TheSilenceIsVast
Of the Sun
- Location
- United States
Aww. Lmao classic Heidi though
Peril's Origin - A Magical Girl Quest [Complete]
- Thread starter Naron
- Start date
- Location
- Earth
It overrules conventional protections that merely cover the general case of "all presences" or the specific effect the OP has. The only non-OP defense that works is something which specifically states it blocks Overwhelming Presence.
He is dead in that case. But the people who can deal that much damage in one go are, uh, few. At best.
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
Heeey, Orux has lived long!
Good for him. Eyeballing him, I think he reduced Oblivion Awaits damage from 10 million to... 1 thousand I think. No, less. 1 Affinity, and 4x Base stats means he divided by 100k, so only 100 damage. Man was that a surprise.
Objectively speaking you need to Negative Space him if you want to kill him.
Edit: from a deadliness shandpoint he is built to take an enemy's attack and return it sixfold via his Smash-Overwhelm combo.
Edit2: and to add quite a bit extra via his Defiance Affinity proccing the Defiant against X modifier.
Good for him. Eyeballing him, I think he reduced Oblivion Awaits damage from 10 million to... 1 thousand I think. No, less. 1 Affinity, and 4x Base stats means he divided by 100k, so only 100 damage. Man was that a surprise.
Objectively speaking you need to Negative Space him if you want to kill him.
Edit: from a deadliness shandpoint he is built to take an enemy's attack and return it sixfold via his Smash-Overwhelm combo.
Edit2: and to add quite a bit extra via his Defiance Affinity proccing the Defiant against X modifier.
Last edited:
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
Both Orux and Dragul lived.
And holy fuck, Orux can apparently survive against Goddess Gold
And holy fuck, Orux can apparently survive against Goddess Gold
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
Spellbook Lockdown would also short circuit that gimmick.
Solid Core would be a fun meeting
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
In a white room scenario Solid Core either kills Orux with her first move of Celestial Severance that procs Echo and The Insurmountable Gap, or is stuck with an increasingly harder-to-kill opponent. Her spell does 6552 damage per Echo proc, and with average overheal little north of 40k (22500*1.75= ~39k, adds d5250, so 41k-ish total) she is quickly overtaken by his health recovery, needing to do 57/2=28+ k damage on next CS, or 4 consecutive Echo procs.
- Location
- Earth
Who knows? Maybe another segment of the Epilogue has the answer to that question
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That was a nice read.
I wonder what defiance's career will be after this.
I wonder what defiance's career will be after this.
Oh if only you knew............
This is very sweet. Also exceedingly rare to get an affinity like that in the LDC outside of humanity.
E2 The Isle
- Location
- Earth
A group of three was what jumped out at Stephanie Markwardt the moment she stepped out of the bus. Her friends.
She raised her hand with a shy smile, to which the others responded quite similarly. They were all there, gentle Sara, boisterous Anna, and defiant Heidi.
They were all great in their own way.
"Steffie!"
Sara even called her by her nickname instead of her stupid full name. Who in their right mind called their child Stephanie?
Greetings and hugs were had, and the girls quickly led her away from the main street.
"It's great that you're back," Anna told her happily. Sara said similarly, though Heidi appeared absent-minded and kept quiet. Stephanie noticed but kept quiet about it. She could tell something was going on, but had no idea what it was just yet.
Though she was quite sure that Heidi had not been this fit before. She must have worked out a lot over the past two months.
"How's the UL? Seen any pretty Elves?" And there was Sara again, curious but also a little teasing. Stephanie shrugged and thought back.
"I don't know, maybe a few?"
Her counter led to some giggling from Anna, yet nothing from Heidi again. Even the other two noticed by now; Sara nudged their friend with an elbow while Anna leaned closer to whisper to her: "Ignore her, she's probably still thinking about making out with her boyfriend."
That was news. A little disappointing in regard to her own tiny hopes, but overall good news; it also meant that Heidi, cool and fearsome Heidi, blushed like the schoolgirl she was.
"Oh, you have a boyfriend now? That's a surprise, I thought Anna would have one before you." She could not help but tease a little; it helped ignoring her own disappointment until it went away. Anna batted her shoulder indignantly, eliciting chuckles from the other two.
