Peril's Origin - A Magical Girl Quest [Complete]

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Plan

[] Plan Decision Paralysis
-[] Start out cautious. Try to deflect its attacks, especially the spell.
-[] Pair single Stygian Tempest attacks with as many Aethyric Tide attacks as possible.
-[] Try to find out what its defenses do.
-[] Seal Reaper's Will if necessary.
-[] Once you have an idea of how its defenses work, try this if you think it will work:
--[] Voyage away to another time.
--[] Cast Conundrum while away. Might as well.
--[] Seal Reaper's Will if you haven't yet. If sure this will work, also seal Aethyric Tide.
--[] Charge Stardust Striker as much as you can. (Or several minutes if no limit presents itself.)
--[] Voyage back to a moment after you left.
--[] Strike, pairing it with Stygian Tempest to help break through its defenses.
--[] Modify if necessary to pierce defenses.

(Foldropha takes 3,000 damage
Foldropha Health: 1,206,602 - 3,000 = 1,203,602
Leviathan: Foldropha's Base Resilience increases; 500 x 3,000 = 1,500,000)

You move instantaneously, darting off toward the towering beast. The distance is too far to land the first strike, but you just focus on the sweeping paw instead and push yourself off the ground. While you jump however, Gabriel's light burns the Dragon all over. Then its scales flash, gathering mana and brimming with power.

Its paw passes by below your feet by instants and you kick off of it for good measure, weapon switching to scythe form just in case. You grin up at the titan's beady eyes where it tries to backpedal, shockwave of its strike still ravaging the brittle ground below.

So you slam the tip of your scythe into its snout and tear through, then switch to Aetheric Tide in one fluid motion, managing to stab it a few times before the scythe's influence wears off and the scales grow thicker to close the small wound. The remaining strikes fail to even scratch the surface and your momentum soon carries you against its head, where you push off and backward to behold your work.

(Stygian Tempest: +595 Base Damage, +434 dice, +396 Horrific Speed Gap = 1,425 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +1280 Base Damage, +503 dice, +853 Horrific Speed Gap = 2,636 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +1280 Base Damage, +503 dice, +853 Horrific Speed Gap = 2,636 Total Damage
Remaining strikes ineffective by Sudden Death running out

6,697 Unified Damage
Unstoppable negated by Unbreakable Scales Sudden Death
Foldropha: +500 Base Resilience, no dice, -100 Up Close And Personal = 400 Total Damage Reduction Unstoppable

6,697 Final End Damage
Foldropha Health: 1,203,602 - 6,697 = 1,196,905

Leviathan: Foldropha's Base Resilience increases; 1,500,000 x 6,697 = 10,045,500,000)

What looked like reactive growth is much more than that. The Dragon's scales brim with power as if in direct response to your assault. Your scythe barely penetrated and needed all of its traits to do so, your spear bounced off without a scratch when the first break was countered, and what damage you did immediately led to a powerful burst of magic in every single scale.

You notice Gabriel from the corner of your eye, a beacon of light that gets into position above the creature that breathes in deeply. Mana surges up its throat and you ready yourself, wrapping your spear into quickly expressed mana. It exhales rainbow light buzzing like a swarm of angry hornets, attempting to drown you in its devastating power.

(Feeble Wave: +200000 Base Damage, no dice = 200,000 Total Damage

Attack negated)

It hits you mid-air, but that does not matter. As if you were playing baseball, you smash your weapon's head into the stream's front and have it slide along the path your magic made, giving it a right-angled turn to the side that disintegrates half of the field.

At the same time, you feel something horrible in the wave just passing through. It screams at you, buzzes, sizzles, rattles, hisses. You feel like drowning even just from being in close proximity, completely free of its influence. One strand even reaches out for you, the most horrific of it all, but it is washed away with the rest.

You continue your descent while Gabriel makes her presence known.

(

Spoiler: Gabriel go whoosh

Blade of Salvation: +4000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +2000 Blender Initiated = 6,000 Total Damage
(opposing Resilience too great, weapon breaks; no longer relevant after third strike because weapon extension conveys whole damage)
Blade of Salvation: +4000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +8000 Blender Ongoing = 12,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +8000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +16000 Blender Full-Swing = 24,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +32000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +96000 Unstoppable Blender = 128,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +64000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +192000 Unstoppable Blender = 256,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +128000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +384000 Unstoppable Blender = 512,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +256000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +768000 Unstoppable Blender = 1,024,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +512000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +1536000 Unstoppable Blender = 2,048,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +1024000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +3072000 Unstoppable Blender = 4,096,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +2048000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +6144000 Unstoppable Blender = 8,192,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +4096000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +12288000 Unstoppable Blender = 16,384,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +8192000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +24576000 Unstoppable Blender = 32,768,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +16384000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +49152000 Unstoppable Blender = 65,536,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +32768000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +98304000 Unstoppable Blender = 131,072,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +65536000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +196608000 Unstoppable Blender = 262,144,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +131072000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +393216000 Unstoppable Blender = 524,288,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +262144000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +786432000 Unstoppable Blender = 1,048,576,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +524288000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +1048576000 Blender Full-Swing = 1,572,864,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +1048576000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +1048576000 Blender Ongoing = 2,097,152,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +2097152000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +1048576000 Blender Initiated = 3,145,728,000 Total Damage

8,912,810,000 Unified Damage
Unstoppabble negated by Unbreakable Scales.
Foldropha: +10045500000 Base Resilience, no dice = 10,045,500,000 Total Damage Reduction

Attack Ineffective.
Do you even lift?)

Her first swing breaks the sword as it seems to try breaking through those scales with brute force, bringing Gabriel slightly off-course, but she can self-correct with how big her target is. The second and third hammer into its back just as ineffectively, but by then the blade of light you know so well has grown enough to take over.

Again and again you watch her strike down onto the Dragon who begins to growl and shake while shockwaves of the impacts tear holes into the ground. You lose count around ten and Gabriel's blade continues to grow with each swing but still fails to so much as dent the beast.

