cupcakeviolater
Verified Cupcake
- Location
- USA
Well, yeah. He said in the prologue that he never visits worlds that have anything or anyone that could pose a threat to him.
Knocking on Heaven's Door [MtG/Multicross/SI]
- Thread starter shadenight123
- Start date
- Crossover
Trusty_Chester
That One Guy
- Location
- Texas
Hm.
Your minds telling you no, but your mind yes?
Your minds telling you no, but your mind yes?
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- Location
- America
Wonder when she'll learn that no matter what your loved ones will die. She's just repeating the heartbreak of seeing them die over and over again, Shade you need to step in and either forcefully break them connection, or break her by talking. Cause she is only hurting herself , she needs to move on.
Well, the intro mentioned Harry Dresden, so clearly that's not a guarantee. We're just two chapters is so far anyway, or one chapter and an intro, so it's not like we have a lot to go on.
Syqadelic
That's not a mountain.
- Location
- Earth
Spoiler Alert: Fuuka died in the manga that was named after her.
SkyCrack
Hanging by a thread
- Location
- Little Red Dot
Whats the manga about though? I actually have 0 context
Ryven Razgriz
I need a Gun and I'll let you know 'What's up?'.
- Location
- South East Asia
This is Saitama (OPM) feels all over again.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Not true, and I wonder why he's pretending that it is. Perhaps due to his dislike for going anywhere close to anything that might possibly hurt him.
But no, the problem isn't that Fuuka wants her family to live. It's that neither one of them, for whatever reason, is willing to consider altering the "normal" rules of life and death, when there are so many ways to do so.
There are universes where humans regenerate from damned near anything, and never age; visit Ever17, a few decades past the plot.
There are universes where human minds are backed up as matter of course, and true death is unthinkable. SF worlds, mostly, but Ah! My Goddess also fits in here, as do many of the nicer worlds with gods.
It's true, of course, that immortality brings all new challenges. But whatever those challenges might be, it's hard to imagine them being worse than your loved ones rotting away and turning to dust.
Fuuka might still have a chance to realize that. I hope that she does, because she's the only hope for this story to remain... Readable. The protagonist, right now, disgusts me.
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
half a dozen different yet
five dozen variations of the
as turning the street
- Location
- Greece
So from what I gathered, based on limited MtG knowledge and the current info we have is that Shade is a veteran Planeswalker (possibly an Elder one, though highly unlikely) that basically just wanders the universe and enjoys himself, with some pit-stops here and there. Maybe Fuuka will be his apprentice and a critical character that reveals us how Shade came to adopt this type of personality. Looking forward to more chapters.
- Location
- lost
Well I hope Fuuka's is the protagonist with @shadenight123 being the mentor/duotagonist, and would like to see her grow as a planeswalker.
Chapter Two (Fuuka)
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Two (Fuuka)
Cemeteries were never happy places, unless you somehow ended up in a plane where necromancy was a legalized concept. Even then, it simply swapped sadness and sobs with tired resignation and grumbling. Nothing was on fire just yet, but even as around us the cemetery seemed a flawless replica of an old town's one, it was pretty clear that the temple itself had been repaired recently, what with the tiled rooftop being a sparkling shiny red.
Perhaps a new material that didn't require being cleaned had been invented somewhere down the line? It could just as well be, since this was the future, wasn't it?
My steps crunched the gravel beneath my feet as I drew near to the source of the sobbing, finding the form of Fuuka down on her knees with her hands clutching the dirt, her head shaking lightly in front of a grave. It was an eerie reminiscence, but it lost most of its flavor after the umpteenth repetition. One can only tolerate centuries of grief before it eventually boils down to merely not caring.
I stopped slightly behind her, and as she turned her red tear-filled eyes in my direction, she snarled, "J-Just go away!"
"The first woman I ever made the mistake of falling in love with," I spoke gently, "Was...a thousand, perhaps two thousand years ago," I walked closer, stopping by her side, my hands in the pockets of my jacket. "The first time always hurts the most," I acquiesced. "And then I was dumb enough to try again," I continued. "And again, and again, and again," I clicked my tongue against the back of my teeth, shaking my head. "Each time, there was something different, but I didn't care. Once, I decided to try to make her immortal, and I succeeded. She left me four centuries later to be with a kid that somehow connected with her more than me," I shrugged. "She begged me for years to let her go," I glanced at her. "Immortality isn't for everyone." I hummed as I glanced at the grave.
"Yuu-He wouldn't leave me-" Fuuka whispered, "We were in love, since the day we shared straps, we've never loved anyone else-"
"It doesn't really matter," I shrugged, "This isn't a true love conquers all thing. You want him back to life? It's a matter of perhaps snapping your fingers. You want to gift him immortality? Go right ahead, nobody's going to bother. You want him utterly subservient and in love with you as if you were an Egyptian Queen? Again, snap your fingers, take away his free will, enjoy him until he utterly bores you beyond belief, and you start to think you should see new people," I sighed. "Or maybe who knows, your love will last for thousands of years until the sun of this universe goes out and explodes, leaving you stranded in another plane, and him burned to a charcoal crisp."
I glanced back at her. "You aren't just immortal. You're a Planeswalker. Even if this universe dies, another awaits you. The same cannot be said for the rest. So, if you want to live million of years sealed in this plane with your beloved ones immortal and never-changing, just do it. It's happened before and it will happen again, and I've seen it with my own eyes more than once. Even thought about it myself for a few decades, but one thing that times gives you...it's the ability to think long term," I passed a hand through my hair. "And in the end, I decided that it wasn't worth the bother. One should stop hunting ghosts, or bringing people back to life, and just let them be in their great beyond...whatever it is, and wherever it goes."
