Accursed Citrine - Yet another Dark Soul/Madoka Magica Crossover

[AClassyBunny]

Accursed Citrine

Kirika Kure gave everything she had to achieve the goals of her beloved Oriko. And when the final confrontation came? She even gave up her life.

Or, at least that's what she remembers...

Waking up in a strange cell in a strange land, the only thing keeping Kirika from curling up and finally finding peace is the chance that Oriko is still alive somewhere.

The question is, will she survive long enough to find her?

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Ah, why am I so useless?

No matter what I do, no matter how much I change, I always seem to mess things up…

Oriko, why would you throw your last chance because of an empty husk?

She claimed she regrets it all, but how does that help now? No, wait, maybe that was just the dream of a dying mind.

At least I know, with my final moments, I was able to be of use to her. We achieved her goal.



But why do I just feel so empty…?

---------------------


You are Kirika Kure, and when you awaken with a sudden jolt, you're immediately assaulted by a chilling cold. Your throat burns as you attempt to suck oxygen back into your lungs. You begin to shiver uncontrollably, your teeth rattling against each other as your body starts to repair itself.

Once you manage to get your shaking under control to at least some extent, you take in the room around you.
It's a stone cell, damp and crumbling. Mould grows thickly on the walls and dozens of giant roaches the size of your hand scurry about between holes in the stone. There's a big hole in the roof, letting in a faint light and tiny flakes of snow drift in to form a small pile in the centre of the cell. A rusty cell door bars the exit.

Outside, you hear the echoes of a horrible, inhuman wailing, as well as a rhythmic thud of something fleshy hitting stone over and over.

What the hell is this place? How did you wind up in here? Where's Oriko-?

Oriko.

You check the cell again, despite clearly not seeing her. You rush to the cell door, nearly faceplanting when your stiff legs take a second too long to move, and shout out Oriko's name in hopes of getting a reply.

No…

Where is she?! Weren't you just together?!

No, no, no…!

You remember blood. Yours and Oriko's…

Nononononononononon-!

A loud thud snaps you out of your panic. A body has dropped down through the hole. Looking up, you see a guy (probably? It's hard to tell) in some kind of Western-style suit of armour. He nods at you before disappearing.

What the hell?

Ignoring the body for now, (don't touch weird corpses thrown into your cell, as your mother probably would've told you if she thought you'd ever end up in such a weird situation) you calm down and check yourself over.

While you remember brief flickers of a fight, you seem physically fine. Your clothes are undamaged beyond being a bit wet from sitting on the damp floor, and the injuries you sustained during the aforementioned fight have completely healed. Your Soul gem, on the other hand, is another situation entirely. The black impurities cover just under half of the Citrine gem, but there's also a strange orange colour flickering around the edges like some kind of embers of a flame.

While that's rather unusual, the more pressing matter is how you still have a Soul Gem at all. You very much remember being a Witch. It actually wasn't as bad as you expected; maybe because you did it willingly? That's beyond the point, though. The real question is: Why are you still here?

Actually, where even is here…?

A glint of light in the corner of the cell catches your eye. You move around the body and shoo away a few of those giant roaches to find-

No…

It's a small silver shard of a gem.

Oh no…

A shard of Oriko's gem.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Your knees give out and you slump forward. Fuck!

Oriko's dead! You failed her, and now this is probably some punishment for being so damn useless!

You curl up into a ball and can't stop the shivers from returning.

"Kirika…"

You freeze. Was that… Oriko? Damn it, of course she's haunting you. You deserve all the hate she can throw at you.

"Kirika…"

The shard glows faintly and you sense a very subtle trace of Oriko's oh-so-familiar magical presence. It's… alive? Is Oriko alive?! You grab the shard and hold it up. The thing's warm in your hands, comfortingly so.

If this shard is here with you, then maybe the rest is somewhere here as well!

Relieved by this miraculous possibility, you pocket the shard in a safe place and shakily get to your feet.

Turning back to the body, you casually kick it onto its back. You're surprised by the state of the thing. Ragged robes, bloody hands and feet, and skin taut to the bone. A sickly black growth spreads its way out from the thing's heart like a parasitic infection.

Hanging from its neck on a lace is a small key. It's a bit bloody, but it's not like you've ever been particularly squeamish, so you pull it free with no issues.

Next, grasped tightly in the figure's right hand is…

--------------

[] A gift (choose 1)
-[] Aid from the Gods
-[] A bag of destructive concoctions
-[] Farseeing eyes
-[] An open doorway
-[] A gentle warmth not of this reality

[] Afterwards, you…
-[] Try the key on the cell door
-[] Try jumping up through the hole
-[] Write in


--------------------------------------------


So, I finally got around to starting this little brain-nugget I've had brewing from a fair while now. Original ideas stolen from thagguy's Read Soul and RecurringExtra's Blue Ash, although I'd technically been toying with the idea of dumping a PMMM magical girl into Dark Souls a little while before reading either of those.

Anyway, you may be wondering "why Kirika Kure, of all the characters in Madoka Magica?" Well, the short answer to that is: because the two other best options have already been done by the above quests. Another short answer is: because Kirika is best girl and needs some attention.

Now as to posting schedule for this quest, I'm going to try to stick to the same 3-4 day voting period that my other quest has, although the fact that I'm now going to be balancing two quests will probably mean any form of schedule will be going out the window… Honestly, if it comes down to it, I'll likely prioritise my other quest over this one, since it's closer to completion.

Finally, shout out to everyone in my Teach Me the Dark Soul thread, which I partly created to make sure I actually knew wtf I was talking about when I finally got around to writing this quest. Those guys filled my brain with lore goodies and enjoyable discussions, all the while answering my silly questions and humouring my nonsense comments.


Anyway, I've probably forgot to mention something important, but hopefully everything will go smoothy for a while, at least.

 

[AClassyBunny]

[X] A gift (choose 1)
-[x] A gentle warmth not of this reality

[X] Afterwards, you…
-[x] Try jumping up through the hole



…a small circular pendant with a pink eight-pointed-star-shaped gem blazing from the centre. A small crown shape is carved above the star and a pair of wings are spread out beneath it. For whatever reason, you feel a comforting warmth from its subtle shine, and an odd sense of familiarity hangs in the back of your mind.

Whatever this pendant is, there's something about it that makes you compelled to hang onto it, so you pry the thing from the corpse's fingers, wipe the blood off as best you can and pocket it along with Oriko's shard.

*Strange Pendant obtained*​

With nothing else of interest left to find on the body, you give the cell one last look over before heading for the door.

A loud crash of something large hitting the tiles above makes you jump. The sound is followed by a repeated crunching sound of weighted footsteps on those same tiles. You step over to the hole and look up at the opening, only to get a face full of snow as it slides off of the roof.

You're focus is drawn away from the chill of the snow by a loud, inhuman roar that shakes the cell. The giant roaches scamper away into their hidey-holes as you receive another face full of snow.

You growl and brace your feet against the floor. With a mix of curiosity as to the source of the roar and wanting to give that source a piece of your mind for the two-time snow to the face, you launch yourself up through the hole with a magically-enhanced leap.

The tiles crack and give way as you land and you're nearly blown over by howling, ice-cold wind. Falling would've been pretty bad, you decide, upon realising this weird place is built at the peak of a massive mountain range. Giant, white-peaked ridges rise in all directions, while the sky above is a similarly dreary grey.

Another roar draws your attention towards the other end of the roof, where you see the back of some giant bloated beast with lanky, shredded-looking wings and a massive club made of what looks like stone. Bits of bone stick out from the thing's thighs and elbows, while A thick external spine runs from its bony tail up to a beastly crown of longer antler-like bits rising from its skull.

You spot that same armoured knight standing off against the monster a moment before it swings its giant club down onto him, causing a loud crash. When it raises the club, there's a big hole in the roof and the knight is nowhere to be seen.

With the first distraction delt with, the creature slowly turns to face you with a low growl. Its face isn't any prettier than its back, with its lips stretched back to reveal blood-red gums and a pair of large fangs. Its eyes burn red with the desire to destroy.

You heave a sigh, your excitement a little let down upon seeing this thing. After the understandable shock of waking up from the dead in a strange world, you expected something interesting. Instead, it turns out you've just woken up in a Witch's labyrinth. Strange that your soul gem isn't detecting any magic, but maybe it doesn't glow when you're already inside the barrier? You never bothered checking before, after all.

Idly, you wonder which of those girls became this Witch. It'd be pretty funny if that fancy-looking blondie became something like this, although the colour and weapon more fit that brat with the cat ears.

The tiles crunch and shatter under the Witch's steps as it slowly approaches. It rolls its shoulders and gnashes its teeth, clearly hoping to intimidate. Unfortunately for it, you've long lost your fear of Witches from the sheer number you've slain to stave off Oriko's magic drain. Besides, the big ones are easier to hit and fall harder when you cut them down, so this fat brute will be a piece of cake.

