Prodigal Son

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix looked at his silver and black manadial, and shrugged.

"It's nothing special really. Just standard issue to arch-magi. I am glad you brought that up though. You reminded me of something very important." Felix said. Note to self, once everyone is here, issue manadials. Felix thought.

Felix turned a holopage, there was a sympathy piece about Piccola Village. Speaking about all the souls lost during that tragic event, with small hints and nudges that the work was done by Felix.

I can't imagine what the news will look like when they find that small town in Idaho that Thadeus wiped off the map yesterday. I am sure it will be smearing me with that too. Felix sighed.

Then Travis strolled in, and looked almost as bad as Raiya did.

I tried to emphasize how important sleep was last night, did no one listen to me?

Travis then asked about the funnies in the paper to which Felix responded with, "Yeah, there's this really funny strip where Felix the Cat gets accused of slaughtering thousands by wiping them off the face of the Earth. Cracked me right up." Felix said sarcastically, then sighed once more.

Then the frozen warrior appeared, and called him master again.

"Hey... didn't I tell you to not call me master? It's Felix, or Professor Glasius, or Arch-Magi Felix, or even Blondie. Just please don't call me master." Felix pleaded, but assumed it would fall on deaf ears.

"Well, now that everyone is here, lets go over our first order of business, I want to be completely transparent with you." Felix pulled out the parchment list of names, "You are all here because your name was on the parchment. However, not every name that is on the parchment is here..." Felix paused to allow everyone to absorb the gravity of what he just said and what he was about to say. "Yesterday, while I was in Idaho searching for a John Barrows one of my former colleagues Thadeus, the very man that started the mission to bring about the Paragons for the Catholic Arcanocracy, appeared. He used a modified version of a stasis spell to freeze all inside the town except for me, him and his men. You should be familiar with stasis field spells. It's what allows us Talents to fight each other without revealing magic to the Untalents. Well this spell was modified so that only those wearing a special runic bangle could move freely within it. The runic bangles were from Mamertine prison, I had to equip one after I broke Nemo free from Mamertine. But I digress, after everyone was frozen, Thadeus spoke with me briefly, distracting me while his henchmen cast a spell that razed the down we were in to complete ruin. Everyone died except for me. And I was fortunate enough to have not died myself. The reason why I am mentioning this is for the sake of full disclosure. One of the list names, John Barrows, is dead. Dead before he even could become a part of the team. I am not sure what this means, but I know that it has revealed a fact. A fact that the list names are not safe. That just because your name is on the list doesn't mean you will for sure live. A fact that this is incredibly dangerous for all of us." Felix paused once more.

"So I will allow you all, with this new information, to make a more informed decision. Do you still wish to be a part of the Guardians of Paragon?" Felix asked.

---

Raiya tuned in and out of Felix's monologue, but caught the last end of it.

So this list... one of the names from it has died? This is interesting. I wonder if this changes anyone's mind? At least there will be some action around here. Raiya thought as she sipped her spiked juice.

"My answer doesn't matter, because I don't actually have a choise. But hey, at least things won't be dull and boring."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@Prodigal Son shit I didn't see. Skimmed. Been crazy busy with work.. Posting tonight

@Zelosse

Don't worry. I have also been super busy with work. I'll post as soon as I can.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@Zelosse Waiting on your post, mang.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Chapter 1: Paragon of Espial

Felix was invested in his Manadial, the mana hologram projecting from his wristband was showing a type of news article called, "Obscure Daily", which was the leading news network on the mananet. The way the app worked on the Manadial, was when he selected the app from the round mana crystal, the crystal levitated from the inlay and morphed into a blue, tangible, slightly transparent, folded newspaper. Every so often, Felix would sip his coffee as he read the paper.

The front page headline was, "Most Flaunted Catholic Mana Researcher, Now Most Wanted Apostate!"

The article had a large picture of Felix in his Mage Robes, in a not so savory position. The picture was taken back at a Good Friday party three years ago. As with most Catholic parties, there was a lot of alcohol involved, and Felix may have imbibed a bit too much that night. The picture was of his drunken face as he attempted to leave the party, and was pushing through a crowd of magi. His red face and scowl looked like he was stern and angry, but in reality he was sick and was attempting to find the bathroom to retch in.

