Lev Tahor

[Nevill]

Sometimes it burrows into your spine and throws off every roll that round. You never know.

Click to shrink...

It'd be a pretty mild failure if giving a small penalty to our rolls is all that does. The description made me worry.
Also...

This Magic occurs when a portion of reality is offered to a Demon. This is not practiced in Zak, as a misstep could potentially result in the Second Coming of the Demon King.

Click to shrink...

Is there a difference between failing a Heavenly spell and a Demonic one? The charsheet made me think 'Thank God we didn't try an offensive spell', but is there a mechanical difference?

Plan for your next round of Kombat.

Click to shrink...

Is this a MK reference? Will there be fatalities?

Den, the Man from the Shadows
Anna, the Girl with the Sacred Tattoo

Click to shrink...

Makes me want to draw out the fight just to see how many different descriptors you can slap on our protags.

[X] [Anna] Attack your captors (Leader, pin her down for Den)
[x] [Den] Join the melee! (Leader, knock her out cold)

Not sure if she is down... she can still cast and command her posse. I doubt the lackeys like even odds, and when there is no one to press them into the fight - or hold it against them later - they'd be more likely to retreat.

Don't know if I want to use magic in our state when non-magical means are perfectly available.

 

[Rickshaw]

Is there a difference between failing a Heavenly spell and a Demonic one? The description made me think 'Thank God we didn't try an offensive spell', but is there a mechanical difference?

Click to shrink...

Yes, Divine offensive spells are kinda like "Smite" in DnD: they only affect 'evil' characters (though 'evil' and 'good' aren't as objective alignments here). Demonic offensive spells have no such limiter and do more damage. However, rolling a 1 like above would have much worse consequences (a.k.a. the magic explodes and hurts you or you partially release a Demon).

And yes, you can use Divine magic to attack or Demonic to defend, they just have... interesting qualities when used outside the box.

Is this a MK reference? Will there be fatalities?

Click to shrink...

There is always the potential for fatalities. I have no qualms with the bloody slaughter of your enemies, should you so desire. The invisitext in my sig will be my default unless you stay my hand

 

[Rickshaw]

Someone remind future me to not read AsukaQuest and rewatch PMMM in the same day. A human mind was not meant to witness such an amalgamation of moe, death, and disfigurement in the same twenty-four-hour span.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[X] Magic spam with... (Lackeys, Disable/Stun)
-[X] Demonic
[X] Attack your captors (Lackeys, knock them down after they are disabled or failing that just punch them)

Day ???
???

Combat: Round 2

"You, b-bitch!" The black-haired witch screams, her voice cracked. Her porcelain skin is broken at the elbow, a crimson fault evidence to her subordinate's careless misstep. "I- I'll- I'll k-kill you." She pathetically squirms under your efficiently-applied weight: a single knee to her spine.

The creature continues to stir in your Seal, and yet it is not painful. Uncomfortable, yes, but the writhing feeling it makes slowly replaces the constant burn chill of the scarlet letter upon your chest. It still distracts you, but it also fills you with a relief you didn't know you'd lacked.

You see, behind you, one of the lackeys shifts. Her short auburn hair bounces and her hand slackens for a second. You think she's giving up about to use a straight lead to the back of your head. There is no time to dodge, at least not fast enough for her to miss. All you can do is attempt a spell to interfere. You grab the Demon's Claw hanging from your neck. You have no idea what kind of Demonic creature it will summon, but you're more worried about avoiding blunt force trauma to your cranium. "Stop!" You shout, from both mouths, as the Demonic energy courses through your body.

Demonic Spell (1d20): 8 (+1 per Level, -1 the Creature) = 8
[HELL, GOOD ENOUGH]

The shadows behind your two standing enemies blacken. You feel something familiar and altogether foreign in that emptiness, something that sings to you softly against your mind.

Yo u As k mUc H oFm e, cH i lD​

Twin tendrils of shadow snake from the dark, whipping towards the redhead's arms partway through her swing. The sudden resistance surprises her before more of the thin whips lash around her and her partner. Both desperately struggle against the black cords that bind them.

You don't give them a chance to recover. You drop the mangled arm of Lo-Ruhamah, kicking off her back to add momentum to your swing. The useless woman gasps amidst her pitiful tears, obviously pained.

You know she was cruel to you, but did she really-

You're right, pity is too generous. She is weak if she can't take even a fraction of the pain she'd caused you these last ten years. She is revolting.

…

What?

...Are you always this vindictive?

You ignore yourself, focusing instead on the widening eyes of the bitch who tried to choke you into silence. You see yourself in her eyes, blue hair wildly tossed through the air, the braid you keep it in having long since unraveled. Your face is black and blue, and your eyes glow an unnatural gold. Your robe, your precious robe is ripped and torn, and splattered with red. It is not your own. You look terrifying.

You grin.

Strike (1d20): 11 (-1 Creature, +3 Rooted Target) = 13
[FEELING LUCKY, PUNK?]