"How do I bring them back?" Fuuka asked, her voice firm.
"You travel," I replied. "You travel through Planes the likes of which you've never seen, and you collect the powerful Mana shaped by the colors of the Plane," I twitched my right finger, small white energies fluttering around my fingers, "And when you've got enough, even Death bows to your will," I let the mana harmlessly disperse. "Though I must warn you," I continued. "Not all Planes are kind to its foreigners."
Fuuka steeled her gaze as she stood up, dusting her knees from the gravel, "I'll be back," she said to the grave. "W-Where should I go first?" she asked next, looking at me.
I gave her a one over, and then hummed. "You've got blue hair, and you're turning out white-red," I chuckled. "Speak about color arrangements," I shrugged and extended my right hand. "Let's go, and I'll show you."
She furrowed her brows, looking at my outstretched hand with a mixture of distrust and worry. "Why are you helping me?"
"You are mistaken if you think I care either way," I answered quite plainly. "I merely find this interesting, so I follow," I said. "Though if you prefer to stumble for countless Planes in order to find the right ones to draw energies from, be my guest." I lowered my hand. "The Planes are vast and infinite, boundless and without end. Eventually you'll find what you seek," I looked her straight in the eyes, and waited.
She fidgeted only slightly, and then nodded, clapping her hands against her cheeks. "What are we waiting for?"
I extended my hand once more, and this time, she clasped it.
Tunneling through the Aether and the Blind Eternity was a harrowing experience for the Gods, but for Planeswalkers, it was like crossing a street in a sleepy town. Fuuka hadn't actually experienced a full jump, perhaps going at it with sheer instincts, or with her eyes closed. This was different, though, because I was looking for a prime world of White Mana, perhaps with Red in it.
This meant war. This meant fire and explosions.
I landed near a windmill, my feet on tall, wet grass. The wind was blowing the sails of the mill gently around, the noise of the grinding wheel within audible to my senses. The village in front of us looked like a picturesque postcard, with white walls and potted plants outside windows. The main road crossed through the entire village, a small inner wall separating the old town from the new one.
"W-Where are we? In Europe?" Fuuka asked, her eyes taking in the sights.
"We are Planeswalkers," I replied. "We don't travel through the world. We travel through universes," I gestured in front of us. "Welcome to Europa."
"So...Europe," Fuuka said. I shook my head.
"This is the country of Gallia, a neutral, independent kingdom rich in Ragnite ore. The East Europan Imperial Alliance is currently fighting the Atlantic Federation, and the battle is at a stalemate," I began to walk down the hill. "Follow me, we need to head for the center of the city."
Fuuka followed quietly, but I was sure she wouldn't keep quiet long enough.
On the plus side, I got myself a nice local packet filled with crunchy bread stick, which was honestly the most fragrant thing I had ever eaten. "Want one?" I asked as I held on to a bread stick.
"I'm not hungry," Fuuka said flatly.
"You will never be hungry," I replied. "So eat whenever you feel like it." I shrugged, and munched down on the second stick. I stopped in the city square, and sat down on a nearby bench. Fuuka remained standing, looking around as if lost.
"Now what?" Fuuka asked.
"Now you kill everyone and drink their blood," I answered quite calmly, inclining my head in the direction of a group of children that were playing with one another.
"U-Uh!?" Fuuka's choked exclamation made me chuckle, and I shook my head.
"I'm joking, you just need to sit down, close your eyes, and breathe. You'll know what to do then," I said as I began to munch on another stick. I glanced to a stall nearby, and then stood up. "See you later," and with that said, I walked towards the stall and smiled as I bought myself a jar of peach jam.
Thus, I quietly began to munch down with the typical crunching sound of an annoying person near someone who wished to concentrate.
Fuuka, most admirably, said nothing for the first ten minutes circa of this situation.
"Can't you go elsewhere?" she gritted her teeth, glaring at me.
"I could," I answered, licking my fingers from the jam remains. I didn't move, though I did stop eating on the crunchy, delicious bread sticks.
Fuuka took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes again.
Half an hour later, she opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. She closed and opened them, but no Mana gathered.
"Why isn't it working?" she mumbled.
I closed my eyes, and then I blinked. "Oh," I said suddenly. She looked at me, and I looked back at her.
"It's being used by someone else," I said plainly. "There's a planeswalker on this world." I clutched my knees with my fingers. "Oh well," I sighed and stood up, "Let's go elsewhere."
Fuuka stood up in turn, "What? Aren't we going to meet him?"
I stared at the Summer child in front of me.
My patronizing gaze must have been enough to tick her off, because she glared at me in turn.
Oh, very well, Summer Child. Very well.
Allow this old Winter Oak to show you the truth of this multiverse.
Power Corrupts.
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
Cemeteries were never happy places, unless you somehow ended up in a plane where necromancy was a legalized concept. Even then, it simply swapped sadness and sobs with tired resignation and grumbling. Nothing was on fire just yet, but even as around us the cemetery seemed a flawless replica of an old town's one, it was pretty clear that the temple itself had been repaired recently, what with the tiled rooftop being a sparkling shiny red.
Perhaps a new material that didn't require being cleaned had been invented somewhere down the line? It could just as well be, since this was the future, wasn't it?
