Palace Game 6/5

[fujimaru]

The Dreamer In The Grand Temple
Humanity Foundation Value: ????

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Comments

[fujimaru]

As he walks, the atmosphere gets heavier--it feels like a physical weight, bearing down on him, things in the dark reaching out and whispering, angry and hungry.

But there is also, in the distance, a light that appears: a flickering pale thing, which eventually resolves itself into... the shape of a man? He appears to be glowing in the dark a little? Weird.

[survivaltricks]

[hisses a bit to himself, but presses forward despite the weight, squaring his shoulders in an attempt to bear it a little bit easier]

[and when he sees that shape--]

Hey! Who's there!

[fujimaru]

Who, indeed.

He doesn't appear particularly impressed or pleased by Akira, looking him over with a long, slow disdainful look.

"You've gone astray," he says. "This is no place for the unprepared."

[survivaltricks]

[oh hi Dantes]

[frowns in return, standing up a little straighter despite the weight on his bac]

I'm looking for Ritsuka. Is she here?

[fujimaru]

"You will not find her here," he says. Even his eyes gleam a little in the darkness. Probably the most notable thing, though, is that it is actually easier to breathe in his presence; he brings with him the smell of cigarettes and ozone, and that seems to be doing something to burn away the smell of blood and rot. "You will have to be willing to venture deeper, if you wish to have any hopes of finding her."

[survivaltricks]

I wouldn't be here if I wasn't.

[willing to venture deeper, of course]

[fujimaru]

He laughs, a sound that seems to burst out of him, loud and getting louder, echoing. "So you say now! But will you hold fast to that in the bowels of Hell itself? Will you follow that to its inevitable conclusion?"

[survivaltricks]

. . . you don't know me very well, do you?

[straightening a little more, his own lips curving into a smile of his own]

I've already been to hell and back once before. And if it's for someone I care about. . . I'll traverse that road again and again and again if I have to.

[fujimaru]

"And you're so eager to return?" The man's smile grows even sharper, the electricity around him sparking higher and sharper for a few seconds. "This is a Hell formed by the dead and the dying. They want nothing more than to add to their number. And you still say you would go?"

[survivaltricks]

[without hesitation]

Are you trying to test my mettle? Because from my perspective, we're just wasting time.

Ritsuka is waiting.

[fujimaru]

"She will always be waiting," he says, and that... is the part where he sounds oddly sympathetic. "There will be no end to this, so long as she continues on her own path. But if you are willing..."

He sweeps an arm out, his cloak fluttering; there is no visible path, but he gestures as if there is one.

"Then let us move forward! Into Hell itself!"

[survivaltricks]

[gives Dantes a curt nod and, with a deep inhale, he marches forward. no hesitating! no regrets!!]

[this is gonna suck isn't it]

[fujimaru]

It's going to suck, confirmed.

Where Dantes walk, there's a path, inasmuch as it's just that the blood seems to shy away from his presence, flinching like a living thing and burning away otherwise. But it does make it easier to walk, and it just smells like ozone and smoke, rather than the worst of it.

But the voices are still there, whispering and angry: things that get louder and softer in waves, but the tone is always the same. They are angry, they are hungry, and they are clearly resentful of his very existence.

And after a short time walking, something makes a grab for his ankle. It feels like a human hand.

[survivaltricks]

[well. . . people whispering harsh words behind his back, being angry or resentful of him, or otherwise treating him like a pariah. . . that's nothing new. he's well-practiced at ignoring those harsh words, and he keeps following Dantes without a single hitch in his step]

[and when that hand grabs for his ankle, he doesn't kick at it or shy away. instead, he stops, turning to look at whatever it is that grabbed him]

[fujimaru]

It rises up slowly--a human head, hairless, the skin pulled tight over the skull. Its mouth hangs open, its eyes rolling in the sockets, like it can't quite focus on him though it tries. When he pauses, though, it gives a much harder yank at his foot, trying to pull him down.

[survivaltricks]

[lets out a startled noise, before crouching down to grasp at the figure's wrist, trying to pry the grip away from his ankle]

[firmly]

Let go.

[fujimaru]

It stares at him for a second, then smiles. From a distance away, he can hear Dantes turning sharply, but before he can say anything--

Well. There are now dozens of arms, too long to be properly human, though they are topped by human hands, exploding out of the water around him. Think fast, Akira.

[survivaltricks]

[THINK FAST INDEED]

Ongyo-ki!

[a flash of blue fire, and a semi-transparent creature appears, slicing at the arms with its blades]

[this is not the way Akira wanted to handle this but NEEDS MUST??]

[fujimaru]

The arms cut easily under the blade's movement; they appear to be just made out of the same liquid as the bloodied ocean at his feet.

They also scream, a deafening cacophony of thwarted fury and pain, more rising up to try and grab for him again. There are images now, flashes--wide battlefields, ruined cities, and the burning halls of a facility, a small redheaded figure running desperately through them all.

And then, directly behind him, a voice:

"Do not let yourself be drawn in by them. They will happily add you to their number, if they can."

[survivaltricks]

[jerking back as soon as he's freed, and he keeps ongyo-ki summoned just in case. his outfit has been replaced by Joker's sleek jacket and red gloves, though of course he isn't wearing the mask]

[. . . when he hears the voice, he exhales]

. . . right. Of course.

[fujimaru]

Dantes is close, but not touching. The bro code of like two centimeters, or something like that. He does pull back when Akira responds.

"If you would like to add your curses upon my accomplice's back, I would advise you do not," he says. "My loyalty is to her, not to you."

[survivaltricks]

[HOW LONG AS THIS BRO CODE EXISTED??]

I understand.

[he bows his head a bit, but manages to keep his posture upright. contrite, but not deferential]

I'll be more careful.

[fujimaru]

It's Dantes, it has probably already existed for him.

He gives Akira a long, assessing look, as if to suss out how sincere he is with saying that, then nods sharply.

"Come," he says. "Faster than before. They have been roused, and they will be hungry."

[survivaltricks]

[lifting his chin and nodding sharply again, before following Dantes at a brisker pace than before. he is keeping an eye on the creepy figures at his sides, too-- prepared to dodge if any of them make another grab for him]

[fujimaru]

It's not quite a run, but it is definitely speed-walking at this point. The things that rise up out of the muck and fall away again are mostly humanoid in shape, though there are some that are clearly not: beasts with long muzzles and rows and rows of sharp teeth, plumed birds, and some things that are classic dragons.

Dantes, for his part, does not hesitate in his stride.