You feel fucking euphoric as you slam your fingers directly into her esophagus. The woman chokes, stumbling back as she tries to grab her throat. The tendrils pull on her tighter as she retreats, bringing her closer to that alien absence. She gives you a glare. She hates you, she is afraid of you. Good.

You reach towards your own throat sympathe-

Stop that.

You glance towards the other woman. She looks at you, horrified, and the moment you direct your attention to her she frantically struggles against the cords of darkness, managing to break through most of them in less than a second.

Guess they weren't all that strong

D oI cri tI Qu eyo U rSh o rTc O min gS, Tr ave Le R? NO,b Es iL eNT​

She scrambles backward, eyes wide with terror. Her frazzled hair falls in front of her face, but she doesn't care. She shifts herself to stand between you and you, rather than you and the cold, empty shadows. Her eyes dart between it and you the Revenant. The Wraith. The merciless vessel of long-harbored vengeance.

She aims a hand at you, almost crying as she whispers.

"Though I walk through the Valley of Death,
I will fear no evil, for on the edge of your sword
Shall my deliverance come."

Dodge (1d20): 13 (-1 Creature) = 12
[SUCCESS]

You shift to the side, allowing the yellow bolt of Magic to pass unhindered towards the far wall. It crashes against it, leaving an ugly amber spider-web behind. Pieces of the wall crack and fall to the floor, dissolving.

You turn back to the shaking woman. She tried to hit you with that. She tried to kill you. You didn't even know any lethal spells existed in Spiritual Magic until now. Your grin widens.

Until now being the key phrase. You lift your own hand towards her, new knowledge inspiring you to attempt the sa-

Dodge (1d20): 9 (-1 Creature, -2 Off-Guard) = 6
[FAILURE]

It happens too fast for you to react. You take an eye off yourself for a second, look from the blue-haired demon towards the broken ravenette. Your eyes widen, her shattered arm lies on the ground, perfectly aligned with your other self. The disgusting red energy stretches into a thin line, connecting the tips of her fingers with your back. There is a flash, and you feel something in your mind snap.

Oh, fu-

Your recoil from the shock. You suddenly feel... less. Your head, your mind, it's wrong. You look up to see Anna, swaying on her feet in the middle of the trio of enemies. The smile on her face looks hollow, staring emptily towards the woman on the ground before her. She lifts her head towards you, a question forming on her face.

She collapses to her knees, stunned.

Lo-Ruhamah laughs bitterly from the floor. The redhead struggles to recover from the throat-punch earlier. The other one quivers from her position on the floor. All three surround the hapless woman. You stand some yards away, unease worming its way into your gut.

Or maybe that's just the Angelic Shoggoth expanding into your intestines.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

Battle Continue
Plan your next action.


Den, the Traveler

[] Magic, Round 3 (Write-in objective and target)
-[] Divine
-[] Demonic
-[] Harmonic

[] Enter Melee (Write-in how and target)

[] Deal with the Creature
-[] Analyze
-[] Remove
[] Berserk
[] Wait


Anna, the Cursed

[x] Wait

 

[veekie]

[X] Berserk

 

[Profectus]

[X] Berserk

They seem hurt enough so Den can end it.

 

[Nevill]

Your face is black and blue, and your eyes glow an unnatural gold. Your robe, your precious robe is ripped and torn, and splattered with red. It is not your own. You look terrifying.

Click to shrink...

She shifts herself to stand between you and you, rather than you and the cold, empty shadows. Her eyes dart between it and you the Revenant. The Wraith. The merciless vessel of long-harbored vengeance.

Click to shrink...

Well. This is new.

[x] Enter Melee (Leader, Knock her out while there is no one to help her)

Not very enthused about going Berserk without understanding what we are, where we are, and with a mini-Shoggoth crawling under our skin.

...the one who is recovering from the throat-punch didn't break from the shadows yet, did she?

 

[SleepMode]

[x] Enter Melee (Leader, Knock her out while there is no one to help her)

 

[Rickshaw]

...the one who is recovering from the throat-punch didn't break from the shadows yet, did she?

Click to shrink...

She's still grappled, yes. She was unable to break from the tendrils due to esophageal trauma.

Vote's tied. Anyone who hasn't voted is welcome to do so now.

 

[Nevill]

If no one breaks the tie, count me switching to another option.

 

[Rickshaw]

The other music choice for this update is this Signum Malum. Try reading through with both and see which you like better.

-:-:-;-:-:-
​

[x] Berserk

Day ???
???

Combat: Round 3

A sick giggling echoes through the stone corridor. The shrill sound of euphoria and panic mixing, deranged, along the walls. The crumpled and broken heap that is Lo-Ruhamah begins to shake with laughter as she slowly, ever so slowly, rises from the ground. Like a puppet slowly being lifted to stand, her broken arm hanging loosely from her side. Her eyes are wide as her smile, they hold the cruelest joy within them. An angry red scratch reaches from her ear to her nose, the slightest glimmer of blood leaking out.