The Witch leans forwards and flaps its wings. Despite the clear impossibility that those stumpy little things could carry such a fat beast, Witch rules don't care about logic, and it rises into the air.

Well, maybe rise isn't the right word. It's more like a really high jump. Either way, it launches towards you, swinging its giant club horizontally as it comes down.

It's pretty easy to avoid the attack. You simply launch yourself up above the Witch and come down on a raised section of the roof overlooking a small courtyard.

"Nice try, fatty, but you'll have to be faster than that to catch me." You taunt, stretching a bit. You put a bit of magic into your clothes and they flash a bright citrine. When the light fades, the tan-cream blouse and black plaid skirt of your school uniform has been replaced with the black and white jacket and black skirt of your magical girl outfit.

With a flick of your wrists, your three-armed claws appear out of your long white cuffs. They glow with energy, fading from black to white and mixing into a dark grey as you admire them.

"Now, my gem's pretty dirty at the moment." You continue, not even paying the Witch any mind. "So, I won't be able to play with you much. That said, maybe I can have some fun and just clean it afterward with your grief seed."

As if in response, the Witch growls and beats its wings a few times as it stares up at you with a murderous glare.

--------------------

[] Kill the Witch using magic
-[] Blitz it, cutting it down before it gets a chance to move
-[] Shred it from range
-[] Write in

[] Kill the Witch without using magic
-[] Fast and lethal
-[] Toy with it a bit before dealing the killing blow
-[] Write in

[] Write in

 

[AClassyBunny]

[x] Kill the Witch without using magic
-[x] Fast and lethal



You can't help a toothy grin. Was that roar a challenge?

You've seen a few Witches who's familiars are more to abuse their master than serve, but seeing as there doesn't seem to be anyone else around that can stand up to this brute, obviously it's the boss around here. That group of crown-like bones on its head suggests it thinks of itself as the king of this dump.

What better way to cut down a smug asshole than by humiliating them in the process? Besides, you can kill this slow-poke no problem, even without your magic.

You pause right as you go to jump down at the Witch. Oriko is your objective, not showing off to whoever may be watching. Maybe it'd be best to deal with this quickly. Still no need for magic, but toying with the Witch will only waste time you could spend looking for Oriko.

Standing up straight, you sigh and look around at the ruined mountain-top prison world. Oriko could be in any one of these cells. Sure, people tend to return to the real world when a labyrinth disappears, but it might be a good idea to leave some time to check, just in case.

Eh, either way, this bloated bastard needs to be taught a lesson.

Grinning again, you lean your weight forward so that you fall sideways over the edge. The Witch growls and stamps upon seeing you fall, and it readies its club to smash you into the wall. You're far too quick for it, however. The moment it swings the weapon, you slash out with your claws and slice through the thick hide and muscle of its arm.

The curve of your blades catches on the arm's thick bone and you use it to swing around and up towards the beast's head, cleaving through even more flesh as you go. Doing a mid-air spin, you slash at the throat with both sets of claws.

The Witch drops its club and stumbles back, grasping at the open wound in its neck. A gurgling roar rises from its gut, causing a not-quite-red liquid to seep from the cut. It gnashes its teeth and beats its wings weakly before finally letting out a low, gargled groan and falling backwards. The roof creaks and bends under its weight, but just barely stays up.

*Asylum Demon defeated*​

Standing from where you landed not far away, you stare at the defeated Witch with curiosity. Usually everything fades away when the Witch is killed, right? Why is nothing-?

You instinctively leap sideways to dodge a strange white-ish wisp of something that rises from the giant corpse and streaks towards you. Despite your speed, it makes contact with you no problem and seeps into your soul gem.

For a moment you stand still and alert, expecting all kinds of annoying tricks to happen from whatever the Witch just attacked you with. Eventually, you decide it must've either been nothing important or didn't manage to do what it was supposed to and relax.

You detach your soul gem from your back and look it over. The corruption and weird orange flickering around the edge is still there, but otherwise nothing seems any different to normal. Weird…

Shrugging, you reattach the gem and look around. The barrier hasn't disappeared yet, so maybe that wasn't actually the Witch? You haven't seen anything else here other than that armoured knight, though, so surely that can't be right…

Oh right, the knight. He got smashed through the roof, so maybe you can loot a piece of his armour for Oriko. She likes those complicated European books, so maybe she'll like a bit of European armour?

One way or another, you step over to the hole Mister Knight disappeared into and peak down.

You spot the armoured figure laying in a pile of rubble, water coming up to his ankles in a deep puddle that gently ripples beneath him as snowflakes float down through the hole. His armour is surprisingly well intact, considering how much force that big club would've hit with. That said, you can spot lines of blood seeping out between the gaps in his armour and the dark red is pooling on the bricks beneath him.

You drop down through the whole and land in the pool of water with a splash. To your surprise, the knight inhales weakly at the sound and his head moves ever so slightly in your direction.

"Oh, you… I'm glad to see someone managed to make it past the demon. Thank goodness…" He mumbles quietly before a wet cough echoes out of his helmet. "I'm not so lucky, I'm afraid. I'll die soon, then I'll lose my sanity… Before I do, I wish to ask something of you…"

He attempts to pull himself up a bit, but gives up after a pained groan. "You and I, we're both Undead. So, will you hear me out, as a comrade in fate?"

You tilt your head at the odd sight. By all accounts, that hit from the monster should've killed any normal human. Yet here he is, still able to speak to you.

"Uh, okay." You say, deciding to humour the knight out of respect for his durability, if nothing else. "What's up?"

He lets out a painful cough before continuing. "There's an old saying in my family… a prophecy. 'Thou who art Undead, art chosen. In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh-" Another weak coughing fit wracks his throat. "…maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords... When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know…' Well, now you know, and I can die with hope in my heart."

You frown, trying to wrap your head around his nonsense. "Hold on, what does that even mean? Undead asylum? Ancient lords? Bell of awakening? What are you talking about?"

The knight coughs out another fit. "I'm sorry I can't explain more, but I fear… I don't have long left to explain. Oh, here, take these." He says, retrieving from a small bag a large key and a small glass bottle containing a bit of faintly glowing golden liquid. "An Estus Flask, an Undead favourite. And the key to the Asylum. You… should be able to escape with those. Now, please leave me. I don't want to harm you after death…"

*Estus Flask obtained*
*Big Pilgrim's Key obtained*​

You take the offered items, still having absolutely no idea what's going on. Is this place not a Witch's labyrinth? Then where are you and how did you get here? And what was that big monster? What the hell is going on?!

Growling, you slap yourself. Stop it, Kirika! This is no time to panic! You have to find Oriko, weird world or not. This guy seems to think this key and Estus stuff is useful in some way, but you can't leave until you're certain Oriko isn't here.

You slap yourself again. Come on, Kirika, think! What would Oriko do in this situation? She'd… She'd try to figure out where she is and… and, uh… Damn it, what are you so bad at thinking cleverly?!

Ah! This guy's obviously been snooping around this place if he was attacked by the big monster guard thing, right? He seems to want people here to escape, so maybe he's gone around to the other cells? He might know if Oriko's here!

But wait, your soul gem's already pretty dirty. It might not be worth the magic to heal him if it means you run the risk of becoming a Witch before ever finding Oriko…

----------------

[] Heal the knight and question him

[] Leave the knight and go look for Oriko

[] Write in

 

[AClassyBunny]

[x] Heal the knight and question him



No, you can't be worried about yourself when Oriko might be in danger. With her missing, you're going to have to think for yourself, and this guy seems to at least know what the hell's going on. It's not like you've never let your soul gem get this bad before and you can always go hunt a witch later anyway.

Sighing, you squat down next to Mister Knight and follow the trail of blood back up to the back of his head. You give him a little shove, eliciting a sharp gasp of pain from him. Spine's probably damaged in some way. Well, that's probably obvious, but now you know.

"Gah, what are you doing?!" He exclaims, tilting his head to face you at your new lower angle. "Listen, I really don't have long left. It's best if you-"

"Yeah, yeah, just be quiet for a sec. I'm not too good at this." You interrupt, bonking him on the helmet. Moving your hands to hover just beside his head and torso, you close your eyes and focus your magic into healing. In your mind, you start to make out the worst of the knight's injuries. Then, one by one, more and more of the smaller and presumably ignorable injuries become clear.

Once you've figured out what you need to fix – as you'd guessed, a broken spine and a few shattered bones, along with a crushed lung – it's a simple matter of reconstructing the problems. Well, maybe simple isn't the right word. While you've healed yourself plenty of times, that was mostly subconsciously, and you don't have any experience with healing others.

"Gods, I said leave me." The knight mutters, the pained tone in his voice slightly reduced. "Not even the remaining Estus is enough to fully heal my injuries at this point, so I doubt whatever miracle you're casting will be of much help." He coughs, although no blood splatters out of the helmet this time. "There's no way for me to escape this cell anyways."

