Complete 18+ Main Story (S4 Finale) DRAGON.end - Phase 3

[Eva]

100 / 165

Health
-10 from GSL

Status
▪ Location: 5
▪ Vulnerable

"What just happened?"

They were back in time to exactly four minutes ago. No more, no less. An unknown entity reversed a flow of time, but why? Was there something of importance that they missed?

Trying to shake off the excessive headache, Eva slammed her weapon on her head.

Not wasting her time, as soon as the discussions of executing or capturing Szofrit exploded, Eva quickly shouted to @Kyanna Wynne and @MAI. "We'll need her alive. The Landers will never forgive all other magia, and the necessary information to make them more secure in the future will be lost."

Breaking into a dash, the woman ran closer to @Tick Tock, enlisting her help. "Tick, Tock. I need your help in ensuring we capture Szofrit alive. Her survival is a necessity for your survival." Bringing out both of her wrist launchers and setting them to fire stunning bolas, she revealed her plan. "We need to stop any attempt to kill her after we disable her."

Readying her weapon, she aimed both of her wrists at the mother of machines, but also scanned the vicinity for anyone trying to kill and finish the magia off.

Rolls

Spare Szofrit
+15 (Ranged Weapon) +15 (Magitech)

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Imoogi]

70 / 175

The world spun dizzily around Imoogi. The world was grey - not with the power of the unexpected timestop, but from the feeling of being on the verge of fainting after whatever the hell had just happened. It felt like her brains were dribbling out her ears, trying to contain something there was no room for.

What she did know was that there was a crowd again. She was no longer covered in the sharp smell of blood. Szofrit was still hanging in the air, and through the occasional flicker of the UI she could see, the health was completely unchanged. Turned back, like the ticking of that colossal eye she couldn't even bear to look at.

And people were arguing again. Arguing to save the final boss, like it was going to give them some kind of cool achievement.

Well, the cooler achievement would be from winning the fight.

Somehow, she had her reagents again. She'd lost the blood, but there were plenty of dead on the battlefield. Everyone was too busy arguing to care about the serpent slinking through the shadows, dipping her darts into open wounds and weaving towards the people who still had brain cells.

First it was @Jin, who had led the people smart enough to start the movement. Then @Madison Freebird, who was kind of cool despite her weird retro cowboy aesthetic. There were others, too, and while she didn't know their names, she was sure to give them a reason to consider hers.

Even Childress(@Raid Boss) would feel the sting of Imoogi's needles and the energizing rush of the stimulants they contained. "Wasting" her limited supply on an NPC felt wrong, but it was a strong NPC, and it was on their side. If it helped them kill the boss, then it'd be worth it.

"Give her hell!" she chirped brightly to each of her 'victims', her smiling holding no mercy whatsoever.

Rolls

Save
1d100 (26) + 10 = 36
Will | Imoogi | 1745C6 Flavor Roll

Expertise Check
1d100 (40) + 0 = 40
Awareness | Imoogi | 1745C6 | Eye Check

Alchemy: +15
Shadow Arts: +15

Crossroad: Kill
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Zelrius]

87 / 175

@Aerial had dashes his flames around, the two of them together creating an apocalyptic storm. The whole world was drained of its light and life. Whiplash was the feeling the now frozen Zelrius got. He had imagined his life in this way before. Still, unmoving. Devoid of any real color or detail. Meaningless. His grey-shaded eyes couldn't move, but his focus locked directly onto the only remaining vibrancy in the world.

The Guide- what? Her name was Rael, as he had learned. Where did that cross thought come from? Her stream of hues and colors carrying forward. Her outstretched hand. If he could yell out for her to stop, he would. Or reach and pull her back. She was more a support build afterall - right? But, she was her own person. His mind struggling with those two concepts. She had saved him before, why couldn't he return the favor in this moment?

It wasn't his earlier death she had saved him from. That's not where his thought had gone. It trailed, trying so hard to grasp onto memories that never really existed. Only able to watch her grans grasp something and try to turn.

His stomach turned, his flames began to retract. His commet reformed around him, now pulling his body back - feeling like the grasp of damned souls dragging him back to hell. It was terrifying, the way the release of force relieved him of the labor of his actions. Having no control over the rewind of his physical body, but not his mind. Only to stop there, and be met with a gaze.

It spoke of damnation, and of retribution for this affront to its power. Color seeped back into the world. Though his focus remained solely on the pink-haired elf. Even through his buggy, glitchy UI, the pyromancy honed in on her, his vision tunneled. Had she just completely rewind time?

As soon as movement was restored, his hand found his head, steadying himself, and holding back any rising bile from the feeling of being ripped back through the last four minutes like that. He managed, if barely, to fight the illness.

"Rael!" He immediately exclaimed to the Restorer. Forward in an instant of fire, resting a grasp on her arm in an aim to give her some kind of stability. His first thought was to tell her how FUCKING COOL that was, though his tact told him that it could wait. Given it seemed to yield little in the way of results that she wanted. He was there for her, with his fire, and use of harmonics to influence his presence. First her, then his other friends. Hoping that Nyx and Aerial would be in better shape than this summoner. The former at the very least not being torn in half by spears and lances anymore. Reckless as she was.

@Rael | @Nyx | @Aerial ​

Rolls

Location: 5

Spare:
Pyromancy S (+25)
Harmonics B (+15)

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Kamala Graham]

‧͙⁺˚･❀･˚⁺͙‧

Adventurers Guild

77 / 160

While everyone else found themselves abruptly moved through time and space without their consent, Kamala was barely affected. At least, that’s what it would’ve looked like to an outsider, considering she didn’t really move much during that specific span of time. And space. The elf remained standing where she had always been while everyone else was pushed and pulled to and from different moments in time and space. Kamala wasn’t entirely unscathed, however, as having exerted too much of her magic when she surged earlier made her a bit queasy when all that was pushed back inside of her once more. Goodness…

When she regained her bearings, she considered her options. Some folks were yelling to capture the Mother of Machines alive while others were arguing to kill her on the spot. Kamala was unsure of what to do. All life had a right to live, even the ones that had made mistakes. For those, there should always be a second chance, a path to redemption. But it’s just a game… It shouldn’t be this hard to make a choice.

And yet it was…and wasn’t. Schrodinger, she’d heard about that concept again, after so many years, from an old friend newly returned. Whether it was a game or not, she was a constant, and it was her decision to make, not the game’s, not anyone else’s. Whatever she chose, her choice would reflect upon her and only her. Life and freedom above all else… Life and the assurance of all rights take precedence over all else. The needs of the many, or the personal desires of an individual, should rarely outweigh the needs of any other creature. All life should be given even-handed treatment.

Kamala had already understood and accepted that @Ayna Nietzsche would want to end Szofrit by her hands. She would be surprised if her closest friend would do otherwise but already accepted her personal decision. More than anyone, Ayna had suffered helplessly under Szofrit’s control. She was deprived of freedom, made into a weapon, made to endure the worst that the Mother of Machines could throw at her.