"Oh, you little b-bitch." She chuckles, falling forward a step. "You little stain, did you think someone as filthy, as weak as you stood a chance against a true Maiden? You might play at being one of us, but we all know the truth. Naomi, Miriam, even Father, we all know what you really are." She takes another shaky step, jerky and unnatural. "You're a monster in human skin. Just an amalgamation of unrestrained desire and destruction. The moment you feel power, the moment you have a chance to let go, you can't help but be consumed. That's why we have to save you."

Her two lackeys slowly rise, shaken. The one with auburn hair pulls against the tendrils of darkness, snapping them with a sickening squelch. The stubs slither back into the darkness, and the Creature in the void looks on with interest.

"We have to burn the Taint out of you. We have to stop it from getting any worse, from spreading any further than it already has." The ravenette is right behind the comatose Anna. The blue-haired woman's eyes are wide with fear. She can see, she can hear, and she is helpless to do anything. "You may hate us now, you may think me cruel for what I do," she smiles. "In a way I am. I never knew the beauty of pain until you came along. I guess your filthy Taint has affected me in some way. But I'm not hurting you just for pleasure. I want to heal you. If you are to truly be a Maiden, you must be pure. I will burn the Taint out of you if that's what it requires."

Anna looks at you, horrified. She can't be serious. But no, her working hand slowly caresses against Anna's ghostly cheeks. "I hurt you because I care, Anna." She whispers seductively into her ear. "Remember that."

Her hand strokes back towards her sapphire hair, before she yanks it back. The battered and bruised girl has her head ripped backward, and she looks into her captor's eyes. You have no idea what she sees, but her frozen body begins to shake.

You stand there, useless. The voice that once called you to fight and protect is silent. Your heart feels like ice as you watch the girl whose mind you shared be treated like… like… like a toy. Something in you screams to move, to stop this from happening to her. Something chivalrous and heroic and romantic.

What if I just left her here?

Your feet, already shaking with dread, suddenly still. Was that...? Did you think that?

I don't really know her, the thought continues, and all three of them are busy with her. If I left right now, they wouldn't even notice. I could escape. It's not wrong to retreat when I'm going to lose. It's three against one, and I have some eldritch monster in me. There's no chance I'll win.

That isn't true at all. They're unsuspecting, the leader's injured, and the other two are still recovering, if you jumped in now you still have a chance!

A chance for what? The traitorous thought argues. I jump in there, I can maybe take one out before the other two get me with that lethal spell. And I have no idea what Magic they're capable of. I should leave before this gets any worse.

You… no. You can't. You shouldn't. You can't leave her behind, you can't. Not when she needs you. You… you can't.

This isn't about her, is it?

You can't leave her behind. You can't.

She left me behind, right? She doesn't have regrets, her life is fine without me. And I turned out okay, I guess. Anna can take it. She'll be fine. She'll understand, just like I understand her choice.

You can't. You don't. You don't understand. You can't leave her behind. That's why you need to get home. That's why you need to help Anna. You can't leave her behind. You can't.

E V E N I F Y O U D I E ?

You can't. You won't. Even then. You can't let that happen to anyone. You can't leave them behind. Even if it only hurts you. Even if it kills you. You can't.

W H A T A B O U T Y O U R S O U L ?

The darkness shifts. You feel it gaze at you with something… wrong. Something… angry.

H eiS M iNe, T Ain T. Be G O nE.​

W O U L D Y O U C U R S E Y O U R O W N S O U L F O R S U C H P O W E R ?

You can't leave her behind. You can't. You'd give up anything, even your soul. You'd damn yourself to Hell before then.

F oo L! d O nO t-​

T H E N Y O U R D E S I R E S H A L L B E F U L F I L L E D

Your Seal begins to burn. No, it does not burn, it is ablaze. What was once a perpetual brand actively spits flame. Beneath its surface, the Angelic Creature writhes. It does not try to escape the flame but seeks it out. Every point where the fire bursts it seeks, attempting to plug the breach. For a moment, it seems like it might succeed...

Berserk (1d100): 45
[SUCCESS]

And then you break. The Angel screams an otherworldly cry, withdrawing deeper into your body. Your Seal shatters upon your skin, like a thousand blisters breaking apart. From them pours a viscous white liquid, pooling to the floor. As it drains you feel… fuzzy. Your mind dulls as the pain is slowly replaced by a dull roar. Like a lion calling for its mate.

That roar builds. It's irritating. It echoes in your skull and resounds until it hurts. It builds until you can feel the pressure peak, a hammer constantly crashing against the bounds of your mind. Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!

Your throat aches, you taste blood in your mouth. Are you screaming? You open your eyes. It hurts. The world hurts to look at. It's angry and red and it roars at you. You hate it, hate how it mocks you.