Nobody told her any more about the matter, though; they kept chatting about how the guy was already working, and that he only came to Germany a year ago. It sounded weird to her ears; how had someone like that managed to impress Heidi of all people?
Stephanie could not make much sense of it. Until she was led into one of the deserted parks, that was; few people ever went there, which was why she originally liked the place.
There, they told her the basics and she could not believe it. Time travel? Such a thing was unheard of, probably even impossible.
"I don't believe it."
For some reason, her reaction had Anna and Sara giggle at the side; Heidi just rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I'd say it's not my problem, but I really don't want that to get out."
"Then show me, please." A little surprised by her own boldness, Stephanie pressed on: "Transform."
Heidi gave her a long look, but complied and spoke with narrowed eyes: "As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!" And with her shout, light began to envelop her. Wind surged from Heidi's form, fracturing the ground she stood on and sending loose dust flying in a cloud.
When the light faded, there stood what could only be a Magical Girl. Her magic made the air around her flicker and Stephanie slumped her shoulders at the sight, immediately worried; what if her friend wanted to get herself in danger?
After a moment of deliberation, the young woman gathered her courage and spoke up herself. "Behold the serpent's gaze and stand as stone, I am Magical Girl Shapeless Isle!". Bits of grass around her crumbled to dust from the light of her own transformation and Stephanie's trusted hooks immediately set upon the field, not yet finding any enemies.
"Heidi... did you have your Affinities checked?"
Her question was regarded with a nod. "Sure. I got Defiance, Interference, and Story Maker." And they sounded oh so fitting.
Stephanie thought of her own Affinities and had to sigh. "I see. Mine are Death, Light, and Legend."
They were friends; telling each other that much was fine. Heidi only raised an eyebrow in her usual 'what of it'-gesture, which spurred her to continue: "You're, um, not going to fight, are you?"
"In the war? No." Her answer came swiftly, much to Stephanie's relief. Her friend idly pulled a simple stave out of thin air, casting a glance toward her. "But if you already transformed, do you want to spar?"
Her eyes widened in shock. "W-What? No, I can't! I'd kill you!" she shouted in horror.
However, it only made Heidi laugh. For some reason, whatever reason, she laughed about Stephanie's concern, without even knowing how lethal her powers were.
Shapeless Isle frowned at her disregard. Right, she thought, Defiance. That would explain why she did not take the danger seriously. So she focussed her mind and drew the Schnitter, before charging off to slam it into the ground right in front of her friend.
She could no longer stop her swing when she saw Heidi take a step forward.
(Der Schnitter: +1800 Base Damage, +450 Charge, dice whatever = 2,250 Total Damage
Attack Negated)
Yet the scythe never hit its mark. This stave that looked like little more than a metal rod caught it mid-swing and fluidly diverted her strike into the ground. Heidi simply turned with the blow, bringing her weapon around in a full swing into her side.
Stephanie's reflexes kicked in. The moment before she was hit, her hooks lashed out as Heidi became an enemy.
(Die Haken: Fuck you, negated by Meaningless Slaughter)
(The Handle: +700 Base Damage, +1467 dice, +466 Horrific Speed Gap = 2,633 Total Damage
Shapeless Isle: +1500 Base Resilience, +82 dice, -750 holyshitwtf, -1000 HOW?! = 168 Additional Damage
2,801 Final End Damage
Shapeless Isle Health: 4,000 - 2,801 = 1,199)
She had not even considered to dodge, too horrified of the realisation that her hooks would tear her friend apart.
Yet they did not. They did not even scratch Heidi, sliding off her skin without finding purchase; a heartbeat later, the pole slammed into Stephanie's side and sent her sprawling to the ground.
It hurt. It hurt really, really badly. She could still fight, but it sent her sprawling onto the ground in pain she did not bother pushing back.
"...sorry, I should have held back." And there was Heidi, who was supposed to be a Story Maker. If she really just awakened her powers, then this should not be possible. Even Stephanie knew that. As a Legend with some combat experience, she could not believe she was beaten so easily. It was humiliating in a way.