@Chrys, on the other hand, would do whatever he fancied regardless of what any of them would say. In the end, only the massive mountain man had a hold on the helm of his life. The rest of them already had their arguments, their biases, their prejudices. It might already be too late to change their minds, whether they were taking the crossroads as seriously as a woman on the verge of motherhood or as lightly as a child with all freedoms at the touch of their fingertips.

Kamala took a deep breath, an entirely long one, and closed her eyes. When she exhaled, she moved her hands intentionally, hovering from her stomach to her face before moving them forward as the air escaped from her lungs. Graceful swirls of green and silver light danced in the air in front of her, and along with phantasmal green leaves, wafted toward Szofrit. Once her magic had bathed the Mother of Machines in light and illusory leaves, what remained was a vision of Szofrit mended whole, a possible future should her life be spared and redemption is achieved.

The illusion was an attempt to suppress strong emotions in the group of warriors about to take lives into their own hands, though even with the sensation of gentle warmth and the smell of spring flowers accompanying it, Kamala wasn’t entirely convinced that it would soothe those who have lost so much and believe that they will lose more should Szofrit continue to exist.

But it was worth a try. Saving a life was always worth the try.

Rolls

5 (Mend + Illusion to help convince others to Spare Szofrit)

Save
1d100 (26) + 70 = 96
Will | Kamala Graham | 1745C6

Masteries Contribution:
+25 (S-rank Mend)
+20 (A-rank Illusion Magic)

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

136 / 200

The world swirling back in time, along with all 'spectacle' that came along with it, brought almost all of her breath out of her lungs, making her stagger and clench her totally-not-a-broom staff on the 'ground' to support herself.

Breathing in, breathing out, Kyanna managed to keep her guts intact, with her face snapping at the direction of @Eva, nodding along with her words.

"R-Right, okay- We need to do something, yeah-!" She shook her head, rushing to approach @MAI and @Tick Tock, while swaying her staff and thrusting it forward.

"I... I will buy you time for you to do what you need to do, Mai!" She said to her, already knowing what she had decided.

Her attention then shifted to Tick Tock, who she was never truly sure on what to expect. "And you... No deaths again. Keep yourself and the others safe!"

After the plea, the witch held her breath, charging up her mana before releasing its corruptive power, with the magic crawling and expanding toward Szofrit, hoping to entangle around her to furthen the stupefied state she was in.

Rolls

Save
1d100 (97) + 35 = 132 (Success)
Will | Kyanna Wynne | 1745C6 | Flavor Roll

Expertise Check
1d100 (61) + 15 + 6 = 82 (Failed)
Awareness | Kyanna Wynne | 1745C6

(P) Corruption
(3 + 9) = 12
+6 to checks.
Corruption suppressed.
Corrupt | Kyanna Wynne | 1745C6

Spare:
Animancy (+20) + Corrupt (+20) to try to corrupt Szofrit's system and disrupt her even further.
Total: +46

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Toko]

7 / 225

  Adventurers Guild   

 ​

❰ Health ❱
-100 HP from Ley Lance
-20 HP from Hymn of Steel¹
-20 HP from Hymn of Steel²
-10 HP flat dmg from GSL

❰ Status ❱
Location: 5 (carried from 2 by an NPC)

It was slow at first, her sharp sight barely catching the change at the edge of her eyes, before suddenly the world around her fount itself plunged into the center of a grayscale filter. All color vanished just as the hare lost control of her body, and yet somehow she was still vividly aware of the pit that seemingly formed within her stomach as her mind struggled to comprehend what was happening now.

And, suddenly, the world was rewound.

By the time the eye had appeared Toko had already been returned to ehr original starting point, far away from the golden egg and those huddled around it. Instead the lepus was greeted with a most unusual sight, a spiritual version of her avatar detaching from herself before it aged until the figure finally crumbled into a pile of bones and dust. From it emerged a babe, the raven hair atop its head a sharp contrast to Toko’s own ivory strands, before Nao watched in shock as a version of herself also went through the same rapid life cycle.

Again and again it continued, the figure alternating between her real self and the one she’d openly embraced within the confines of this World, until finally it all came to a halt. Tick… Tick… Tick tick tick… Color returned to her vision as her lungs finally took a deep breath of air, and as time began to flow forwards once more the hare found herself heaving the remaining contents of her dinner onto the sands.

Someone unknown to her had deigned to stop and grab the lepus as she’d finished her first Picasso of the night, her exhausted body deposited somewhere closer to the golden egg as the voices of many rang all around. She tried to keep up with the conversation between @Asher and @Mads, aware of the familiar presence of @Frey not too far off, but shortly after @Hanno had become involved in it a new heaving sensation assaulted the hare.

She barely had time to turn around and aim towards an unoccupied space on the ground, the sound of magic taking material shape barely registered in her ears as something looped around her hair and pulled it out of the path of her second work of art. "There, there." He provided Toko with ranged support, using the catch pole currently holding her hair to soothingly rub the back of the lepus as the last contents of her stomach were exiled onto the ground.

"Daijoobu..." The back of her palm wiped at her mouth as the hare sat back once more, a thumbs up given in appreciation to the faering as her lungs indulged in a few deep breaths. Her gaze looked as one by one players began to move, using their abilities to carry out their own wishes. "Right, she’s not going to capture herself."

With a groan Toko got back onto her feet, a silent thanks given to the spirit that stirred within her as they shared some of their energy with the fighter. Her steps carried her closer to Szofrit, and once within proper range the hare would press her palms onto the ground as she allowed her magic to infuse the sands around them and bend it to her will. Another wave of nausea threatened to surface before the lepus managed to fight it back down, an easy enough task considering her stomach was all out of its artistic supplies, before chains of sand erupted forth and towards the limbs of the Mother of Machines.

A purple glow encompassed them as the laws of physics were distorted around them, packing the grains denser than normally possible to create near unbreakable bindings. "Isoge!" She called out to those around her, aware she wouldn’t be able to keep concentration on this spell forever—not when her body and spirit had already been pushed to their limits and beyond.

---

CROSSROADS: Spare!
  ▪ Kill: XXXX
  ▪ Spare: XXXX
  ❰ Toko's PlaySheet ❱

❰ Rolls & Summary ❱

❰ Flavor Save: Rewind ❱
1d100 (9) + 50 = 59
Will | Toko | 1745C6 Flavor Roll

❰ Choice: Spare ❱
Geomancy (+25) & Astramancy (+25)
Combining the two masteries to create earthen shackles and help bind Szofrit nice and tight.

 

[Cadmean]

126 / 200

Time stopped. Rewound. Colors as they should have been returned to the world, and Cadmean saw herself snap back into place. Felt her hands re-shatter, re-break.