"What the hell is that?" A shrill voice calls from amidst the screams. You look up to see them, three horrific creatures covered in eyes and scales. Every eye sits in a mouth, opening and closing every so often. Sometimes the mouths swallow and the eye disappears, only to reappear after it blinks. They are vaguely human in shape, with two lower and upper appendages, but their sickly torsos stand upon stilts, and a great mass of tentacles sits where the wrist should be. One of them, the tallest, has its tendrils coming from her elbow.

Between the three of them is a little girl with blue hair and a green dress, staring at you with wonder and horror. When you look at her, the screaming dulls. You know she is like you. She is the cure to your hate.

The tallest monster moves to stand between you and her, bringing back that damning roar. "B-begone, Demon!" It shouts from every mouth. "You are not w-welcome in this H-Holy P-Place!"

"Where did that guy go?" Another asks, one with reddish scales. "He was right there!"

"Do you think that thing killed him?" The third asks, afraid.

The first shakes its onyx body. "T-Taints are monsters made from desire. Th-the man was with Anna, remember? It was almost like they were in sync. And when we tried to remove her Taint…"

"You mean he's…!"

You scream. You can't stand all this noise. You have to stop it, you have to end it. The mouths, they're screaming. This is their fault. You have to silence them. You have to destroy them.

"He's agitated!"

"Lo-Ru, I'm scared!"

"It'll be okay, Deb, I won't let some ugly stain lay a finger on-"

You dash towards the one closest to you, the smallest of the three. It screams, every eye-mouth wide with terror. You hate that sound, the grating of iron and carbon. You can't stand it. You just want the world to shut up, just shut up shut up shut up shut up shut the fuck up!

Grab (1d100): 74
[SUCCESS]

You grab the monster by the throat, silencing one of the many voices screaming across its body. It's not enough, it keeps screaming. You can feel it, even if you can't hear the voice with your ears it's still in your head and it burns your skull with a fiery echo. You can't just stop them you have to stop them so you use your other hand to grab the other part of her throat and you pull.

Pull (1d100): 51
[SUCCESS]

There is a sickening squelch as the voices which once screamed constantly were suddenly silenced. Your fingers are wet and sticky when you let go of her neck, the two pieces dropping to the floor like heavy sacks. The oblong head of the monster slowly rolls from its body towards the foot of its ebony sibling. It bends down, slowly, and picks it up with one set of tentacles.

"Deborah?" It asks with an empty voice. It brings its other mass, much wilder, alongside it. "Deb?"

"Oh, god," The crimson monster screeches, bile and pus leaking from its many mouths and eyes. "What the fuck? It just…. Oh, god, Debbie..."

"Pris, tell me I'm dreaming. Tell me this is all just a bad dream, that this is just a nightmare."

"I," It's tentacles writhe as you raise yourself from the monster's corpse. "Fuck, you BASTARD!"

The crimson one dashes towards you, tendrils pointed like a thousand needles at your heart. Its screams are angry, hideous, infuriating. You hate it, you hate it.

Stop Her (1d100): 84
[SUCCESS]

You duck, it missteps. You swing, it's dead. Just like that. You pull your arm out of its chest and it collapses to the floor. Bile pools around the corpse. You feel wet and sticky.

The onyx creature collapses to the floor, like a puppet cut loose from her strings. She limply clutches onto the oblong shape between her arms "Deborah, Deborah, Deborah," she chants as she continues to scream from all her mouths.

Those aren't screams, they're tears.

You step towards her and the screams stop. The world, your head, it goes deathly silent. The silence echoes in your head, hurting just as much as the noise.

"I'm sorry." The monster pleads, speaking only from one mouth. "I swear, I'll change." Her voice cracks. "I-I'll be a good girl. I won't hurt people anymore, I won't call anyone bad names, I'll be nice to Anna, I'll be the perfect Maiden, I'll do anything you want, just…" You can hear, in your head, the sobbing that her mouth holds back. "...just please, stop this." She curls downwards, into herself. "Please, stop."

-:-:-;-:-:-​

Asmodeus, the True Face of the Tainted

[x] Berserk
-[] Feast
-[] Kill

[] Stop Berserking Y O U C A N N O T S T O P D E S I R E


Anna, the Last Hope for the Soul

[] Break down

[] Pray

[] Reason

[] Fight

[] Wait

 

[Profectus]

welp we fucked up.

 

[Zaealix]

Hyuuu~...In games of souls, when what you fight with is who you are...
Well, like I said before, there's a reason for the quarentine, in case a newb who doesn't know what they're doing ends up mauling someone...
So.
Feast? Or Kill?
To Feast...Is to corrupt, to spread our Taint.
To Kill? Means she's dead and we officially have a Problem for the church.
-[X] Feast

[X] Pray for the victim

Idea here is Anna prays and thus calls on the Divine to Protect against the raging Den.

 

[Rickshaw]

welp we fucked up.

Click to shrink...

A little, yeah. Still not as bad as it could have been. I could have also posted the apology interlude I was planning which made everything worse, but I decided against it as it's currently longer than the update. Instead, I'll save it for a rainy day.