Then Heidi held a hand out to her, stave hovering behind her as if held by invisible hands. Stephanie yet lacked the air to speak with how hard she had been hit. Nothing was broken, but she would definitely feel that bruise for a while.
"It's fine, I, I believe you." Her friend had proven her power and that roundabout defense would be ridiculously specific to work exactly on Stephanie's powers. Why would Heidi even lie about being a time traveler now?
This, however, begged several more question. Which she definitely wanted to hear answers for. "Now explain. Everything, from the start. In detail."
Thankfully, her friend complied without further prompting.
She raised her hand with a shy smile, to which the others responded quite similarly. They were all there, gentle Sara, boisterous Anna, and defiant Heidi.
They were all great in their own way.
"Steffie!"
Sara even called her by her nickname instead of her stupid full name. Who in their right mind called their child Stephanie?
Greetings and hugs were had, and the girls quickly led her away from the main street.
"It's great that you're back," Anna told her happily. Sara said similarly, though Heidi appeared absent-minded and kept quiet. Stephanie noticed but kept quiet about it. She could tell something was going on, but had no idea what it was just yet.
Though she was quite sure that Heidi had not been this fit before. She must have worked out a lot over the past two months.
"How's the UL? Seen any pretty Elves?" And there was Sara again, curious but also a little teasing. Stephanie shrugged and thought back.
"I don't know, maybe a few?"
Her counter led to some giggling from Anna, yet nothing from Heidi again. Even the other two noticed by now; Sara nudged their friend with an elbow while Anna leaned closer to whisper to her: "Ignore her, she's probably still thinking about making out with her boyfriend."
That was news. A little disappointing in regard to her own tiny hopes, but overall good news; it also meant that Heidi, cool and fearsome Heidi, blushed like the schoolgirl she was.
"Oh, you have a boyfriend now? That's a surprise, I thought Anna would have one before you." She could not help but tease a little; it helped ignoring her own disappointment until it went away. Anna batted her shoulder indignantly, eliciting chuckles from the other two.
Nobody told her any more about the matter, though; they kept chatting about how the guy was already working, and that he only came to Germany a year ago. It sounded weird to her ears; how had someone like that managed to impress Heidi of all people?
Stephanie could not make much sense of it. Until she was led into one of the deserted parks, that was; few people ever went there, which was why she originally liked the place.
There, they told her the basics and she could not believe it. Time travel? Such a thing was unheard of, probably even impossible.
"I don't believe it."
For some reason, her reaction had Anna and Sara giggle at the side; Heidi just rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I'd say it's not my problem, but I really don't want that to get out."
"Then show me, please." A little surprised by her own boldness, Stephanie pressed on: "Transform."
Heidi gave her a long look, but complied and spoke with narrowed eyes: "As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!" And with her shout, light began to envelop her. Wind surged from Heidi's form, fracturing the ground she stood on and sending loose dust flying in a cloud.
When the light faded, there stood what could only be a Magical Girl. Her magic made the air around her flicker and Stephanie slumped her shoulders at the sight, immediately worried; what if her friend wanted to get herself in danger?
After a moment of deliberation, the young woman gathered her courage and spoke up herself. "Behold the serpent's gaze and stand as stone, I am Magical Girl Shapeless Isle!". Bits of grass around her crumbled to dust from the light of her own transformation and Stephanie's trusted hooks immediately set upon the field, not yet finding any enemies.
"Heidi... did you have your Affinities checked?"
Her question was regarded with a nod. "Sure. I got Defiance, Interference, and Story Maker." And they sounded oh so fitting.
Stephanie thought of her own Affinities and had to sigh. "I see. Mine are Death, Light, and Legend."
They were friends; telling each other that much was fine. Heidi only raised an eyebrow in her usual 'what of it'-gesture, which spurred her to continue: "You're, um, not going to fight, are you?"
"In the war? No." Her answer came swiftly, much to Stephanie's relief. Her friend idly pulled a simple stave out of thin air, casting a glance toward her. "But if you already transformed, do you want to spar?"
Her eyes widened in shock. "W-What? No, I can't! I'd kill you!" she shouted in horror.