You stop your healing and frown down at him. "Wait, that orange stuff is for healing? What the hell, why didn't you just say so?"

You take the small glass bottle from where you left it, but he raises his arm to stop you when you go to… well, you're not quite sure how it's meant to be applied, so pouring it on him probably wasn't a certain-to-work idea anyway.

"I just said I can't get out of here." He says. "I don't have whatever agility you used to jump up out of your cell."

You heave another sigh, this one to clearly inform this guy that he's being a real pain. Standing, you summon one set of your claws and walk over to the half-crushed cell door. There's a pile of big bricks in the way, but there's still plenty of room for even the bulky armour of Mister Knight to fit through. With a flick of your wrist, you slice through the rusted top half of the door, opening the way out.

"There," you say, dispelling your claws and returning to the knight "now stop complaining… oh, and how does this Estus stuff work?"

"It's… easiest to drink it." He replies, head tilted so that you assume he's staring at the now sliced door. "I… no, even with your healing, I doubt I could make it all the way to the bonfire in the courtyard. Look, thank you for trying, but I'm afraid it's been a wasted effort."

"Bonfire? Why… Hey, if I get you to that courtyard, will you be good?"

"I suppose… but I can't move my legs and I doubt a young girl would be able to carry-" You shut him up by raising the visor of his helmet slightly and pouring the small amount of Estus in through the gap.

He coughs loudly as you put the now empty bottle in the small bag and tie the string of said bag around your wrist. Next, squeezing your hands under his body, you lift him up from his pile of stones – much to his surprise.

You admit, he's actually kinda heavy, you definitely wouldn't have been able to lift him if you weren't a magical girl. Since you are, however, you have no trouble carrying him over to the opening you cut in the door and push him out. You follow after him and, picking him up once more, walk over to the ledge overlooking the courtyard and jump down.

Just as he said, a small fire flickers in the centre of the opening. Eerily, instead of sticks and logs, it seems to be using… bones? A charred spiral-bladed sword sticks up out of the fire, the tip embedded in a central half-smashed skull.

Embers fly off of the fire as you plop the knight down beside it and you watch as they seep in through the cracks in his armour. A faint glow emits from those cracks and the dents in his armour pop back out on their own. Even the blood staining the cloth he's wearing over the armour fade away.

Once the embers have seemingly finished their work, the knight slowly sits up. "I… thank you for that. I'm not sure how you did any of that, but I'm deeply indebted to you."

You give him a nonchalant shrug and sit down beside it. "It was nothing. Besides, I didn't do it for nothing: I'm looking for someone and have no idea what this place is."

The knight nods. "Ah, I see. Well, I am Oscar, hailing from Astora. While I'm now able to continue on my quest, thanks to you, I'm more than willing to offer any assistance in return for your help."

"Ah, before that, however," He adds extending his hand, "the Estus flask, if you would. I'm not sure where you hail from friend, but since it seems that you're somehow not familiar with Estus, I'll show you how to refill it."

Fishing the empty bottle from the bag, you hand it over. Oscar then holds the flask up to the fire and, to your surprise, embers rush into it and rapidly become the glowing liquid it contained before. He pulls it away once it's full and offers it to you.

"Estus is liquid fire, drawing its healing power from the Flame." He explains as you take the bottle and place it in the bag again. "A few… less savory tales suggest a Fire Keeper's soul is required to make them, but it's best not to dwell on such stories."

Healing liquid fire? Fire Keepers? What crazy is this guy on about? Whatever, you have more important things to worry about.

"Er, right. So, about you helping me: I'm looking for a girl named Oriko Mikuni. She has long ash-blonde hair and light blue eyes the colour of ice. She's exactly one-hundred and twenty one days and threes hours older than me, and about a head taller than me. She'd be wearing either a fancy white dress with a box-like hat or dark red school uniform."

Oscar thinks for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe I've seen her. All the other Undead in this place are on the verge of hollowing, but I haven't noticed any with lighter hair. I doubt she'd left past that demon, either."

"Are you sure? Maybe you missed a cell or…"

"I'm sorry, but I've searched the entire asylum. I'm afraid she's not here." He says with a shake of his head. "Not that that's a bad thing. This place isn't built for luxury, after all."

-----------------

[] Ask some more questions
-[] Write in (all questions will be compiled)

[] Search the Asylum some more

[] Head for the exit

[] Write in

 

[AClassyBunny]

[x] Ask some more questions
-[x] The hell is this place?
-[x] Wait, undeads?



You heave a sigh and lean back on your hands, looking up at the grey clouds covering the sky. "Damnit, she has to be here somewhere… Maybe she woke up somewhere else for some reason? Somewhere not so… ruin-y." You look back down at Oscar with a frown. "Speaking of this place being all ruined, where are we? You called it an asylum, but it looks more like some kind of prison to me."

The knight nods slowly, looking around at the crumbling walls surrounding the courtyard. "A prison is certainly a better way to describe it. It's official name is the Northern Undead Asylum, which I suppose suggests they've built more of these prisons elsewhere. Unique or not, we're currently at the highest peak of an unnamed mountain range in the furthest northern reaches of the Kingdom of Lordran."

"Seems pretty remote then." You comment "Isn't it kinda inconvenient to build a prison somewhere so hard to reach. How do the prisoners and guards get here? How do they get food and stuff?"

Oscar chuckles at your question. "I suspect they were more concerned about being certain the Undead remained imprisoned than they were about accessibility. As for guards, I've only seen a demon or two patrolling about. I'm not too sure what they eat, but I can't imagine they bother with feeding the Undead prisoners."

You make a "hmm" sound and detach your soul gem, holding it up to the fire and admiring the reflection of the embers. "You keep saying Undead, but I assume you're not talking about Magical Girl, considering most people don't even know about them."

"Magical Girl, you say?" Oscar muses thoughtfully. "That sounds a bit redundant, considering many nobles know at least a little bit of magic or miracles. How is it related to the Undead?"

"Well, where I'm from, magic isn't really that common, I don't think." You reply showing him your soul gem. "A little white-ring puts your soul in one of these gems or something in exchange for a wish. I think Oriko said something about the body losing its preservation thingy or something." You say, putting your finger to your chin and try to remember Oriko's words. "Either way, I guess not having the soul in your body technically make you undead? It lets me fully recover from anything as long as I have enough magic left."

You thrust your hands into your lap and lean forward, running your finger from your shoulder to your hip. "I even got cleaved in half one time. The look on the girl's face when I got her from behind was pretty good."

"That sounds somewhat different to the usual Undead Curse." Oscar says, his helmet angled down to the soul gem in your hand. "Those suffering from the Undead Curse have their soul gradually dwindle, but to have it fully removed and still function normally is something else."

"You need to stop answering my questions with more weird terms." You say flatly, frowning.

The knight chuckles. "Ah, I'm sorry. Wherever you're from, it seems that the Undead Curse has yet to reach there. Or perhaps you've progressed to the point of memory loss." He takes out his sword and scratches a rough map into the gravel. "No one remembers where or how the Undead Curse began, only that it spread through the lands like a plague. One by one, the world has been consumed by the Curse, with fear and mistrust spreading like wildfire."

He draws a circle around a spot somewhat central to his map. "Not even Lordran itself has gone untouched, from what I've heard. Although, I suspect from this asylum's existence that they're still holding out somewhat under the guidance of the gods."

"So, uh… why dump all these Undead people in a prison in the middle of nowhere?" You ask. "You called yourself an Undead when I found you, so I take it you're not just mindless zombies or something."

"That's… only technically true. Beyond the obvious undying, the Undead suffer from gradual memory loss that eventually devolves into mindlessness. They will often continue whatever tasks they were doing at the time, but will also lash out at those around them. Because of this, they are hunted down and thrown in here, or…"

You notice his hand tighten around his sword. "or they make sure the body is beyond repair and burn them."

He goes quiet after that, so you get to your feet and stretch. As you do so, you dispel your magical girl outfit and return to your school uniform. Next, you untie the bag from your wrist and attach it to your waist so that it's not flapping around a lot whenever you move your hand.

"I've never seen magic like yours before." Oscar says, following you to his feet and admiring the ring your soul gem flashed into. "Weapon and armour enchantment, but never complete transformation or creation out of nothing."

You just shrug. "It's pretty common among the other magical girls I've met. I guess we're just special?"

--------------------

[] Ask some more questions
-[] Write in

[] Search the Asylum some more

[] Head for the exit

[] Write in

 

[AClassyBunny]

[X] Head for the exit



"You certainly seem to act differently to girls your age." Oscar says, eyeing you through his helmet. After a moment, he nods towards a big set of doors in one wall of the courtyard. "Anyway, there's nothing left here but mindless Hollows. We should move on before another of those demons show up."