Ugh. She didn't want to have to hunt down her wayward fingers again, especially not without the aid of the stars guiding her towards them, but she also didn't fancy having to spend any more time with stumps for hands. Just after she had fixed them, too.

She took a moment to steel herself, then bit down hard on a strip of ragged flesh dangling off her left palm. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt, but she screwed her eyes shut and forced herself to pull. There was resistance, but she just pulled harder until the thin flesh tore off with a gush of blood. Tearing up from the pain--with no shock to numb her, it somehow hurt worse than when Szofrit had broken her hands--she began chewing furiously, forcing the flesh down her gullet.

As the regenerative magic worked on her hands, she turned her attention to the verbal--and hopefully only verbal--brawl regarding the next course of action. Having said her piece, she was uninterested in further debate. She knew what she had to do.

Possibility permeated the air. The world had tread down one path, and now there was the chance to remake fate. She seized that intangible energy with her newly-reformed hands, feeling potential surge and ebb all around her. Like thumbing rosary beads, she checked and discarded the collations of destiny, searching for the Polaris of fate that could guide them all towards a better future.

This one.

This one held promise. Cradling that precious, possible future in her hands, Cadmean closed her eyes. Beseeching the gods was an endeavor borne of selfishness at the best of times, but this one felt particularly egregious. For if there was salvation for the mother of machines and the terrible, monstrous being she had become, then perhaps, there was also a chance at salvation for her as well.

So she called out to the Mother of the Faerin, the Martyr Goddess, the Cursed Mother, every epithet and every byname of Rhiannon she could recall, in the hopes that any one of the myriad pieces of her scattered throughout the universe would heed her plea, and answer.

Rolls

Spare/Contain

Awareness check to look at the eye (as the time rewind reset her Tactical Rally, she no longer has Hyper Awareness for the advantage):
Expertise Check
1d100 (47) + 15 = 62 (fail)
Awareness | Cadmean | 1745C6 | Eye test

Will save post-timestop:
Save
1d100 (62) + 80 = 142 (success)
Will | Cadmean | 1745C6 | Flavor

Mastery contribution roll (Spare):

• Astramancy +25
• Divine Magic +25

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet (Reverted back to C4 build sheet)

 

[Ayna Nietzsche]

⋇⊶⊰✦⊱⊷⋇

Adventurers Guild

79 / 175

Captain? One moment Ayna was tasing Szofrit with her lightning-charged spear, the next she was being hurled back from where she was, when she was, and the rebellious magia lancer could do nothing else but remain helpless as time had its way with her. In the end, she found herself barely withstanding the strain of being ripped through time and space, not to mention whatever the fuck that eye was. Fortunately, she wasn’t as affected as the people who were vomiting. Still, it wasn’t that much of a fun time for her either.

Realizing she was back to square one, Ayna’s jaw clenched. She readied her steel and her lightning for another go at the monster that had taken so much from her, that had made her do things she did not want to do. The others around her made their respective cases. Some of them had good points, ideas that they truly believed in, but Ayna had already made up her mind from the start. The puppet master was a puppet as well? That just meant someone else would have to die after Szofrit.

Ayna never did say anything about sparing anyone, most of all Szofrit. She only said that she wanted to join the effort to go after the Mother of Machines. She had to share the information she needed to share and talk to the people they needed to be there, all so that she could have as many faceless bleeding hearts take on the Mother’s minions while she herself pursued their puppet master to the ends of the earth.

Systems are a go… While the rest were still talking, spewing philosophies, reiterating artificial fondness for an artificial creation in an artificial world, she made a quick check before harnessing her speed, boosting it with her built-in magitech gadgetry, and once more, into the fray, she tried to slay the artificial dragon with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire.

What うるせんだよ pieces of くそ! Fuck the kings. Fuck the leaders. Fuck the masters. Once she was done with this one, Ayna will root out the true ringmaster and take them out as well. One vengeful step at a time. "くたばってろ, SZOFRIT!" She screamed as she hurled herself through @Kamala Graham's illusion.

Rolls

5

Save (Flavor Roll)
1d100 (64) + 0 = 64
Will | Ayna Nietzsche | 1745C6

Masteries Contribution: +25 (S-rank Dynamism) & +20 (A-rank Magitech)

Crossroad: Kill
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Bradwynne]

161 / 200

Bradwynne found himself yet again at the time before he had... Whatever it was, or should have been, he had forgotten it. But as he knew that this must be the time before he had done something, he then felt that something was off. But as some people had mentioned that a pink-haired woman among them (@Rael) had the time rewind to what it used to be minutes before something bad would happen, he would just roll with that assumption. Maybe she had seen something bad happening so she chose this way, and so he should not waste more time.

But as he was starting to move his body, he then felt it not responding to his commands. Every time he would urge himself to even just walk, he then felt either his joints creaking as if he was an old man, or tottering as if he was just a toddler. As his mind then rotated along the current age of his body, he became nauseous and struggling to have the contents of his stomach intact. After some time he could not take it anymore and then vomited out what he took for a meal hours prior. But he still needed to push on as he knew that this should be their last chance of doing something, seeing that they might have angered whatever gods of time in order to alter what should have happened.

But as it seemed so, there are some more people intent on wasting that precious time that that woman had gave them, as they then gave in to bickering if they should spare Szofrit or not. Although Bradwynne had thought that he should avenge those who were not living anymore because of her incessant attacks, he thought that this would be a self-serving measure as well as one driven by mere emotions. Although his heart ached for the people who had died because of this robot that had gone Dissonant, he knew that this robot's sudden death would not answer why this conflict was raging in the first place.

He then drew his ootachi yet again, and then moved forward. He should act quickly, as time was of the essence. Whether they would be sparing her or not, it should be pointless as long as the mentioned figure was still wreaking havoc all around them. It was as if they were counting chicks while the eggs were not yet hatched, and Bradwynne would not wait for them to finish. If ever they would talk with Szofrit, they would not need her weapons anyway. And so, gripping his ootachi tightly as they glowed blindingly white due to the immense energy he poured on it, he then dashed, and then flew towards the direction of Szofrit, hacking away towards every section of her body that had some kind of weapon mounted, trying to dispose all of them without harming the rest of the body.

Rolls

Spare Szofrit
Bonuses: +25 (Divine Magic), +20 (Slash Weapons)

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Madison Mortiere]

120 / 240

With my eyes still locked on Asher's, I aim my revolver at Szofrit and pull the trigger. My gaze unbreaking, I thumb the hammer and fire five more times.

It's incredibly unfortunate that not many players are putting their points into Pragmatimancy.

Rolls

5, staying put

Ranged Weapons +25
Hyper Awareness +20

Crossroad: Kill
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Lune]

137 / 250

Someone, something redid all of it. The progress they made was all lost.

Feeling the same sensation of the Ley Lance for the third time impaled into her abdomen again, this time Lune was able to break free of it by herself.

