You're probably woken up by the explosion first. A loud, deafening boom comes from behind the walls of the residential district. When you look outside your window towards the darker, more secretive area of the city, you might see the structure around it... crumbling, the land falling in on itself slowly but surely. That might be what wakes you up first. If it doesn't, you may be awoken instead by the sudden jerking feeling behind your navel pulling you from where you are to somewhere... else.
It's dark. The first thing you notice is that it's dark -- and then come the scrabbling sounds of creatures in the dark, like metal being dragged across metal, a chilling, sharp sound. The first thing that becomes clear, as your vision adjusts, is that you're on a rickety pathway, metal and rusting and frail, above what appears to be yawning blackness. Far, far below, there's the faint sound of rushing water, a ways away.
The second thing that becomes clear is that you are very much not alone. Something is out there with you, and from the screeching metallic noises that come ever closer, it seems to be stalking you.
Thankfully, you're not alone -- right?  ...
...........
................
:)
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PHASE I [ ??? ] It’s drafty here. You’re below ground, that’s for certain from the echoes of the wind in the darkness. If you continue on forwards along the rickety, metal railing that serves as a walkway, the skittering noises of creatures in the dark follow -- but they don’t appear.
It seems everyone has been dumped along this pathway at random; you may be with friends, with enemies or with someone you’ve never met before, but either way, it soon becomes clear. There are only two ways to go along this path: up or down.
If you choose to take the path that follows a gradual slope down, the sounds of water lapping against a surface increase bit by bit, the air growing heavier and danker, until finally, the metallic platform gives way very suddenly (watch your step!) to a muddy bank. Down here, everything is darker, and not far away there’s the water. It’s cold and frigid and there are unfriendly creatures that await if you choose to delve into it. However, if you brave those creatures, and dive deeply enough, there is a mask. It rests half-buried by silt and rocks, but it’s there, and can be found by any intrepid explorers.
Somehow, it feels a little familiar.
And if you carry on in the cave system underground, eventually you will come across what appears to be an altar. There is blood on it -- not fresh, but not more than a month old -- and pieces of trinkets. Old bits of cloth, locks of hair, and some of them may even be familiar. Any dropped character who has a reasonably large amount of spiritual or magical power may have left scraps, such as pieces of clothing, trinkets, hair, or the sort behind at the altar.
Maybe that's why they weren't in the Nexus Code.
PHASE II [ ??? ] If you go up, you will eventually make your way above ground. It takes some time, and some luck -- you’ll have to avoid rusty railing and pathways, the path crumbling under you and that creeping sensation that something is following and watching you -- and then you’ll suddenly be in fresh air.
Well. It’s not so fresh, really.
The landscape is broken down and crumbled. It may have once been part of the city of Cerealia, but now it is in utter disrepair and decay. Buildings have crumbled, and debris is everywhere. There are signs of the same level of technology that Cerealia has -- but it is all broken down and utterly inaccessible.
And you’re not alone.
It seems the technology and metal and broken down destruction has gained sentience over its time sitting alone, waiting. And it is not happy to be disturbed. The creatures are made of pieces of everything around them, and when cut down, they’ll just slowly rebuild themselves from the debris.
It might be time to run.
They aren't happy about being disturbed, and you're in their way.
PHASE III [ ??? ] Above ground, there are a lot of broken down buildings.
Some can’t be accessed at all; some are too broken, too reduced to rubble. For those looking for shelter, they'll be able to find buildings where the doors can be forced open and they can camp out on the inside to various degrees of stability. Though the ceiling may cave in or the floor fall out from under you at a moment's notice, it's better than being out there. Be careful, because none of the architecture here can be trusted anymore.
And other buildings... are even less trustworthy than that.
There is a series of buildings in the midst of the wasteland, somehow still standing. They stand there silently, towering over the rest of the rubble in their two-story glory, and if the doors are forced open, it soon becomes clear that the building itself is full of mirrors.
Once, the mirrors had perhaps covered the walls and ceiling. Once, this building might have been akin to something of a ballet studio, somewhere to express yourself creatively. But now the mirrors are shattered and broken into pieces and the building lacks the joy it might have once held. Shards of mirror cover the floor, some big, some not so big, but they still hang from the walls as well and everywhere you look, you can see yourself.
