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Post by Gaia on Nov 16, 2020 7:49:51 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/340189121500938240/728347473344725113/113~png The warp pad transported Burai directly to the flat orange platforms that dominated the front section of the maze. Feint, when she followed behind, would recognize immediately the Wave Road pathway leading to the gateway that was open.
Burai would have to wait for the rest of the group to gather. The pathway forward was set, just as the one towards the Center was, but what came next was a much greater challenge than a memory of the history of his people. He knew what to expect moving forward, and it was not going to be an easy journey for any of them involved.
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Post by Warrior on Nov 16, 2020 11:34:10 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/8w4a7DV~png " Just journey's end, now. It's definitely been a day. "
Feint arrived, speaking mostly to herself as she examined the opened pathway. More had happened in the last 24 hours than in the past 12 months, at least as far as she was aware.
All the was left was waiting for their last attendee and moving forward, then was taking on the greatest challenge yet in this adventure, especially if Burai's vibe from earlier was anything to go by.
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Post by Genesis on Dec 16, 2020 10:59:03 GMT -8
"Rather than journey's end, I imagine it's just the end of the prelude."
*The last attendee arrived, though not of the same mindset as Feint. Though for her seeing the end of this could be where she got off of this wild ride. As for him though he had a lot more in store for him so long as he didn't meet journey's end by finding himself demolished prematurely. He wasn't exactly infallible, just he was good as appearing as such to the common spectator. But then he wasn't fighting anything close to the average these days anymore.*
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Post by Zane on Dec 16, 2020 11:11:56 GMT -8
It was a strange case for Feint among the three that arrived. It wasn't poignant for Xion, but he was somewhat aware that they weren't alone as soon as he arrived. For Feint there was a much different case from her perspective. She could feel something that felt larger than life here. Something that could never fit within the confines of the worlds she has bore witness to thus far. An inescapable yet incomprehensible dread accompanied it, but that very nature perhaps made it seem as though it was nothing much in the face of everything she had faced up until now. It was deeper within, waiting from the feel of it. Along with whatever other problems lurked within.
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Post by Gaia on Dec 17, 2020 11:52:59 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/340189121500938240/728347473344725113/113~png Burai scoffed as Feint mentioned the journey's end - his opinion was more in line with the hybrid, Xion. He could not feel what Feint could, but he still knew the magnanimity of the moment. He had stood before this passageway sometime ago, preparing to route his greatest nemesis before fighting for what was rightfully his. Now, he stood here again, once again the sole protector of all that was precious to him.
Coils of dark power radiated off of his body as an intense black and purple energy convalesced from his body; the power came from his fist caught aflame, and flowed through his whole body as an extreme aura of malice and power. Almost against their will, Xion and Feint would feel repelled by his very presence, unable to get too close to him.
"Moving forward, I won't be holding back my true strength. I don't fight with others in mind, and my unrestrained power will be a harm to both of you as much as it will be to them. Considering this your only warning."
Without much more introduction, Burai takes the first steps forward, launching forth on a stream of waves that sent him rocketing forward - traveling over miles in seconds.
The depths of the Bermuda Maze had dense fog covering it. This did not bother Burai. They stood on a crossroads of the purple waves that made up the Bermuda Maze, a cross of four different paths that each faced one of the cardinal directions. Burai took a deep breath, looked around, and waited for the other two to join him. When next he opened his eyes, he only said a simple sentence:
"Up right, down right, down left, up right, up left."
Burai started walking, taking the first warp path forward, and kept walking away from one warp stream to the next, crisscrossing through the maze and making sharp turns, presumably in line with his own prescribed directions.
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Post by Warrior on Dec 18, 2020 10:30:04 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/8w4a7DV~png Feint seemed unphased by Burai's warning. If nothing else, that would be more of a boon than a bane to her in a fight, considering her weapon's function.
" I've had my taste of it and I'm still standing -- go crazy. "
She detected the abnormal presence immediately, but showed little outward signs of it beyond the way her eyes were darting around just a bit more than usual trying to get sight of whatever was causing the anomaly. Having remembered the number of times her eyes had been fooled during this whole ordeal, it didn't take her long to realize that her naked eye probably wasn't going to be enough to find anything out of the ordinary, and so her demeanor returned to normal again (not that it had ever strafed far from that to begin with).