Felix marveled at the fact that the media always found the most compromising pictures to represent those painted as villains. I wonder how they even got this picture... Felix raised a bit of an eyebrow at the thought, but didn't put too much effort into it.

Then the red haired summoner made her way to the table. Felix noticed she had the same shirt on but pajama pants instead of jeans. He also noticed there was a pixie on her shoulder brushing her hair. He also raised an eye to this sight but quickly changed his expression to a smile.

"Ah, Jessie! Yes indeed. I have prepared this spread for everyone. There is more than enough to go around, so dig in. We have quite the day ahead of us. I'll wait until everyone is here to start the debriefing." Felix replied. Then Nemo came down a few minutes later, extending his gratitude for the meal. "You're more than welcome, eat as much as you'd like."

Felix sipped on his mug, and continued reading, but soon the coffee mug was empty. So he used a simple levitation spell to pour himself some more, and then he levitated the creamer as well pouring just enough. Levitating the cup back to his hands, he continued reading. On the next page was a news article about increased sightings and attacks from the Disciples of Salem.

That has to be because they are also looking for the Paragons as well... Felix thought back to his dream, and the many endings the world would have if his team did not succeed.

Then the white haired Yuno came down the steps to the kitchen as well. She thanked him and he gave her a smile.

"Not a problem at all. I know you all will have your work cut out for you today, so please eat your fill." Felix said enthusiastically.

---

Raiya didn't even flinch as the knife came down. She was much too angry, tired, and rattled to care. She was, though, a little irritated that she had left her knife out in the haste of her anger after she stormed out the night prior. Raiya griped the knife, and spun it, as she opened her leather coat and sheathed the knife in the empty leather scabbard pocket.

The knife looks much better pushed through the flesh of my enemies. You wouldn't happen to be one of my enemies, would you?" Raiya said with little enthusiasm. Normally she would be one for banter, but today, she was much too drained to put effort into anything.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

The master bedroom was about the same as the other bedrooms upstairs, but slightly larger with much more books and writing space. Felix stripped down to his plaid cotton boxers, as he always did before bed, and slipped between the covers. It didn't take long for him to fall fast asleep, the day wore him out. He had used much more mana than he thought he'd have to use, and getting caught up in that explosion that ripped his manaegis off his body definitely took its toll.

---

Raiya was walking down a road in an empty city. Decrepit shells of once glorious building loomed on on each block. There was no one within the city, and from the looks of it, no one had been in this ghost town for quite some time. There was a thick curtain of clouds that blanketed the sky, casting a dull blue light upon all of the city. Raiya wasn't sure what she was doing walking these streets, but she didn't question it. She just continued walking.

Eventually her legs grew tired and so she decided to find a place to rest. The nearest building seemed as best a candidate for a place for a momentary respite as any. So she entered the dilapidated four story building to her right. As soon as she crossed the threshold of the building, she could hear small faint whispers. Raiya looked around but saw nothing. The building was completely ransacked. There was nothing inside but walls, ceiling, and patches of carpet on the concrete floor. But still she could here the faint whispers. Instead of lying on the floor and getting some rest, she ventured further in the building, climbing the stairs to the second floor.

The whispers were a bit stronger here, but still not enough to be intelligible. But Raiya could tell the whispers were coming from this floor. The floor was separated into a series of hallways and rooms, which were almost catacomb like. She continued further down a hallway and turned down a separate hallway, straining her ears to hear the whispers which were still slightly growing as she continued. The whispers were becoming coherent now... no coherent wasn't the word Raiya would have used to describe the whispers. The whispers were all jumbled, and... and they seemed to be all pleading. Raiya continued down the hallway until she reached the end of it, a door marking the end. She opened the door, and was overcome by the sound. They weren't whispers at all. It was a chorus, a chorus of agonized voices screaming in sheer terror, pleading for mercy.

But the worst part wasn't the sound in the room. The worst part was what the sound was coming from. There, standing in the room was a humanoid, lanky, long limbed, hairless, grey skinned, faceless creature. Faceless, that was, all except for the large maw with thousands of sharp teeth just above the thing's chin. Raiya gasped, and would have screamed if she had had the ability.