You throw your spear to redirect a paw thrown her way to interrupt the rain of blows coming down from above, being able to do little else. The ground shakes and crumbles from the shockwaves by the time you land, quickly rolling backward and recalling Aetheric Tide to your hand when you see Gabriel scatter away from another swat.

Her entire attack run did... nothing. Nothing. Enough force to kill you a million times over and this monster has not so much as a scratch.

Gabriel seems to share your feelings, seeing how she makes a sharp turn and comes back to strike again. The Dragon flaps its wings and pushes off, out of your reach. You call for Argent Star, but the five spheres are nowhere near fast enough to impact before the super long lightblade comes back.

(Blade of Salvation: +4194303000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +2097152000 Blender Initiated = 6,291,456,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +8388608000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +8388608000 Blender Ongoing = 16,777,216,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +16777216000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +16777216000 Blender Ongoing = 33,554,432,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +33554432000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +33554432000 Blender Ongoing = 67,108,864,000 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +67108864000 Base Damage, ignoring dice, +67108864000 Blender Ongoing = 134,217,728,000 Total Damage

(there would be five more, but this is enough to count)

253,949,696,000 Unified Damage
Unstoppabble negated by Unbreakable Scales.
Foldropha: +10045500000 Base Resilience, no dice = 10,045,500,000 Total Damage Reduction

243,904,196,000 Total End Damage
Draconic Vitality Excess: Damage is past threshold of 723,961! Lowering damage!

723,961 Final End Damage
Foldropha Health: 1,196,905 - 723,961 = 472,944
Leviathan: Foldropha's Base Resilience increases; 10,045,500,000 x 723,961 = 7,272,550,225,500,000

Misplaced attack cuts Sheol in two.)

This time she gets through almost immediately, though the Dragon's scales still refuse to break. They dent to an almost comical degree while Gabriel pummels her near-helpless victim... but then mana seeps from within, making her next strike slide off as well as the return afterward. The monster cries a challenge at her and turns sideway from where it is trying to gain height, and you see it a moment too late. How its head is angled and the seeping shield still in place, making Gabriel's blade slide off at an angle and straight to the ground.

You raise your spear and throw, but it simply pings off the swinging blade. Gabriel does not even act until it already slammed into the ground and cut inside, now propelled by its own self-imparting momentum.

She tries to slow herself and pull back, but it is too little, too late. The swing continues straight down and then completes.

Sheol shudders below you as the planet seems to only belatedly realise what just happened. The two halves begin to shake and drift apart from each other, mana swirling in disarray. The Dragon rises higher, away from you, while both you and Gabriel ignore it in favour of looking at what you just did.

Titanic groans can be heard, the noise of stone crushing on stone, something bubbling, you do not dare looking into the growing rift. She cut the entire planet in two halves, something that should not have happened. You are too horrified to consider the ramifications right now.

It sounds as if something tears and everything around you, some kind of layer over reality, twists before-

. . .
Failure States: 2 -----> 3
Gabriel Destroyed a Planet
Resetting Scene
. . .​

And the creature before you, perhaps for the first time in its life, rears back and breaks eye contact. Seeing this, you slowly relax your gritted teeth and begin to smirk. Where Gabriel beside you resists and takes to the air, your own self reaches out to the swirling vortex and plugs it shut!

Before, you were worried and maybe even sad about having to do this. But now? Now this is personal.

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

[] Time for a plan
-[] Fight defensive and let Gabriel do the attacking
-[] Switch out with Gabriel, both acting on offense and defense
-[] Screw that noise and hit it in the face!
-[] You have another idea (write-in)


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

=====​

Current Status:
-Gabriel: 360,000 / 360,000, in the air
-Defiance: 900 / 900, pissed

-Foldropha: 1,206,602 / 1,206,602, momentarily scared


Active Effects:
-Presence of Light: Heidi and Gabriel regain 3,000 Health each turn, Foldropha takes 3,000 damage each turn
-Overwhelming Presence: Foldropha's Magic Modifier is set to 0

-Draconic Regeneration: Foldropha regains 25% 10% Health each turn
-Draconic Presence: Affinities aligned with Foldropha's can not affect her, all others are reduced in power by 50%
Fuck you.


Objectives:
-Kill Foldropha

=====​

+5xp You Wondered Whether You Need Gabriel So Much That You Forgot To Consider If You Should Bring Her

EXP gained: 5
Total EXP: 610

=====​

Foldropha

​

Stats

Health: 1,206,602
Base Damage: Current Health
Base Resilience: 500
Magic Modifier: Current Health

Affinity: Dragon | Strength | Bulwark

Weapon

Dragon Claws
Level 20
Attacks Per Turn: 5
Affinities: Strength
Ability: Collateral Damage | Knockback | ???

Spells

Feeble Wave
Level 20
Base Damage: 200,000
Magic Modifier: 500,000
Affinity: Dragon | Strength
Ability: Auto Max Charge | Total Armor Destruction | Curse | Stun | Vertigo | Terror | Dazzle | Confusion | Ability Negation | Spellbook Lockdown | Negative Space

Abilities

Unbreakable Scales
-Armour-piercing or -reducing Abilities have no effect when used against Foldropha.

Draconic Vitality Excess
-If Total End Damage is higher than 60% of Foldropha's maximum Health, Final End Damage is set to 60% of her maximum Health.

Flight
Level ???
-Foldropha may fly at up to ???mph.

Leviathan
-Each time Foldropha takes damage, her Base Resilience is multiplied with the amount of Health lost.

Mana Typhoon
-Every time one of Foldropha's stats changes, her full Magic Modifier is dealt to every opponent as damage.