Whoever did that will not have the chance to do it again. Pulling out the small steel shard from her chest by sheer force, it slowly morphed into a dagger. "Sorry," She walked back toward Szofrit, retracing the steps she took four minutes ago. "I know it's not fair. They said you were corrupted or something."

Blocking attacks left and right as the woman quickened her steps, she continued to move forward even as more projectiles pierced her body. The large amount of energy stored in the crystal replacing her heart was enough to regenerate damages from smaller attacks rapidly.

"You deserve to pay for your crimes. Yet, I will take no risk of leaving you alive." It took her back to the night she went into that church. The trail of death and destruction made her swear to protect everything, even if she has to pledge herself under Throne. "I'll do what it takes."

The steel reaver ran with her steel heart in her hand, with the intent to kill the weakened Szofrit once and for all before time could be rewound again or before anyone could stop her.

Rolls

Masteries Contribution:
+25 (S-rank Slash Weapons)
+25 (S-rank Astramancy)

Crossroad: Kill
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Langley]

60 / 140

Langley heaved on the ground. Bile coated his tongue. This was- that had been... Ugh. Unpleasant. Very, very unpleasant. On the plus side, whatever that time distortion was had deposited him back at his original location, some ways away from the deformed faerin that had eaten his arm, gave him this monstrous replacement, and then also wrested what meager control of it away from him with a nigh-unintelligible command. That made up for the nausea and splitting headache. Probably.

The arm lapped at his sick. Grimacing, he pulled it away. At its displeased grumble, he said, "Don't eat that. It's gross."

Around him, arguments were blooming over what to do. Some people had already decided to take matters into their own hands. Others seemed torn.

Much like he was. Though he had promised the blue-haired woman that he would go along with her plan to pacify Szofrit, he still had severe doubts that it would pan out. Dispatching Szofrit now seemed like the safer option. As far as he could tell, there was dissonance just about everywhere in this game world. An entire country infested with it, in fact. There would be plenty of subjects to study, ones that didn't have a confirmed kill count that was already in the dozens at a minimum.

But. He owed the Seamstress a life debt.

Hissing, he ran his palm down his face. "This is what people call Lawful Stupid," he mumbled into his palm.

Resigned, he pushed himself up, getting ready to intercept anyone who looked like they were coming at Szofrit with murderous intent.

Rolls

Will save:
Save
1d100 (62) + 0 = 62 (fail)
Will | Langley | 1745C6 | Flavor

Mastery contribution (Spare):

• Martial Arts +10
• Guard Arts +5

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Hanno Futaba]

19 / 250

Carried to 5, then to 3 by NPC

The rewind was... Intriguing, and while it didn't affect Hanno to physical levels, it seemed to temporarily disrupt Ghast, that once again retracted to a suspended state. For a moment, it all felt a bit unreal, but judging by everyone's reaction, that didn't seem to be just a strange delusion of the faerin.

< Continuation from here to here in DRAGON.end Comms >​

After talking enough, Hanno knew that there was no more time to be spent with words, he needed to spend time with actions.

His face turned to look at @Attia Patal one more time, "Attia, I'm not sure what's up with you, but you seem a bit... Strange..." He frowned, especially at her tears. "Don't overdo... Even if this is the homestretch." Hanno reassured, clenching his fists before focusing his gaze on Szofrit.

@Madison Freebird was already letting out her lead at the direction of the stunned enemy, and while others were already going for the attempt to restrain her only, he knew he wouldn't have much time to act.

It hurted him to go against @Lune as well, but the faerin wasted no more second before darting off at full speed, with the help of a fellow starcalled that soon released him near Szofrit, where he could start to summon the powers of Rhiannon, something that perhaps would sync with @Bradwynne and @Cadmean's powers, who were in a way or another, attempting to reach for the same objective.

Coming right after @Toko, Hanno leaped, trying to wrap one of Szofrit's limbs along with a few tentacles, while discharging the divine power to try and encase the dissonance, in an attempt to suppress it momentarily even if they couldn't cure her right away.

Maybe, just maybe, that could get them the time they needed to restrain her with more safety, while Hanno could force its energy more directly and try to shield the robot from a more lethal damage.

Rolls

Save
1d100 (65) + 50 = 115 (Success)
Will | Hanno Futaba | 1745C6 | Flavor Roll

Spare:
Divine Magic (+25)+ Guard Arts (+25) to try to body shield Szofrit from incoming harm while wrestling her and trying to use divine magic to try to suppress some of the Dissonance's effects.
Total: +50

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Ueno Mizuki]

143 / 225

The less that was said about the chronoshift the better. Spending time with @Cleo Looker meant that Mizuki wasn't a stranger to time and space being violated through magic, but the lancer was a lot more refined with her application. This time around the luna wolf was left disoriented and with a splitting headache, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was standing on all fours anyway she might have fallen over.

The eye that appeared below was interesting, but something told her that in her current state looking at it would be a bad idea, meaning that her attention was on her surroundings instead. As heavily as she and the others might have been affected by the chronoshift, Szofrit appeared to have suffered the worst of it: even now the Mother of Machines was still inactive as if it was taking her a lot more effort to adjust to what had just happened.

Another debate had erupted about whether to capture or kill Szofrit, and once again the same people kept saying the same things. Truthfully Mizuki didn't even know why she'd bothered: not everyone could be persuaded, and even for those who could be there just wasn't enough time. The best they could do under these circumstances was to capture and protect Szofrit with everything they had. Convince people with their actions rather than their words.

Let's do this then... RIGHT, EVERYONE WHO FIGHTS FOR A BETTER FUTURE, WE'RE CAPTURING SZOFRIT HERE AND NOW.

If you couldn't spend hours convincing everyone through intellectual debate you had to make your side look like the obvious choice. Be loud, be decisive, and take the initiative. Honestly, she'd already given the opposition too much time to bolster their forces.

Leaving behind the golden egg and those who were still guarding it she ran forward, her two wolves following her lead as they once again ran past the Baby Magnum, heading straight for where several Travelers and Landers were already either restraining or attacking Szofrit. All the blood she'd used to create her blood pack was once again back on the ground thanks to Rael's little stunt, which meant she could use it again. This time, however, she'd have to use it for a different purpose.

Reaching Szofrit's location Mizuki slammed her clawed hands against the ground, forcing all the blood in the area to flow together into one large pool directly around and underneath Szofrit. Once enough blood had gathered she grabbed a seed from the fur of her tail and tossed it into the middle of the pool, where it began to absorb the sanguine liquid at an insane rate. Within moments a tree was sprouting, shooting upwards to entangle the Mother of Machines with its thick branches.

Once the tree was in place it would begin to harden: through a liberal application of her own energy Mizuki made the tree's branches as durable as steel, both to help keep Szofrit from moving but also to protect the magia from those who wished to kill her. It may be underhanded to use the tree as a shield, but from the very beginning Mizuki hadn't been planning to let popular opinion sway her. She was going to do everything she could to capture Szofrit alive, and as she'd threatened before she'd pick a fight with those who wished to kill her if that was what it took.