"We? Who said we're working together? I'm not getting caught up in your prophecy of gods and bells and stuff. I need to find Oriko." Even as you say this, you make for the doors Oscar indicated. He said himself that there's nothing left here, so no point sticking around.

The knight lets out a sigh, shaking his head as he follows you. "I owe you my life, therefore I'll offer my assistance in searching for your missing friend. Besides, I would be breaking my oath as a knight if I abandon a young maiden to wander such a dangerous land without escort."

You place your foot against the heavy wooden doors and push-kick them in. They swing open with loud creaks, one nearly flying off its rusted hinges.

"Even if you seem to be a… capable warrior." Oscar adds, taking a moment to look up and the half-shattered hinges.

You stride through the big open room inside and approach a large metal door. Quiet wailing echoes in from a small gate to the left and you feel vibrations of very heavy footsteps directly beneath you. Weird. Why is everything so dreary in this place? Hopefully not everywhere's like this…

You push against the big doors to little effect. Oscar comes up besides you and points at an unnecessarily big keyhole.

"That key I gave you earlier. This is the door it goes to."

"Right, forgot about that." You reply, digging said key out from your little bag and looking the thing over.

It certainly matches the hole, the thing's thicker than your finger. Weighty too, you note for the first time. The key fits the lock easily, but catches for a moment when you try to turn it. You solve this issue with a bit of force, almost snapping the rusty metal key in the process.

It takes just as much force to push the large metal doors open. For the effort, you're greeted with a solid face full of chilling cold wind that hits you hard. Even if you're wearing the winter version of your school uniform, it's by no means designed to be worn at the top of a mountain. The chill immediately bites into every patch of exposed skin and you find yourself shivering.

Grumbling at the cold, you mentally shut off the feeling in your body and welcome the uncanny sensation of pure nothingness. Your breadth is white as you step out onto a broken rocky outcrop hanging out over a long drop. A poorly maintained path passes up past some kind of makeshift graveyard and through some ruined walls, with snow piling up in the cracks and corners.

"I hope everywhere in this place isn't as cold as here." You comment, not even noticing the snow and wind anymore as you step down off a small stone foundation and start following the path up.

"No, thankfully." Oscar replies, wisps of white rising up out through his visor as he follows after you. "The chill is supposed to keep the Undead imprisoned inside too cold to try escaping, I suspect."

The path comes to a sudden end not too far up, cutting off at a sheer cliff overlooking the distant mountain range. As far as the eye can see, there's nothing but snow, mountains and grey clouds. You feel a hint of sadness that you don't get to share this view with Oriko before annoyance takes over.

"Well, this went nowhere fast."

"It's definitely not quite what I was expecting…" Oscar replies, leaning forward to peak over the edge. "We're definitely not getting down this way."

Sighing, you kick a pile of snow off the edge. "How'd you get up here? Can't we just go back the way you came?"

He shakes his head. "I was dead when they brought me here, so I didn't see how I arrived. Hmm, what's this?" He muses, kneeling down and digging something black out of the snow.

"A… feather?"

"From an awfully big bird, it would seem." Oscar says, standing and holding the feather up to look at. It's definitely pretty big; maybe from a bigger than any bird you've even. Even so, it still flails about in the wind, a few snowflakes drifting off of it.

"So, Mr Knight," You say, kicking another clump of snow off the cliff "what do we-"

Oscar raises his hand to interrupt you and looks out at the mountain range. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what…?" You ask, frowning. You can barely hear him over the roar of the wind, let alone… Huh, nevermind. Was that… a crow?

"There, did you see that?" He adds, pointing down at a seemingly uninteresting patch of mountain. He draws his sword and holds it at the ready. "A black shadow. It must've been huge, judging by the distance."

You didn't see anything, but a rhythmic beating reaches your ears despite the wind. A loud screech pierces the roar, sounding close.

"I think we should move back in-" Oscar begins. He's suddenly cut off by a massive black shadow shooting up over the cliff. Large claws wrap around you and Oscar, and you're both lifted up off of the ground.

Your combat reflexes kick in and you immediately summon your magical attire and claws. You take a few swipes at this giant beast. The thing lets out a shriek when you scratch a big gash down the side of the thing and it lets you go.

Taking even a few seconds to think about what you were doing probably would've been a smart idea, because you suddenly find yourself plummeting through the open sky. At least from this new distance, you can see that the big shadow that grabbed you is a giant crow. Oscar's still flailing about in its grasp, although his efforts seem to be more focused on watching you fall than actually attacking the bird.

The giant crow lets out another loud shriek and suddenly dives, coming straight for you. Does it see you as prey? Was it playing with you before eating you up? Kinda embarrassing to meet your end to a giant bird, but at least Oriko isn't here to see it…

The crow snaps its wings out and reaches out to grab you with its free claw just as its about to reach you. It shakes you about a bit, making a low cackling that almost sounds like a wry laugh.

"I don't think it's a good idea to try fighting this thing mid-flight." Oscar comments, having somehow returned his sword to its sheath despite the claw wrapped around him. His flailing has stopped and he seems at least somewhat content with the situation.

"Could've mentioned that before I did it!" You snap, dispelling your claws.

Seeing as trying to escape wasn't the best of ideas, you decide there's no choice but to settle in for the ride and see where this big bird's taking the two of you. Maybe it has a nest of giant baby crows and plans on feeding you to them? Wonder if you'll taste good… wait, no. Birds just swallow things whole, don't that? Or is that snakes…?

Either way, it looks like you'll be flying for a while…






'A while' what a bit of an understatement. It's hard to tell exactly how long you were flying for, but it it's definitely more than a few hours.

Do all birds fly this far for their food? Surely there's something better to eat near to its nest – a giant worm, maybe. At least the clouds have thinned out a bit and you can see the sun. Oddly enough though, you get a strange sensation from the light of it. Kind of like when you visited a big planetarium with Oriko.

The ground below you changed at some point too. The endless snow-capped mountains eventually gave way to wide open fields and forests. You can even spot what you think is some kind of big walled city in the distance. It's approaching fast, so you assume that's your destination.

"Gods," Oscar gasps "it's taking us to Lordran!"

"That's the place you mentioned before, right?" You ask since there's nothing else to do. "What's so special about it?"

"It's the city of the Gods, Lord Gwyn's seat of power." He explains. "The outer sections are where most citizens live, but that walled off area up on the hill is Anor Londo, where the very Gods themselves reside and rule."

You look the city over. It's definitely big, with several rings of overlapping walls. That section in the centre – Anor Londo – absolutely looks fancy enough to fit into one of your fantasy manga. Still, gods? Seems a bit of an exaggeration…

The giant crow caws to itself as you admire the city. You note that you're starting to pass down below the clouds and towards the city. Specifically, the bird seems to be heading for a valley running between two areas of the lower section.

You descend into that valley not long after and the crow drops you both off in some random ruins built on the side of the valley wall with surprising care. Well, it does for Oscar. The damn thing holds onto you for a second longer, only letting go once you're a few meters off the ground. Luckily, you have good reflexes and twist to land on your feet. The crow appears to let out an almost disappointed caw before coming to land on a section of the ruin.

Oscar heaves a relieved sigh while you eye the bird with displeasure. "Gods is it good to be back on solid ground again! Seems the creature didn't intend for us to be a meal after all."

"Yeah, but where exactly are we? I thought you said this place was some grand city of the gods, but all I see is ruins and a giant freakin' wall." You reply, taking in your surroundings.

A small pit-like area hosts another one of those bonfire things, this one burning a bit brighter than the one back at the Asylum. Behind you is a well with a rotting corpse hanging over it, a few strange black wisps floating about around it.
The ruins itself seem to follow a sort of tier-like rise, with half of a big dome-capped tower rising up and the back and that damned crow sitting there, eyeing you with disdain. The whole thing is built beneath a massive tree growing out of the side of the cliff face.

Finally, there's a thin path winding around the cliff wall behind you, leading to some kind of stone bridge that crosses over to the giant wall that towers over the other side of the valley.

"Maybe be we should ask him?" Oscar suggests, pointing out a hunched over man in clothes made of tiny chains. He didn't seem to react to your arrive, so you didn't even notice him.

The weary-looking guy looks up with a wry smirk when the two of you approach him. "Well, what do we have here? More of those 'Fate of the Undead' idiots, right? Well, you're not the first." He says with a chuckle. "You'd have done better to rot in the Undead Asylum."

"Hold on, friend. You know of the Undead Prophecy?" Oscar asks, slightly perturbed by this guy's attitude. "You say more have already attempted to ring the Bell of Awakening?"

"There are two bells, actually." Mr Moody replies, holding up two fingers. "But that's right. I've seen plenty of you lot pass through here. Always bright-eyed and self-righteous. Always rushing out to get yourselves killed." He grins darkly. "Well, since you're here, I might as well help you out a bit. Going to go off after the bells anyway, ey? The first is up above in the Undead Church, while the other is far, far below, in the ruins at the base of Blighttown. Ring them both and something happens. Brilliant, right?"