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Plan

[X] Image of Gaia's Ultimate Weapon: Origin of Stardust Mountain Sect
-[x] Tell Gabriel you're going to nuke it but need time to charge, once she confirms, Voyage away.
--[x] Go full xixania, land yourself at the peak of a mountain somewhere a few thousand years distant. Maybe start a religion with this shit.
---[x] Whip out Stardust Striker, and start charging.
----[x] think you've charged it enough to one shot the dragon? That's nice, now keep charging.
-----[x] While charging maybe sing the German National Anthem or something. Totally up to you. Just keep charging.
------[x] Alright, whats your state? Almost out of transformation time? Or has your charging reached the point you can feel the power slipping from your ability to control it? Has either of these been met? No? Keep charging, come back when you've met one of these. Maybe both if you're lucky. Just make sure you don't blow yourself up or something equally stupid.
-------[x] Once the above has been satisfied, take a deep breath and voyage your happy ass back to the fight. Preferably shortly after you left or something, doesn't really matter so long as you haven't been gone too long relatively.
--------[X] SHOW THE DRAGON WHY THE LDC IS WHERE THEY COME TO DIE.
---------[x] Optional: shout a cheesy oneliner while you're firing your laser ("Witness me!")

(Foldropha takes 3,000 damage
Foldropha Health: 1,206,602 - 3,000 = 1,203,602
Leviathan: Foldropha's Base Resilience increases; 500 x 3,000 = 1,500,000)

The plan you first thought of evaporates under an idea. A way to get this thing deader than dead for sure, with minimum risk. Crushing it like a bug. You like that, it deserves this.

In the moment you take to think and grin, Gabriel's light burns the Dragon all over. Its scales flash, gathering mana and brimming with power in response. Not good. You can not have that. "Gabriel! I'm going to hit the entire area, take some distance and stop your auras, they make it stronger!"

She was already a bit away to get around the creature, but hears you and turns back with a light frown. There is no talking back, though; she redirects her thrust and retreats, her light receding from the area while your opponent snapped out of its funk.

Then your sense pings and you leap to the side as it darts through the space between you in an instant, almost crushing you under its paw. The entire area lights up as mana sparks from the Dragon, shifting and twisting. A haze comes from the creature itself, almost like an armour of steam where it stands. And then it strikes again, batting at you with one paw that you redirect over your head with a push of your hand and your own mana.

The air screams as it tears and a hindleg stomps onto the ground that shatters, It roils like the sea from the impact and explodeds outward where you stand, propelling you far into the air. A quick glance to the side tells you Gabriel is still too close.

Looking back down, you find the monster's jaw opening and mana flowing into its throat, ready to unleash a rainbow of light. You arrest Aetheric Tide's momentum, then hold it steady while swinging yourself around it. Upon letting go of its position, you throw yourself out of the debilitating stream's way; it screeches and howls at you even from a distance. You shiver and glance down, finding the very earth coil into streams under your opponent's will. They snake into the air slowly, wind around the Dragon's side, and then snap outward to strike at you, chock-full of mana and accompanied by grinding noises part physical part magical.

You push yourself aside again to dodge the first and then place a foot on it, only for the stream to lose coherence and crumble away before you can push off properly, but the others go wide either way, not accounting for your movements.

The Dragon rears back on all fours and screams a challenge at you as you fall, its power amplifying the sound and making it echo all around you in an eardrum-shattering cacophony. Only your magical enhancement saved you from that, for now. You have no time.

Another glance to Gabriel, she is almost far enough.

Now that you have a moment, you realise that everything this Dragon does right now is... odd. Too fast. The scream was higher-pitched than its initial noises, its movements are so fast in a different way to others you saw. Wait, if they can dictate rules of reality, does that include time? You hope not. It already treats solid ground like water and has it act at its will, though.

The Dragon snarls and makes a giant leap the moment you are deep enough to be caught in its jaws; you see it coming but it still happens so fast you have almost no time to react. One moment it is fifty metres distant, a blur later it is right in front of you opening up wide. Your grip on Aetheric Tide tightens and you use it to push down a little, plant your heel on one of its teeth, and brace yourself to push back the moment its jaws start to snap shut.

You fall to the ground and roll off while the creature draws a metres-long crater where it lands, turning around with the grace of a cat despite its bulky form. It growls and folds its wings more tightly, then surges forward again but rears up right in front of you to swish you away with another sweep. You can barely redirect over your head the same way as before... only for the other paw to come down on top of you. Good idea, bad execution.

Using the momentary burst of speed from the previous parry to your advantage, you dart forward at the Dragon's hindlegs. It tries to adjust but has to push against its own frontleg to do so, conveniently in the way from the attempted sweep. A hammer blow hits the ground and you feel a ping from something coming up below. Eyes widening, you jump off the crumbly earth a moment before a sharp spike of ebony penetrates the space where you just were.

One last glance to Gabriel, she is far enough. That will have to do, so you aim quickly, your first thoughts going from Gabriel to Reluxus. "Voyage!" And off you are, through a moment of eternity.

The place you land is rather nondescript, far up a mountain that is surrounded by lush forests and plains. It is cold and a little difficult to breathe, but you make do, dropping to the ground and taking slow, steady breaths. "Whew."

Now that you are out of its zone of influence, you realise that this Dragon is a difficult one. Just fighting for a few seconds already put you on the backfoot, you could not even land a hit with how fast it came after you. Tag-teaming it with Gabriel might have worked, but it would have taken a long time to get anywhere.

Deep breaths. In. And out.

You open your eyes to look around, finding a somewhat even space a few dozen metres wide. It will do, though you are close to the summit. Not that it matters too much if anyone sees you... you hope. But there should be no Angels on Reluxus at this point in time, and you doubt any Elf could scale this mountain on foot in less than a day.

Off to plan, then. You will need to spend a long time charging up Stardust Striker, hunger and thirst you can deal with but you might get sleepy and have your grasp slip. Perhaps a nap first? No, you can do it without. How do you measure the time? You have a rough estimate for your maximum transformation time, so you can draw up an array to serve as a stopwatch.