And then, the reflection changes. From one blink to the next, you see a memory playing in the mirrors. Your memory. You’ll see a glimpse of one of your most traumatic or life-changing moments, broken up but clear in the shards. Blink and look away, and it’s gone, only to show up again in the next mirror a few moments later. Surely it’s just a trick of the light, right?
Except if someone else is with you, they’ll see it too -- and you might end up seeing a bit of their own past as well. Hope you're fond of sharing.
PHASE IV [ ??? ] If you survive the monsters, the crumbling landscape and the untrustworthy buildings, you may eventually find a terminal. It is buried deep among the rubble. One turn around a corner, one stumble into a hole, and you will find it. It sits there, out in the middle of nowhere; the building in which it used to be housed is apparently long gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.
And if you turn it on, there is a brief message.
Transmission Broadcasting.
Transmission Connected.
And then, there is a face.
BONUS [ ??? ] For those who have been wearing their masks a little too much, they might also start to notice that there are some strange effects attached, which worsen the more they’ve been wearing said masks. How badly they worsen is up to your discretion.
➝ Broken Mask: An intense feeling of paranoia, focused on whoever your character is with. They might also begin to remember fabricated memories of being betrayed by those people.
➝ Barcode Mask: Everything will begin to have value to them. There will be whispers in the back of their mind of the worth of their friends, the worth of a monster, the worth of everything around them. An intense need to own and consume as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
➝ Dripping Blood Mask: An intense lack of self-worth, a hollow feeling and thoughts of being weak and empty. Feeling as disposable as possible and an intense listless along with it.
➝ :( Mask: A need to prove yourself, to show everyone how strong you are as quickly as possible. You can do things, you can be of worth to everyone around you. Why won't they see that? Why?
➝ Ivy Mask: A choking sort of terror from all things metal and technology based, and a need to lash out against it. An intense distrust for anything that they feel is against the laws of nature.
➝ Grey Mask: More personable than normal, more emotional, more empathetic. An intense feeling of kindness and gratitude to those around you and a renewed love of life.
➝ Feather Mask: A dulled, lack of emotion. A detached feeling to everything around you. A sort of bland curiosity towards things without any empathetic reaction.
➝ Bloody Fingerprints Mask: They'll feel absolutely fine. No change.
The effects of the broken mask can stack on top of the others, if they chose to break their mask after the other effects began to appear. No other effects can be stacked, as no other changes can be stacked.
PENALTY [ ??? ] For characters who die while in the dark parts of the city, things will get... a little strange. They will die as normal, but they will wake up almost immediately after their death -- in the Nexus Code. They will have a few surreal moments to be there, to see their friends who have left Cerealia hanging lifelessly from odd, glimmering strands (though there are some faces, of course, that are missing, anyone who was spiritual, or magical, seems strangely absent) and then --
They’re back to being dead.
When characters revive in Cerealia, anywhere from one IC day to three or four IC days later, they will find that things are… not quite right with their code. They’re glitching, for a lack of a better word. Sometimes, their fingers will phase right through an object, their own limbs registering as cold and lifeless. Sometimes, they will see a face watching them -- but when they turn around to try to see who it is, the face will be gone.
These effects will last an IC week, before slowly things go back to normal.
That was strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Wildcard
He doesn't sleep, though. It's both because he'll feel better sleeping when they're not on the lookout for any of those sentient, murderous piles of scrap metal, and because his thoughts have been rather...dark and pervasive. As the hours tick by, maybe even as small as minutes, Mikleo's just kept feeling worse. No, not worse.
Empty.
Honestly, the water seraph isn't sure when it all started. Now, all he can think about is how worthless he is in this situation. Sure, Mikleo can give them limitless fresh, clean water, but that doesn't help the humans with getting food. Not to mention, he's not as strong or experienced as Edna. She's in her element, too, which makes her the best seraph here. Mikleo's simply disposable in comparison.
Maybe Mikleo should be alarmed and concerned about how he's feeling like this. How his thoughts are slowly going into a vicious, dark cycle. Yet, he just can't seem to care. Not about himself, at least. Mikleo still finds the capacity to care about the people he's close to, but that's starting to decrease, too. Slowly, he's starting to not care about anything.