My steps crunched the gravel beneath my feet as I drew near to the source of the sobbing, finding the form of Fuuka down on her knees with her hands clutching the dirt, her head shaking lightly in front of a grave. It was an eerie reminiscence, but it lost most of its flavor after the umpteenth repetition. One can only tolerate centuries of grief before it eventually boils down to merely not caring.
I stopped slightly behind her, and as she turned her red tear-filled eyes in my direction, she snarled, "J-Just go away!"
"The first woman I ever made the mistake of falling in love with," I spoke gently, "Was...a thousand, perhaps two thousand years ago," I walked closer, stopping by her side, my hands in the pockets of my jacket. "The first time always hurts the most," I acquiesced. "And then I was dumb enough to try again," I continued. "And again, and again, and again," I clicked my tongue against the back of my teeth, shaking my head. "Each time, there was something different, but I didn't care. Once, I decided to try to make her immortal, and I succeeded. She left me four centuries later to be with a kid that somehow connected with her more than me," I shrugged. "She begged me for years to let her go," I glanced at her. "Immortality isn't for everyone." I hummed as I glanced at the grave.
"Yuu-He wouldn't leave me-" Fuuka whispered, "We were in love, since the day we shared straps, we've never loved anyone else-"
"It doesn't really matter," I shrugged, "This isn't a true love conquers all thing. You want him back to life? It's a matter of perhaps snapping your fingers. You want to gift him immortality? Go right ahead, nobody's going to bother. You want him utterly subservient and in love with you as if you were an Egyptian Queen? Again, snap your fingers, take away his free will, enjoy him until he utterly bores you beyond belief, and you start to think you should see new people," I sighed. "Or maybe who knows, your love will last for thousands of years until the sun of this universe goes out and explodes, leaving you stranded in another plane, and him burned to a charcoal crisp."
I glanced back at her. "You aren't just immortal. You're a Planeswalker. Even if this universe dies, another awaits you. The same cannot be said for the rest. So, if you want to live million of years sealed in this plane with your beloved ones immortal and never-changing, just do it. It's happened before and it will happen again, and I've seen it with my own eyes more than once. Even thought about it myself for a few decades, but one thing that times gives you...it's the ability to think long term," I passed a hand through my hair. "And in the end, I decided that it wasn't worth the bother. One should stop hunting ghosts, or bringing people back to life, and just let them be in their great beyond...whatever it is, and wherever it goes."
"How do I bring them back?" Fuuka asked, her voice firm.
"You travel," I replied. "You travel through Planes the likes of which you've never seen, and you collect the powerful Mana shaped by the colors of the Plane," I twitched my right finger, small white energies fluttering around my fingers, "And when you've got enough, even Death bows to your will," I let the mana harmlessly disperse. "Though I must warn you," I continued. "Not all Planes are kind to its foreigners."
Fuuka steeled her gaze as she stood up, dusting her knees from the gravel, "I'll be back," she said to the grave. "W-Where should I go first?" she asked next, looking at me.
I gave her a one over, and then hummed. "You've got blue hair, and you're turning out white-red," I chuckled. "Speak about color arrangements," I shrugged and extended my right hand. "Let's go, and I'll show you."
She furrowed her brows, looking at my outstretched hand with a mixture of distrust and worry. "Why are you helping me?"
"You are mistaken if you think I care either way," I answered quite plainly. "I merely find this interesting, so I follow," I said. "Though if you prefer to stumble for countless Planes in order to find the right ones to draw energies from, be my guest." I lowered my hand. "The Planes are vast and infinite, boundless and without end. Eventually you'll find what you seek," I looked her straight in the eyes, and waited.
She fidgeted only slightly, and then nodded, clapping her hands against her cheeks. "What are we waiting for?"
I extended my hand once more, and this time, she clasped it.
Tunneling through the Aether and the Blind Eternity was a harrowing experience for the Gods, but for Planeswalkers, it was like crossing a street in a sleepy town. Fuuka hadn't actually experienced a full jump, perhaps going at it with sheer instincts, or with her eyes closed. This was different, though, because I was looking for a prime world of White Mana, perhaps with Red in it.
This meant war. This meant fire and explosions.
I landed near a windmill, my feet on tall, wet grass. The wind was blowing the sails of the mill gently around, the noise of the grinding wheel within audible to my senses. The village in front of us looked like a picturesque postcard, with white walls and potted plants outside windows. The main road crossed through the entire village, a small inner wall separating the old town from the new one.
"W-Where are we? In Europe?" Fuuka asked, her eyes taking in the sights.
"We are Planeswalkers," I replied. "We don't travel through the world. We travel through universes," I gestured in front of us. "Welcome to Europa."
"So...Europe," Fuuka said. I shook my head.
"This is the country of Gallia, a neutral, independent kingdom rich in Ragnite ore. The East Europan Imperial Alliance is currently fighting the Atlantic Federation, and the battle is at a stalemate," I began to walk down the hill. "Follow me, we need to head for the center of the city."
Fuuka followed quietly, but I was sure she wouldn't keep quiet long enough.
On the plus side, I got myself a nice local packet filled with crunchy bread stick, which was honestly the most fragrant thing I had ever eaten. "Want one?" I asked as I held on to a bread stick.
"I'm not hungry," Fuuka said flatly.
"You will never be hungry," I replied. "So eat whenever you feel like it." I shrugged, and munched down on the second stick. I stopped in the city square, and sat down on a nearby bench. Fuuka remained standing, looking around as if lost.