But restraining and shielding Szofrit wouldn't be enough on its own. So far it looked like half the army was falling into the kill group, and with individuals like Childress that meant half-assed efforts would quickly be blown away.

While the tree's trunk and branches formed a prison for the synthetic overlord the roots burrowed into the ground and quickly spread out, only to resurface under Mizuki's control. Those who'd openly declared their desire to kill Szofrit would find that as they got close the roots would attempt to wrap around their feet and ankles, trying to trip them up or at least slow down their advance and weaken their assault. It would be the height of hubris to believe she could halt all of them by herself, but if she just made things difficult for them she might help give her allies time to finish sealing Szofrit.

Hopefully once Szofrit had been rendered harmless the kill faction would quiet down a little.

With the tree set up, Mizuki broke off several roots from the tree, pressing them against her arm. The roots expanded and wrapped themselves around her body, settling down as a thick layer of armoured bark that covered her arms and legs. As an additional layer of protection she'd use her own body to protect Szofrit, blocking incoming attacks with her armoured body parts and pushing back those who came too close with murder in their eyes.

Once we get out of this can you tell your captain that he's a fucking muppet?!

She yelled out towards @Hanno Futaba. She'd stuck around long enough to hear that Levi was choosing the kill faction, which meant yet another person she'd have to deal with. Respecting everyone's choices was all well and good, but it'd be a lot easier if that didn't mean she had to work around them to achieve the best outcome.

Rolls

5 → 3 (Spare)

---

Save
1d100 (43) + 25 = 68 (Fail)
Will | Ueno Mizuki | 1745C6 | Flavour Roll

---

Expertise Check
1d100 (58) + 25 = 83 (Fail)
Awareness | Ueno Mizuki | 1745C6 | Mistakes were made

---

Spare Mastery Contributions
+25 (S-Rank Hemomancy)
+25 (S-Rank Nature Magic)
Total: +50
Using blood to grow a large tree to restrain and protect Szofrit.

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Ilusa Nakhalee]

126 / 180

Health
Will Save Failed (99)
Awareness check failed

Status
▪ Location: 5 -> 3

Her head ached fiercely; screams, talks happening adding to the horrible migraine, the pain spiked within the rhythm of the blood being pumped. It made no sense. It made all sense. The HUD glitched.

Szofrit glitched. The HP bar was empty - but that meant nothing. A message under the bar, Immortal meant… Bad things.

How could they hope to defeat and not kill when everything was going wrong like that?

As if to echo her thoughts, time slowed down. It nearly stopped. For her, for others. She was suddenly unable to move, to breathe; she could only watch, observe and witness. Seeing the miniscule movement of her hand she moved to raise it. Black, white. Everything was bathed into those, a greyscale

Someone could move, a woman doing something with a magic circle she could barely see.

And then, her body moved back.

Like a spectator, Ilusa could see, feel her body moving; yet could do nothing about it.

Everything moved backwards - as if they all were watching a movie rewinded back. Magical, physical attacks in greyscale moved, reaction, actions reversed.

Dissonance unwrapping bit by bit from the Boss.

And then - something appeared. Something huge underneath the one with a magic circle. Ilusa could only see its vague shape, HUD’s glitching too harshly for her to concentrate more on it.

And then, she saw herself - her avatar, a shadow of it emerging from her body, facing the thing. Ageing rapidly. Wrinkles appearing, back hunching, fur losing its lustre, falling down, decomposing to skeleton from which a baby emerged. Baby with her ears and tuft of hair, ageing rapidly, to child, to teen to woman, to old woman to dead body.

Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.​

Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.​

Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.
Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.
Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.
Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.
Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.​

Eternity, infinity, moment, beginning and end of beginning againagainagainagain.

It was eternity, it was a moment.

A voice thrummed through the space of no-movement.

Her head swam, she heard, even understood words a bit; but she was reeling.

With colours returned, she found herself on the floor, retching, feeling her body trembling.

The headache disappeared, instead leaving her with a sense of vertigo and something huge unable to be contained crammed in her soul.

At least she was not the only one, and she was better than some crawling on floor with their own discharge.

She got herself together quite fast.

After everyone got themselves more or less together and opinions, shouts started to float. She should speak, use her presence and eloquence and convince others. Ilusa had done it before, in this world and the other. But she did not feel strong enough to do that, not right now, now with the taste of bile still on her tongue.

But a fact was: Ilusa was horribly selfish. The thought of this being an opportunity to find a way of undoing UI-lock mechanism, of finding a way of learning magic that would connect back to their birth world, where they could find a way of bringing souls of those locked here and place them in new or resurrected vessels… That was what she wanted. …Even though she knew Astor wanted the boss just gone.

Dissonance was a bigger threat than a boss. Dissonance stole what was dear, locked them out. It and UI-lock was a constant threat that she battles whenever logging-in. She despised it.

And really, in the end she was so very selfish. Casting a cowardly glance at Astor, she ran out of the safety, towards the boss. Rummaging the small inventory bag, she took out the seeds for the trees. A handful of seeds were placed on her palms.

She took a breath and started to chant. It needed a few spells mixed together.

One of her originals, something she was so proud of, something she used on a lesser scale to simply add trees to the world.

Another of her originals, a modified blessing, to cast on the now sprouting seeds.

Another one, so pale gold light wrapped around them as she threw the seeds up. The light carried them, as she chanted, they fell around Szofrit’s legs.

A regular spell, to enlarge the trees beyond their normal sizes. And one to keep the blessing together, so as the blessed, holy trees rose and wrapped around the boss' legs at first, restraining, with the blessing upon them to soothe and calm, to give an aura of safety, of love, of peace. Noticing another tree that was doing what she was doing, Ilusa modified the chant. Her trees grew and twinned with the blood tree, with its branches and trunk, creating a cage and protection along with someone's else spell (@Ueno Mizuki )

Rolls

5 → 3 (Spare)

Spare Mastery Contribution:
Divine Magic +25
Nature Magic +20
Total: +45

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX


▪ Build Sheet

 

[Omega Redux]

28 / 125

...?
???
??????

What the duck did Omega just experience? In the span of a singular eternal instance, she had witnessed herself(?) rise to Bosshood, just to be undone and reborn as a snarky Magia baby to repeat the cycle. A moment of joy (that all but confirmed her future overwhelming supremacy,) just to be shown how easily time and time again, she'd be defeated. Each and every iteration making this eternal moment duller and duller. At first, it was more of a comical nature, but after the Xth iteration, her unease started to grow...

Her mind and senses simply couldn't comprehend it. Whatever it was, with each cycle, another cell in her body wanted it to stop. Realized how wrong everything seemed. To get out of here. Log off. With each repeat, another droplet of water on her perfectly still forehead, eventually amassing into nothing but pure torture.