*Stuff*

Click to shrink...

I have a master list in Excel of every time a reader accurately called out a future plot point. I am proud to say you've been on it since Act I - 9 when you first guessed this one. That, or you hacked my info sheet and are cheating. In which case, what's your opinion on the alien cyborg invasion?

 

[veekie]

[x] Berserk
-[x] Feast
[X] Pray for the victim

Well, excessive as expected, but its good to know what Berserk does

 

[SleepMode]

[x] Berserk
-[x] Feast
[X] Pray for the victim

 

[Profectus]

[x] Berserk
-[x] Feast
[X] Pray for the victim

*shrugs* can't think of anything better.

 

[Nevill]

Damn we got some moves! And moving up the ladder fast, it seems. Blood for the blood god, screw ups for the god of indulgence!

The darkness shifts. You feel it gaze at you with something… wrong. Something… angry.
H eiS M iNe, T Ain T. Be G O nE.
W O U L D Y O U C U R S E Y O U R O W N S O U L F O R S U C H P O W E R ?

You can't leave her behind. You can't. You'd give up anything, even your soul. You'd damn yourself to Hell before then.
F oo L! d O nO t-
T H E N Y O U R D E S I R E S H A L L B E F U L F I L L E D

Click to shrink...

Interesting. So, the "Taint" and "Magic" are different entities, eh? Could it be that the Tainted aren't a third independent group that can use Spiritual magic, but the Taint can only develop in those fit to be mages in the first place?

[] Stop Berserking Y O U C A N N O T S T O P M E

Click to shrink...

And then we get this bit, and I am finally confused as to which voice in our head we are talking to at any given moment.
Didn't you want to stop us just a minute ago, Hidden Voice?

Asmodeus, the True Face of the Tainted

Click to shrink...

Meh, I am more of a Lucifer kind of guy. Can we change patrons?

[x] [Den] Berserk
[x] [Anna] Pray

Do we have to choose the suboption for the vote? I am perfectly fine with leaving it to Az whether Lo-Ru lives or dies.

 

[Rickshaw]

Hidden Text is Hidden because the characters aren't actively perceiving it. So far, four different creatures have spoken using it. If you pay attention to the way their speech is presented, you could easily pick them apart from each other.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[x]Pray, or be Devoured

Day ???
???

The hulking Demon towers over the raven-haired woman, empty sockets glaring directly into her soul. Its form heaves with every wretched breath, steam billowing from its face. Claws curl and extend in agitated cycles. Along its chest, directly over its black heart, is the scorched outline of the letter T. Its gothic script is raw, skin loosely hangs from its edge. Any Magic which it held before has been lost. The Seal has been broken, and the monster within has emerged, ready to feast.

It leans closer to the terrified creature below it, coming to a stop mere inches from her hunched form. She does not respond, except to clutch tighter the hair of the woman in her arms. What is left of her, anyway.

"Please," she whispers, hollow. This woman who stood so defiantly over you but a moment ago now reduced to this demure thing. A part of you feels vindicated, watching your tormentor finally receive a taste of her own medicine. That same part of you which led during the fight, pushing for victory above all else. To the point of willingly using a lethal spell against a fellow Maiden.

You don't know how to feel about this new side of yourself.

She used it first.

You shut out the little voice. It only makes your sinking gut feel heavier.

The Demon reaches an arm towards Lo-Ru's tunic, talons gently clasping around the fabric. Not so gently do they tear it away. Deborah's remains are flung from her hands at the force, rolling some distance away. A shredded cloth falls atop it, covering the open-mouthed look of terror etched upon her face.

The ravenette is forced to the ground. She attempts to cover herself with her broken arm. "No, stop! Stay away from me!" She shuffles back, but the Demon grabs her by the legs. She kicks and screams, but it forces her still.

"They had no chastity, no devotion. No purity at all." You hear Father's warning echo in your mind as you watch the Awakened Taint grope at the helpless woman. "That emptiness consumed them until all that was left was a lingering lust, for power and pleasure. They and everyone they lay with is cursed with the Taint."

You strain against the Curse afflicting you. You can't let that happen. Lo-Ru might be a sadistic bitch, but you refuse to let the Tainted devour another Soul. Not again.

Again?

A wave of force crashes against your mind. If you weren't frozen still, you would have collapsed to the floor from the pain. What the- there, beyond the Barrier. The wall you'd built was weakened, somehow. The song from yesterday had disappeared, but that didn't explain how flimsy it was now. Memories, unbidden, rush through its cracks to the forefront of your thoughts. They replay the same sequence, over and over.

Red flames, flickering along a dark wall. Blue hair, jerking back and forth rhythmically. Numbness flooding your body. A hand, reaching towards you. A face, crying as it looks you in the eyes. Red flames, flickering along a dark wall. Again and again.

The flood of recollection refuses to subside, forcing you to relive that single moment of time in repeat. You can't stop the deluge, you can't shore up your mental defenses right now, not if you want to stop it from repeating before your eyes.