Raiya was frozen momentarily in a deep fear she had never before experienced. The creature didn't seem to notice her right away, even though it was facing the doorway. But as soon as the gasp escaped her lips, the creature began lumbering toward Raiya slowly. Raiya regained her movement, and attempted to fry the beast there it stood. She held her hands out in front of her to unleash a torrent of electrical blasts. She waited for the familiar pull of the power known as mana, but never felt it. Nothing came forth. She was left standing there with her arms extended as the creature inched closer towards her.

Raiya felt another pang of that deep fear, as panic began to set in. As the creature grew closer, the sounds emanating from it grew even louder than before. Screams of desperation. Pleas for mercy. Unintelligible gurgles that sounded as though they were coming from a slit throat. Raiya overcame her momentary panic and turned around and began to run.

The hallway seemed impossibly long. Had she really walked all that way? Although she was passing the doors on the side, at a rate of three doors every second, it didn't seem like she was making any progress. And... were the sounds getting louder? They were... which meant the creature was no longer lumbering slowly, it was in fact running slightly faster than she was. Raiya started to feel fatigued, and attempted to keep up the pace she was currently running, but her legs just wouldn't carry her. And that noise... it was almost deafening now, beating down upon her with physical sound waves she could feel; like being in a front row seat a rock concert, only the band on stage was a half-dead pile of mangled bodies.

This is impossible. My magic won't work, and my feet won't carry me as fast as I know I can go. And that sound, oh God that sound is unreal... That's it! This can't possibly be real. It's all a dream. I just have to wake up. I just have to wake up.

Raiya tried her best to wake herself up from this nightmare-scape that she was in, but it was too late. The creature was surely on top of her, and that was when she felt the pain of teeth cutting trough the flesh of her right shoulder, ripping her arm off. The pain was so real, and she cried out in agony. Screaming for mercy. Begging for a swift end. And that was when she had realized... she had become one of the voices in the chorus of the dead, screaming endlessly for all eternity.

Raiya's body jolted as she awoke from the feverish nightmare. Breathing heavily, as she laid on her back on the bed, staring up at the not-so-familiar ceiling that was her room in the cabin. The voices in the chorus of wretched agony were gone, but she could still hear them in her head. Raiya decided that she needed to wash her face and get a glass of water.

But when she attempted to sit up, she discovered she could move. Her legs, her arms, her body, all paralyzed. She began to panic once again, attempting to cry out for help, but her voice wouldn't work. She couldn't so much as move her head to the side, only her eyes. The covers on top of her became exceedingly heavy, they felt like they weighed tons, as if they would crush her right then and there. The panic continued to well up in her chest as tears flowed down the sides of her cheeks. And that was when she saw it. The eldritch abomination that had eaten her moments before was looming over her bed, it's mouth open. Saliva dripped from its mouth onto her cheek, and it burned with an agonizing red-hot pain. As soon as she realized the screaming chorus was not deafening her, the chorus sounded aloud again, this time so loud that Raiya felt like she was going to be torn apart by the sound itself. All the people pleading for their lives, some just pleading for it to be over. And one... one was her own voice, beseeching for mercy, begging to be brought to an end. That was when she realized she was the one screaming, as the screams were being torn from her own throat. Then the monster struck, and the tearing pain of the teeth sinking into her flesh jolted her awake once more.

This time Raiya was truly awake. She sat up, shaking. Wet hot tears streaming down her face. This is stupid. Nightmares have never scared me before. Stop crying you idiot. She told herself. She then punched herself in the face as a point to stop being a soft crybaby, and got up out of bed. The window still was darkened by night, and Raiya wondered what time it was but didn't think to check.
She walked over to the bathroom and washed her face, and examined herself in the mirror. Her grey left eye, and yellow right eye were both bloodshot from crying. As she rested her hands on the counter of the bathroom she looked down and saw her Irezumi arm tattoos: A yellow snake coiled up her right arm, and a black nara ink colored one wound up the other. The heads of the snakes started by her wrists where they couldn't be seen if she was wearing anything long-sleeve. They were bearing their fangs with the right one starting on top of her wrist, and the left on the opposite side below.

The Japanese styled snakes coiled up her arms and ended with the tails at the back of her shoulders just above a large back tattoo. The heads of the snakes started by her wrists where they couldn't be seen if she was wearing anything long-sleeve. The heads bore their fangs, with the right one starting on top of her wrist, and the left on the opposite side below.