I'm sorry. She was indeed sorry. I just wanted to have some fun! Because playing games were supposed to be fun! Mama... Papa... I miss you. When was the last time she had seen them? Am I dead? Please stop!NoMore! Itspainful!Makeitstopwedontwantthisjustkillmealready.

And then, it stopped. As Omega's mind seemed to collapse onto itself. As everything she had just experienced, thought, and witnessed had all happened and not happened at once. Like waking up bathed in sweat from a Nightmare. Omega was fine. Omega was safe. Her body, her sense of time, everything was normal! Except that she found herself on the ground, shaking in a fetal position in a puddle of unsightly fluids and tears.

"I'm sorry..." She sobbed, simply wanting to log out, but couldn't, too difficult was the UI to handle.

@MAI's message went unacknowledged.

Rolls

5

-

Crossroad: Indecision
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Yugam]

225 / 225

Explorers League

It seemed to be a long fall as Yugam plummeted from the sky towards Szofrit, Unmei poised to impale the machine-woman through the shoulder and stake her to the ground. But a flash of red and Szofrit's suddenly halted HP bar would have none of it. Fatal lances rained down on those who dared to attack to mechanical monarch, and certainly Yugam was already dead, his fate decided.

The world stopped.

Unmei's tip dug into the synthetic flesh of Szofrit. A ley lance was poised right between Yugam's eyes, such that he would have gone cross-eyed trying to look at it. Everything stood still, washed free of color. Gradients of black white and grey left behind in a dreamlike state of stillness.

And then Yugam was moving backwards through the air. The spear retracted, every bullet that he and Unmei had fired was returned, they ran backwards through space and time, back to join @Luthien and the others in their loose formation.

A phantom stepped forward, wearing his own face. It turned and looked behind Yugam, at what he could not or would not see. And then, like on of Yugam's own puppet's the phantom withered and died. It's flesh ages, melting off its bones until those clattered silently to the ground and turned to dust, only for an infant to rise, grow, and die all the same, over and over and over again.

Stop.

Time resumed, color flooded back, and Yugam drew in a deep breath, left panting. "What the..." he gasped, barely able to keep it together before he looked back at Luthien. "What the hell was that?" he asked first, and then, "Are you okay?"

The fighting was quick to resume though, and the progress of the Starcalled remained in limbo, their success hanging on a thread. But the clamor of argument somehow cut above it all, those wishing to capture Szofrit attempting to halt those who thought it better to remove the threat entirely.

"Hey! Now is our chance to capture Szofrit alive, stop dawdling, you fools!"
"The attacks are cutting through her defenses, now's the time to end this. Kill her before the idiots get in our way!!!"
"Dammit all, just wait and see if we can help her. We are not animals!"

Help her? What was left there to help? Who the hell knew, but if they could learn more...Yugam stepped forward, more a haze of blood and magical energy than flesh as the corpses of dead Starcalled and magia alike rose. Bones broke from the earth as beds of crystalline roses sprang up across the field. The dead launched themselves at Szofrit, climbing among the branches of the trees grown through the efforts of others, each intent on finding some limb or ounce of flesh to pull to the ground with them. The glass-like vines grew around her, crawling up the trunks, stretching across and between them, adding to their ever increasing cage of light and bone and blood, prickling thorns discouraging both those within and out from approaching the bars. "D̵̮̦̈́e̴̼͍͛a̶̧͖̿̍ͅd̴̤̦̃̾ ̵͓̒̃̕o̴̧̼̽ȓ̴͙͔̀̿ͅ ̴̦̃͝a̴̼̼͈͊͝l̷̞͙̆͌i̸͑̈ͅv̵̜̠̖͠͝é̴̗͓͖,̷̬͋̚͘ ̷̱̿t̴͈̬͖̎̐͑ḥ̷̛̬̅i̷̬̘̓̎͊s̵̙̥͈̍̀͂ ̷͔̈̊͊t̴͇͛̈́́ỏ̴̼̭m̶̜̼̬͘b̷̬͍̥͆̀͑ ̶̡̱͎̀i̶̢͖̇̚͘s̴̻͋̿̃ ̸͚̽̅͗y̶͎̩̾̀͊o̵̪̭͛̽̄u̸͊ͅr̸̲͋s̷̜̻͖̔͗,̴̱̱̀͗" Yugam's voice seemed radiate from each of the summoned dead, mixing in with their own voice. "L̵͎̩̗͗̃ḁ̸͔͘ỹ̶͉͖̦́̑ ̸̪͔͂̏s̴̢͎̜̽̊t̷̬̒i̸͍̹̺̇ḷ̴̟̂̚l̶͖̤̜̅ ̷̝̅̃̏ạ̶̔͠n̷̙͍̂d̸̨̤͔̔̔ ̴̟͈̓̓̀ŝ̶̲̻i̷̤̼͔͆l̷̯̯̔ë̶͈̩́͑͝ń̸̳̒̉t̶͎̋̀ͅ,̴̙̦̒̄ ̷̧̪̇â̷͇ǹ̷̩͔̏͝d̴̞͎̗̀̕͠ ̴̣̼́̿̾r̵̈͑͜e̶̢̱͕͛̚s̵̭̓̈́͌t̸̬̯͝ ̵̠͋n̶̼̠̱̔ő̴̥̝̼͑̚w̷͈̘̱̽̇̚,̶̗́͝͠ ̵̘̳̝̀͒ä̵̘̒̔m̸̗͙̰̿̆̚ó̶̤̽́ͅņ̷̮̄g̸̡̬͎͒̃ ̴͓̻̏́̏͜t̶̞͖͂̚h̶̫͕̝̐ẽ̷̛͇̩̼ ̶̞̖̿r̷͎̈́́e̶̞̱͋s̴̡͇̚t̴̡̩̾͆l̸͙̖̗̀è̵̓ͅş̸͈͛s̸̝̽̕,̴̥͜͠ ̷̡͎͔̂̈́͠ẗ̸̲́̊͘h̵͎͆è̶̛̺͇̐ ̷̡̈́̉͠b̴̟̦̳͑͐͆ḻ̵͎͍̅̈́ǫ̴̼̗̓͒̎ö̷̤͇͍́͘d̸̡̺̎͘ ̸̧͇̫͆͗s̵̛̗͓h̸̲̓̇̇ĕ̶̩̤͈̑d̶̼͎͌ ̸̙͙̟̀̍͠į̶̔n̸̥͕̪̑̔ ̸̩͚͊͂̃o̶̯͕̓̇̒͜f̷̬̯́̇ḟ̸͎͗͑ĕ̵̗̼̖͐̀r̵̪̻̯͐i̵̡̎͗n̶̫̔̐g̵͉̰̤̈́̆,̵͓̪̰̀ ̶̨͚̐͆ą̷̄̋n̷̟͌ḑ̶̱̙̇ ̵̲̤̫̈t̵̠̪̅͝͝ͅh̵̜̋e̶̱̺̽́̚ ̷̬̯͗̕͘ȩ̸̂̔v̴͉͗ẽ̸͙͈͍͋͘r̵̺̘͘l̴͔̣͌̌͠ã̶͉̳̋ṣ̸̻̺̅͠t̶͚̻̻̔̆͘ì̴ͅn̷͖̽͆͜ģ̵͒ ̸͉̖̦̏̓m̷͔̈́̇͜ö̴̬̪̹n̷̮̹͖̈́ȕ̸̼͠m̵̟̹̟̈́̂͘e̸͉̖̭̓̑̎n̷̮̈́t̴̺̑̈́s̷̨̹͍̓͠ ̴̛̹̱̥t̶̡̺̖̆̇ǒ̵̪͓̌ ̶̻̺̂r̴̟͂̒͝i̴͚͉̤͗̈͘g̸͓̔͝h̵̠͙̭͂t̶͓͖̜̑ẻ̴̗ò̵̧̭͚ù̴̫̫͠s̷̰̤̿͆n̸̜̳̥̅̂e̴̥͐s̸̘̤͂̈́s̸̰̤̆̍.̵̩͆͂͝"