"Now what?" Fuuka asked.
"Now you kill everyone and drink their blood," I answered quite calmly, inclining my head in the direction of a group of children that were playing with one another.
"U-Uh!?" Fuuka's choked exclamation made me chuckle, and I shook my head.
"I'm joking, you just need to sit down, close your eyes, and breathe. You'll know what to do then," I said as I began to munch on another stick. I glanced to a stall nearby, and then stood up. "See you later," and with that said, I walked towards the stall and smiled as I bought myself a jar of peach jam.
Thus, I quietly began to munch down with the typical crunching sound of an annoying person near someone who wished to concentrate.
Fuuka, most admirably, said nothing for the first ten minutes circa of this situation.
"Can't you go elsewhere?" she gritted her teeth, glaring at me.
"I could," I answered, licking my fingers from the jam remains. I didn't move, though I did stop eating on the crunchy, delicious bread sticks.
Fuuka took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes again.
Half an hour later, she opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. She closed and opened them, but no Mana gathered.
"Why isn't it working?" she mumbled.
I closed my eyes, and then I blinked. "Oh," I said suddenly. She looked at me, and I looked back at her.
"It's being used by someone else," I said plainly. "There's a planeswalker on this world." I clutched my knees with my fingers. "Oh well," I sighed and stood up, "Let's go elsewhere."
Fuuka stood up in turn, "What? Aren't we going to meet him?"
I stared at the Summer child in front of me.
My patronizing gaze must have been enough to tick her off, because she glared at me in turn.
Oh, very well, Summer Child. Very well.
Allow this old Winter Oak to show you the truth of this multiverse.
Power Corrupts.
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
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Dragonskyt
Ashen one, hearest thou my voice, still?
- Location
- Kiln of the First Flame
My guess? The Planeswalker is one of those guys trying amass a harem. Lots of waifu bait in this universe.
Alphaleph
The Firstiest of First
Our protag's a Sliver Planeswalker. Doesn't really matter what kind of planeswalker he'd meet, 90% is going to be hostile by default if they learn that.
- Location
- Queensland
what is a Sliver Planeswalker?
- Location
- Oulu
That's an interesting question. I only have a surface understanding of the matter, but they're basically hive creatures with varying abilities and toughnesses.... and, if I understood correctly, their trick is that they all share those abilities. So if one has flying, all have flying. If one has time travel, all have time travel, etc.
Their trick is just stacking abilities, but then again, that's one of the best tricks in many settings.
Alphaleph
The Firstiest of First
Think any hivemind races (like mentioned above) now add in Borg, Replicator and a dash of esoteric abilities like making causality your bitch and you get the Slivers.
And a Sliver Planeswalker is a Planeswalker whose arsenal build around the little (and not so little) buggers. Which, canonically, is considered a time bomb before they go boom.
There are worse things than Slivers, but its mostly a difference of 'we just want to grow' and 'Conquer/Devour Everything!'
Well, the Eldrazi is more that they're really really big eaters.
And a Sliver Planeswalker is a Planeswalker whose arsenal build around the little (and not so little) buggers. Which, canonically, is considered a time bomb before they go boom.
There are worse things than Slivers, but its mostly a difference of 'we just want to grow' and 'Conquer/Devour Everything!'
Well, the Eldrazi is more that they're really really big eaters.
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shadowace2400
Planeswalker Extraordinaire
- Location
- Texas
So the slivers just want to grow?
Chapter Three (Valkyria Chronicles)
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Three (Valkyria Chronicles)
We didn't need to go far to meet the Planeswalker. It was a simple matter of waiting, considering how he was coming to meet us at quite the incredible speed. He had probably sensed us, or perhaps he was leading the Imperial army in the conquest of Gallia. It was a trifling matter for a Planeswalker to kill an emperor, take his place, and have everyone else believe him the righteous heir with the right dose of magic added to the mix.
Whoever he was, he wasn't old. An Old Planeswalker would simply appear out of thin air in front of us, afraid of nothing and no one. A Planeswalker had to be forced to stay and fight in order to be killed, otherwise they'd simply slip away in another dimension, again and again if the need arose, effectively making it a game of cat and mouse without end.
The outskirts of the village were a set of dirt roads and small stone walls that barely reached my midriff, every now and then wooden gates breaking the monotony of the rocks. Windmills stood upon hills that were verdant green, and puffy white clouds flew by gently.
"It's beautiful," Fuuka said, even as I simply walked on the dirt road. "It doesn't seem real." She glanced at a passing butterfly. "I can't wait to show this to Yuu."
"Travelling the planes is deadly to non-Planeswalkers," I pointed out. "No matter what you gift him, what powers or skills or abilities, he'll die if you bring him along while jumping. You need specific rituals and things..." I glanced at the horizon, the Spark of the foreign Planeswalker nearing at a fixed speed. It meant he was on a vehicle.
Slithering tiny creatures hid in the tall grass as they moved quickly ahead, my hands in my pockets as Fuuka simply kept walking behind me. "Then I'll get them," Fuuka replied.
"Before you work on connecting two planes together, try to work on bringing someone back to life," I replied. "That is, by itself, a rite of passage."
A comfortable silence grew between us, at least for me. I stopped walking as I felt the first of my forward scout halt his movements to grow still, letting the color of his skin change to better hide him from the enemies.