However, it only made Heidi laugh. For some reason, whatever reason, she laughed about Stephanie's concern, without even knowing how lethal her powers were.
Shapeless Isle frowned at her disregard. Right, she thought, Defiance. That would explain why she did not take the danger seriously. So she focussed her mind and drew the Schnitter, before charging off to slam it into the ground right in front of her friend.
She could no longer stop her swing when she saw Heidi take a step forward.
(
Attack Negated)
Yet the scythe never hit its mark. This stave that looked like little more than a metal rod caught it mid-swing and fluidly diverted her strike into the ground. Heidi simply turned with the blow, bringing her weapon around in a full swing into her side.
Stephanie's reflexes kicked in. The moment before she was hit, her hooks lashed out as Heidi became an enemy.
(Die Haken: Fuck you, negated by Meaningless Slaughter)
(The Handle: +700 Base Damage, +1467 dice, +466 Horrific Speed Gap = 2,633 Total Damage
Shapeless Isle: +1500 Base Resilience, +82 dice, -750 holyshitwtf, -1000 HOW?! = 168 Additional Damage
2,801 Final End Damage
Shapeless Isle Health: 4,000 - 2,801 = 1,199)
She had not even considered to dodge, too horrified of the realisation that her hooks would tear her friend apart.
Yet they did not. They did not even scratch Heidi, sliding off her skin without finding purchase; a heartbeat later, the pole slammed into Stephanie's side and sent her sprawling to the ground.
It hurt. It hurt really, really badly. She could still fight, but it sent her sprawling onto the ground in pain she did not bother pushing back.
"...sorry, I should have held back." And there was Heidi, who was supposed to be a Story Maker. If she really just awakened her powers, then this should not be possible. Even Stephanie knew that. As a Legend with some combat experience, she could not believe she was beaten so easily. It was humiliating in a way.
Then Heidi held a hand out to her, stave hovering behind her as if held by invisible hands. Stephanie yet lacked the air to speak with how hard she had been hit. Nothing was broken, but she would definitely feel that bruise for a while.
"It's fine, I, I believe you." Her friend had proven her power and that roundabout defense would be ridiculously specific to work exactly on Stephanie's powers. Why would Heidi even lie about being a time traveler now?
This, however, begged several more question. Which she definitely wanted to hear answers for. "Now explain. Everything, from the start. In detail."
Thankfully, her friend complied without further prompting.
The Returning Friend
Beware of When she Sinks her Hooks Into you
Beware of When she Sinks her Hooks Into you
- (Unified Light) Magical Girl Shapeless Isle
-
Stephanie Markwardt
- Stats
- Weapon
- Spells
- Abilities
E3 A Mother's Praise
- Location
- Earth
Heidi let out a deep sigh as she slumped down on a park bench; it had been two weeks since her return from the past. Granted, four weeks for her because she poked around some places, but who counted those?
Things had been hectic, her newfound power surprising those around her almost as much as Orux' arrival. After being sent to a few doctors after being gone for nine months, as well as a gynecologist for obvious reasons, everything slowly returned back to being somewhat normal. Or at least as close as they could be with a Demon basically living with them.
She had gone out to take a walk. Heidi was not entirely sure why she wanted to be alone, but neither her father nor her fiance stopped her.
She had much to think about; 2019 was still going and school would start again in but five weeks, setting her up for the last two years before graduation. A war was raging everywhere, one that she so desperately wanted to see end without knowing how.
"Heavy thoughts, dear? You look so droopy," a soft voice offered from nearby; looking up, Heidi found the most peculiar sight.
Someone with a figure somewhere between girl and woman, with green and blue hair that felt somehow familiar.
What was more, she had never seen this person before. Heidi did not feel threatened or anything that harsh, but there was a slight spark of confusion at the sight in front of her. Something she hardly even realised was there.
When she did not answer immediately, the woman chuckled and slid onto the bench next to her without hesitation. "Care to talk about it?"
"...no." She did not feel like being polite, but her dismissal only prompted a shrug.
"Well, that's fine. Mind if I talk to you about a few things? I have wanted to do that for a long time." The stranger put enough emphasis on the one word to make it clear something was up.