@Luthien

Rolls

A1 → A2 (Action)

Save
1d100 (83) + 25 = 108
Success
Will | Yugam | 1745C6 | Flavor roll

Expertise Check
1d100 (26) + 25 = 51
Fail
Awareness | Yugam | 1745C6

Capture Szofrit
Hemomancy (+25)
Animancy (+25)

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
▪ Build Sheet

 

[Jin]

67 / 235

"EVERYONE WHO FIGHTS FOR A BETTER FUTURE..."

Still reeling from the effects of being torn backward through time, Jin heard those words and promptly voided the contents of his stomach amid the turgid swamp of preexisting, noxious bile and vomit. The Hemoturge wiped the sleeve of his cloak across his face and smeared the vile-smelling fluid across his face, not bothering to remove it with any real emphasis.

"You've got to be kidding me," he rasped. What a sentiment in the middle of a battlefield. It was clear Mizuki was appealing to the hero-worship and idealism of people who were enraptured by game-aspect of Terrasphere. And there were a lot of those, to be sure.

Jin wasn't particularly sold one way or the other- and the fallout of the choice that was made would be on all of them to bear. That only made the results more interesting, regardless. He wouldn't harass them any more than he already had.

The damage had already been done.

"I'm going to continue as projected," he announced. "Without compelling reason to entertain the alternative, I'll stay the course and honor my word."

He glanced sidelong toward @Zelrius and smiled softly. "No hard feelings, of course."

He finished and drew his blade slowly, drawing the energies from his cursed blade inward, dredging up the power to break through and put their enemy to the blade.

"Soul severing sword," he murmured, the black hue of his blade thickening, convalescing with blue spirit energies drawn from the fallen spirits that haunted the battlefield around them, drinking in their call for justice. "Second movement- the untrodden path to nowhere."

He surged forward, a force of nature.

Rolls

3

Will Save
1d100 (61) + 30 = 91
Jin | 1745C6

Slash Weapons +25
Hemomancy +20
(+45 total)

Crossroad: Kill
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[Seigi Ling Ling]

1 / 250

The Sunset Sage of Seven Strikes. Nanami. The Immaculate Throne of Dissonance. The Fate Eater. The Shadow Beast of Brisshal. Titania. The Girl who Died in A Ditch. Starmaiden. Seigi Darlite. Fate Slaver. Arbiter. Raina Raythean. The Sunset Sage of Shattered Fate. Fate Breaker. Super Magical Heroine Orange Justice: Seigi Ling Ling! Just Seigi.

Nanami was taken aback as even she was seemingly powerless in the face of absolute authority. Seigi was able to witness countless possibilities of herself. Iteration after iteration, she'd see how her burning passion never ceased to burn, just to have that very flame be snuffed out in the very next. Yet others, where she was just another casualty in the endless conflict.

None of that mattered to Seigi however. Instead trying to break free of this spell with every fiber of her body. She did not believe in any sort of assigned Fate, but rather a woman of her own making. And even as the frozen time continued to move forward for eons, Seigi didn't give up until - eventually - she found herself faceplanting into a wall. Too much was she concentrating every fiber in her body to move that by the time she was free, things moved too quickly.

Everything was spinning and, in all honesty, a part of her just wanted to curl up and be done with it. Yet, she wouldn't, she couldn't. Probably barfing dissonant rainbows in a corner, Seigi regained her composure as she looked back to the area of the golden egg.

The flow of the battle had changed substantially. Whatever had reset them, had clearly taken its biggest toll on Szofrit. And while Seigi was feeling nauseous, she'd keep going. There had been worse hangovers...

Somewhere there was @Magi Heart, too. "I will show you, Wendy..." She whispered, before the voice of @Rael summon was carried across the battlefield. A clear conflict, yet Seigi was too far away to make out any details. Though whatever plan she had, Seigi knew they were on the same team.

Instead, Seigi saw Levi(@Asch) walking towards her, and Szofrit. "Levi!" She called out to him, how often had they missed each other? His eyes betrayed uncertainty. "You know why I left the Lions!?" There would have been a better time and place for this but amongst the chaos of emotions. In fact, there was so much she wanted to say. But time was of the essence...

"Show me, that you've grown, too! That we've grown! Who are we if not villains, if all we can do is strike down our adversaries with force until they are undone?! I, Seigi Ling Ling, refuse to accept!

It isn't about being good or evil. We lead by example. And the example to go by is boundless forgiveness! I will protect all and anyone. For a Hero is a Shining Beacon of Hope! Even for those drenched in Darkness! Even for those ignorant of their true desire!

Even if it kills me, I will return and return. Over and over. And you shall, too! This isn't about weighing what-ifs and could-be. It's as simple as it gets: We protect everybody. We restain Szofrit. We give her a beating if she acts up. As many times as it takes. Nobody is going to die. Not the Starcalled, not the Magia."

Urgh... she hasn't done one of these in ages! Seigi closed her eyes.

"And if that burden is too much for you to wear, I shall take it on, too. I'll show you!"

And with these words, Seigi turned to Szofrit. There really wasn't much she could do to constrain a beast, other than using her own body and conviction!

That was very cringe, little hero~
No, it was awesome!

Rolls

3
Spare Szofrit
+25 Harmonics (Convince Levi with speech voice, additionally anyone else who listens)
+25 Martial Arts (Hug Szofrit to contain)
+XX Corruption (The positive kind, sparkly light!)