Burai had already launched off by now, so standard procedure was to follow along as he stated the directions to himself -- directions that Cherish was sure to make note of in case she'd end up needing to guide herself ever.
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Post by Genesis on Dec 22, 2020 8:16:38 GMT -8
*Well that was curious. Usually up until this point he was flying completely blind of whether he was actually going to encounter something or not. Now instead it was a very vague inkling, but he at least could get the feeling that something had beat them here already. It wasn't helpful knowledge given this was a known fact as it were, but he wouldn't dismiss it entirely for future reference. It looked like Burai planned to utilize his full strength from here on in, something that was a necessity rather than anything else.*
"Duly noted. I'll be fine."
*He was well acquainted with several others who didn't care for the others around them during a battle. Chief among them was someone he shared a rather intimate relationship with over the years. He'd respond in kind then as he started to let the darkness that was slumbering at his behest to turn loose. He could say he was experienced in holding back all he liked, but it would be different once the stress test was put forth. Two of them would be more bothersome to maintain than another, but trial by fire was the only way to see to that now that he was at this stage. He could think of about a dozen different fires that would be better than this, but no one could be choosers these days.*
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Post by Gaia on Dec 22, 2020 8:45:51 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/340189121500938240/728347473344725113/113~png
Burai didn't respond to Feint's note of having withstood his full force, as he wasn't sure if he had tapped into the Indie Darkness while fighting her - the Crimson Dragon was a baser creature that understood only its own brute strength, and might not have even considered using it.
As for Xion, he could feel the power emanating off of him. He decided not to glance back and see it in full, uncaring, and unimpressed. His power definitely felt great, but power was nothing without the skill to wield it. He knew nothing of his capabilities yet, and could not pass judgment on the feel of his strength alone - he had faced against many adversaries with insurmountable strength that was bested by his skill.
The pathway to the Stairway was simple enough, and ended with another series of twisting paths and constantly changing dimensions that Feint would remember, but it was ultimately shorter than the path to the center. Without the directions Burai had memorized, they would have been utterly lost.
Without turning to give them any warning, Burai stepped off of the Wave Road and onto the large platform at the edge that had another fountain of cradled energy. The energy burned with power as it circled around the warp point, and it spiraled upward without end, on and on forever into the sky. Burai stood before this point for a long moment before he stepped forward as though he had contemplated what would come next. Within its confines, his body gave way to the energy and went shooting up the pathway into the heavens.
What was on the other side of that pathway was truly a sight to see. They landed in a place entirely different from the dark, murky depths of the Bermuda Maze. The constant static was replaced by the sound of peaceful serenity - silence, save for the strumming of beautiful harps and the distant sound of massive flickering fires. The dark landscape was replaced by royal blues, still impossibly thin and see-through, and the murky purple-black ambiance was replaced by blue skies dotted with beautiful white clouds.
Ahead of their landing platform was a large stair case - the stairway seemed to go on and on, without ceasing, ascending ever higher into the clouds, before it finally leveled off and gave way to something that should have been truly impossible . . .
It was a floating island in the sky. For Feint, looking beneath her and seeing the ocean - miles and miles below them, like a distance blue stretch that rolling fields of green dotted - would be an unusual but not unfamiliar sight, considering Burai's travels across Netopia thus far. For Xion, this may very well be his first look into the Real World from physically being there. The stretch of clouds, the ocean below, and the world beneath them made it very clear that this wasn't a Net-based simulation.
They were really 20 miles in the air, looking across an expanse of wave matter to a floating continent in the sky.
Burai did not spend long looking above him. He continued walking forward, assuming but not caring whether or not the two were following behind.
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Post by Warrior on Dec 22, 2020 21:33:59 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/8w4a7DV~png There wasn't much to say about it, but it was certainly an impressive sight to behold. Feint wasn't sure if this floating continent had been hiding here in the sky the entire time or if the recent events led to its unveiling. Regardless, she continued being led along in the approach to this strange new territory.
" ... "
Burai wasn't much for talking at the moment, and she wasn't either. Xion added to the company, but not really to the conversation as there wasn't exactly one there to begin with. So the quiet trek proceeded undisturbed as they neared their destination with each step.