The Demon pulls harshly on your tormentor's leg, putting her directly at the Beast's feet. With a swift motion, it shreds the cloth to nothing. Shit, you still can't move. No, no no no, why can't you move? Your fingers barely twitch when you demand they open. Your body can only shake when you cry for it to stand. There is nothing you can do to stop the monster that has replaced Den.

Den?

The gears in your head click together and begin to whir. That's it! You two, you did that thing before this, where your minds acted in sync. If… if it's what you think it was, then you might know a prayer that could stop him.

Technically, you're not supposed to know this spell, especially as a Tainted. It only works under very specific conditions, conditions which you're not supposed to have met, nor be able to fulfill. Yet, if you and Den were able to merge as you did before, there was a chance. A slim possibility.

The Taint lowers itself onto Lo-Ru, who is screaming through her tears. She struggles against the much heavier creature, but it is useless. You don't have the time to consider anything else. Your lips quiver as you draw a shaky breath. Shaping your mouth had never been so difficult, nor had the words felt so heavy before now.

"Beloved, set me as a Seal upon your Heart,
as a Seal upon your arm,
for my Love is strong as Death,
our Bond is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of cleansing Fire,
the very flame of Purity.
Many waters cannot quench Love,
neither can floods drown it.
Burning hotter than Lust
More fulfilling than Desire
Our Entwined Souls shall overcome Impurity."

You feel your Seal burn. It roils on your skin, glowing a brilliant white. The Creature within it shifts, excitedly coiling about like a child in water. The burning spreads, slowly expanding across your chest. It hurts, but it is a good hurt. Like that of removing a bandage from a festering wound to better treat it.

The pain finally stops when it reaches your arm. The burning sensation shifts from your chest towards a single spot on your left shoulder, concentrating into a shape you cannot discern. Down your arm crawl geometric lines and patterns of Pure light, extending directly to your fingertips. Your body spasms once before releasing, and you feel control flood back into you.

You don't waste a single second. Without prompt, without reason, you understand what you need to do. Despite never reaching this stage with the spell, you begin the next step.

Namely by scrambling to your feet and leaping onto the Taint's back.

The beast roars, angry its meal has been interrupted. Lo-Ru, still crying, looks up to you in confusion.

"Go, get out of here!" You scream, wrapping your not-glowing arm around the Demon's neck. "Run, you idiot!"

She snaps out of her daze, scrambling backward. She grabs the robe she discarded amidst your first beating and wraps it around herself.

You're tossed around the monster's back as it tries to shake you off, though you refuse to fall. This thing wanted to steal Den's body and curse another with the Taint? Fuck that, you're a Holy Maiden. You are not letting that happen.

You reach your enchanted hand onto its face, and it screeches. It recoils backward, nearly tossing you off. You keep your grip, just barely, and continue to press the Magic into it. It thrashes about, bucks under you, and tries to reach you with its claws. It misses the first few times, but eventually, it scratches your back. You hiss in pain and grit your teeth. You can't let go, not yet. The Magic has yet to fully take effect.

It stumbles into a wall, cracking it. Both of you realize what it means a moment before it turns its back to the stonework and careens into it. You hop off of it just in time, landing in a nearby corridor. The path ahead is pitch black, and you sense there's something in the shadows. Just as you turn to leave the narrow hall, the Taint blocks your exit with its hulking figure. It stares at you with empty sockets, baring dozens of spiked teeth at you as it slowly lumbers towards you.

Qu iCK gi r L,in toT h es HAd oW!​

You look back, into the inky blackness. There's something there, you can feel it, and any other time that would terrify you. Right now? You're already moving, dashing headfirst into the emptiness. Something grabs your arms and torso as you enter, something cold and thin that wraps all around you, pulling you to safety.

Something else grabs your legs, and for a moment everything breaks.

Here merges with there. The darkness is so bright it hurts your eyes. Your skin feels clammy, even as a hot, dry air blows against it. Every tendril that drags upon your upper body whispers as it touches you, concerns and comforts in a tongue you don't understand. Only the tone makes sense to you, and as you are dragged through the shadows they slowly speak more frantically in your ear. Something is not right, even within this twisted realm. The thing grabbing your legs pulls itself higher.

The shadows spit you out in an empty corridor. You collapse under an immense weight, turning to see Den's Taint over you. It looks at you, first angry and then confused when it sees your face. For just a moment it pauses. You, on the other hand, do not.