Heidi perked up a little, muscles tensing in expectation of an attack. "Do I know you?" However, her question only led to a bout of musical laughter; the woman closed her eyes and laughed freely, gathering exactly no looks as Heidi suddenly realised there was no one but them here.
"Of course you do, Adelheid. Or Defiance, whichever you prefer." The mention of her Magical Girl persona, which this woman should have no business knowing, almost made Heidi transform. The wink the stranger shot her gave her pause, though. "You've known me all your life. I have always been here, and I always will be."
It took a moment for Heidi to process this; the final realisation only came when the woman next to her audibly tapped a foot against the solid ground below.
Time traveler she was, realising just who sat next to her made Heidi take a deep breath to collect herself.
"Gaia."
It was not a question, they both knew it to be true. Gaia, the deity that was Earth. Embodying the entire planet, she had sculpted all life on it and continued to tend to every being in her biosphere. A goddess had come to speak with her, taking a human-looking avatar for ease of conversation.
Gaia only smiled before gently putting a hand on Heidi's shoulder. "Not to worry, you aren't in trouble. I only just found some time to actually talk to you after so long." Seeing and knowing that her statement confused the girl, she squeezed lightly and continued: "You have to know, for a million years I didn't have all the pieces to this puzzle you threw at me. Suddenly I notice one of mine outside of my domain and there you are, long before my humans even were."
She chuckled over the dumbfounded expression on Heidi's face, courtesy of realising that Gaia had been watching her entire journey. "It was an interesting exercise, trying to piece together what was going on; I knew you time-traveled from a later point, but not from when or what was going on then. Some impressions I got, but not the whole picture." Gaia gleefully motioned with her hands at this point, rather more enthusiastic than Heidi had expected her to be.
"You gave me more pieces as time went on, though not necessarily in the right order," the deity continued with a smile. "But it was fun to figure this out, and now... now I have the last pieces. It all started and ended two weeks ago." She looked around. "I pulled a few subtle strings to get you here and alone because it feels like we should have that talk. Nobody told you yet, did they?"
When seeing and knowing the child's confusion, Gaia's smile turning from mischievous to motherly, exuding warmth as her hand wandered to the top of the girl's head. "Good work, Heidi. You did great."
These few words made all resistance crumble; the returned time traveler relaxed into Gaia's touch, only to soon be pulled into an embrace that she also melted into. It was true that nobody had actually praised her; everyone was glad she was back, awestruck about her exploits and so on, but nobody actually praised her for having done well. So she just enjoyed the deceptive warmth of Gaia's magical body and rubbed a few tears out of her eyes.
"It's fine," Gaia cooed. "I won't lie and say I understand, but it's fine. You did good, and you will do better." She giggled, stroking Heidi's back while speaking softly to the girl: "If you were in a different headspace, I'd offer you to become one of my WEAPONs in a heartbeat. You won't take it, I know. Getting to revive after being killed is a neat boon, but you're not the type to do whatever I tell you to."
"Yeah...." Heidi did not know what else to say; Gaia already knew everything about her anyway. Having the Will Of The Earth present however, she considered asking a question that had been on her mind ever since first hearing about Gaia and her WEAPONs. Before she could however, the planet already answered: "Yes, they call me mother. You can call me that too, if you want. In a way, I am."
Heidi considered, but slowly shook her head in the end; she only had one actual mother and calling anyone else that felt wrong.
Gaia did not mind. She did, however, chuckle. "Heh, I guess? But... I think you deserve at least a little reward, so how about this? It's been about ten years and I got to her soul recently. All cleaned up and ready to be reincarnated, but... I think I'll wait." The explanation only gathered a confused noise, which prompted Gaia to actually spell it out: "Your mother. I do have about a ten-year buffer of souls waiting for reincarnation, and all human souls are mine. But I won't reincarnate her just yet."
She rubbed Heidi's back one last time and let go with a gentle smile. "Once you decide to have your first child, I will let her reincarnate. You shall have her back; she will not remember having been your mother, but it will be her soul."