A rumbling, giant and iron-forged construct was roaring forward, the size so massive it easily dwarfed everything else. It was Juggernaut. With all probability, the Planeswalker was above it, or inside it. He had claimed it from the Empire's own giant tank, and as smaller tanks rolled around it, it was pretty clear that whoever was in charge didn't want to conquer.
They simply wanted to destroy.
This was kilometers away, but my scouts were fast, and nimble, and as they hastily returned back, I calmly glanced at Fuuka's determined face, and then looked away.
When the Juggernaut finally came into our sights, she stopped to stare at it. The fields were quashed under the passage of such a monster, and the nearby smaller tanks protected its flanks. Behind them, red armored soldiers rushed forward in their full armors, the pace still sedated, but yet increasing ever so slightly as they were nearing the village.
"W-What are they doing!?" Fuuka asked as the sudden noise of artillery echoed in the air, large flaming spheres pouring down from the sky as they impacted against the peaceful village, shattering houses and destroying roads as tall flames began to spread.
"Attacking," I answered. "What did you think they were going to do?"
Fuuka looked at me, and I stared back utterly uncaring. "Do something!" she yelled, gazing in fright at the advancing army.
"Didn't you want to meet another Planeswalker?" I said dryly, gesturing at the Juggernaut. "He or She is in there, leading the assault." I clicked my tongue against my teeth. "Youths these days, thinking anything they do matters in the long run." I shrugged. "Even if you conquer a world, it's just a waste of sweat and effort."
A few tanks opened fire, the ground near us exploding violently as Fuuka screamed louder, crouching down and putting her arms over her head to protect herself, while I simply waited, hands in my jacket, for the army to draw nearer still.
The Juggernaut didn't seem inclined to stop. It simply crushed through a windmill without slowing down, and as it became abundantly clear that Fuuka wasn't going to do much more than stay down and cry, I sighed and shook my head.
The massive metallic monster crumbled down into a mass of rust and torn molten steel as a mournful song rose in the air, the vibrations that accompanied it shattering the delicate components and causing catastrophic failures across all of the mechanical systems.
The pilots, the soldiers, the men and perhaps women that were clad in heavy armor had barely the time to lift their rifles before quiet and silent claws sliced their necks, emerging from the tall grass as quills shot out to pierce throats and eyes, dull thuds following as corpses fell on the ground. I remained silent as what had been an invasion force soon became a bunch of corpses, unable to as much as twitch.
The Planeswalker inside the Juggernaut hadn't died, but by the time a large column of fire burned to a crisp the metal plating that held him down, the roars of rage that his throat emitted were second only to his terrifying appearance.
He was tall, his hair short and mean scars over his bare chest. He wore a loose crimson tunic with a white belt around his midriff.
"Who dares to stop the Great Scourge of the Universe!" an ax made of lava formed in his right hand, and as he gripped it without a qualm, his eyes centered on me. "I, The Ravager, shall-"
"Just shut up," I mumbled to myself. "You're such a child," I grumbled again, shaking my head as the lava ax sailed in my direction, the pulsing crimson heat came awfully close to my face, but the moment it impacted it dissipated harmlessly, leaving behind only tiny wisps of white haze.
"Ah! You have stopped my ax! I see!" the man nodded, and then raised a fist as a large golem formed near him. The next second, it crumbled back to dust. In answer, tiny scurrying goblins began to rush forward with screams from the side of the hills, the man laughing at what he thought a flanking maneuver, only for an unseen wind to move through the hill's lush grass, and silence to take the place of the goblins' war cries.
"The fuck?" the Ravager muttered, looking around as the crackling of flames slowly began to die out, only the breeze and the rustling of grass making noise around us.
"You from around here?" I asked offhandedly, even as I patted Fuuka's back to make her look up, long enough to realize that the battle was over, everyone was gone, and things were back to normal.
"W-Where did they go?" she mumbled as she stood up shaking lightly. "T-there were tanks, and soldiers-"
I didn't answer her, and returned to gaze at the Ravager, who was probably nothing more than an average man who had somehow decided that his Persona would be some form of mean and buff destroyer of worlds. Perhaps he had already had a midlife crisis? Or was he a young teenager? Was he in a neurosis, or was he currently experiencing a psychotic break?
Or maybe he just wanted to watch the world burn?
There could be any kind of reasoning, any kind of excuse, and the person in front of us could be anyone and anything, since a Planeswalker could alter his appearance at will. What if he was an eight year old who had no idea of what he was doing?
"Man, you a fucking stick in the mud," the Ravager growled, lifting both arms in the air. "I'm trying to get myself some cool Cards, you catch my drift? And you're here, blocking my path! I need to get me that sweet Valkyrie and the tank-"
I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. "A Planeswalker does not only have access to the great powers of magic, capable of channeling the energies of the Planes," I looked at Fuuka, who in turn looked at me as if I was a very boring teacher, "But they can also summon forth creatures to serve them in battle. Just as long as they first either copy them, or...in his case, I guess enslave them?"
"I just don't wanna waste time going gentle," the Ravager said with a smirk of pride. "My touch's not delicate, so they burn when I get to it, if you catch my drift." He twitched his fingers, fire spreading across them. "Getting a copy from the Aether is not the real stuff. They're just puppets, so I go for the summon! What better way than a nice brand of slavery to get them to work for me?"
He smiled as he widened his arms. "Come on then, you wuss, you ain't gonna stop me once I get the ball rolling!"
I shrugged. "I didn't want to stop you," I replied quite calmly, before pointing my thumb at Fuuka. "She wanted to meet you."
