Complete 18+ Private ✪ Finweald Thrombus

[eden]

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She was entranced with the little flame that danced in the palm of her hand. The heated orange glow of the fire that was crafted from her own body. A simple little spell that any beginner could create, but this one was hers. It was special. So very very special and precious.

It was dark within the capitol of the Starcalled. Her arms were draped over the railing of the tavern's second floor balcony. Her blue eyes sparkled as she watched the glow of the nighttime hours within the city. It was still so alive with festivities. Laughter could be heard downstairs as the other tavern patrons. Their tones were so joyous, it was actually quite annoying.

"Such a pretty fire~"

She pondered what would happen if she burned down the wooden structure she was standing on. Would people get hurt, or would they be intelligent enough to put it out? Considering most of the people she had seen today were landers, well...any system would have a good defensive protocol to prevent distruction. Then again, that could spell trouble she had no intention of indulging in. This place was meant to be somewhere peaceful for her.

Eden slowly closed her hand and snuffed out the flame.

Perhaps for another day.

She considered going back inside for another drink. The flush on her cheeks showing that she'd indulged in more mead than her body had been prepared for that evening. Though, the idea of fried sweet potatoes was also good. Or, perhaps a nicely roasted garlic spread on bread with cheese. Something starchy to soak up the alcohol in her belly would be smart, yes?

Though, Eden didn't really care about being smart tonight...a little chaotic perhaps, but not smart.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

His fingers traced the wooden tabletop, traces of gritty dust caking across them as he did. Jin glanced down and rubbed his thumb against the grime, his head tilted. These establishments were never high class, nevermind well-maintained. The places where the majority of Starcalled haunted after twilight were Dens of Filth and Sin- the perfect place for him to keep a low profile.

In theory.

Since the exodus of a multitude of Landers, everyone seemed increasingly more interested in everyone else's business. As the Bloodsworn smeared the dust across the lower portions of his cloak, he leaned forward and took a healthy sip of his ale. From the corner booth he'd claimed for his lonesome, he had a perfect vantage of everyone on the ground floor.

Finweald was hardly the beautiful jewel that the Crown often boasted it to be. A fantasy city, complete with its own slummy neighborhoods and night life. By contrast, Stokbon in Falderen was a much more illustrious city- though by no means any less plagued by poverty or stricken with its own mess of problems. Perhaps the most fundamental issue with the latter city was that, at this point, they almost exclusively hated Starcalled.

Alas, Jin lamented in silence, no place could be perfect.

He glanced over the crowd again, a glossy disinterested glaze overtaking his Crimson eyes. There was truly nothing to do in the days since they chose a peaceful solution rather than a more permanent one.

That was the problem with gamers. The Hero complex always seemed to win out. They wanted to have their hands clean, to never do anything morally reprehensible- or if they did, they always wanted to seek amends for it. Not a pragmatic brain cell between them.

With a dissatisfied grunt, Jin took another pull from his drink. How would he ever have his fun if the tyranny of the majority had as much sway here as it did on the other side?

He turned a hand over in front of himself, watching, listening for even the vaguest change in the state of the room around him. He still had the faintest of hopes something interesting might happen.

There.

It was momentarily hotter, the air above dried out. Magical energies flowed and writhed uncomfortably, like they had been twisted too quickly and forcibly rubbed together to create friction. Fire.

Did that mean danger? Jin was immediately alert. Not for the sake of the others around him, and probably not for his own safety. Instead, his curiosity pinged the question- why?

There were lanterns and small, glowing candles distributed throughout the establishment. Outside, MIT had made great strides in electronics and illumination that kept the city from ever truly going dark. Unless one of those many sources had suddenly flickered and gone out, there was no cause for a sudden invocation of Flame.

And so, leaving his drink without words, the Bloodsworn skunked away from his table and made quickly for the fleeting remnant of a magical spell- just in time to see a woman close her hand, extinguishing the culprit flame. He was only partially up the staircase, still several steps shy of the second floor as he got eyes on her.

She didn't have the look of a ne'er-do-well.

Tragic.

Jin finished his ascent by striding past her without making eye contact. He was at the balcony where she had been standing only moments before in less than half the time than it took him to climb the stairs. With a brief glance over the railing, he called back over his shoulder.

"Some days I wonder what would happen if I let the intrusive thoughts win," he mused, eyes on the ground far below. "Like, if I were to throw myself over the side, out into the street, with nothing to catch me... would I die?"