Doing that takes an entire hour, though. Once you are done, you feel some weariness set in from the fact you only got less than half a night of sleep. So instead of getting to it immediately, you hunt yourself something to eat and as rations for the charging process, find some water, and have that nap after all. Your new stopwatch wakes you after five hours, just like you gave it as input in the specific field.

Even now, it feels weird to have time to spend, all the time, but you have to get used to it. There is no rush, and doing this less than as best as you can might get you killed.

With everything ready, you take a deep breath, all the while grateful for the fact that magic helps make up for the lower level of oxygen this far up the mountain. Then you detransform and rewrite the five hours into fifteen. If you can hold it that long, you will charge up your strike for that much time. You could take longer, but you do not know the exact maximum you have and it is always good to have some left just in case.

Shuddering in the cold breeze, you quickly transform again and bring out Stardust Striker, then tap the activation glyph while also pumping mana into the blade. It immediately starts to shine gently.

What follows is... a really boring time, filled with sitting, standing, walking around a little, passing the hours with nothing to do. The gentle light from the start is already an intensive gleam after the first few minutes and you can see mana roiling steadily along your blade. It continues flowing in like a river from your core, birthed by an endless spring.

After the first hour, your blade can no longer hold all the mana within and it starts to trickle around it, forming hair-like tendrils that grasp at the surroundings before falling back into the main mass.

You have to stop doing much of anything else without a lot of strain around the second hour, where keeping all the mana held becomes actually difficult. The grasp of your mind is firm thanks to Lu's instructions, though. An ethereal muscle trained through rigorous practice with other powers over the months.

Around the fifth hour, you have to turn off your magic sight so it does not blind you. Even without, an almost emerald glow turns the night to day where you are, a beacon for all in the land to see.

At the eighth hour, some time before sunrise, you can no longer see the moon with how bright everything is around you. Mana rolls over your arm in waves of agitation and calm respectively, first one and then the other in endless repetition as the blade's calming property works. You have to grit your teeth or bite your tongue sometimes to stay focussed.

At the twelfth hour, you no longer need to push yourself to focus. It strains against your control in a way that is very clear to your senses and keeps you alert. The sky is covered by clouds as if it wished to tell you something, but thankfully no rain falls.

Close before the fifteenth hour completes, you step toward the edge of your little plateau and, thanks to your enhanced eyes, notice small figures in the distance. Many of them, at that. Elves. They are all looking your way, which you guess makes sense. A glance at the blade in your hands shows that it shines like an emerald sun now, not truly pulsing but humming with held back power. It has the form of a somewhat bloated blade, giving Stardust Striker twice its original size for the moment.

Thinking for a moment, as best as your efforts to keep the charged mana contained allow, you decide to throw secrecy to the wind and step up, raising your sword above your head. Your array goes off and tells you it is time, but you stay for a little longer. Let the sword-shaped mass of mana illuminate the day as if these Elves' own personal sun had risen.

If you were closer, you feel you might be able to see their awed faces. It makes you snicker as you lower the blade slowly. No hasty movements now.

Holding your weapon in front of you, you turn away from focussing as best as you can, pick a time and place of arrival that takes you an entire minute to set properly with how distracted you are. Then you cast Voyage and the portal comes at you almost hesitantly, as if scared of the power in your hand.

Yet you are swallowed as always, and for a moment, a manmade sun illuminates eternity. It may be just your imagination from the last hours, but you think you spy something gigantic peering at you from eons and universes away... in both directions. The light you cast makes it visible for but a moment, then you are through.

Your presence reasserts itself where it left off for a moment, a wave of mana far below just petering out where it ravaged the area around the Dragon for at least two hundred metres in all directions. The vortex that picked up around it is plugged shut once more. It was looking between its paws, but now its head snaps up while you begin to fall and brace yourself. Your blade's shine blots out the morning sun and the monster below hesitates for the slightest moment at your sight.

You just grin and scream, unable to articulate any kind of insult, just scream while swinging your sword down and letting go.

Unleashed, light pours down from your blade and spreads as the mana is now free, expanding in the direction of your swing arc and beyond.

(Note: 54,120 charges (15 hours, 2 minutes)
Stardust Striker: +1500 Base Damage 81180000 Laser, +1828 Auto Max Charge, -32472000 Great Coverage, No Aim = 48,709,828 Total Damage
Foldropha: +1500000 Base Damage, no dice, -750000 holyshitwtf, +45678900 Bends Time And Space To Escape, +1206602 The Scales Hold Even Now, -100000 Unmatched Assault = 47,535,502 Total Damage Reduction

1,174,326 Total End Damage
Draconic Vitality Excess: Damage is past threshold of 723,961! Lowering damage! Supremacy
1,174,326 Final End Damage

Foldropha Health: 1,203,602 - 1,174,326 = 29,276)

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

You are Archangel Gabriel, and before you plays out an epic of a kind you never saw before. Your friend falls from the sky and brings with her a stream of power so great it makes you shy away on instinct.

You watch the Dragon below scramble to get away, dart forward at a speed nothing that big should have, and almost make it out of the blast range. Almost.

The gleaming wave crashes into the planet unguided, spilling in every direction and rending the face of the earth asunder. The world shakes violently and great currents pull at you as you behold the sight, see bright turquoise dig into Sheol.

But then you glimpse something small flying your way, and race forward to meet it. Her. Heidi comes barreling your way like a cannonball, her weapon lost somewhere and limbs following after her from the force; you fly backward to start matching her pace, catch her as gently as you can, and slow down so she does not break anything from a sudden impact and deceleration.

A faint giggle is all you hear while the momentary storm quiets down and the earth settles, a wave of dust still covering the area. Heidi's head lolls against your chest, eyes unfocussed. She opens her mouth to speak but only gibberish comes out. You shush her, she probably exhausted her mana reserves or something of the like.

Then you behold what is before you, and feel yourself grow cold in the pit of your stomach.