Fuuka looked sharply in my direction, her mouth slightly open in shock, before she snapped it shut and shook her head. "What is wrong with him?! Is that-"
"That's a Planeswalker. He doesn't represent the category, but he's not a single case," I shrugged once more. "Power does that to people, you know-"
Selvaria herself materialized, her Valkyrie's beauty marred by a burning brand on the side of her face, which had taken one of her eyes with it. Her silver hair was cut short, and it was clear she was desperately trying to fight off whatever enslavement the brand had on her will, but to no effect. She didn't look pleased, but she did not disobey the unspoken order of The Ravager, who had her charge forward at full speed.
Her body was awash in the pale blue energies of the legendary Valkyria, but as powerful of a summon as it was, it meant nothing to a Planeswalker.
She was sent flying as a large skittering mass of talons and crustacean-like reinforced head-plates hit her on the side, the harmonious song that left the creature's mouth rupturing and tearing apart the spear and shield. The brand itself burned brightly as it suddenly exploded, making Selvaria scream before she disappeared, back to wherever she had been before the summoning, and free to enact whatever form of revenge she wished upon her captors, if there were any.
"That's-" the Ravager's eyes widened. "That's a-" he took a step back, and I exhaled loudly. Whip-like limbs twitched as quills pierced through the man's back, his eyes widening as blood dribbled down his open mouth, before his body disappeared abruptly from existence. Slithering, orange and black spotted creatures spread out from the grass, their limbs dripping with caustic, greenish ooze.
Even if he did survive, the poisoning would keep him out of commission for a few months at least. Planeswalker were difficult to kill, especially if they had White mana at their disposal.
"You were lucky," I said offhandedly, turning to look at Fuuka's shell-shocked expression. Does she feel like a hero yet? "Normally, Planeswalkers' battles last for days, and take away chunks of entire worlds. He was relatively new to his Spark, perhaps a few decades at most, and self-taught." I stretched my limbs a bit, cracked my neck lightly, and then extended her a hand. "Let's go," I said as the creature coiling around the frame of the dead Planeswalker began to messily devour its corpse, shrieking in pleasure all the while as his cries were met by those who hid among the tall grass, who returned it as they too feasted upon the corpses.
By the time the local militia got the place, and the Edelweiss rolled upon its hastily repaired frame, only silence rested on the hills and the roads.
The moment Fuuka let go of my hand, she looked around wildly, as if lost. We stood by the side of a windmill, the sails moving graciously under the wind's breeze. The border town of Bruhl stood intact and unscathed in front of us, the citizens going about their everyday life as if nothing had happened.
"This is why I find conflict between Planeswalkers meaningless," I said softly, gesturing in front of us. "Let's get going."
"What were those things?" Fuuka asked warily. "Those...insects."
I blinked, and shrugged. "The creatures I summon," I answered. "I'll explain it to you after I get myself some more bread sticks, the local bakery really is excellent." I began to walk down towards the village, and as I did, Fuuka followed, if with a wary expression that made me think that she'd bolt as soon as I made her some form of funny face.
"The village is...intact," Fuuka said as she watched a building she had definitely seen crumple in the other plane.
"Infinite in content," I said offhandedly, shrugging as I opened the door of the bakery, "Ah, but some things never change," I grinned as I stepped into the simple, but clean and neat bakery filled with freshly baked bread of different shapes and sizes. Behind me, Fuuka followed hesitantly at first, but the setting was nice enough that her wariness soon left the place to mild preoccupation. The man behind the counter was a master baker of sorts, and as he smiled at the prospective clients, I simply pointed my finger at the bread sticks. "Two dozens, please."
"Coming right up," the man answered, and as he bagged them for me, I produced from my hand a small amount of coins which I left on the counter. The transaction done with, I turned to leave, a pleasant humming in my throat as I began to chew on the first one.
"Do you want one?" I asked as I extended a bread stick in her direction.
She cautiously grabbed it, and as I sat down at the bench on the square once more, I began to munch on another without worries.
"Now close your eyes," I said, "And breathe."
She did so, and as tiny wisps of white light began to gather near her fingertips, I chuckled softly as she allowed them to dissipate the moment she opened her eyes to admire her handiwork, groaning and shaking her head before trying again. The questions about the destroyed village now being fully intact and with no one none the wiser didn't even pass through her mind once as she kept on practicing.
Keep on repressing, Fuuka.
Sometimes, it's the only way to keep one's sanity.
We didn't need to go far to meet the Planeswalker. It was a simple matter of waiting, considering how he was coming to meet us at quite the incredible speed. He had probably sensed us, or perhaps he was leading the Imperial army in the conquest of Gallia. It was a trifling matter for a Planeswalker to kill an emperor, take his place, and have everyone else believe him the righteous heir with the right dose of magic added to the mix.
Whoever he was, he wasn't old. An Old Planeswalker would simply appear out of thin air in front of us, afraid of nothing and no one. A Planeswalker had to be forced to stay and fight in order to be killed, otherwise they'd simply slip away in another dimension, again and again if the need arose, effectively making it a game of cat and mouse without end.
The outskirts of the village were a set of dirt roads and small stone walls that barely reached my midriff, every now and then wooden gates breaking the monotony of the rocks. Windmills stood upon hills that were verdant green, and puffy white clouds flew by gently.
"It's beautiful," Fuuka said, even as I simply walked on the dirt road. "It doesn't seem real." She glanced at a passing butterfly. "I can't wait to show this to Yuu."