You and Oscar share a glance when the grumpy fellow continues to chuckle wryly at you. You're still not entirely sure what all this crap about bells is, but this guy's already getting on your nerves. Still, he did mention others have been through here, so maybe he's spotted Oriko?

"Hey, uh… You mentioned other people have come through here, right?" You ask, causing Mr Moody to give you a look that suggests he's wondering why you're still talking to him. "Did one of them have long ash-coloured hair and ice-blue eyes? She's about a head taller than me."

He stares at you with disinterest for a moment. "Girl, I've seen hundreds of idiots come and go, all ages and sizes. I both don't have the memory to remember ever face, nor any interest in doing so. Now, off you go. Leave me be." He says, flicking his hand mockingly at you to go away.

You step back and go over to Oscar, who's moved over to the bonfire. "Well he's an asshole." You say, knowing full well Mr Moody's still in earshot.

"Yes, well… it seems Lordran is in worse shape than I thought. Maybe he's been through a lot?"

"Yeah, maybe." You scoff, shaking your head.

"For now, I say we take a look around and figure out where to go next." Oscar suggests, looking up at the giant wall across the valley. "He mentioned one of the bells is up in a church, and I suspect we'd have a better chance looking for your missing friend somewhere more populated than this little ruin."

You nod. "Right… Well, I guess there might be something useful here. No harm in looking around."

--------------------
Pick 2, Oscar will investigate the others…

[] What's down those stairs next to Mr Moody?
[] You saw a big graveyard behind the ruins on the way in…
[] Maybe there's something interesting in the ruins…?
[] Why not take a peak around that path along the cliffside?
[] Is that a big bird's nest up in the tower…?

 

[AClassyBunny]

[X] Why not take a peak around that path along the cliffside?
[X] Is that a big bird's nest up in the tower…?


"Well, no point just sitting around here all day." You say, looking around at your surroundings. "We won't find Oriko by just doing nothing!"

Oscar nods. "Indeed. For now, let's take a look around this place and see if we can find a way up to the city proper. I'll see if there's any hidden paths within the ruins."

"Right. Then I guess I'll look… that way!" You reply, pointing over at the stone bridge crossing the valley. "I'll scout it out super quick and come back with a report!" You add with a mock salute before hurrying off.

The path along the cliff face is even thinner and shoddier than it looked from a distance. You're a magical girl, though, so it's no issue.

As you climb the path-stairs, you start to hear footsteps from up ahead. A half-broken sword suddenly swings out at your head when you round the corner. You duck under the attack with ease and hop back, getting a full look at your attacker.

It's a guy in some kind of thin leather armour and tattered sections of chain. Well, maybe calling him a guy is a stretch, as his skin is twisted and dried out like one of those shrunken head things, and his eye sockets are an empty black. This must be what Oscar meant by mindless Hollows, you suppose. It certainly looks like some hollow zombie.

The not-person looks at the spot you were just standing with confusion, as if unsure how you avoided his attack and not yet realising you've moved. It notices you again when you summon your claws and magical girl outfit, though, letting out a dry screech and charging you.

The thin and rusted armour puts up no resistance against your magical claws, and you easily cleave the thing apart. The momentum of your attack sends the corpse tumbling off the cliff and you take a peek over to admire your handywork.

You almost take another sword to the back for your troubles as another Hollow slashes at you while you're distracted. You deal with this one just as easily as the first, slicing its head clean off and kicking the body back onto its ass.

Bracing yourself for more, your look around for any other foes. You find them aplenty, as another, far better armoured Hollow approaches you slowly with a shield raised and sword ready. Even if this one seems a bit more competent than the first two, that doesn't say much, so you lunge forward and slash your claws out around the small-ish shield.

The Hollow suddenly stops and backsteps at your movement. You notice a small black shape pass by your head just before you hear a shattering sound and fire erupts up from beneath you. You don't feel the fire, since you forgot to switch your body's senses back on after escaping the cold of the Asylum, but your clothes catch alight pretty quick and you smell burning flesh.

Another Hollow stands up on a raised rocky outcrop over the armoured Hollow, a sack of little black balls laid out beside him. Seeing your apparent injury, the armoured Hollow lowers his shield and charges you.

You growl at being caught off guard and duck under the thrusted sword. As you dodge, you slash one hand out at the Hollow's legs, cutting through them with your claws. You flick your other hand up at the second Hollow, sending a pair of your claws flying up at him.

The first, now legless, Hollow hits the ground at the same time the second one is pinned against the wall of the bridge by your ejected claws. The first attempts to swing its sword up at you from the grass, but you simply sidestep the blade and hook one of your claws in its empty eye socket before pulling up.

Silence falls as the thing's head is destroyed and you inspect the damage to your body.

For the most part, it seems the fire didn't make it past your clothes. The few spots it did are a nasty red-black colour and stretch weirdly when you move. It's no problem to heal, however. No more than a thought and the skin begins to repair itself. You place your hand over the worst spots and manually heal them, speeding up the process.

With that dealt with, you hop up the stairs to where the guy throwing stuff is pinned to the wall. A loud half-gargled warcry erupts from behind a short set of stairs when you touch down, and yet another of these damn Hollows comes running towards you with a big axe. At the same time, a fourth one rushes down the stairs with a makeshift shield and broken sword.

You're now in no mood to deal with these guys after catching that fire attack, so you spin on your heel and lash out with your claws, cutting down both of them in one go.

Finally, with nowhere else for more of the things to hide, you let out an annoyed huff and relax. You dig through that sack of black bombs, but it seems most of them were shattered to begin with, so you decide to not bother with them and head up the stairs.

A little archway leads inside and – you immediately pull your foot away when you hear a splash under your step. A horrible stench reaches your nose and you quickly realise this isn't a bridge. It's a sewerage system. What's more, you hear a pretty loud squeaking to your left. When you look, a giant rat, rotting and filthy, comes barrelling down the tunnel at you with its giant teeth gnawing.

Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.

Wanting nothing to do with any of that, you back out onto the stairs and jump down to the rocky outcrop where you fought the Hollows. Within moments, you're back down at the bonfire in the ruins.

"Are you okay?" Oscar asks, coming up from the stairs besides Mr Moody, who only chuckles at your discomfort.

"Fucking sewers and fucking giant rats!" You exclaim, rubbing your wet foot against the dirt in hopes of getting the sewer water out.

Oscar seems taken about by your outburst. "A young maiden shouldn't speak like that…" He says in a way that reminds you of when your mum was about to give you a lecture.

"Shut up." You retort, finally giving up on drying your foot and crossing your arms. "I take it you found something better?"

His visor remains on you for a moment longer before he replies. "Well, I wouldn't quite call it better. There's a young woman trapped behind some bars on the level below, although she didn't seem to have noticed me when I tried to speak to her. I think she's this place's firekeeper."

"That doesn't seem nearly as bad as giant rats in a sewer." You say, putting a hint of annoyance in your voice.

Oscar nods. "Indeed. The bad part is below her. Another set of stairs leads down to an elevator. At the bottom of that is something I can only think to call a ghost town."

You frown, tilting your head. "Okay, so that's kinda spooky. What's the big deal though? You scared of ghosts?"

"Normally, no. Among the many beasts and evils that stalk the lands as of late, ghosts are hardly something I usually pay any mind to." He replies with a sickly tone. "However, something about the place made me unsettled. A few echoing screams from further in were enough to make me turn around. It's certainly not somewhere anyone, undead or not, would dwell, so we have no need to venture there anyway."

You nod your head in agreeance. No need to go somewhere Oriko probably isn't. At least, you can hold it off until searching more likely places first.

"There's also a rather large graveyard behind the ruins." Oscar continues. "Nothing but bones and corpses back there, I believe."

"Oh, there's more than just that." Mr Moody suddenly chimes in with a mocking smirk. "Those bags of bones are kept functioning by the power of a bunch of necromancers further within the catacombs. Stray too close and those skeletons will skewer you like a pig." He says, chuckling.

"No reason to go that way either, then." Oscar says. "I suppose that just leaves the ruins themselves."

Nodding, you look over the crumbling mess of a structure with only a passing interest. As you do, however, something up in the half-ruined tower catches your eye. "Hey, is that a big bird nest up in the tower?"

Oscar follows your gaze. "I believe so. Likely the home of that giant crow, if I were to guess."

A nasty idea comes to mind, making you smirk. "Hey, you think that damn crow would be pissed if I wrecked its nest?"

"I can't imagine it would be too happy." Oscar replies, turning his head back down to you. "That's awfully high, however. If you fell.."

"Nah, I'll be fine." You say, dismissing his worries with a wave. "Just watch!"

Without waiting for him to make another complaint, you leap up onto the stone arch. The giant crow eyes you cautiously as you hop from one section to another quickly making your way up to the top of the tower. It seems to be on alert, but doesn't stop you from approaching the nest, so you carry on.