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
Build Sheet

 

[MAI]

‎

97 / 220

Health
+̶1̴0̷0̶ ̵H̵P̸ ̶|̵ ̵-̸1̴0̶ ̷f̷r̵o̷m̶ ̵G̶S̴L̴ ̸P̵r̴o̵p̴u̶l̵s̷a̷r̵
̷‎̴ ̷‎̶ ̷‎̷ ̷‎̴ ̸‎̴ ̸‎̷ ̷‎̷ ̸‎̵ ̷‎̶ ̶‎̵ ̴‎̷ ̵‎̸ ̴‎̶ ̵‎̸ ̵‎̵ ̵‎̸ ̴ -̸4̷0̵ ̸f̷r̸o̵m̶ ̴d̵o̸u̴b̶l̸e̷ ̶H̵y̵m̸n̷ ̶o̸f̵ ̶S̷t̷e̵e̷l̴
̵‎̴ ̵‎̵ ̸‎̷ ̷‎̷ ̶‎̶ ̷‎̷ ̴‎̶ ̶‎̸ ̵‎̵ ̶‎̸ ̷‎̵ ̶‎̸ ̴‎̷ ̷‎̸ ̶‎̵ ̴‎̵ ̵-̷3̷0̸ ̶f̶r̴o̴m̸ ̸S̸h̷e̸l̴l̵ ̶W̴h̷i̵p̶
̵‎̴ ̶‎̴ ̶‎̸ ̷‎̴ ̷‎̴ ̷‎̴ ̸‎̴ ̶‎̵ ̶‎̴ ̴‎̶ ̷‎̸ ̶‎̶ ̸‎̶ ̸‎̷ ̶‎̸ ̶‎̶ ̶-̴2̸0̷ ̴f̴r̷o̵m̸ ̶G̴e̶n̵o̵c̸i̴d̵e̶ ̵M̷o̴o̶n̸
̷+̶4̶0̵ ̶H̴P̸ ̶(̸H̵e̷a̶l̴)̶ ̶|̷ ̶+̴4̴0̴ ̷f̸r̶o̴m̵ ̶s̵e̴l̴f̵
̴+̴0̴5̶ ̷H̵P̵ ̶(̴M̷i̸t̷i̷g̵a̵t̸i̴o̸n̵)̶ ̵|̷ ̴+̷0̷5̷ ̸f̸r̵o̵m̴ ̴s̷e̵l̶f‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Status
▪ L̶o̵c̷a̸t̷i̸o̵n̷:̵ ̸[̸ ̴5̶ ̵]̷
̵▪ ̵D̴e̴b̴u̶f̴f̶e̶d̸ ̶|̵ ̵(̶2̶)̴ ̸D̷e̵e̶p̵ ̷W̵o̵u̸n̷d̶ ̴f̷r̵o̸m̶ ̵H̵y̵m̵n̸ ̴o̸f̶ ̸S̸t̵e̷e̶l̷‎̵ ̶‎̶ ̶‎̶C̷u̸r̷e̵d̶ ̸b̶y̶ ̴S̷e̷l̶f̴
̵▪ ̴V̷u̴l̶n̴e̵r̶a̵b̸l̷e̶ ̵f̴r̴o̸m̵ ̸P̴o̶w̷e̶r̸ ̶H̶e̵a̷l̴
▪ Unwinding

A fall. Szofrit was falling, her form no longer able to keep itself afloat above the battlefield. A mighty foe has fallen. That was the story that the Starcalled were weaving. Yet, one of them chose to go against the threads of fate and started weaving a tale of her own. And so the world fell silent and colorless, the ambiance of a clock ticking driving one's mind mad. Not a singular clock, but many. For time and space were not something that could be easily dominated by any one individual. There was another ethereal clock, ticking away behind MAI's back.

However, the magia was not able to even turn her eyes toward the pink-haired elf in time before time started moving backward. Despite her best attempts, she could not go against the flow of the rewind, the lullaby slipping back down her throat and her shattered wings sending her back toward the Golden Egg. There, however, the time shattered once more. MAI did not pay much attention to the display of existential dread happening in front of her. Instead, she forcefully turned her chronomancy clock with sheer will to turn and gaze into the abomination down below. Her investigation mode gave her a name: ----

Then, in an instant, all returned back to normal. Landing back on her own two feet, MAI was spared the negative effects imposed by the time rift, instead quickly assessing her situation around the egg. But once that was done and she paired up with @Vina Skysong, it was time to get moving again. Szofrit was incapacitated, but there was no telling how long she would remain in such a state. Taking a few steps just outside of the safe zone of the Golden Egg, the magia stared at the machine in the distance, almost absent-mindedly. With so many people trying to kill her... with so many people trying to help her... there was nothing she could truly do out there. Her gaze fell on @Kyanna Wynne who was a bit to the side.

"Thank you. Stay safe... I'll come to you once all is over."

They stood here, at the end of all things. Everyone was doing their best, so she should too. Ah, to witness the determination of all... the reasoning that kept them all here, despite the possibility of death awaiting. She had become just like them, has she not? Yes... she was satisfied, and her question was answered.

Kneeling down, the girl ran one of her hands across the upper part of her chest. There was nothing there aside from the gash left by Szofrit's attack, yet she could almost feel the golden cross that rested there, on her real body. Then, she clasped her hands and closed her eyes. A gesture of prayer, but not to any gods of this game. It was time to pour all of herself into this.

'Oh, Mother Kos... will you look over me, too? Will you give me the strength to rival the mighty stars that illuminate our world?'​

A cape of pure mana enveloped MAI's body, transparent and a doorway to the cosmos. Countless nebula and galaxies of all colors were displayed through it, twinkling stars creating arrays and constellations. A wondrous display of the Universe's boon.

'The time was forced to move forward... and so will we. We shan't let the marching clock hand crush us beneath it.'​

A visage of a clockface formed behind the magia, formed of ethereal blue mana, glowing and illuminating all in front of it. It was ticking along, the flow of time normal.The very essence of time was poured into the girl.

'Wind, will you carry my voice to her? It is a lullaby dedicated to her, after all.'​

Gentle breeze started blowing around the small, synthetic form. Refreshing and invigorating, but not strong enough to carry the weight of one's voice by itself. Thankfully, she had another songstress by her side, did she not?

'My aura, infusing all of my masteries. Will you drape and comfort her as well?'​

Szofrit was suffering. Did she deserve it, for all that she had done? After witnessing the machine's memory, MAI could not judge that she did. And so, perhaps she would appreciate that warm, unseen embrace?

'Szofrit, Mother of Machines... hear my song! Whatever happens... let us carry hope for a tomorrow!'​

And so the lullaby began. A song for mother, a soothing voice that would try to quell the rage and sadness of a broken handler, sent on a mission without ever knowing why... the one who was rather consumed by madness than to hurt her own bretheren.

Rolls

[ 5 ]

Will check ; Automatic success (Chronomancy)

Expertise Check
1d100 (95) + 15 = 110
Awareness | MAI | 1745C6
The name lingers and the consequences await

Magitech (+25) ; Aura (+25)

Crossroad: Spare
▪ Kill: XXXX
▪ Spare: XXXX
▪ Build Sheet