"Travelling the planes is deadly to non-Planeswalkers," I pointed out. "No matter what you gift him, what powers or skills or abilities, he'll die if you bring him along while jumping. You need specific rituals and things..." I glanced at the horizon, the Spark of the foreign Planeswalker nearing at a fixed speed. It meant he was on a vehicle.
Slithering tiny creatures hid in the tall grass as they moved quickly ahead, my hands in my pockets as Fuuka simply kept walking behind me. "Then I'll get them," Fuuka replied.
"Before you work on connecting two planes together, try to work on bringing someone back to life," I replied. "That is, by itself, a rite of passage."
A comfortable silence grew between us, at least for me. I stopped walking as I felt the first of my forward scout halt his movements to grow still, letting the color of his skin change to better hide him from the enemies.
A rumbling, giant and iron-forged construct was roaring forward, the size so massive it easily dwarfed everything else. It was Juggernaut. With all probability, the Planeswalker was above it, or inside it. He had claimed it from the Empire's own giant tank, and as smaller tanks rolled around it, it was pretty clear that whoever was in charge didn't want to conquer.
They simply wanted to destroy.
This was kilometers away, but my scouts were fast, and nimble, and as they hastily returned back, I calmly glanced at Fuuka's determined face, and then looked away.
When the Juggernaut finally came into our sights, she stopped to stare at it. The fields were quashed under the passage of such a monster, and the nearby smaller tanks protected its flanks. Behind them, red armored soldiers rushed forward in their full armors, the pace still sedated, but yet increasing ever so slightly as they were nearing the village.
"W-What are they doing!?" Fuuka asked as the sudden noise of artillery echoed in the air, large flaming spheres pouring down from the sky as they impacted against the peaceful village, shattering houses and destroying roads as tall flames began to spread.
"Attacking," I answered. "What did you think they were going to do?"
Fuuka looked at me, and I stared back utterly uncaring. "Do something!" she yelled, gazing in fright at the advancing army.
"Didn't you want to meet another Planeswalker?" I said dryly, gesturing at the Juggernaut. "He or She is in there, leading the assault." I clicked my tongue against my teeth. "Youths these days, thinking anything they do matters in the long run." I shrugged. "Even if you conquer a world, it's just a waste of sweat and effort."
A few tanks opened fire, the ground near us exploding violently as Fuuka screamed louder, crouching down and putting her arms over her head to protect herself, while I simply waited, hands in my jacket, for the army to draw nearer still.
The Juggernaut didn't seem inclined to stop. It simply crushed through a windmill without slowing down, and as it became abundantly clear that Fuuka wasn't going to do much more than stay down and cry, I sighed and shook my head.
The massive metallic monster crumbled down into a mass of rust and torn molten steel as a mournful song rose in the air, the vibrations that accompanied it shattering the delicate components and causing catastrophic failures across all of the mechanical systems.
The pilots, the soldiers, the men and perhaps women that were clad in heavy armor had barely the time to lift their rifles before quiet and silent claws sliced their necks, emerging from the tall grass as quills shot out to pierce throats and eyes, dull thuds following as corpses fell on the ground. I remained silent as what had been an invasion force soon became a bunch of corpses, unable to as much as twitch.
The Planeswalker inside the Juggernaut hadn't died, but by the time a large column of fire burned to a crisp the metal plating that held him down, the roars of rage that his throat emitted were second only to his terrifying appearance.
He was tall, his hair short and mean scars over his bare chest. He wore a loose crimson tunic with a white belt around his midriff.
"Who dares to stop the Great Scourge of the Universe!" an ax made of lava formed in his right hand, and as he gripped it without a qualm, his eyes centered on me. "I, The Ravager, shall-"
"Just shut up," I mumbled to myself. "You're such a child," I grumbled again, shaking my head as the lava ax sailed in my direction, the pulsing crimson heat came awfully close to my face, but the moment it impacted it dissipated harmlessly, leaving behind only tiny wisps of white haze.
"Ah! You have stopped my ax! I see!" the man nodded, and then raised a fist as a large golem formed near him. The next second, it crumbled back to dust. In answer, tiny scurrying goblins began to rush forward with screams from the side of the hills, the man laughing at what he thought a flanking maneuver, only for an unseen wind to move through the hill's lush grass, and silence to take the place of the goblins' war cries.
"The fuck?" the Ravager muttered, looking around as the crackling of flames slowly began to die out, only the breeze and the rustling of grass making noise around us.
"You from around here?" I asked offhandedly, even as I patted Fuuka's back to make her look up, long enough to realize that the battle was over, everyone was gone, and things were back to normal.
"W-Where did they go?" she mumbled as she stood up shaking lightly. "T-there were tanks, and soldiers-"
I didn't answer her, and returned to gaze at the Ravager, who was probably nothing more than an average man who had somehow decided that his Persona would be some form of mean and buff destroyer of worlds. Perhaps he had already had a midlife crisis? Or was he a young teenager? Was he in a neurosis, or was he currently experiencing a psychotic break?
Or maybe he just wanted to watch the world burn?
There could be any kind of reasoning, any kind of excuse, and the person in front of us could be anyone and anything, since a Planeswalker could alter his appearance at will. What if he was an eight year old who had no idea of what he was doing?