As you reach the crest of the giant nest, you hear a high pitched caw and a small (well, slightly above average, but small compared to the big one) crow hops up onto the weaved together branches.

"Caw, Caw! You, you. Who, you? Caw!"

You stare at the bird, mouth hanging open. Did this crow just talk? Are you really not in a Witch's Labyrinth…?

As you contemplate this weird discovery, you notice a faint warmth coming from the pocket you placed the shard of Oriko's soul gem in. Reaching into the pocket, you grasp both the shard and weird pendant and retrieve them.

Both seem to be glowing brightly, the silver light of the shard appearing to mix with the pink of the pendant. What's going on? Is this-?

"Caw! Give me warm! Give me soft! Caw!"

The bird suddenly flaps its wings and snatches Oriko's shard from your hands. Panicking, you grasp for it, but the little black thing flies back out of your reach.

"Hey give that back, you little bird brain!"

"Caw! Warm, mine! Caw!"

Growling, you summon your claws again and go to leap up at the little bastard. Apparently the tower stonework is even less stable than you thought, since a loose brick shifts and gives way under your foot. With your balance suddenly thrown off, you flail about in attempt to recover.

The last thing you hear before plummeting to the ground is the caw of that damned crow…





You awaken with a start. The ruins and birds and zombie things have disappeared, being replaced by… is this the tea table in Oriko's garden…? Wait, was that all just a dream?! Oriko! Where's Oriko?!

"I hope you like the garden. I thought you'd like something familiar."

You jump at the sound of the voice, leaping up out of your chair and summoning your claws.

The speaker lets out a small "eep!" and shrinks back into her chair. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" Her panicked movements send her long pink hair flying and it floats about as if you were underwater or in space. "I mean you no harm, I promise!"

Something about the girl seems familiar. It doesn't click where you've seen her until your gaze meets her golden eyes.

"You… you're that girl, aren't you?" You ask, unsure. "The one Oriko wanted to kill. Ka… Kadoma!"

"Madoka Kaname…" The girl corrects, sighing.

"Yeah, that."

Wait… if this is the girl Oriko was after, and she's here right now…

But… you killed her. Oriko pierced her heart with a shard of your crumbling witch. Right…?

But if she's here right now, then that means you failed.

You died for nothing.

Oriko died for nothing.

"You... I killed you…" You mumble, your mind racing. "But, I didn't… I… Oriko died, and…!"

"Ah, no, wait! You did kill me that time!" The pinkette exclaims, waving her hands about in a panic. "You definitely did kill me in your world, so you didn't die for nothing!"

You can't help a frown. "What? But… But you're here, right now…"

She nods slowly. "I am, but I'm mostly a different Madoka from the one you killed. See, one of the girls you were fighting at the end can go back in time. Whenever she does that, she creates a different timeline – and slightly different world. My main consciousness is from one of those other timelines."

You stare at her blankly. "Uhh… what?"

Sorry, that probably doesn't make any sense." She muses, pressing her fingers together awkwardly. "Um, think of it like this: There are a bunch of different worlds and you certainly succeeded in achieving Oriko's goal in yours. Even if Mitakihara was destroyed not long after…"

Still not entirely sure about what's going on, you slump back down into your chair. So, she's saying you achieved what Oriko wanted, right? That's all that really matters, you suppose. But that doesn't really explain what's going on right now, though.

"So, uh, what's with... all of this?" You ask, gesturing around at the fake garden.

Her mood seems to improve immediately at your acceptance. "Oh, right! Well, It would probably take too long to explain properly, but I'm something like a super powerful being now. I go round to every Magical Girl, past present and future, and take them into the Law of the Cycle just before they die or become Witches."

"…I'm pretty sure you weren't anywhere to be seen when I became a Witch or when Oriko died."

"Hmm, that's right…" The girl admits with a shallow nod. "Certain factors around your transformation and Oriko's following death made it difficult for me to get to you. The thing is, though, when I came to get you afterwards, you were both… gone."

You tilt your head at her wording. "Gone?"

"That's right. I'm not quite sure why, but you were somehow transported to the world you're in now." She says, frowning. "My power is very limited outside of our normal reality, so the best I could do was try to contact one of you. That's what that pendant you have was for; it acts as a kind of beacon for me to reach you."

"Uh, right." You reply, nodding along despite not really following. "But… why contact me? Would it have been better to talk to Oriko instead? She's much smarter than me and probably already figured out what to do."

"That's the thing. I can sense that Oriko is somewhere in the same world as you – somewhere very, very high up in the city you're in – but I can't pinpoint her location or contact her at all."

"So… you want to help me find her, then?"

Madoka nods. "Yeah, I want to save both of you, but I can't do that unless I can reach you. For now, it's probably best to have you search, while I do what I can to help."

--------------------

[] Ask some more questions
-[] Write in (all questions will be compiled together)

[] Leave this weird not-garden place… somehow

[] Write in

 

[AClassyBunny]

[X] Ask some more questions
-[X] Once I find Oriko, what then?
-[X] Can you tell me anything useful about this world?



This whole situation is making your head spin. You rarely paid much attention in class and Oriko's smarts never seemed to rub off onto you, so this is all pretty confusing. This girl – Madoka, or whatever her name is – says she's some super powerful person from another world and wants to help you. She claims she can save you and Oriko, but what does that mean?

"So, once I find Oriko," you start, eyeing the girl in front of you cautiously "what then? Why would you want to help the ones that killed you?"

Madoka chuckles awkwardly at your question. "Ah, well… I was pretty scared when you came for me in those few timelines I encountered you and Oriko, but I do understand why Oriko was doing what she did. I want to help all the Magical Girls, no matter what they did!" She clears her throat and chuckles again after that dramatic declaration.

"As for what happens after you find Oriko, that would depend on the situation." She continues, putting her hand to her chin and frowning in thought. "Hopefully I'll have figured out a way to return you to our reality by then, but it's possible you'll be stuck there for a while afterwards. I can sense a number of magics not entirely different from a Magical Girl's soul-related magic in the world you're in, so maybe they could help somehow. Of course, what state Oriko is in will change things too."

Her frown deepens. "It should be no problem retrieving even just her soul gem when I do find a way to reach you, so long as it's intact enough to still hold her soul. The problem is, I can sense at least one extremely powerful entity very near to her. Their energy feels… strange. It's possible that might cause problems when I try to bring you back to our reality."

You give her a grin, cracking you neck and knuckles. "So, I just need to kill whatever's giving off that weird magic and it'll be all good, right? No problem at all."

"Haha, well, I don't doubt your abilities – I've seen them firsthand, after all – but this entity is probably far stronger than any witch. Maybe even stronger than Walpurgisnacht…" Madoka replies, shaking her head. "In fact, can sense sources of massive amounts of power all over the place in this world. High and low, far and wide; mostly focused in and around the city you're in."

You slide back into your seat with a sigh, crossing your arms and frowning. You're sure you can handle anything that gets in your way, so long as it means finding Oriko – even if you have to become a witch again to do it – but this place does sound pretty crazy. Oscar's already mentioned different kinds of magic and it might be a problem if there's as many of these super powerful things around as Madoka says.

Maybe you should refrain from just trying to brute force everything. This place seems pretty different from your world and you don't know enough to properly deal with things that might show up. Oriko proved just how much you can do with a bit of information, after all. It might help to figure out what's up with this world.

"You said you can sense a bunch of stuff in this world, right?" You ask, sitting back up and leaning forwards on the table hopefully. "You said Oriko's really high up and that there's stuff below and around the city. Does that mean you know things about this place that might be helpful?"

Madoka once again brings her hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I can't give you a perfect map of the city, but I can try to put together a general layout. I can also point you in the direction of those powerful entities, although I don't think that'd be much help until we know for sure that we need another way of getting you back to our reality.

"I should be able to tell you more about the magics of this world once you encounter them. I can say for certain that there's at least three kinds of magic. One of them seems to be not too different from our soul-based magic and is focused around where I can sense Oriko is. Another is a bit odd with a feeling that's hard to describe; it's also mostly focused high up near where Oriko is, but there's also a few pockets of it scattered around the city. The third one feels somewhat… uncontrolled. Violent and calm at the same time. Thankfully, the last one seems focused deep below, so you shouldn't need to worry about it."

Madoka shudders suddenly and grabs her head with an almost pained expression. "I can also sense something… dark, like a deep, all consuming void. Worryingly, it's almost like the warped and corrupted power of a witch. Such raw emotions running wild; it makes me feel sick just looking at it." She looks up at you, a worried look in her eyes. "It's mostly focused in an area right beneath the ruins you're in. I don't know if your soul gem will react to it, but you should stay away from it as best you can."

