At first it is only dark. The blackness cannot be seen through no matter how used to the dark you are; it's a blackness that defies light in every way.
And then, contrarily, there is light.
Blue, purple, green, the strands of light brighten the way enough to allow the space that you are in to be seen. It's decrepit. Lines of light like strings run through, around and are tied to what seem to be old, half-coded buildings, because it is undoubtedly true that everything present is code.
Everything is slightly off here.
The floor may suddenly no longer be solid, and then you're falling, through blackness and empty space, until you are dropped right back where you were before, an unsettling glitch that truly has no impact in the end. A building, half-finished and unreal, can be walked through as if it isn't there.
And strung up by those lines of light, there are faces.
They may be faces you know, people you have seen before. They may even be the faces of people back home, but they have passed through Cerealia before, and that is why they are here. This is, after all, the Nexus Code--Nexus Space. And you are not alone here; it seems you are all stuck here, and there's no exit to be found. The bodies can't be interacted with; if you try to touch them, your fingers will pass right through them, just as you can't touch the lights.
But the problem isn't with the lights, or the buildings, or the floor, or the bodies. No, the problem is with you, because the longer you're in here, the more your body fades away as your code is corrupted by your surroundings. Bit by bit, you can touch less, feel less, see less, hear less, until it's clear that you're doomed to fade away.
And even worse, the longer you look at those motionless, strung up bodies of friends and family, the more it becomes clear, a niggling sensation that you can't shake: there are faces that should be here that are missing, as well.
|
Welcome to the wrap-up to Cerealia's July event!
Characters have been dropped into the Nexus Code, and there's no easy way out of here; the bodies they will find will be those of any character that has dropped from Cerealia except for those with high magic abilities or spiritual affinity of some sort. Those characters will be mysteriously absent, even if they were dropped from Cerealia before. Feel free to use your best judgement in that.
Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. Characters will be stuck in the Nexus Code for one full day: 8/01 to 8/03, or IC 2/13 through 2/14. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you! |
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ota!
Needless to say, when it happens again, he's disturbed and visibly so. He knew what caused it the last time. This time, it's a complete mystery, and that's what he hates the most about this place. It's shrouded in the unknown. Uncovering the truth here is proving to be just as difficult as it was back at home with Soo-won.
But this is not him losing consciousness--it's this place twisting, morphing into something so strange and so foreign; Hak stays put, grip tightening around his Hsu Quandao, and he watches the scene unfold as lights begin to descend down from his apartment. He was just here, and yet, this is a completely different landscape than where he'd been earlier.
What gets Hak to pause is when he sees the forms of his friends.
Yoon, namely. Off to his left, his figure still small as ever.
What draws his attention foremost, however, is short, flowing red hair off to his right. He knows that hair. He can recognize it anywhere. ]
Princess!
[ In a panic, Hak extends his hand, reaching out to her with rugged fingertips; but they pass through her, as if she were reduced to nothing but a ghost despite the peaceful look on her face. Hak's heart stops, and then he turns to try and reach out to Yoon--they're not. They're not here.
They're not here.
There's a moment where he just stares. Stares at the lifeless forms of his friends, of the girl he loves, floating inside of the light. He doesn't care about anyone else around him except for them. Hak--he'd left for weeks, broke into the research center as a security guard, was prepared to think over his next plan of action--and this--this is not what he wanted.
Slowly, rage starts to build from within. He hasn't been this angry, this lost since Soo-won had betrayed him and Yona.
It's clear that he's ready to shed blood. ]
no subject
[That response is rather...well, harsh and unsympathetic. It's not that Sousei doesn't sympathize; he has seen some familiar faces here that make him feel even worse than he already does from having not slept in...well, days. The only positive here is that the music in his ears is gone, and everything is almost uncomfortably clear for him to hear.]
We can't remain here, and we are going to have to keep our heads to get out of this place.
[Focusing on what they need to do, at least, helps Sousei keep his mind off of the bodies just....hanging there, terrifyingly lifeless.
Tenka might be here, hanging there just like that, though if so, he hasn't seen him yet.]
no subject
They were supposed to come back, not end up like this-- ]
...Who...
[ The dragons, disappeared. Yoon, gone. The Princess...
Yona.
Hak looks up at Sousei, and if Sousei had known him before, he'd know that this is definitely not Hak--no, this is a man filled with rage, and he's going to lose it any moment now. ]
Get me out...
no subject
So his words are harsh.]
You need to pull yourself together.
Are you truly going to help her like this? [He can see the red-headed girl that Hak seems so distraught over, he can put together the pieces.]
Focus.
no subject
[ No, Sousei doesn't know. But Sousei is right. Hak is powerless right now, and parts of Sousei are starting to fade away. Hak's unaware of it, but it's the color red that's making the other man harder and harder to look at.
He's losing his mind. Focusing...isn't really something he can do. Actually, the only thing he can focus on is going after the people who did this to her. ]
Just get me the hell out of here!
no subject
[Sousei folds his arms across his chest, expression unimpressed. Honestly? He thinks this is a pretty sad display. Not that Sousei himself was much better off when Tenka was gone, but he's good at hypocrisy.
But even so--]
And why do you expect I would do so just for you? If we are getting out of here, it will be through a collective effort. I do not have the time to act as your crutch. Do you understand?
i am so sorry sousei ilu
This man isn't helping; pissing him off even more tbh. It's why Hak swings his Hsu Quandao at him, tip pointed in between Sousei's eyes. ]
Then hurry up.
never be sorry this is beautiful
I am under no obligation to help you or to listen to you. I am only searching for an exit because it shall benefit everyone here, including the civilians who are not capable of handling this situation.
[Slowly, he arches an eyebrow.]
Though I suppose you should be placed in that same category, as you are now.
[Either way, after that he turns on his heel.]
I have legitimate work to do.
yes....they're getting along swimmingly
But what causes him to lower his staff is how the man's disappearing, slowly fading away. Parts of him had been missing already, the red on his outfit being invisible; but now he's gone completely.
Hak stares, mouth gaping, the rage still there but he looks more surprised than anything. ]
...What...?
[ Where the hell did he go and how did he do that? ]
no subject
So that just means, in the end, he ignores it.
But he can't ignore people's reactions to them, and he stumbles on Hak eventually.]
You look really intense.
[What a way to start a conversation about this.]
SPITS
He's not chill right now. Not chill at all. Maybe if this were a better time, Hak would have something wittier to say back--but Nice just gets a hard stare.
It's more like a murderous glare, really. Hak's not in the mood or the right mindset for this. He won't hurt Nice, unless he gets in the way, but... ]
no subject
...But it doesn't really bother Nice much. Instead, Nice just stares right back at Hak.]
Yep, still really intense. Is that your girlfriend or something up there?
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Tell me how to get out of here.
no subject
Who knows? It's not like I can just log out or something. There's probably an exit somewhere...I just haven't found it yet.