You slam your left arm forwards, palm contacting the raw skin where the Seal used to be. The patterns along your skin lift, shifting and multiplying in a pattern you can't discern. It's barely a second of chaotic movement before it locks in place and starts to shine intensely. Something akin to recognition crosses the Taint's face before the Entwined Spell flashes, engulfing the corridor in bright white light.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

Welcome to the Labyrinth. Also known as Tartarus, the Midnight Channel, or Mementos: an ever-changing dungeon just beneath the facade of reality. Rest assured, Asmodeus has been dealt with for now, but you can't relax just yet. Time to escape to the real world.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

Choose a Perspective
[] Anna
[] Den

You appeared at a crossroads, where to now?
[] Choose a cardinal direction
-[] Any specific plan for navigating the maze? (Write-in, add to whatever direction you choose)

 

[Profectus]

[X] Den
[X] Choose a cardinal direction
-[X] North

Picking Den because I want to see what is going through his mind after turning into a monster.

 

[veekie]

[X] Anna
[X] Choose a cardinal direction
-[X] North

 

[Nevill]

Hidden Text is Hidden because the characters aren't actively perceiving it. So far, four different creatures have spoken using it. If you pay attention to the way their speech is presented, you could easily pick them apart from each other.

Click to shrink...

Ah, I see. That explains the red text, since the interaction looked like a dialogue, even though a non-verbal one.

Yes, now that you've made them squabble in/over our own soul, it's easy to discern them as different entities. Before that... the difference in speech patterns means little when you know nothing about your collocutor, and can't even talk to them right. It could easily depend on how sane they are feeling on a rainy day - these are the 'voices in the head', after all, - and Taint and Magic have been said to be linked.

We've seen one more voice from Den's perspective, I think, and another one from Anna. I wonder what those stand for.

Fuck that, you're a Holy Maiden.

Click to shrink...

That's the kind of holiness I prefer. Battle priests, +3 Holy damage!

...is the absense of rolls on Anna's side deliberate? Granted, I imagine no one wanted to see her fail.

You collapse under an immense weight, turning to see Den's Taint over you. It looks at you, first angry and then confused when it sees your face.

Click to shrink...

Hmm? What did he expect to see, I wonder? Why the hesitation? Was it the Taint recognizing its own, or a sign that Den retains a measure of sanity while possessed (is this even the correct description?) by Asmodeus?

So, Lust, Desire, Impurity are all synonymous to Taint. I wonder why it was only Asmodeus who got to manifest himself in that way. A spell gone wrong, perhaps? Hmm, it fits, does it not?

This Magic occurs when a portion of reality is offered to a Demon. This is not practiced in Zak, as a misstep could potentially result in the Second Coming of the Demon King.

Click to shrink...

Is Asmodeus the Demon King, or is he just one of the many princes? We need to research the world's theology properly before we go berzerking through the churches again.

Hopefully, Father Absalom doesn't get too upset with us. What's a maiden or two between people of culture?

[x] Anna
[x] Choose a cardinal direction
-[x] North

Maybe choose a wall and then follow along? It'll either bring us out, or back to where we started... if the maze isn't shifting, which we can't rule out at this point. But surely having some method to navigate the Labyrinth can't be worse than having none.

 

[wingstrike96]

[x] Anna
[x] Choose a cardinal direction
-[x] North

 

[Rickshaw]

Picking Den because I want to see what is going through his mind after turning into a monster.

Click to shrink...

Hint: it goes something along the lines of

That's the kind of holiness I prefer. Battle priests, +3 Holy damage!

...is the absense of rolls on Anna's side deliberate? Granted, I imagine no one wanted to see her fail.

Click to shrink...

The best priests are either as lovable and cancer-curing as Asia Argento or as badass a fighter as Sypha Belnades. While Archpriest Aqua might also be up for consideration, she's still really bad at her job and more valuable for comedy.

And yes, it was deliberate. Imagine it as though it were a cutscene battle.

Is Asmodeus the Demon King, or is he just one of the many princes? We need to research the world's theology properly before we go berzerking through the churches again.

Click to shrink...

The Demon King is not the actual King of the Demons, rather he was the King of a human nation who happened to be a Demon. He's as feared as he is because most Demons just rampage for a week and then leave, but Nome the Demon King ruled an empire for 300 years and used it to conquer a majority of the known world. He's feared not for his power, but his intelligence and unusual interest in meddling with humanity. He has a legend or two in the Tome that explains more, but this explanation is considered general history.

Asmodeus, though? You've never even heard of him.

Hopefully, Father Absalom doesn't get too upset with us. What's a maiden or two between people of culture?

Click to shrink...

Grounds for a crusade.

 

[Rickshaw]

[x] Anna
[x] North

Day ???
???

Pat. Pat. Pat. Stop. Shuffle. Pat. Pat. Pat. Shift. Pat. Pat.

Footsteps softly echo along the cool stone of the corridor. They cycle through a rough pattern: some steps forward, readjust, some steps more. An almost consistent rhythm that was off just enough to drive one mad. You feel you can be forgiven that small measure of error, however, as Den was not an easy man to carry.

You take a few more shaky strides down the strange hall before you feel the heavier and taller man sliding off. Instead of fixing his position, you help him gently fall to the floor. With a small thud he impacts the stony ground, followed by a thump as you collapse beside his comatose form. You breathe deep, not exhausted, just tired.