"Man, you a fucking stick in the mud," the Ravager growled, lifting both arms in the air. "I'm trying to get myself some cool Cards, you catch my drift? And you're here, blocking my path! I need to get me that sweet Valkyrie and the tank-"
I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. "A Planeswalker does not only have access to the great powers of magic, capable of channeling the energies of the Planes," I looked at Fuuka, who in turn looked at me as if I was a very boring teacher, "But they can also summon forth creatures to serve them in battle. Just as long as they first either copy them, or...in his case, I guess enslave them?"
"I just don't wanna waste time going gentle," the Ravager said with a smirk of pride. "My touch's not delicate, so they burn when I get to it, if you catch my drift." He twitched his fingers, fire spreading across them. "Getting a copy from the Aether is not the real stuff. They're just puppets, so I go for the summon! What better way than a nice brand of slavery to get them to work for me?"
He smiled as he widened his arms. "Come on then, you wuss, you ain't gonna stop me once I get the ball rolling!"
I shrugged. "I didn't want to stop you," I replied quite calmly, before pointing my thumb at Fuuka. "She wanted to meet you."
Fuuka looked sharply in my direction, her mouth slightly open in shock, before she snapped it shut and shook her head. "What is wrong with him?! Is that-"
"That's a Planeswalker. He doesn't represent the category, but he's not a single case," I shrugged once more. "Power does that to people, you know-"
Selvaria herself materialized, her Valkyrie's beauty marred by a burning brand on the side of her face, which had taken one of her eyes with it. Her silver hair was cut short, and it was clear she was desperately trying to fight off whatever enslavement the brand had on her will, but to no effect. She didn't look pleased, but she did not disobey the unspoken order of The Ravager, who had her charge forward at full speed.
Her body was awash in the pale blue energies of the legendary Valkyria, but as powerful of a summon as it was, it meant nothing to a Planeswalker.
She was sent flying as a large skittering mass of talons and crustacean-like reinforced head-plates hit her on the side, the harmonious song that left the creature's mouth rupturing and tearing apart the spear and shield. The brand itself burned brightly as it suddenly exploded, making Selvaria scream before she disappeared, back to wherever she had been before the summoning, and free to enact whatever form of revenge she wished upon her captors, if there were any.
"That's-" the Ravager's eyes widened. "That's a-" he took a step back, and I exhaled loudly. Whip-like limbs twitched as quills pierced through the man's back, his eyes widening as blood dribbled down his open mouth, before his body disappeared abruptly from existence. Slithering, orange and black spotted creatures spread out from the grass, their limbs dripping with caustic, greenish ooze.
Even if he did survive, the poisoning would keep him out of commission for a few months at least. Planeswalker were difficult to kill, especially if they had White mana at their disposal.
"You were lucky," I said offhandedly, turning to look at Fuuka's shell-shocked expression. Does she feel like a hero yet? "Normally, Planeswalkers' battles last for days, and take away chunks of entire worlds. He was relatively new to his Spark, perhaps a few decades at most, and self-taught." I stretched my limbs a bit, cracked my neck lightly, and then extended her a hand. "Let's go," I said as the creature coiling around the frame of the dead Planeswalker began to messily devour its corpse, shrieking in pleasure all the while as his cries were met by those who hid among the tall grass, who returned it as they too feasted upon the corpses.
By the time the local militia got the place, and the Edelweiss rolled upon its hastily repaired frame, only silence rested on the hills and the roads.
The moment Fuuka let go of my hand, she looked around wildly, as if lost. We stood by the side of a windmill, the sails moving graciously under the wind's breeze. The border town of Bruhl stood intact and unscathed in front of us, the citizens going about their everyday life as if nothing had happened.
"This is why I find conflict between Planeswalkers meaningless," I said softly, gesturing in front of us. "Let's get going."
"What were those things?" Fuuka asked warily. "Those...insects."
I blinked, and shrugged. "The creatures I summon," I answered. "I'll explain it to you after I get myself some more bread sticks, the local bakery really is excellent." I began to walk down towards the village, and as I did, Fuuka followed, if with a wary expression that made me think that she'd bolt as soon as I made her some form of funny face.
"The village is...intact," Fuuka said as she watched a building she had definitely seen crumple in the other plane.
"Infinite in content," I said offhandedly, shrugging as I opened the door of the bakery, "Ah, but some things never change," I grinned as I stepped into the simple, but clean and neat bakery filled with freshly baked bread of different shapes and sizes. Behind me, Fuuka followed hesitantly at first, but the setting was nice enough that her wariness soon left the place to mild preoccupation. The man behind the counter was a master baker of sorts, and as he smiled at the prospective clients, I simply pointed my finger at the bread sticks. "Two dozens, please."
"Coming right up," the man answered, and as he bagged them for me, I produced from my hand a small amount of coins which I left on the counter. The transaction done with, I turned to leave, a pleasant humming in my throat as I began to chew on the first one.
"Do you want one?" I asked as I extended a bread stick in her direction.
She cautiously grabbed it, and as I sat down at the bench on the square once more, I began to munch on another without worries.
"Now close your eyes," I said, "And breathe."
She did so, and as tiny wisps of white light began to gather near her fingertips, I chuckled softly as she allowed them to dissipate the moment she opened her eyes to admire her handiwork, groaning and shaking her head before trying again. The questions about the destroyed village now being fully intact and with no one none the wiser didn't even pass through her mind once as she kept on practicing.
Keep on repressing, Fuuka.
Sometimes, it's the only way to keep one's sanity.
SkyCrack
Hanging by a thread
- Location
- Little Red Dot