The dust has begun to settle. And right before you, reaching almost all the way to the horizon, is a crater. No, not that. A canyon, hundreds of metres deep and at least as wide. From where you are, you can see the very vague shape of a slash wave like your own Judgement creates, almost completely bloated out of proportion. The canyon is many times longer than it is wide, which is your only indication for how it looked like.

Its rough center is almost circular, though. A ravine lready filling with water in places from beneath and the walls, roughly pushed to the new surface where there was once solid ground.

You held back against her last time. Apparently, she did too.

Suddenly, you are very glad she is your friend.

You are torn from your horrified reverie when a small hand weakly bats your shoulder, and turn back to Heidi; she is more focussed now, peering down. "It's not over yet," she mutters quietly.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

You are Defiance, Adelheidi, um, whatever. Your head is still whoozy from the rush and you are not sure you can stand, you feel weak like never before. But Gabriel holds you and that is enough.

That giant crater is a bit of an oopsie, but Elisabeth will understand why it had to be. You are more concerned about the zone of intense light right at the edge of it; residue mana colours most of the area in your turquoise, but this part is still carrying all colours of the rainbow. That beast survived, it is down there in a smaller crater.

"I'm not going to bring you anywhere near it in your condition," Gabriel immediately refuses the silent assumption. She does not sound happy. "We are going to have words about straining yourself like that, and destroying so much land for no reason."

You glance at her again and focus, force your arms and legs to obey, then poke her belly with your elbow. "Come on, no time." You pause to gather yourself, voice still weak. Your tongue feels weird, almost like under anaesthetics. It will come back in time. "Fly me closer, I wanna hit it wish my shord!" Well, good enough.

Gabriel narrows her eyes down at you and you narrow yours in turn, then poke her cheek. "Come on, do it. I'm, wa-walking if you don't." And you will. Even with everything, this beast is still alive and you want to put it down.

She sighs and shakes her head weakly, but speaks before you can argue: "Very well, but we retreat immediately if it is not on the verge of death." You nod, but think you will not retreat either way. It can not have that much fight left in it.

So Gabriel flies you over the area quietly, gaze going to various places of what you just did while you recall your weapon from wherever it fell. Now you have more reasons not to use that outside of absolute emergencies. Like a Dragon. But even still, this is not safe near any of your allies or their things. If the base had been intact before you did this, it would be erased from the map now anyway.

You land a minute later and peer into the crater... at a sorry sight.

The Dragon lies flat on its belly, panting heavily. It is a lot wider than before, scales unbroken still. Purple blood flows out its nose and mouth and even eyes, the entire body having been pressed flat. Its wings are cracked in various directions, beating feebly against the ground while sparks of mana rush into the space under its control without affecting anything.

Your presence makes the creature still, then slowly turns its blood-covered face your way.

Looking at it...

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

[] You put it out of its misery. This fight is over, time to end it.

[] You leave it be. It lost and knows that, too.


No write-ins, no EXP votes

=====​

Current Status:
-Gabriel: 360,000 / 360,000, worried
-Defiance: 900 / 900, whoozy but capable to keep going

-Foldropha: 29,276 / 1,206,602
--unable to do fine World Sphere manipulations due to overstraining her control, major internal bleeding and deformations; effectively loses as much Health as she regenerates each turn until the bleedings are healed away

=====​

+10xp Survived A Turn Against A Dragon
+25xp Served As The Inspiration For A Sect
+5xp Nearly Gave Chronos a Stroke
+250xp Rearranged the Landscape
+1500xp Ended The Fight in One Strike

EXP gained: 1,790
Total EXP: 2,400

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] You put it out of its misery. This fight is over, time to end it.

You find that this is not as pleasing a sight as you expected. The opposite, really.

Seeing something that was so imposing and powerful earlier be reduced to such a pitiful sight makes you feel sympathy. The Dragon weakly bats at the ground, but fails to lift itself. Its eyes never leave the two of you.

You know what to do. The fight is over, it only needs to be ended properly.

A first step is taken from Gabriel's side and you almost fall to the ground with how wobbly you are. Your knees buckle and bend, your entire being aching from the strain of that charged strike. A quiet "Careful!" predates her hands steadying you, but you push her off and force yourself to take another step. Gritting your teeth, you keep yourself as steady as possible, step by step.

"I need to, urgh, to do shish." That is all you tell your friend, who still follows you and berates you for being stupid.

Ignoring Gabriel's protest, you push yourself to your shaking legs, hop down into the crater, and march toward the beaten creature without hesitation. You have to force every step, but your will sends you forward while it weakly tries to scramble back and fails. Your arm feels like lead when you raise it, free hand open and reaching for the juggernaut's head.

It shudders in expectation, but then stills when you do nothing beyond gently stroking its scaly nose. "It's okay," you tell it quietly, softly. "It's okay."

You doubt it understands you, but perhaps your tone can give it some comfort despite the pain. Gabriel ceases her complaints, but you do not have the energy to look back and read her face for the reason. One mental command takes seconds, but then Reaper's Will's quiet buzz fills the air. It should do the trick, or so you hope. You want it to be quick.

Focussing on the right movements is difficult, your body does not want to obey at first. You keep stroking the Dragon's snout, well aware that it is watching you. Its body gleams to your eyes, scales filled to the brim with power.

But your lightsaber was always best at piercing defenses like these. The hand holding it slowly rises and after a moment of shakily keeping it up, you almost drop it. You need to grit your teeth again, bite your tongue almost painfully to get your hazy mind to focus. You are not done yet, time for rest is later.

Taking a deep breath, you draw your arm back and aim for the thinnest part of its neck, just behind the head. One step closer, two, and your free hand never leaves its scales, both steadying yourself and trying to soothe the Dragon.

Offering it a last smile, you pat its head one last time. "Good night. Arcane Shlash." Your blade swings before the words have left your mouth fully.