@eden

 

[eden]

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Eden looked up slowly from her position against the railing. Her icy gaze slowly tracing the horizon before focusing on the stairs to her left. The expression on her features one of mild curiousity, but nothing more as she studied the expression of the male there. Slowly she turned and considered walking away from the second floor. Returning to the safety of the first floor would be wise. Though she couldn't exactly explain why her gut said such a thing to her.

The man climb the stairs and soon stood where she had just stepped away from. There was a mischevious look behind his eyes, but there was also something more than what the elf could place. A mild interest in a new plaything perhaps? Yes, such an expression could leave an impression on her in the same manner a parent would watch their child with that new toy for the first five minutes. She could feel her stomach fluttering.

"Mmmm...." Eden made a soft humming noise as she stretched her arms above her head and leaned back a bit before sinking herself into the space beside the man as he spoke. Her back to the railing as he looked down and mused on the topic of intrusive thoughts. Her expression darkened a bit before a smile spread across her lips.

"Well, as lovely as it would be to see the scarlet of your blood and the pink remnants of your brain matter staining the cobblestone below....your odds of just dealing with a fractured leg is more likely from this height. Though I hear that bone is just as enchanting when it pops out of the flesh."

She looked at him for a moment. She understood the sensation in her stomach now, butterflies. A strong sign of danger. Though not quite the type to trigger her fight or flight response right away, it was something that certainly drew her brain to be alert.

"My intrusive thoughts....if the building burned...how many would make it out alive tonight? Would the city fall with the ashes of the lander's remains? What defenses does the reality of this world have instilled to protect the people here?"

She licked her lips.

"How sweet would the alcohol taste over a burned corpse? Though....my itch for garlic bread outweighs the drive to destroy."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

Well, as lovely as it would be to see the scarlet of your blood and the pink remnants of your brain matter staining the cobblestone below...

"Heh."

Your odds of just dealing with a fractured leg is more likely from this height. Though I hear that bone is just as enchanting when it pops out of the flesh.

Jin wasn't sure if she was just trying to impress him or she was just another one of the many strange specimens who played Terrasphere knowing the inherent dangers. His expression remained unchanged as he considered the suggested injury.

If the building burned...how many would make it out alive tonight?
Inconsequential.

Would the city fall with the ashes of the lander's remains? What defenses does the reality of this world have instilled to protect the people here?

"My, aren't you volatile?" he asked rhetorically. There were easy ways to get all of those answers, but not all of them were answers that she necessarily wanted to know. She knew that, of course. That was what made them intrusive thoughts. The more likely scenario was that she intended to make herself out to be the scarier one between them, the sort of posturing that one might use in self-defense.

Jin delighted in that sort of psychological warfare.

"Shall we test your theory?" the Bloodsworn asked suddenly, not waiting for a response. in a quick motion, he threw himself over the railing and plummeted toward the street below.

@eden

 

[eden]

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She caught his little chuckle as she spoke. The more analytical of her nature surfaced in the moment as she analyzed the inner mechanics of the proposed ideas. What could she say, she liked to know her odds...sometimes. Though the idea of acting purely on impulse and desire. Wouldn't it be fun?

She grinned as she looked at the dark haired mystery man. This was certainly an encounter that would be memorable, even heavily delightful should the pair play their cards right. Following the intrusive impulses of the human mind...indulging in the darker desires...well...even with the death prone aspects of the game...

It was certainly something to behold.

She laughed when he called her volatile. That was a phrase she hadn't heard in some time. Her teachers called her that...her classmates on the other hand had called her psychotic. Though, her own choice of amusement often came at the expense of others...the freedom to release her inhibitions...

It was something she craved.

"I would prefer capricious...perhaps mischievous."

She tilted her head in his direction. Her icy gaze shining with excitement when he mentioned testing her theory. So, he was certainly the reckless type....interesting...

The elf watched her companion jump. As first she reached out her hand to him...only to pull it back and bring it to her lips. She bit her finger softly as she watched him plummet towards the pavement below. What kind of beautiful masterpiece would his body craft for her viewing pleasure?

Eden needed to know...

"Paint me something unforgettable."

She muttered the words softly as the heat from the excitement sparked her magic again. The hand which rested against the railing began to smolder as she lifted her palm to reveal the flames dancing on the wood. Her magic clearly reacting to the very rush of exhilaration and desire that coursed through her body as she watched him fall and excitedly waited to see what he would do.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

He could remember the words of one of his High School science teachers perfectly, despite having dropped out. There were certain subjects that interested him, while the vast majority, he found utterly boring. This one stuck out.