When did you first get here, you wonder? It's been at least a few hours since you first got swallowed by the shadows and sent here, but you aren't really sure how many. Time… it feels weird in here. You lose track of it too easily, and even when you count the seconds there's a voice nagging that you're off.

It doesn't help that you don't recognize your surroundings. You're somewhat certain you're still in the tunneled corridors beneath the Synagogue, but you've never been this deep. The oddly twisted layout of the first seven floors was hard enough for you to navigate even with the familiar landmarks, and this level had none of those. There were none of the silver insets of the fifth floor, the wide tapestries of the second, or the gaudy carpets of the third. Where the other floors had oil lamps to light the way, this one had shards of pale-green crystal jutting from the walls, illuminating your path with a cold glow. It had the same general design in common: wide enough for five to comfortably walk side-by-side, ceilings just tall enough that you could reach them if you jumped, twisting pathways that logically should have crossed themselves but somehow didn't, and the cold, grey stone that never cracked and never seamed.

Besides, of course, when a Maiden accidentally launched a powerful spell into it.

You wonder where the girl had learned that prayer. There was no doubt in your mind it was specialized for combat, considering both the effect and the wording. Yet you'd never heard of it before, which was a surprise for you considering just how many spells you'd memorized that you weren't supposed to. Most of them didn't work, of course, but you at least knew they existed and that they would work if the proper conditions were met. You just, you know, didn't meet them.

Stupid Purity Magic.

You put a hand over your breast, gently touching the spot of fabric just over that sensitive, blistered skin of your Seal. The Seal which keeps your Taint locked away, protecting you from its effects. For once in your life, you're grateful to have it. You used to think it was merely a symbol, a brand to mark you as different from the other Maidens.

It carries that same symbolism to you, but now you know it serves a purpose as well. It's not an arbitrary mark that segregates you from the others, it's a barrier against a powerful monster and a warning for those unprepared to deal with it. You're almost certain that if you hadn't been there, Den's- no, his Taint's rampage would not have stopped so easily.

As if cued, the sleeping man leans to one side and begins to slide along the wall, head falling to your shoulder. You offer a pitying smile before shifting him to lay his head in your lap, a position far more comfortable for you than his entire weight against your side. He remains unresponsive through it all, catatonic.

For all intents and purposes, Den is a complete stranger to you. You'd met him once before now, and while you'd hit it off well initially that conversation had quickly soured. You knew a few tidbits about him, but you knew next to nothing about who he really was.

And yet, for a time... During that fight against Lo-Ru, before he turned into a Demon, you shared something. Even before then, when you wanted to scream for help but couldn't, you felt his mind brushing against yours. It doesn't make sense, that sort of thing doesn't just happen. That's not something two completely random people could spontaneously develop.

You take solace in that, even if you are clueless as to Why or How, you have an inkling as to What was going on. You and Den shared a Soul Bond. How you got it or who put it on you, you have no idea, but the spell you used to Seal his Taint would only work if your theory was correct. And considering he's staring at you with open eyes instead of the empty sockets of his Taint, you'd say your guess is on target.

Wait, open eyes?

You blink once. "Hey, Den."

He blinks back, groggy. "Hey." He shifts in your lap, looking around the corridor. "Where are we?"

Shrug. "Somewhere under the Synagogue, I think."

He nods. He starts to stretch his arms up until he runs into your legs, at which point a confused look crosses his face. He pokes at your thigh, before slowly working his way in both directions towards your knee and hip. The exact moment his finger poke against them, recognition crosses his face and he goes crimson.

"I stole your legs last time, so I decided to switch roles." You try your absolute hardest to hide the smirk threatening to cross your face. "I know mine aren't as soft as yours, but it's better than the wall." You can feel the corners of your lip curling up, and you can't stop them.

Luckily, Den refuses to make eye contact with you. "Th-thanks." He says, sitting up. He leans against the wall and stares at the floor. He is thoroughly embarrassed, and your grin is now shit-eating. He sneaks a peek at you out of the corner of his eye, catching it.

"You are so easy to tease." You observe.

He looks away, but even from your angle, you can see the red crawling up his neck. He coughs, and you chuckle a bit. When he looks in your general direction again, you can see the ghost of a smile.

"So, did we win?" he asks.

"Hm?"

"The fight. I don't remember much of it after we stopped that mind-meld thing. Did we win?"

You pause. "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

Should you really tell him what he did? You still have trouble accepting that there's a part of you that enjoyed watching your tormentors suffer. How will he react to knowing what his Taint did, what it tried to do? He blushes when a girl so much as touches him, if he knew the truth…

"Here's the thing…"

-:-:-;-:-:-

How will you break it to Den?

[] Truth
-[] Full, Blunt and Honest
-[] Most, Vague Details

[] Lie
-[] Write in your deception

[] "You're better off not knowing."

 

[veekie]

[X] Truth
-[X] Most, Vague Details

Give him an idea of how bad, don't bluescreen him