(Reaper's Will: +500 Base Damage, +924 dice, +3750 Superslayer, +1200 Arcane Slash, +194 dice, -300 Exhausted = 6,268 Total Damage

Echo: 1; No Echo
Trans Smasher interrupts healing property.
Superslayer interrupts Resilience-augment.

Foldropha: 176148900000000 500 Base Resilience, no dice, -50000 Neck Strike = 49,500 Extra Damage

55,768 Final End Damage
Foldropha Health: 29,276 - 55,768 = -27,508)

Magic snaps out and carries your weapon into the creature's neck, even allowing you to pull down somewhat. Its scales give in to your lightsaber easily, being penetrated and separated. It is over in an instant, clean even. The head drops to the ground with a crunch, eyes unseeing forevermore.

You dismiss your weapon a moment before it would have fallen out of your hand, let your arm drop down, and sigh. Your left knee gives out and makes you stumble sideways, only barely caught by Gabriel.

You are not happy you had to do this. You are sick of having to kill. Maybe you could have been merciful here, but letting it go would have been incredibly dangerous. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Head turning to Gabriel, you offer a tired smile. "I'm shtar-starting to get why this ish so hard. Where you've gotto kill 'em or risk 'em comin back." Your speech is still slurry and you just can not get it to normalise, but at least she understands what you are saying. A hand gently steadies your head and she pulls you up so you do not have to stand on your own anymore.

"Yes, I considered mercy as well. It is sad when we have the choice but need to disregard it for the safety of our own. Perhaps it is for the best that you leave soon, I do not wish you to grow used to being disappointed."

You just huff out a laugh and put your arms around her as best as you can, then focus. "Need to get you home. Didn't take as long as I thought."

She huffs in return and frowns at you a little bit. "Perhaps if I had been an actual participant instead of just a witness. You won this battle on your own, friend."

"Nah, I-" "Shush."

You shut up, a little dumbfounded at the stern tone she takes. "This was all you. You are going to take both the praise and the blame, for destroying a Dragon single-handedly and for creating a new landmark in the process." Then she pokes your forehead, rudely abusing your inability to get back at her. "I am already on enough of a pedestal, anyway. Maybe we can complain at each other about peoples' expectations in the future. I will spread the word of the events that unfolded today."

"...fuck you."

You can not get yourself to scowl at her, unsure whether your current state or the bright laughter spilling from your friend is responsible.

Sighing softly, you push yourself to focus and cast Voyage, aiming for Valhalla. A moment later, you land on a big plain of trampled forest; the staging ground you yourself brought onto UD-control for a time. Saplings are already breaking through the remnant ashes everywhere and a few Valkyries patrol overhead, but stay away even after seeing you.

You are set down and stumble a little, but steady yourself for the return trip. A smile is given to Gabriel, who nods back and clasps your hand in her own. "I am grateful you brought me either way. Until next time, friend."

"Yeah, until then." She lets go and you step back, focus, focus, think, imagine, and cast.

The sight of Gabriel is replaced with Charon's Keep, still in disrepair but at least cleaned up. It is not even morning yet. You almost stumble on your first step, but push through. Your presence washes over the area and announces your return to those who see. Thanking whoever for the runes and their fast travel, you slowly wander over to the next one, one foot in front of the other, and go straight to your room from the closest rune in the spire.

Which is where Elisabeth awaits you, of course. As does Orux. You offer both of them a grin and detransform, only now remembering that you did not put on clothes before leaving earlier; forgot it again over the many hours of charging up. Well, no matter. Your bed tempts you.

"Did the thing. Sorry for the, the crater." Anything Elisabeth might say is ignored as you flop onto the bed. "Life sucks. You think I can, uh, get drunk once I wake up?"

Your mind starts going in circles and you feel big hands picking you up before gently tucking you in; everything fades and is gone by the time you start to be warm again.

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

Switch perspective:

[] Maya

[] Lucifer

[] Elisabeth

[] Write-in


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

=====​

+10xp No Winning Move
+1000xp Killed a Dragon

EXP gained: 1,010
Total EXP: 3,410

=====​

Spell Upgrade

Arcane Slash gains the Dragonslayer-Ability. (+500% damage against opponents holding the Dragon Affinity, and punches through any of their defenses tied to the same)

Arcane Slash
Level 8
Base Damage: 1,200
Magic Modifier: 200
Affinity: Story Maker
Ability: Unblockable | Echo | Trans Smasher | Dragonslayer

(In special circumstances, weapons or spells can obtain Slayer-type Abilities through killing a sufficient number of enemies of a specific type. Note that this usually requires to kill nothing but that specific type of enemy in sequence with a given weapon or spell until the Slayer is obtained.

Killing members of a specific species may grant a weaker Slayer that applies to all of them, while focussing on holders of a specific Affinity grants one of the regular Slayer Abilities which are stronger but more narrow in their applicability. Dragonslayer is an odd case because all Dragons carry Dragon as their first Affinity.

The number of enemies required to unlock the Slayer varies and depends on how many beings of that kind exist, as well as how powerful they are. Elfslayer or Demonslayer require far more kills than Humanslayer or Fairyslayer.

Magical Girls usually obtain such Slayers faster than other beings. In this particular case, had Gabriel been the one to deliver the coup de grace, she would not have gained Dragonslayer.)

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Chronos

[EXASPERATION]​

It is a familiar sensation, especially in these last few years. Aside from recruiting your three harbingers, which took a small load off of your shoulders, or so the human saying goes. The Clockwork Dames are working adequately and to the best of their capacity. Holding onto three of the small number capable of marching against the Goetia is helpful.

Yet, even as you oversee all that is for offenders, this one small speck of [REALITY], Cosmos, is being oh so infuriating.

Humanity, Gaia's children, are not unique in the entirety of Cosmos. Assuming so would be ludicrous. What they are is an oddity in a sector of normative magic use, and one of the scarce few races capable of surviving without mana. Others like them existed before and will exist thereafter.