"Falling happens quickly.

The earth exerts gravity at a constant on all matter, regardless of its mass. If the distance is great enough, it can eventually reach its greatest possible acceleration- or its Terminal Velocity. Fortunately for a human, your brain can't process that kind of force. It'd essentially shut down before you ever hit the ground. If you die from a fall, chances are that it's probably over before you make contact."

Theo had always found that fact remarkably boring. For all the time spent honing one's body, in the end, their mind could still become their greatest weakness. As his body fell toward the ground, those were the thoughts that raced through his head. A class, and how it had dashed his dreams.

What was it the girl said? "Your odds of just dealing with a fractured leg are more likely from this height."

That too was dependent on several variables- something they hadn't covered in science class. The angle at which he hit the ground, for one, and the pressure and weight from the rest of his body acting on it. If he collided full force and his entire mass followed, then certainly, his leg would take such damage.

But that too was boring, in its own way.

No.

"I want something more fun."

The natural response was to fall feet first, perhaps tuck, maybe roll if you were lucky and quick. Someone with training might bend at the knees and use their entire body to absorb the shock of the landing. Jin's instinct wasn't so rife with self-preservation.

He threw his arms out and closed his eyes, smiling serenely as he slammed face-first into the cobblestone. A wet, squishing sound and a horrific crunch resounded as he smacked the ground, bounced, and his body was flung like a rag doll, turning an entire rotation before flopping once more and landing on his back, the wind gone from his lungs.

Agony blossomed in his chest from the cracked ribs, and while nothing had completely protruded from his flesh- that he could see, at least (not that he could see much with the red haze that was clouding the outer edges of his vision)- he could feel pain lancing through his body. He coughed weakly, blood spewing from the edge of his lips, as he smiled and stared up at the sky.

"Not every bone in my body," he appraised quietly, "but sufficient. A decent way to maim someone.

@eden

 

[eden]

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Eden watched his descent with heavy interest. Her gaze sparkling with lust and amusement at the situation. There was something about this man's reckless abandon that just hit all of her buttons in the right way. She could feel the heat in her core growing.

Then his body collided with the pavement. His lovely face and chest making impact with a hard thump. She watched as his frame bounced up before twisting him onto his back as he landed. A soft moan left her lips. His blood coated the cobblestones with a lovely scarlet. Even in this virtual reality the scene was absolutely breathtaking.

The flames on the balcony grew with the rush of her own desire. A soft moan left her lips as she licked the side of her finger tip. Provided he survived....and judging by the way his expression shifted....he did....well...she wouldn't mind playing with him in other ways. Acting upon the intrusive thoughts did mean getting to indulge in the most carnal of human actions.

Quickly she walked away from the balcony and back into the tavern. The flames continuing to dance on the railing even after her depature. Descending the stairs and rushing out the door to check on her companion in his moment of need. She went to his side quickly and silently before kneeling down and putting her face within his line of vision so he wouldn't have to move too much.

"You've made something so pretty....a form of art I couldn't have created in my own imagination..."

Eden straddled his waist to check on his condition, careful to avoid putting her weight down onto his pelvis. Her fingertips lightly grazed his chest to assess the broken ribs. Then slowly she brought her hands up to his cheeks, forehead, and nose. The damage in those areas was very obvious to her trained eye. She'd at one point considered becoming a doctor, so of course basic medical training was a must.

She smiled softly before she brought her lips close to his cheek and licked away a bit of the metallic smelling fluid that was running down his face. She then decided to be a bit impulsive herself, using her racial trait to take on his pain in the moment. Perhaps it dulled his own experience, but it certainly heightened her own.

She gasped for air and groaned softly. The pain coursed through her chest and head with an intense white hot fire. It brought out in her a level of pleasure and desire she couldn't even put into words.

"Shall I heal you?"

@Jin

 

[Jin]

He didn't use the limiter. People had mentioned in passing that to not do so was ill-advised, especially in this world where pain registered in a very real and very vivid way. On the other hand, the more pain that was blocked, the more the avatar would stagger to compensate. Both situations were less than ideal.

As his body wracked with pain, his thoughts patched together into tangents, things about how he came to this point and what drove him there, about how his mother might react if she knew. The pain burned like a wildfire, spreading rampant as his consciousness broadened and became more aware. The more he woke up from the mental fog, the more pain seeped into his clarity.