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Post by Genesis on Dec 22, 2020 21:42:08 GMT -8
*Xion had stayed quiet on the way and focused only on keeping an adequate pace with the the guide that wasn't a hertz. He wasn't moved by the sights before him as while they were works on wonder in their own right, they still were works of wonder that could be compared to something else. They had different foundations that built up to what they became, but made neither more wondrous than the other. Instead it was when they had arrived close to the end of their destination that Xion had given pause for a long moment instead, looking down on the world from on high. The orbs that could be presumed to be his eyes faded, as if closed as he looked back on so much. So, so much. From his family in The Chaotic who wanted to rouse the world in their brews of madness to his family of experimental tools who were too good at what they could do now.*
"I never wanted the genuine article to be this close. Just a step away to lead to the completion of that purpose we were given so long ago. The one that strays from your jovial values by leaps and bounds, Old Man."
*The tug he felt within he attributed to three factors instead of his own. But it was an imitation and just an excuse to say that. An empty comfort he would sometimes feed himself to remind himself to never forget. Neither Argo nor Eliza were with him any longer. No ghostly whispers, no intentions whatsoever. He saw to that himself. So he opened his eyes once again and continued forward to reach their destination.*
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Post by Gaia on Dec 26, 2020 17:20:38 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/340189121500938240/728347473344725113/113~png
Ascending the stairway into Heaven took them quite a while. On the other side, stepping into the opening archway that led up to the Continent of Mu, was a world very similar to the temples that Feint and Burai had visited thus far, but on a grandeur all its own.
A dark grey stone was the foundation for the architecture. Sharp lines and diagonals were the walkways of choice; there wasn't a round surface in sight. Different colored stones, between a light grey and a deep black, were used to pave the walkways and set the floor, and a bright orange outlined the completed pathways.
The surroundings were filled with mixtures of Wave Matter and Material Waves - solid mass made from programmed waves and the usual see-through surfaces of orange, green and purple that connected the gaps between them. The grey flooring twisted and turned in sharp angles, as if it traced a pattern and reason that was long lost to civilization, only to abruptly end with a large chasm that was only connected by a stream of waves to the next. In that way, the area seemed to defy physics and typical euclidean geometry. Large sections of floor that have no identifiable connection to the temple around it floated unsupported, with arcways, stairwells, hallways, and the Murian language etched into their lengths as far down as the eye could see. Strange blocks floated without any apparent purpose in the cracks and chasms; they moved to and fro and changed their form without any reason to them, connecting to the temple at odd places before they unhinged and floated off somewhere else.
What a beautiful language, and powerful it must have been - wherever the strange characters could fit, they were scrawled, and the Crest of Mu itself - emblazoned across Burai's chest, and periodically appearing on Feint's - was placed at even intervals across the pathways, floors, along the walls, the Wave Roads, even floating in mid-air, always accompanied by a red octagon that held it in place.
Statues with a certain Egyptian flare lined the alcoves carved into the walls, and were given regal headwear and flowing robes that bore the Murian language. Tiki Heads with large flames burning in their open tops lined the entrance to every stairwell, sticking out their silver tongues from their bronze mouths. Large towers with simple spires sprung up at random intervals, with no obvious way to reach their top and no way visible to view anyone from within, but that gave off the sense that they were being watched.
Cracks and craters covered the surface of the temple; everything was aged, worn, and weathered, from the beautiful towers to the large stone brazers that flames bounces between. Random pits with more of the Murian language, like hieroglyphs, patterned this first floor, and the remnants of the Murian soldiers were scattered far and wide. At random intervals, the Murian soldiers were either upright - their armor in a kneeling position, waiting for their masters to give them orders - or crumbled down, already laid low by battle. No life burned within them, their forms simple husks of grey.
Burai lingered on the entrance pad, a large block of grey that had a giant Crest of Mu on it, long enough to glance up the stairs, at the doorway beyond them. On either side of the large stair well, Wave Roads veered off into the impossibly confusing crossroads of the temple that spiralled on either side, usually a test to gather the Murian History. Without that knowledge, the way forward was impossible, and simply traversing the temple without harm is a test of its own.
That test was unnecessary for two reasons. He knew the history, and could easily recite it to the door to pass by it. That was the first. The second was that the door was already open - it was simply an empty archway forward.