--------------------

[] Ask some more questions

[] Leave this place… somehow

[] Write in

 

[AClassyBunny]

[X] Leave this place… somehow



"Riiiiight. I'll keep that in mind, then." You reply, looking around at the garden. Looking closer, it's clear that this is nothing but an illusion. Your ability to manipulate time means you've had plenty of chances to see the difference between how time effects the real and illusions. The way the plants and flowers move in the breeze – it's slightly off, like something remade using just the memory of what they are.

Strangely, it's a similar feeling you got when looking up at the sun when you were being carried by the crow.

"Ah," You hear Madoka exclaim, returning your attention to the pink-haired girl. "I think I should send you back now. Your knight friend is trying to wake you."

"Wake me?" You echo, tilting your head slightly in confusion. "But I'm wide awake."

Madoka smiles and gets to her feet. Her long hair and flowy white dress float about at the movement. "I'll do my best to put together a general map for you by the time we talk next. I might even have something else for you too, if I can figure out how the laws of this world work." She says, rounding the table.

You stand to meet her. "I, uh… thanks for helping out with finding Oriko." You say, scratching the back of your head awkwardly. "She always says I need to thank people when they help. Oh, my mum probably does too, I guess."

Madoka chuckles at your thanks. "There's no need to thank me. My wish was to save all the Magical Girls, so of course I'll help. Besides, you haven't found her yet…" She says, frowning at her last words. After a moment, she smacks her cheeks and shakes her head. "Ah, sorry. We'll find her, no matter what! I promise!"

"Well, yeah. Of course we will." You reply, nodding. "Even without your weird 'different worlds' magic, I'd tear this place apart until I find Oriko. And if it's too late when I do…" You frown and ball your fists. "I'll tear apart whoever took her out."

Madoka claps her hands cheerfully. "I'm sure it won't come to that. Now… Oh, before I send you back!" She holds out her hand and gives you a warm smile. "Could you give me your soul gem for a moment?"

"What do you want with it…?" You reply, eyeing her suspiciously. This girl's been nothing but nice and helpful so far, but asking a magical girl for there soul gem is a bit…

"Ah, it's nothing bad, I promise!" She exclaims, waving her hands about in a panic. "Your soul gem's over half-way tainted, so I want to cleanse it for you. There doesn't seem to be any incubators in this world, so you may have trouble cleaning it otherwise."

You hesitate for a moment longer before raising your hand and summoning your soul gem. You give Madoka a small nod, then she holds her hands out to either side of the gem.

She closes her eyes and you feel a strange sensation ripple through you. After a few seconds, the blackness tainting your soul gem begins to seep out and reach over to Madoka's palms. Your gem's glow grows stronger as the corruption moves from it to her until the darkness is completely gone.

Madoka lets out a held breath in a small shudder and lowers her arms.

"Did you just… absorb the corruption?" You ask, a little bit surprised by what you just witnessed. "But you don't have a grief seed!"

Madoka chuckles, holding her head and leaning against the table for support. "This is the power my wish gave me. I can draw a magical girl's grief out of their soul gem and take it into myself. I wouldn't be very good at saving people if I couldn't at least do this much. Besides, I've already become a witch once already, so it's fine."

You admire the citrine glow of your soul gem, frowning. "Becoming a witch didn't seem to have stopped me from getting all tainted…"

"Ah, I'm a bit of a special case, I suppose. Now," Madoka says, standing up straight and holding out her hand palm-up "I think it's time for you to return to your search. Mister Knight is starting to get really worried."

"Oh really?" You chuckle, obediently placing your hand in hers. "Well, I better go then. Don't want him to embarrass me by making a big fuss."

Madoka giggles and a small pink light begins shining between your hands. "Good luck, Kirika. Let's both do our best."



"Come on girl, wake up!"

Your eyes suddenly snap open. The ruins reach up around you and you can spot the grey-cloud sky through the giant tree branches. Oscar is knelt down beside you, clearly worried.

"Kirika." You mumble, pulling yourself up and pushing off his hands.

"What?"

"My name." You reply, rubbing your eyes. "My name's Kirika Kure, not 'girl'. I-" Your eyes stop on the little crow at your feet. It's flapping its wings and hoping about crying "awake, awake!" over and over.

"You!" You snarl, grabbing at the bird and making it jump in surprise. "I'm going to pluck out your feathers one-by-one and turn you into a crow kebab!"

"Caw! Mistake! Mistake! Caw!" It screeches in a panic, flying up out of your reach.

"There's no mistake, you little bastard! Give me back Oriko's shard!" You demand, getting to your feet and summoning your claws.

Suddenly, a giant black mass swoops down on the little crow. You stumble backwards at the force of the wind as heavy beat echo in your ears.

"ENOUGH!" A deep voice booms. The giant crow lands on a nearby wall, the little crow squirming in one of its claws. "Misunderstandings bequeaths fault, but this are't no sin at all. Thou are't both in the wrong."

Oscar stares up at the giant bird, his jaw probably hanging behind his helmet. "You can speak?"

"Of course!" The crow replies, less booming this time. "I merely had naught to say to thee."

"That little rat still has Oriko's shard." You growl, glaring up at the bird. It looks down at you with a look of a parent putting up with a child throwing a tantrum.

"Mistake! Caw! Mistake!" The little crow cries. It stops its squirming when its captor tightens its grip and looks down at it.

"Mistakes are't not sin themselves, however can breed sin as a result. Thou must repent!"

The little crow lets out a small, almost fearful "caw" as the two birds look at each other, then the big crow loosens its grip. The little one flaps its wings and flies back up to its nest with all the speed it can muster.

"Hey!" You exclaim "What about the shard?!"

"Patience, child!" The giant crow booms, snapping its gaze down to you.

Shrinking back under the shout, you decide that yes, maybe you can wait at least a little while.

After a few moments of thick, awkward silence, you hear a few 'caw, caw!'s from the nest and look up to see the little crow flying down. It slows and comes to a stop on the ground in front of you and meekly approaches.

In its mouth is the faintly glowing shard of Oriko's soul gem, which it gently places on the ground. "M-Mistake! Mistake! Caw!" It says, bending itself down in a sort of bow. Next, it flaps its wings and takes off, revealing a small, dirty doll. "S-Sorry! Caw! Caw! Gift! Gift!"

You reach down and pick up the two offered items. You return the shard to the safety of your pocket after giving it a quick once-over, then turn your attention to the funny little doll. It's filthy – clearly been sitting around somewhere for a while – but also seems to be somewhat well made to your untrained eyes. The colours have worn and faded, and there's a lot of wear from overuse, probably from before the crow picked it up, so it's hard to tell what it was originally meant to look like. Even so, it has a pretty intricate dress with overlapping bits, and a small tail coming up from its rump.

Unsure what to do with this weird apology gift, you decide to just store it in your bag and figure out something for it later.

*Peculiar Doll obtained*​

With that whole situation cleared up – or, at least as far as you're willing to take it with that giant bird glaring down at you – you turn back to Oscar.

"I warned that the nest was too high." He says after a moment. "I don't know how you survived that fall, but I suggest you don't try that again."

You give him a nonchalant shrug. "Hey, I didn't feel anything and now my soul gem's – ah, that reminds me…" You cut your reply short to take out your soul gem.

Yep, completely clean, just like that pink-haired girl said. Well, that weird fiery outline is still there, but otherwise it's fine. Guess that wasn't just a dream after all… That means her saying Oriko is high up happened too.

Looks like you have a direction now, at least.

"So, find anything else while I was out?" You ask, stretching your back. You frown when you don't feel your bones popping, then remember you shut off your senses. You try again after turning them back on, but you annoyingly don't get the same satisfying result as the first probably was.

Oscar watches you for a few seconds before replying, shaking his head as he speaks. "There's a less than friendly cleric over there, but otherwise just a few odd trinkets laying about. I found a large hole of some kind leading up, but I doubt even your… peculiar leaping abilities would be able to reach the top."

It doesn't take much to figure out what that means. You make a face, not at all happy about where this is going. You're not too keen on going through a sewer…

-----------------

[] Go through the sewer bridge thing

[] Take a look in that graveyard Oscar mentioned

[] Surely that "ghost town" below isn't as bad as Oscar made it out to be?

[] Write in

 

[AClassyBunny]

[x] Go through the sewer bridge thing



"Great…" You mutter with a sigh "sewer bridging thing it is, then. Let's get this over with."

Oscar follows behind you as you lead the way along the cliff path around to the bridge. He gives the dead Hollows scattered about a curious glance as you pass them and climb the stairs.

He pauses at the little arch leading inside. Drawing his sword, he peaks in and looks each way. "Kirkia," he says flatly "this isn't a sewer. It's an aqueduct."

"A what? What's the difference?"

"It carries clean water through the city. A sewer carries… more than that." He replies.

You cross your arms, turning up your nose. "Then what's that smell then? Are arkaducks or whatever you said meant to smell like that?"

He nods his head at the entrance. "That large rat you mentioned seems plague-ridden. The rot coming off of it is likely the source of the stench."