He rubs his eyes tiredly. Hell, the seraph can't even care enough to push through this and set aside his feelings like normal. It's not like him....]
no subject
The young water seraph looks tired, and she can't blame him. They've been unable to find actual sustenance for the humans in their party, and humans need to eat. It's already taking quite the toll on them. Without Mikleo, they would've probably been in even more suffering from dehydration at this point. ]
Are you sleepy? Sleepeo.
[ With her parasol, she lightly jabs him in the shoulder. It's a relatively gentle jab in comparison to...99% of the ones he's received in the past. It's also a gesture of trying to retain some semblance of normalcy in their group. ]
no subject
Of course not.
[There's none of his usual bite in it. Just a ghost of what it used to be. Still, Mikleo feels like himself for the moment. A chill settles over the back of his neck as the thought occurs to him that if he'd been without his friends right now, then he'd probably get killed pretty quickly and not even care.
Another thought comes unbidden, chasing after that one: I'm the most disposable member of this group, so it's not like it's going to matter one way or another.]
...Edna? I need to ask you for a favor.
no subject
...What is it?
no subject
He crosses his arms tightly, glancing at their sleeping companions briefly. For the sake of Sorey and Rose, he has to ask for help.]
Make sure I'm not left alone.
[It's a rather ominous request, but he's starting to not care again. While Mikleo's still himself, he needs to make sure that there's a safety net in place. He's not sure what he'll do if he's left to his own devices, frankly.]
no subject
[ It makes sense. This place is unknown and dangerous, and wandering off by one's self doesn't do anyone any favors. ]
Why?
[ It's not enough for her to just slap a bandaid on the problem, treating the symptoms but not the cause. She wants to know the cause, try to figure out if there's anything she can do to stop it. ]
no subject
What's the point of telling her and making her worry? She can't help with this. She can't fix what's broken with him. Edna should be focusing her energy on helping their human friends instead of the weakest member of their team.
These thoughts weigh him down as he struggles with his answer.]
I don't know what's wrong with me all of a sudden. [A good start to elaborate on.] I'm...finding it difficult to care. Some dark thoughts keep intruding.
[It's hard to admit. At the same time, his voice is kind of...flat. Like there isn't a whole lot of emotion going into his tone.]
Things like.... [Mikleo pauses and then sighs. He needs to get this over with and spit it out. Edna needs to know. Maybe.] I'm disposable and weak.
[He should be terrified at where his thoughts are heading, especially when there's a chance it can mean corrupting himself to the point of turning into a hellion. Instead, Mikleo just looks and sounds utterly apathetic.
Perhaps that in and of itself is far more terrifying.]
no subject
Disgusting. ]
You're not.
[ It doesn't take her very long for those words to come out of her mouth as soon as she hears that last part. This is no time for Feebo jokes. She needs a concrete example, an example right in front of his eyes why he's not useless and weak. In her mind, that means a practical example. ]
Do you know how long a human can last without food?
[ The question isn't a way of bringing up the starvation of their human allies, she swears. ]
no subject
How long?
[Rather than inquisitive or curious, Mikleo sounds like he's just humoring her.]
no subject
[ ... ]
Three days. You're the reason why Sorey and Rose are still alive and kicking.
[ Edna can't do that. She can't conjure up clean and safe water (a contrast to the cold and frigid water inhabited by monsters), she can't hide their party members from oncoming monsters and avoid confrontations completely, thus helping them conserve their energy. The earth seraph might technically be in her element, but all the elements need to work together to really sustain life and keep things going. ]
no subject
Maybe. But there might be others with that same ability.
["And probably better at it than him," is what his tone seems to imply.]
no subject
[ It's frustrating, and she's honestly not the best person to tackle this. Anyone else in the party would be better suited, even Zaveid, but she has to make do with what she's got. This is even worse than Lailah's bouts of melancholy, and it doesn't seem like something Mikleo can control, either, making the situation doubly worse. ]
Last I checked, there's only one Mikleo who can match His Nerdiness in geeking out over ruins, who's hilariously scared of dogs but will take on a freaking dragon if he has to, and who's been with us this whole journey.
[ So he's not alone, and that's the key here.
in the dark I see you, with hope and despair all aroundThat's it; she's gonna play the Sorey card. If this doesn't work, nothing will. ]
And only one Mikleo who can call himself Sorey's one and only. Got it?
[ If all of that previously said doesn't mean something to Mikleo in his depressed state, Sorey, at least, has to. ]