For the trio, this meant they need not worry about the perilous journey of impossible geometry and strange architecture on either side of the entryway. The large entry platform was lined by Murian soldiers both at the ready and already decimated, but lifeless all the same. A stairwell led to another simple platform that led them forward on a pathway lined with the Crest of Mu, with the tikis protecting either side of the stairs. Up that stairwell is a long and wide platform that leads towards a final, smaller staircase that sits in the middle of a wall that has four regal statues on either side of it, each one holding a large, silver scepter that hummed with power. On either side of this platform were Wave Roads that led on to the twisting paths into the Temple's depths, but they need not worry about those, for now. The empty door way, lined with the Murian people's language, captured all of Burai's attention.
He saw the scepters on either side of the door, held by the statues on the wall. He knew that they would call the protector of the first floor. He waited, giving time to Feint and Xion to adjust to the impossible nature of the Murian Continent, before taking the first flight of stairs, and then the second, walking across the pathway of Murian Crests to stand before the final stairway in front of the door to the next room, waiting to see what would appear.
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Post by Warrior on Dec 28, 2020 0:09:14 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/8w4a7DV~png Confusing corridors and pathways almost blended together from Feint's perspective as they made their trek through the temple. After all the information that had been shared with her today, her mind was starting to falter on some of the specifics, such as whether or not this was Burai's place of origin or if it was just some other Murian Tribe that split off like the Leviathan. The details surrounding everything were more disturbing the more she thought about it, not to mention she was still trying to piece together whether or not this place had just been floating over her head her entire life, so her obvious solution was to just stop thinking about it and keep moving along.
And so there was this door, now.
Well, she wasn't going to go wandering off anywhere on her own, so her recurring status quo was to follow Burai forward and see what lied onwards.
" I feel inclined to ask whether or not I should be receiving a warning about what's ahead. "
Of course, if he wanted to leave it as a surprise, that was fine too. He'd made it clear earlier that her originally assigned task was completed, so at this point it was just extra credit going forward and she wasn't entirely a stranger to walking into things blindly by now.
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Post by Genesis on Dec 28, 2020 20:49:39 GMT -8
*He did want to comment that the Murian Tribe certainly had a knack for doing things in a wasteful manner. He didn't voice these thoughts given their current objective, but if he could find the time to do so at a better time then he would. On one hand he could understand if the intent was to keep others out that weren't them, but then when they eliminated even each other due to their segregation and drive did it wind up making it all pointless in the end. Alas, such was the ultimate struggle of unity. And not one he would go into at this juncture, as all things said...*
"Just think of it as a more spicy flavor than you put up with so far and the surprises should be kept to a minimum. At least involving the normal things here. Still... I could be wrong."
*No less than a day after obtaining Falzar had they been able to modify the effects of the Cybeast. There was no telling what they could have done with the time they had here. It wasn't as if it wasn't still a marvel of work all its own that they took apart so quickly. But they did have some observers to watch it for some time as well. He didn't write it off as impossible, rather it was just a demonstration of the gap between the two sides here. For now he'd focus on if some of the soldiers would pay them a visit first... or if the main event was about to begin straight away.*
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Post by Zane on Dec 28, 2020 20:57:46 GMT -8
"There's no need for any warnings. You made it this far on your own merit. Walking over the remnants of a stagnant and deceased people, you find your objective well within reach. But well out of your grasp."
The voice carried a strange kind of echo to it, and yet the figure that it came from appeared to be as if it was humanoid static itself. To the average onlooker it just looked like a glitch in the matrix, harmless but sentient. For Xion there was a strange sort of pressure, but Feint could almost feel a chill run up her spine as soon as she laid eyes upon it. Her instincts screamed at her that beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was what she had felt on her way up just when she arrived here. A feeling that eclipsed all others. A dark depth without end, a light that shone without parallel. An existence that was beyond imagination. As if the very world that was around it was rejecting it, yet could do naught to perform that very feat it endeavored to accomplish. But it wasn't alone either. Burai could tell that the Murian God had been fairly busy in the time that it was active, even now still doing its work. While the static figure held no facial features, it was clear that it turned its attention toward Feint now as well and tilted its head, almost as if a certain curiosity had been struck.
"...Interesting. You're ahead of the others? But what would set you apart from the other human beside you? Or is it because of his unique advantages as a fallen people that sets him apart from you... No, the others are behind you as well."
The chill became much more intense. It was as if it were someone looking down on a specimen that was about to be dismembered merely out of curiosity. The whim wasn't acted upon yet for a simple reason it appeared, as it turned its attention back to the other two that were here without addressing them.