A normal man might have screamed.

Jin bit his lip, craning his neck just a bit to stave off the sheer ecstasy mixed with agony that threatened to growl unbidden from his lips. The Hunter had hunted the ultimate prey- himself. He'd always dreamed about how he might do it, if he ever decided to end his own life.

I suppose I should cross 'jump from a tall building' off the list of prospects...

His face was jarred, nose out of position and fractured in several places from the impact. Blood streamed down from his nasal passages and he breathed through his mouth, despite the burning. It was the only real way, in that situation, to continue getting air to his lungs. Then, she came into his line of sight.

You've made something so pretty....a form of art I couldn't have created in my own imagination...

"You... really ought to get... more creative... then," he huffed between ragged breaths as she touched his face, his chest, various parts of his body that were already reeling. The explosions of agony that followed caused him to gasp, breathless, fighting for every ounce of air that he could gulp down.

He felt it when she licked at his cheek, and felt the smearing of blood and saliva as she took his viscera in. More than that, he could feel the curse as it crept into her body, even if she failed to notice.

Jin could feel it now. The things she did not say, but that could no longer hide. The pain she drew into herself, from him. It became a loop, hyperconductive as he drank in his own suffering, from what she thought to steal.

Shall I heal you? she asked. Like some kind of heretical angel, she straddled his broken body and dangled the promise of catharsis over him. Jin's virulent gaze remained unwavering as his hands shakily rose from his sides, finding purchase on either of her arms.

"Unnecessary," he rasped brutally, his focus now singular as he kept her at arm's length in a vicegrip. Already she had come to close, and already she had attempted to plant strange thoughts and emotions into his mind. His body would forever remain stained with the memory of a mouth that should never have been allowed so close.

As he held her away with shaking, yet I inhumanly strong arms, the pain in his body coalesced. It shuddered along a telltale path, following his arteries to deliver blood from the heart to other cells. Infused with a heat unlike any fire, the curse inflicted on his body began to reshape it at the cellular level. Shattered bone slowly started to pull itself together, knitted by blood that coagulated and hardened to bind the shards. Meat and sinew fused back together, unholy energy shaping them into a proper form. He could feel the absurd levels of sensation, beyond anything a normal human brain ought be able to comprehend, and once more he recalled the words of his instructor.

"...your brain can't process that kind of force..."

Who's brain can't? He could feel himself smiling unbidden, practically laughing in the face of the man who had shattered a younger Theo's dreams. I must be built differently, then.

Every moment that passed, his body was rebuilding itself.

Every moment that passed, the pain grew even more immense.

Jin's grip on the woman's arms grew wild, his nails biting deep into flesh. As he felt the ribcage setting properly in his torso, he took that precise opportunity to cast her aside.

"You can look," he told her, "but touch me again, and you can experience that all over, for yourself this time."

Jin slowly stood, his equilibrium adapting to all of the sudden, jarring changes.

The pain lingered. He rested an arm on the sheathe of his weapon. "You should be more careful," he warned, "about bloodbourne pathogens."

@eden

 

[eden]

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Reckless abandon and following the will of intrusive thoughts had brought them to this point. His body lay broken underneath her while she assessed the damage. He was certainly quite handsome, though many of the men in this game seemed to lean towards crafting an attractive male avatar. But, there was something darker, dangerous, and the kind of fear that only the butterflies in her stomach could match with her anxiety towards the current moment.

His gaze was both full of pain and pure determination, perhaps it was spite even. Though, she barely heard his words about not needing her assistance as the burning hot fire consumed her from the inside. This time brought on not just by her own desire, but something else entirely. She gasped for air as he wrapped his arms around her.

The searing pain of a million coals burning within every cell of her body consumed her entire being. This immense sensation only doubled as she felt his own pain in the process. The snapping of his bones as they shifted back into place and the cells within his body returning to their previous function as though his fall had never happened. How she maintained alert and aware through this she had no words. Though the pain blended with the intense pleasure of the suffering...

Were this a different kind of situation, Eden would have already had a blinding hot orgasm from it all. Still there was something raw, hot, and intoxicating about this pain. Even as his nails ripped open the flesh on her skin, Eden merely let out a shuttered breath and bit her lip while she road the waves of pleasure and pain within her own cells. The pain limiter clearly something she was enjoying not using....

It was the worst pain she'd ever felt, but the most intense pleasure she could even imagine....