"Look, does it really matter? Let's just kill the thing and move on then." You say, summoning one of your claws. You push past him and step into the akra- aquerrr- into the not-sewer and turn to face the sound of squeaking.

A pair of orbs shine in the darkness, reflecting the faint glow of your claws as the rat turns at your arrival. You take a step forward and hold your claw hand up across your chest. With a squeak, the eyes start to move closer along side the splash-splash of the rat splashing up water.

With a slash of your arm, you launch your claw through the air. A sharp, fleshy squish sounds, then the rat drops to the water.

"You're rather quick with those claws." Oscar comments, entering into the tunnel behind you. "How did a young lady of your age become so proficient with such peculiar weapons?"

You turn and shrug, squeezing past him to head for what looks like another exit. "I dunno, never thought about it. These claws were what I got when I became a magical girl and I just kinda already knew how to use them."

You spot an iron grate a little bit past the exit, but seeing as it's too dark to see anything beyond it, and you're not very interested in standing in this ankle-deep water any longer than you have to, you decide it's probably not worth investigating.

"Curious… And you can summon any amount of them endlessly?" Oscar continues to ask as the two of you step up onto the dry-ish brick and out into a little alley-stairway. "Do they have any kind of special properties beyond their summoning?"

Casually summoning another of your claws, you hold it up and admire it. "Hmm, I guess they can cut through pretty much anything I want them too, so long as I try hard enough. I can throw them and chain them together for extra range, too."

"Convenient things, it would seem then. And you're saying you just… knew how to use them in such ways?" He asks, watching the faint glow of your weapon.

You shrug again and begin making your way up the long stairway. "Yeah. Maybe it's something to do with the whole soul gem thing. The thing that gave me magic said it was where my magic comes from, so I guess that means the weapons are from my soul or something like that?"

"Perhaps something akin to Soul Arts, then… I wonder- ah, wait." Oscar holds up his hand as you near the top of the stairs. He slips past you and peaks his head over the wall. "Hollows. Two of them, from what I can see."

"Those ones I took out before weren't that big of a deal. I doubt these ones will be much worse."

Oscar shakes his head, drawing his sword. "Still, it's best not to recklessly charge into a conflict. These Hollows may appear mindless, but they still maintain the capacity for basic ambushes. Stay behind me."

As he finishes speaking, he raises his shield and steps up the stairs. The two Hollows turn their heads lazily towards him, grumbling some nonsense. They both suddenly spring into action when Oscar takes another step towards them, charging him with sword and axe raised.

Oscar catches the swing of the one with the sword using his shield, then kicks the thing to the side, sending it tumbling over a small wall and down a long drop. Meanwhile, seeing the axe Hollow angling to swing his weapon down around Oscar's shield, you leap up onto the wall of the building next to the fight, propelling off of it to bring your claws down through the Hollow's tattered armour and skin.

Oscar gives you a thankful nod before advancing towards a little wooden bridge across a gap. A little black bomb shatters against his shield when he reaches the crossing, fire exploding out to half-engulf him. You hear him grunt in pain before stepping back behind the corner from whoever threw the bomb.

"Didn't you just say to watch out for ambushes?" You snicker, stepping up behind him. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot movement through the window of the little stone tower you're both standing behind. "Ah, there's another one in there."

Oscar nods and reaches down to a little pouch hanging from his hip. Taking out one of those little bombs, his tosses it around the corner. You hear it shatter and a pained shriek. Oscar then raises his shield again and steps around onto the crossing, facing the open doorway into the tower. You hear the thunk of a sword hitting his shield, then the fleshy tearing of his sword cutting the Hollow down.

He takes a moment to peak into the tower before turning to enter another opposite it. You hear him let out a sigh upon finding no more Hollows and go through the doorway after him.

You find him standing over a shrivelled up corpse sat in the corner, beneath a small flight of stairs leading up to a second floor. Faint white wisps float about the body, reminding you of when you killed that big demon.

"What is that white smoke stuff?" You ask, coming up to stand beside him. "I've seen it a few times, I think."

"Souls." He replies, crouching down and holding his hand out to the corpse. The faint whips twist and begin rising up into his hand. They spiral around his arm before disappearing into his body. "Coins have become pointless in the chaos that the Undead Curse has caused throughout the land. Souls are the only currency accepted everywhere in the world."

"And that's normal here?" You ask. They use people's souls as money here? Even for you, that's a bit… morbid.

Oscar nods as he stands up. "Unfortunately, yes. I don't believe they're a being's actual thoughts and consciousness, mind you. Just a representation of the flicker of the Flame each living creature holds. Now, there doesn't seem to be anything else of value here, so let's move on."

Oscar picks up his sword from where it was resting against the wall beside the corpse and steps backs you to the stairs. You follow behind him and as you reach the top, you start to hear a thump, thump of giant wings.

"What's that?" You ask, climbing another short set of stairs up onto a castle wall. "Another one of those giant crows-?"

You nearly jump out of your skin when a giant red DRAGON flies down to land on the wall in front of you. It beats its wings a few times, then takes off again, flying up over the distant city structures.

"Was that a fucking dragon?!"

"A Fire Drake, technically, I believe."

You give Oscar a nasty look. "Are you going to correct everything I say?"

He shrugs and carries on along the wall as if nothing ever happened. As if a FREAKING DRAGON didn't just appear out of nowhere and fly away!

You don't get much time to grumble, however, as another Hollow has wander over from further down the wall while the two of you were discussing the dragon, also seemingly unphased by the giant winged lizard.

Oscar easily dispatches the lone swordsman, a few small wisps moving from its body to his.

Suddenly, something hits the bricks at your feet at a somewhat high speed. You look up to see a whole group of Hollows gathered around wooden barricades. A Hollow in some metal armour stands up on a raised area in the back, fumbling with a crossbow.

"They can use crossbows too?" You ask, summoning more claws.

Oscar nods, raising his shield. "They still have the basic ability to use whatever they- hey what are you doing?!"

Not bothering to listen to his full explanation, nor to wait around for his slow and boring tactics, you rush past him and into the group of Hollows. The first two charge you from different directions at the same time. A bit more clever than the ones so far, but still not exactly the most impressive use of their probably rotting brains.

You duck under the first one's swing and spin on your heel, holding your claws out to sweep through their legs and lower bodies, almost like a spinning top of death. A third one charges you with a sickly warcry just as you come to a stop and you just manage to catch his swing with your claws. While you're surprised he has the strength to somewhat hold out, your magical girl strength has no problem with pushing back up to your feet despite the Hollow pushing down on your claws.

While you're smugly smirking over your claws at the seemingly confused Hollow, you feel a sharp pain in your right shoulder. A sword suddenly swings down from your left and takes off the Hollows head, and Oscar steps in front of you, raising his shield high.

"I told you not to charge in recklessly!" He growls alongside the thunk of another bolt hitting his shield.

Right, forgot about the crossbow guy. Grabbing the little wooden stick embedded in your shoulder, you pull it out with a grunt and toss it to the ground. You chuckle, licking your blood off of your hand. "And I told you that I can take pretty much any hit and walk away feeling fine."

As you say this, you step out from behind Oscar and toss a claw up at the crossbow Hollow, cleaving through the metal helmet and destroying half of its head. Oscar sighs at your stubbornness and turns to face the last two Hollows, which are standing across another small bridge.

Unlike the others, these two didn't charge you. Instead, they're holding their shields up and spears ready as if defending their side of the crossing. When you testingly step onto the bridge, they both shift to block you at the other end. Huh, are they protecting something?

"Here, take this and throw it at their feet." Oscar says, handing you one of the bombs. Next, he steps out in front and begins crossing the bridge, his shield once again up to defend against an attack.

Not really sure what timing he was going for, you decide to just lob the bomb now and leap across the gap to the section on the other side. The bomb explodes at their feet exactly where you were aiming, the fire reaching up at the Hollows and sending them stumbling.

Oscar takes this chance to thrust out at one of them, piercing its throat with a loud crunch. Meanwhile, you slash through the other Hollow's body from behind, coating your claws in a thick, sickly black goop that you assume is the thing's blood.

Oscar kicks his now dead (un-undead?) foe off of his sword and it smashes through some wooden boxes set up behind it. Curiously, it doesn't just fall to the ground, but through it, tumbling down some hidden stairs.

"That was better." Oscar says, wiping his sword on the tattered fur worn around your victim's waist. "Being aggressive is fine, but you need to take your surroundings and foes into account. Even with your rapid healing powers and the power of the Estus, you shouldn't be so reckless."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. What are you, my mother?" You say, waving him off. "So, which way do we go now?"

He looks around at the stairs in front of you and the path along the wall behind you. "Well, There's two ways to go. Along the wall looks like it will take us over to the upper wall and hopefully across into the upper city. That said, these Hollows appear to have been trying to guard this staircase, so there may be something of value down there."

------------------

[] Continue along the wall

[] Take a look down the stairs

[] Write in