[RELIEF]​

Though you have to admit, it is a good thing that beings like them are rare. Their champions break many expectations of magic and push others onto the paths and mental patterns required to do the same. They are usually the only ones that bring forth individuals capable of wriggling through your lockdown on the timestream.

[WOE]​

It will take eons longer until you finally return to your original power. Grow beyond what you were reduced to in the beginning, and finally lock down all of time for good. You are [TIME], Chronos, the embodiment of time itself, and you closed yourself off from mortal hands at the start. The consequences of mortals playing with time are catastrophic more often than not. Technically, the same goes for the younger deities trying to meddle within your self, breaking what they knew needed to remain whole, and thus bringing forth Goetia.

One day, for certain, you will tear even [DREAM], Void's grasp over you away. Maybe you will allow her access still, considering that she is capable of using it responsibly, but you doubt that. Especially because she keeps throwing tantrums that you are rooting around in her darling Cosmos' chest area due to aforementioned humans.

[EXASPERATION]​

And you are back where you started. With a human that you never expected to steal power over time from right under your nose. You worried for the repercussions of her dying in a time not her own when she began, and you were right.

Though, admittedly, aside from that first death of hers which you corrected out of pity, the other two timelines you had to cut out of yourself were at least justified. Even you are familiar with Gabriel, for she, too, is one who holds the power to fight Goetia and win. One who proved it more than once over her short life. You would have liked to welcome her among divinity, had she so desired. But duty compelled her to remain among her own, and duty was what did her in.

Nonetheless, for one who only gained the bare minimum of a Magical Girl's powers, she is doing admirably. Hopefully without any more failures you need to correct, it hurts to surgically remove them from yourself and it is difficult to adjust the cut parts before something breaks.

Gabriel, and a Dragon. Were you human, or inclined to gesture with your human avatar while you think, you would shake your head. Even though she surpassed each of them on the second attempt, this is beyond reckless.

At this point, you feel that you need to bring Yomi, Amelia, and Kagome all in for this. So you pluck them from their timelines and set them up to bring this journey of hers to a close. You give them their orders and set them up outside of Magical Girl Defiance's margin.

You are time incarnate, but you need to adhere to your own rules out of necessity. With your current weakness, you can only support a single time traveler moving to any given point; it strains you for they do not belong, and not even you yourself can insert a second traveler at the same point without tearing yourself. No matter who, the force of their entry would lead to open wounds in that area, and so you repel and direct them back to the point they attempted to travel from; it is one of the few safety measures you can enforce universally. A few short years of buffer between two travelers' entry points suffice to prevent this.

As you parse forward to see what takes place between Defiance's return of the Dragon battle and their entrance, you briefly wonder what to tell Gaia. Your avatar is currently in her avatar's presence after all, in that traveler's own time. You are still unsure whether Gaia figured out your identity, as you never truly tried to hide it. She will likely tease you if she does, if her Magical Girl completes the journey.

Only upon returning home will the loop be closed, and you can go about implementing the changes into yourself. You will have to reconsider whether an easy time implementing those changes from letting her close the loop is worth any additional trouble she could-

[PAIN]​

...what? What?!

How?

If that already hurt you, what might it have done to her? Do you have to pluck the three from where they are to perform euthanasia?

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

---

Weapon Upgrade

Aetheric Tide
Level 32 -----> 33 -----> 34 -----> 35
Base Damage: 1,280 -----> 1,320 -----> 1,360 -----> 1,400
Magic Modifier: 1,590 -----> 1,605 -----> 1,620 -----> 1,635
Affinities: Interference
Ability: Slash Hell | Riposte | Vampire

New Ability unlocked: Unerring (Weapon attack does not miss unless the target actively interferes with it (e.g. negation or dodging)).

Weapon Upgrade

Reaper's Will
Level 10 -----> 11 -----> 12
Base Damage: 500 -----> 550 -----> 600
Magic Modifier: 1,635 -----> 1,650 -----> 1,665
Affinities: Defiance
Ability: Vorpal | Abrade | Superslayer

Spell Upgrade

Argent Star
Level 13 -----> 14 -----> 15 -----> 16 -----> 17 -----> 18 -----> 19 -----> 20
Base Damage: 845 -----> 910 -----> 975 -----> 1,040 -----> 1,105 -----> 1,170 -----> 1,235 -----> 1,300
Magic Modifier: 260 -----> 280 -----> 300 -----> 320 -----> 340 -----> 360 -----> 380 -----> 400
Affinity: Interference
Ability: Homing | Omni Magic | Purge | Anti-Air | Perpetual Caster

Spell Upgrade

Arcane Slash
Level 8 -----> 9 ----->10 -----> 11
Base Damage: 1,200 -----> 1,350 -----> 1,500 -----> 1,650
Magic Modifier: 200 -----> 225 -----> 250 -----> 275
Affinity: Story Maker
Ability: Unblockable | Echo | Trans Smasher | Dragonslayer

Ability Upgrade

High-Speed Combat
Level 2 -----> 3
Tracking speed: 180mph -----> 270mph

3,390 EXP spent
20 remain

---

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

You wake up feeling little better than when you went to sleep. Your eyelids almost refuse to open and your entire body feels like mush.

A weak groan makes its way out of your dry throat and you try to lift your hand, but fail. You could force it to, but that is probably what brought you into this sorry state to begin with. At least your mind is mostly clear.

Movement from the corner of your eyes draws your attention and you find Orux bustling over. He wears some kind of robe or whatever, you can not say for sure with how little light there is in the room. Or because your eyes suck right now.

"Good afternoon, dear," he greets you with a weak smile. You just groan in response and he sighs, sitting down on the ground next to your bed. "I figured something like that. Just be quiet and rest. Here." A strong hand feels under your back and pulls you up to sit, then a mug filled with cool water is held to your lips. You tip your head back to drink and immediately feel better.

