smokes up and out even rustled Layla’s hair like a spring day.

As she took her position, Andrade smiled up at her, looking toward Lynette. Wordlessly, the Matron of the Temple stepped back, her eyes never breaking contact with Layla’s until she finally slipped out of the door they had entered from. It was wordless, but Clarissa felt the absence of her Mistress’ presence.

She took a moment to acknowledge Britney.
“You’re real brave for this. You kids always were; didn’t know the first thing about being scared. I wish my baby girl had been old enough to join y’all when everything happened back then. It would’ve been an honor.”

Strange glory hogging aside, Andrade didn’t skip a beat. He went from pan to plate like a dervish as he whipped up a delicate dessert of meringue and blueberry frozen yogurt that he molded and shaped into a deep blue sphere. The meringue topped it, and he drizzled burning alcohol atop the composition.
“Now, Miss Layla. This dessert is… It’s sweet. When you’re eating it, however, it will taste spicy. What I need you to do is eat it, and don’t stop eating it until it’s all gone. Your tongue will burn, and then you will fall asleep in that chair. When you wake up, you and Void Heart will be separated. So, say your final goodbyes before you finish.”

He handed the plate up. Void Heart had seen this before, a process as he waited for the meals the Temple once happily provided. Human food, twisted by Andrade’s constant cursing and ritualistic butchery that included ingredients made of the peculiarly sealed victims of the Butcher of Beyond.
This dish was, as far as was memorable, a cursed dish meant to weaken the connection between an Apparition and their host. The curse, its composition, and the methodology behind its removal, all hinged on the actual composition of the dish, with different ingredients being blessed or shaped in some way by Adepts who specialized in one Lux or another.

---

---

Let Me Down Slowly - Alec Benjamin

_{”This night is cold in the kingdom…”}

---

---

A pause. The slight clattering of china and steel as Layla struggled to lift the spoon, to take a bite. Shivering.

Then.

Sudden wailing. Like someone grief-stricken, having lost their beloved. Layla sat in her chair and tried to keep the dessert level as her mouth parted in wailing screams, tears streaking her face.

Void was on her in an instant, patting her, cooing to her in a soft tone. White flecks of light fell like dust as the only evidence of Void’s touch, his presence - soon to vanish.

She cried and cried, refusing to be consoled. Void consoled her, and she cried some more. She cried until she was utterly exhausted, and even then, she cried some more.

Void didn't say a word until she had cried all her tears, and her voice became a cracked, weeping and wordless, muted wail. He didn't say a word until her weeping subsided, and she stared at the dessert in her lap, numb.

He didn't say a word until she was finally done. And then he spoke, gently.

“You're gonna be okay, sweetheart.”

Layla winced, as if visibly struck, and shook her head.

“You're gonna keep me close to you, right?”

Layla sniffled, hesitating before nodding.

“You're gonna make sure no one disturbs my sleep, right?”

Layla blinked, a shorter hesitation before nodding again.

Void’s jaw cracked into a small smile. “Then you gotta let me sleep, hm?”

Layla cried out again, weeping wordlessly. Void grimaced, swallowing before trying again.

“This isn't forever, you know? Maybe there will be another monster, and they’ll bring me back, hm?”

Layla looked up at him. “You're not lying?”

Void shook his head. “Why would I lie to you, sweetheart?”

A pause.

“So?”

Layla gave him a long, long look, before her gaze dropped to the dessert. She took the spoon in her hand, took a spoonful, and promptly bit down. She froze there for a moment, before the tastes registered.

“It's… good.”

Layla sniffled, wiping her eyes, staring at Void. He nodded, and she took another bite. She stared, he nodded, and she took another bite. It went on like this until she slowly finished the entire dessert, her eyes drooping near the end. She struggled to keep eye contact with Void, struggled to eat as he urged her along. Until, finally, she swallowed the final bite, and closed her eyes for good. Void caught her head and the plate before either dropped, feeling more adrift and alone than he ever had, more so than when he had his connection with Alizée severed by a bullet.

He blinked back the yawning loneliness, instead keeping his eyes fixed on Layla’s slumbering face. Layla was no longer here to see his face, and flickers of anger, anguish and utter disgust rippled across his features.

He was angry. He had never been so angry before in his life.

If Andrade’s food didn't weaken him on purpose, he would have fought until they sealed him away. Hell, perhaps he still would.