Heidi could only stare at the avatar of god, flabbergasted. Once she actually processed what Gaia had said, she felt her eyes begin to sting and water, but did nothing to stop it. Then she hugged her, this time out of her own volition.
No words were spoken, but Gaia knew of her gratitude nonetheless. She only smiled and let the girl cry.
Things had been hectic, her newfound power surprising those around her almost as much as Orux' arrival. After being sent to a few doctors after being gone for nine months, as well as a gynecologist for obvious reasons, everything slowly returned back to being somewhat normal. Or at least as close as they could be with a Demon basically living with them.
She had gone out to take a walk. Heidi was not entirely sure why she wanted to be alone, but neither her father nor her fiance stopped her.
She had much to think about; 2019 was still going and school would start again in but five weeks, setting her up for the last two years before graduation. A war was raging everywhere, one that she so desperately wanted to see end without knowing how.
"Heavy thoughts, dear? You look so droopy," a soft voice offered from nearby; looking up, Heidi found the most peculiar sight.
Someone with a figure somewhere between girl and woman, with green and blue hair that felt somehow familiar.
What was more, she had never seen this person before. Heidi did not feel threatened or anything that harsh, but there was a slight spark of confusion at the sight in front of her. Something she hardly even realised was there.
When she did not answer immediately, the woman chuckled and slid onto the bench next to her without hesitation. "Care to talk about it?"
"...no." She did not feel like being polite, but her dismissal only prompted a shrug.
"Well, that's fine. Mind if I talk to you about a few things? I have wanted to do that for a long time." The stranger put enough emphasis on the one word to make it clear something was up.
Heidi perked up a little, muscles tensing in expectation of an attack. "Do I know you?" However, her question only led to a bout of musical laughter; the woman closed her eyes and laughed freely, gathering exactly no looks as Heidi suddenly realised there was no one but them here.
"Of course you do, Adelheid. Or Defiance, whichever you prefer." The mention of her Magical Girl persona, which this woman should have no business knowing, almost made Heidi transform. The wink the stranger shot her gave her pause, though. "You've known me all your life. I have always been here, and I always will be."
It took a moment for Heidi to process this; the final realisation only came when the woman next to her audibly tapped a foot against the solid ground below.
Time traveler she was, realising just who sat next to her made Heidi take a deep breath to collect herself.
"Gaia."
It was not a question, they both knew it to be true. Gaia, the deity that was Earth. Embodying the entire planet, she had sculpted all life on it and continued to tend to every being in her biosphere. A goddess had come to speak with her, taking a human-looking avatar for ease of conversation.
Gaia only smiled before gently putting a hand on Heidi's shoulder. "Not to worry, you aren't in trouble. I only just found some time to actually talk to you after so long." Seeing and knowing that her statement confused the girl, she squeezed lightly and continued: "You have to know, for a million years I didn't have all the pieces to this puzzle you threw at me. Suddenly I notice one of mine outside of my domain and there you are, long before my humans even were."
She chuckled over the dumbfounded expression on Heidi's face, courtesy of realising that Gaia had been watching her entire journey. "It was an interesting exercise, trying to piece together what was going on; I knew you time-traveled from a later point, but not from when or what was going on then. Some impressions I got, but not the whole picture." Gaia gleefully motioned with her hands at this point, rather more enthusiastic than Heidi had expected her to be.
"You gave me more pieces as time went on, though not necessarily in the right order," the deity continued with a smile. "But it was fun to figure this out, and now... now I have the last pieces. It all started and ended two weeks ago." She looked around. "I pulled a few subtle strings to get you here and alone because it feels like we should have that talk. Nobody told you yet, did they?"
When seeing and knowing the child's confusion, Gaia's smile turning from mischievous to motherly, exuding warmth as her hand wandered to the top of the girl's head. "Good work, Heidi. You did great."
These few words made all resistance crumble; the returned time traveler relaxed into Gaia's touch, only to soon be pulled into an embrace that she also melted into. It was true that nobody had actually praised her; everyone was glad she was back, awestruck about her exploits and so on, but nobody actually praised her for having done well. So she just enjoyed the deceptive warmth of Gaia's magical body and rubbed a few tears out of her eyes.