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Post by Gaia on Dec 28, 2020 21:52:25 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/340189121500938240/728347473344725113/113~png
The world seemed to bend and sway as the pressure of the humanoid made from static forced its way into being. It was the best way that Burai could describe the act of whatever it was, as it simply appeared, and forced its impossible paradoxes upon the world around it.
It was a similar phenomenon to what Noise did to the surrounding environment, and, yet, it was different. It did not simply bend and warp the dimensions of the Wave World; it defied the existence of the real one, too. Burai could not get any exact information on the power it wielded, and even as he noticed the effects its presence had on its surroundings - and the way Feint seemed to glance at it - he could feel nothing coming off of it. This detail caused him to pay a lot of attention to the comments it made on Feint's behavior, and how it studied her like an intriguing specimen.
"Farther along? Implying you've set something into motion that is causing them to progress further towards a different set of being?" Burai immediately connected the words to their meaning, just as the entourage began to arrive.
First, someone he didn't recognize even slightly stood next to the being of static. Motes of energy fell from on high, carried by powerful waves, and crashed down to take form - the first line of Heralds appeared, the four that he and Feint had already fought against. The four rose above in all of their towering power and might, and glared down at the would-be assailants . . .
. . . and then another line of them arrived. Then two more. Murian Heralds lined every doorway, marched through every stairwell, and peered down on them from every angle that they could send their ire from. They appeared on all sides, some from the twisting pathways at the edges of the entry, and others from the depths, or even more descending from above. Wherever they could fit, they were accompanied by dozen Murian Soldiers, sporting every color imaginable.
They were surrounded. To say that they had been busy with the Murian God of Waves was an understatement - this was a flagrant abuse of the Murian language. The Great Being's constant murmurings would unlock great and mighty insights into the world at large, and allow for great wonders to be achieved, and they would use it to amass an army on high - and for what? The act of utilizing their abilities to test against their own merit? To dismantle the work of a people so rich with culture and power? To laugh and destroy the 'workings of a god,' as that one put it?
Burai did not restrain his power. The dark energy coiling off of his form intensified in response to the danger he faced, and Laplace appeared in his flaming hand, already bound by its blade form. He did not quite enter his combat stance, though, and just stood there, sword arm at the ready, his body still very exposed. His eyes were set, stern, and angled directly at the being of static.
"You aren't the first that I've seen utilize the power of The Great Being in such a way, although you are using it to more effect than its previous controller. To still hold this much control over it, you must either answer its whims and demands . . . or frequently force it back into a slumber, and then reawaken it.
"Given what I've observed, you would find a lot more use out of the latter, wouldn't you?" He couldn't help but sneer at the idea, curling his lip as the number of Heralds and Soldiers grew. "All this time, above the cares of the world, and you managed to create this massive army - the world could've been yours a millennia ago. Why go this far? What experiment do you continue to run these tests for? Why the Murian people's heritage?! You have no right! Standing there, talking about a deceased people! You know nothing of what we - of what I endured - even as you stand here, able to read all of our history, understanding its meaning, you never lived it!" Burai's power fluctuated with every word, as he became more and more worked up by the thought of what this being had forced upon the Great Being.
"I am beyond wanting to know why. I will seek for my answers amongst what remains of your ashes. The pride within my blood demands I destroy you and all you stand for."
Burai turned to his side, spread his legs into a leveled stance, and extended his laplace blade behind him as a counter balance, leaving his free hand facing towards whatever this entity was. "Tell me your name. I want to know who leads this army before I decimate it."
Burai's voice quivered somewhere between a deadly calm, and a shivering rage that could be quenched by nothing. The incredible darkness that welled up from his being amplified ever stronger, and wreathed itself around his blade, his fists, and surged around him like an aura around his body. Every member of the army risen against him felt his ire from where he stood, and every one of them - even amidst their numbers - felt cold, desolate, and alone. Their strength in numbers seemed to only intensify their own innate awareness of the true emptiness within their very souls.
He was forever alone. Even as he stood here, with Feint and Xion accompanying him, he stood before this army without them. There was only one person within this room he could rely on, one strength he could be certain of, and one being he could trust to ensure that he and all that he cared for would remain despite all odds - and it was himself.
"The Great Being will be able to tell me your crimes. Until then, I act as her executioner. I will destroy everything you stand for, and then shatter the very resolve you used to justify it. I will leave you with nothing - or I will destroy everything I can before you destroy me."
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