His fiery eyes burned as he dropped the plate, letting it shatter with a bang on the pedestal's ground. His glare leveled at Andrade, and his dwarfed hands balled into fists, wholly prepared to take a swing.

How could he go quietly in that final goodnight?

“Oh, Void Heart… Why must you make everything a selfish fight?” Andrade spoke again, no longer harboring comfort in his voice.

“This is my right, you son of a bitch.” Void growled.

The innocent victim was asleep, and would be long after the meal was complete. The process of severance was torturous enough on the body, having a struggling Apparition never helped.
“Die for this girl like Alizee died for you, and pray that you find salvation in the dark.”

”Go to hell, Angel Of Darkness!”

Void took a shard of the broken china and launched it at Andrade. Another shard, then another. Before he started reaching for chef tools and boiling water, launching them all at Andrade. His aim was shit. More so than normal. But his self-righteous fury shone like a blaze.

Clarissa was already in motion, gunshots rattling off her casting as portals ripped open in all parts of the room from the ceiling to the floor. Half a dozen of Andrade’s closest acolytes came alive with all manner of kitchen implement.
Andrade stared up at Void Heart, and with all the bluster of a man backed by his Gods, he stepped forward and up the stone pedestal. In his right hand, he brandished a chef’s blade with a long, curved tip that glinted in the low light.

For whatever blows Void Heart may have dealt, they all seemed to be useless in preventing the inevitable. The sleepy reactions, the stunted size… Andrade slipped between slow claw rakes and thrown objects, fully embracing Layla’s sleeping body in his arms as the blade slipped upward.
The tip glided across her back like a phantom’s touch, the precision barely splitting the clothing she wore. Its essence tore deeper, like a scythe through the roots of the Void Heart.

“AAARGH!” Void shrieked, feeling his connection completely sever. Almost immediately, a portal opened behind him to the Void. However, it wouldn't be his fate to fall within it today. No, today, he was held.

Andrade gripped the loose stem of the creature with a separate hand clad in some sort of enchanted glove.
And then the truth of the Temple’s secret sealing process was revealed. It was for the best that Layla was asleep for this, as the truth of what was to be Void Heart’s fate was far more morbid than described.

The blade, now free to make purchase within the Apparition, drove into the shadowy mass of Void Heart.

Void winced, “Gah!”

From the initial entry, specks of pink and white began to writhe across the ghastly purple surface. His entire form became tangible, touchable. It looked soft and spongy, like real flesh as the infection spread further and further.

Void trembled as he began to take physical form, his very voice changing, becoming wet and slurred. “You son of a bitch, you can go to hell!”

”Curse of Flesh: Fat of the Gods.”
And against his struggling, the ghost would grow more and more like some meaty substance until he finally stopped the senseless violence. Through facial wounds and penetrating blows, Andrade kept his focus as the blade carved a set of strange sigils into the fleshy mass.

A single, ragged breath. And then.

Nothing.

It was nothing flashy, nothing death-defying. Just. Nothing.

He was just… gone.

When the meat finally stopped twitching, Andrade was quick to move across the kitchen to a large cutting surface. A table of butcher’s block wood. Clarissa, with sorrow and horror on her face, released her portals and made for Layla at the top of the pedestal.

”That’s the show, Britney… Unless you wanna stick around to see him get used, I don’t think we need to stick around when this girl needs watchin’.”

_{And thus ended the tragedy of the Void Heart.}

The Dark Beyond

Whaaaaat, what a banger of a post! Thank you for the collaboration, Lexi! Also, reading the collab between Days and Lexi was truly enjoyable. :>

'How could you' was the one that kept playing over and over in his mind.

Theo is being super real in this moment. o-o

Or next Christmas was going to be awkward as hell.

I pictured it, and it was uh- uhm- yeahhhh… Funny and sad at the same time.

Were the rumors true? Was this one of the missing de Villiers girls?

Ooooh, now I wanna throw some paparazzi around. :>

Shit. Stella!

Stella… 😔

The aged paper pusher had finally found his way to his office after attending an emergency meeting with Mr. Augustus.

Wait, wait, have I heard of this Mr. Augustus before? :o

I thiiiink that means it's my turn again. :> And yes, I think we'll revert back to the normal posting order, for simplicity sake. Otherwise I'm gonna lose track of everything and everything will just be a meeeeesssss. ;>

I have been a bit busy here, so I expect my post to be ready in about 2-4 days, if that's alright with everyone? ^^;