The large back tattoo was Her entire back was covered in large nara black ink snake scales for a background. And a large tattoo of the giant 8 headed and tailed snake Yamata no Orochi, various flowers, and lightning bolts in the foreground.

She looked at herself and was disgusted that she would ever be brought to tears by a nightmare. She drank a bit of water before getting back in bed. But one thing was for sure, she wasn't getting any more sleep tonight.

---

Light broke through Felix's window, waking him up. He sat up and stretched at the good night's sleep. He got up and took a shower and got dressed in a teal polo shirt, and white cargo shorts.

Felix went out in the kitchen and was surprised to see he was the first one up, and it was almost... he checked his manadial... almost 9:00.

Felix decided to take this time to make breakfast. He busted out the best pans, and pulled out all the ingredients he needed to make the breakfast.

After all was said and done, the long table in the kitchen was set with various foods. In the middle was an egg skillet that had sauteed peppers, potatoes and sausage in it. On the right side as a plate of muffins, and on the left side was a plate of bacon. On the furthest right side was a plate of bagels with cream cheese, and on the furthest left side was some Belgium waffles with various syrups and butter. And at the edges of the table were various juices, milk, black tea, and coffee, and plates with utensils.

With all the wondrous smells coming off the spread, Felix could tell that it wouldn't take long for people to come down. And he was right. Raiya was the first to come down the stairs.

She glanced at the spread, and then glared at Felix, who gave her a smile, and then sat at the head of the table. Raiya got herself a little bit of everything on the plate, and poured herself some apple juice which she spiked with rum from a flask she had in her jacket.

"So-" Felix began.

"Don't talk to me." Raiya sneered. Her eyes had bags under them, so he could tell she didn't sleep well, which was odd because he knew she had been drinking quite a lot the night prior. He decided to leave it alone, and made himself a cup of coffee with vanilla creamer but no sugar. He sipped on the coffee until everyone else had gotten breakfast.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@Cottonmouth you and prodigal can continue to the next day, regardless of us, so long as we visibly remind readers we are in the past. Then follow it up with a

---------
The following day!!
---------

Kind of thing. Keeps it flowing without breaking pace yo

@Zelosse

I mean, yeah, that could be done. But it could also be that the GM had to work all day yesterday and was specifically waiting for everyone to make their bedtime post as well before advancing a day while he was working. I mean, I guess I have no choice now. But, in the future, what my Co-GM says goes. Thanks.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

I made an edit to the initial post that I had made.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix raised a slight eyebrow at the summoner's question.

"I told you about the paragon's didn't I? Well then you are on the same page as the other five in this building. As for where we are, we are in the Redwood forest in Northern California, USA. Technically, in terms of sleep times, this time zone is only five hours ahead of yours. It was about 8:00 PM in New Zealand, and it is midnight here. So you should be able to still sleep if you had a long eventful day." Felix explained, "As for our plan well, I am waiting until morning to disclose that information to everyone at the same time. Let's just say that, if you like Indiana Jones, you'll like what I have planned."

Felix looked around, "Well, I don't know about all of you but I am going to bed, we have a big day ahead of us. All of the guest rooms are up stars. Feel free to choose any of the unoccupied ones." And with that, Felix walked off towards the master bedroom which was just behind the study on the first floor.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Alright, well if you're all set, let's be going then." Felix said.

Then he turned and created a cross glyph in the air that split open a rift between their current location and the cabin.

Felix stepped through and saw that everyone except for Travis and Artos had gone upstairs.

"Is he going to be okay?" Felix pointed to Artos.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix felt a bit frustrated that he wasn't able to discern the type of elemental that the summoner was using. Felix had assumed that since the man of war was somewhat human, at least in shape, he would have retained some water within his body. Even his manalysis didn't give him any tips as to what type of elemental he was facing. But that had more to do with the fact he had never personally seen summoning in his life. He had read lots of material on the subject but never had he experienced it for himself.

When Jessie said he passed her test, he breathed a sigh of relief and released the manaegis allowing it to disintegrate into a bright blue blaze of pure mana.

"Well, we will be leaving post haste if you don't mind. You may want to tell the young ones that you are leaving, and grab anything you may need." Felix said, a bit winded.