She found herself flying through the air before her bottom landed hard on the pavement as he stood up. His words were a thread, but for Rina, well....she questioned if dying three times would be worth riding such an intense wave again.

Perhaps not, but the experience she'd just had with this man....

She would want to experience again someday.

"Hmm....understood...."

She laid back on the pavement. Her chest rising and falling with each shallow breath as she considered her options. Slowly she licked away the blood that was now dripping down her forearms. The damage done there clearly going to leave a scar behind for her to commit this experience to memory.

"Thank you for that...experience."

She looked over at his form before pulling herself up to her feet and dusting off the white fabric of her short kimono. A loud crashing sound drew her attention towards the tavern where the balcony of the space came falling from the second story. The fire she'd left behind now dancing along the shingles of the roof. It was, very clear in the few moments that she'd been riding the intense sensations that the fire had grown exponentially in size.

It wouldn't take long before the building was fully engulfed at this point.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

Thank you for that...experience.

He brushed her words off with some indifference, though he carefully noted her demeanor and the words she had chosen. Clearly, the woman was some manner of masochist- something he had no intention of holding against her or judging her for. Such things were frivolous and changed nothing about a person, or their intrinsic value.

And value was all that anyone amounted to, wasn't it?

"Hmmmm...?"

Jin's bloody gaze shifted toward the building they'd vacated, only to hear the cries of the denizens within as they recognized danger. He was quick to pick up on the cause, with the smoke roiling skyward from rooftop shingles prevalent and visible more so than the flames themselves.

"I suppose this would make me a 'bad influence," he murmured as he listened to the chaos rattle off in the distance, shouts coordinating a response, hands moving to get water to the burning areas, people ushering bystanders out of harm's way. There was no need for further action, and with his honed senses, Jin could perceive that the immediate danger was minimal. If had gone unnoticed for much longer, though, carnage might have been unavoidable.

A shame, really.

"Luckily for you, they'll lose interest in how it happened quickly, and be much more satisfied with minimal damages and casualties," Jin reflected. "A boring sentiment, perhaps, but one you'll find common in the larger cities. Community, civilized society, all of that."

His eyes rested on the flames, steady and rebellious, hellbent on continuing to burn against the best efforts to quell them. They started to wane, growing fainter with each moment that passed, and Jin sighed.

"Some concepts don't change much from what you know, while others..."

His voice trailed off as his lips curled into a soured smile. "...suffice to say, there is fun to be had in this world. You simply won't find much of it in the safety of Finweald."

Jin looked now to the woman, the weakened fire behind him as he pulled his hood overhead.

"No need to thank me, though. This evening was infinitely less boring because of your little spectacle." Jin rolled his neck, bones crackling as he did. Everything was falling back into its proper place, slowly. "I do hope you continue to be a source of entertainment. This world needs more interesting people."

@eden

 

[eden]

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Eden observed the handiwork of her magic. Such a little spark had grown into a beautiful glowing pyre. A masterpiece that she had to admit was beyond any vision she'd anticipated. Her blue eyes sparkled with amazement at the chaos and entertainment the night with this chance encounter had brought her. The pain, pleasure, and thrill of all of it....

She certainly craved more.

Though to press for such an opportunity would make it something she could one day grow bored with. She certainly didn't want this to be something that lost its luster to her. All the parties and fancy dresses in the world couldn't recreate this experience....and that was exactly what it was for her. She smiled at the male as he explained the way things would work out. The fact that she would go unnoticed and that no one would likely die. A sentiment that probably should've made her happy but honestly she felt it was a mute point. It was the thrill of what she'd created with her own magic, her own hands.

"Perhaps, but if this was born from my current beginner skill level....imagine what could be crafted with complete mastery..."

Finally, she'd found her drive and motivation to grow. To create something more beautiful and destructive with her own hands. Perhaps....she would see casualties along the way, but they would be necessary if she wanted to achieve that aspiration. As she turned her gaze onto the dark figure fully, well she had to admire him. To bring out such a side within her in such a short time...it was memorable...impressive even.

He was impressive.

"Such a disappointment to call things to a close so early, but...I can say it was fun while it lasted. Perhaps the most fun I've had here yet. One of us got off on this little party tonight~ I hope to meet you again, Cutie Pie."

With a wave of her hand she opened up her UI with the intent to log out of the game. Though she paused a minute and looked at him with a little grin. She certainly wanted to play with him again~ With that she left the game.

@Jin