"It's fine," Gaia cooed. "I won't lie and say I understand, but it's fine. You did good, and you will do better." She giggled, stroking Heidi's back while speaking softly to the girl: "If you were in a different headspace, I'd offer you to become one of my WEAPONs in a heartbeat. You won't take it, I know. Getting to revive after being killed is a neat boon, but you're not the type to do whatever I tell you to."
"Yeah...." Heidi did not know what else to say; Gaia already knew everything about her anyway. Having the Will Of The Earth present however, she considered asking a question that had been on her mind ever since first hearing about Gaia and her WEAPONs. Before she could however, the planet already answered: "Yes, they call me mother. You can call me that too, if you want. In a way, I am."
Heidi considered, but slowly shook her head in the end; she only had one actual mother and calling anyone else that felt wrong.
Gaia did not mind. She did, however, chuckle. "Heh, I guess? But... I think you deserve at least a little reward, so how about this? It's been about ten years and I got to her soul recently. All cleaned up and ready to be reincarnated, but... I think I'll wait." The explanation only gathered a confused noise, which prompted Gaia to actually spell it out: "Your mother. I do have about a ten-year buffer of souls waiting for reincarnation, and all human souls are mine. But I won't reincarnate her just yet."
She rubbed Heidi's back one last time and let go with a gentle smile. "Once you decide to have your first child, I will let her reincarnate. You shall have her back; she will not remember having been your mother, but it will be her soul."
Heidi could only stare at the avatar of god, flabbergasted. Once she actually processed what Gaia had said, she felt her eyes begin to sting and water, but did nothing to stop it. Then she hugged her, this time out of her own volition.
No words were spoken, but Gaia knew of her gratitude nonetheless. She only smiled and let the girl cry.
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
Honestly this is still just... weird to me.
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
It's a bit hard to explain Gaia for this scene but... if you actually take into account a number of surprisingly small details that are scattered across all the different threads and on the Discord the picture should assemble itself.
To start with, as pointed out in this Epilogue, Gaia is connected to all Humans. She is capable of seeing through their eyes, and hearing through their ears, and learning through their minds. It's intimate in a way that's really hard to describe in so many words without going into sappy poetry. Now, under normal circumstances this leads to her not being as connected to individual humans as she is to large groups. An individual could die and she could care less, but if a thousand died she'd be upset.
Heidi though is a special case. A very special case.
I've stated before that before Humanity, Gaia's Weapon was her Dinosaurs... but they went extinct near sixty five million years ago. That means, if you pause and think about it, Gaia didn't have a weapon in that intervening time. She was deaf. She was blind. She was defenseless.
... And then suddenly out of the clear blue, that blind Goddess could suddenly see. And more than that, she could see something that wasn't her surface. Even if it was only for a minute, she had something she could rely on. After millions of years of having nothing.
And then... in the million years to come, that same spark of light that had banished the darkness would return.
And then again.
And again.
A sacred spark of light that she had unknowingly flung into the past in order to light her way towards the future.
A thousand individual humans mean nothing to Gaia... but that spark of light that had lead her away from the darkness of despair that first dragon had drowned her in? That, to Gaia, is something else entirely.
- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm guessing that that is also the reason why humanity knew about Sheol, Heaven, Hell and the Valkyries.
Gaia nudged human religions to take concepts she learned from Heidi's adventures, if that is somehow possible.
Gaia nudged human religions to take concepts she learned from Heidi's adventures, if that is somehow possible.
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
It's more angels, demons, and other things falling into the dead zone and influencing humanity.
What little they could do before they ran out of battery huh?
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
I like the idea there but uh... It doesn't work, logistically?
PO operates on a scale of thousands of years, not millions. Heidi would definitely be notable for being anywhere else, but she wouldn't be literally the first thing Gaia saw for millions of years.
Especially because, y'know, she's not actually deaf and blind without an active weapon to see through? The idea that she would be is kinda silly, tbh, given that she sees everything on her surface at all times.
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Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
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... And I know she's not "deaf and blind". It's called paraphrasing via comparison if that rings any bells.
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
Wording accuracy is kinda important when talking about the thing that is the core pillar of your justification for something.