"Th-gr, thank you." Your voice is still raspy, but you can speak. Orux lowers you back down and readjusts your blanket. Huh. "Since when, uh, am I dressed?" You faintly remember something different, though the last one or two minutes before falling into bed are somewhat blurry.

Your boyfriend strokes your head with calm motions while grabbing for something else you can not see. "I put you into your nightgown after you passed out. The Ashen Maiden was sympathetic and allowed me to stay with you while you recuperate. We could all guess that you will stay in this room for a while, after what you did." He pulls over a small tray with cold food in the time you need to mull that over, something mushy. "Maya brought this over earlier. Do you feel like eating?"

You just make an inarticulate noise and nod, then turn your head at Orux. "What did I do?"

He gives you a look for a moment, spoon already raised. The silence passes and he reaches over, so you dutifully open your mouth. It is mild and soothing for your throat, semi-solid like porridge, and with a milky flavour to it. Orux explains while you feeding you: "I have no idea what exactly it was, but that crater you spoke about is definitely not small. We got earthquakes even here. Several of the buildings in construction collapsed."

You mumble a sorry in-between bites, but can not say whether he heard it. If he did, he does not react, just keeps feeding you until you shake your head, belly full. Most of the food is gone now. "Alright," he concedes and puts it away. Then he takes your hand in his and strokes it gently with his thumb. "But please, do not do this again unless you have to. I hate seeing you like this."

Another sorry follows and you can not help but wallow in your misery for a moment, but there was no helping it here. Well, technically. You were kind of mad, probably in both senses. "Won't do it unless I really have to. This sucks." Then you grin back at him and squeeze his hand as best as you can, some strength returning. "At least I have such a kind man to pamper me. Maybe I should do this more often after all."

The face he makes, a mix of exasperation and resignation and a few other things, has you bark out a laugh. "Ha, don't worry. Joking." You calm yourself and smile up a little more kindly. "But you're getting a few more kisses once I can get up there again. Thank you."

"Glad to be appreciated," he gives back with a smile, his continued strokes relaxing you ever more. "You should rest now, dear. Others should be around at some point, I can wake you then."

You oblige his order and fall asleep.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

A day passes, then two, then three. You quickly regain your strength and by the third day, you are out and about again with basically no limitations. Although being bedridden for a day and barred from any strenuous activity for two more, as well as dead tired the entire time sucked enough for several weeks.

Even now, you really do not feel up to going for Milidia yet. That Angel does not seem to be leaving anytime soon, so you figure you can take a few more days to fully recover.

The fourth day is when you realise your powers grew by a decent chunk again. Meditation and some light sparring with Lu give you insight into a new capability in your spear. You are not sure how to best describe it concisely, but what it does is give you nudges somewhere between concious and subconcious for how to adjust your stance and how or where to aim. Lu threw a few pebbles and you easily struck them in mid-air, so this greatly improves your precision.

Then again, your friend also cautioned you not to rely on this too much. Even if it does the work of finding good angles and approaches for you, it is only active on Aetheric Tide and does not help against enemy action. Further testing did reveal that your strike for Lu's hand was easily deflected, with no subconcious nudge for how to get around her parry.

It is still useful enough, especially with how it works on your throws as well. You could not test that perfectly yet because you were too tired to continue and did not feel like doing much of anything the next day, but there is a definite edge in this new power.

More confusingly, that following day also has a visit from Elisabeth, who thanks you again for doing this, wishes you a swift recovery, and... told you she was preparing a gift of sorts for you, as thanks for doing this despite not having to. It probably has to do with the Imps she sent early on to take your measurements, which you heard from Orux, but she does not say even when you ask.

Now here you are, wondering what to do with the bit of time you have before going on your last mission. Another day, maybe two, but you need to take it easy still. Better not risk a relapse.

So after a nice breakfast together with Orux, you decide on what to do.

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

Pick three one:

[] Spend some more time with Orux

[] Go hiking with Paoras

[] Check what Elisabeth is working on

[] Practice
-[] Write-in what (optional)


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

=====​

+10xp A Momentuous Eon of Chronos' Thoughts

EXP gained: 10
Total EXP: 30

=====​

(Soft mechanics updated)

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] Go hiking with Paoras

"It's kind of nice to do something like this for once," you can not help but tell your friend after a longer jump. She beams back at you in response.

After some consideration, you decided to spend some time away from the Keep. For which you grabbed Paoras and started scaling Metatron's Divide. Sure, you could hop up to the top anytime you want, but it feels completely different to make the ascent the usual way. You have to look for stable passages and are limited by the angle at which the mountains continue upward. Despite her elven stretchiness, Paoras is unable to run up walls at a right angle like you do.

Paoras hums and looks around for another good climbing spot. "It's a little quiet, but I like it. Maybe I'll take Mama here someday, when I'm stronger and can protect her better."

You are not sure whether you want to say it, but she already pauses as recognition comes on its own. "Oh right, Mama can fly. Aww...."

You have to smile about her genuine disappointment, then poke her shoulder and point at a particularly stony wall, which wipes the pout off of her face.

She immediately gets to climbing and you follow after her, although you feel yourself starting to flag. Tired, despite the fresh mountain air. You are by far not high enough to get your breathing impaired by lower air pressure yet, but it still feels like you are hitting your limits.

A pebble hits your shoulder and another your hand on the same side, loosened by Paoras' ascent. She calls a quick sorry down before pulling herself over the edge. You follow her a moment later, rolling yourself further onto solid ground, and keep lying there to breathe. "Need a break," you pant softly.

"Aww, okay." She slumps down right next to you and starts playing with a few stones, using one to carve pictures into the mountain.

You leave her to it for a little while to watch the clouds. You still tire more easily, even if it gets better really quickly. Or maybe you are just unused to and bad at mountaineering, that might play a role in it. Paoras is definitely no one to compare against, as she seems to have boundless energy these days. Maya recently confessed to you that she is more energetic than all her younger siblings put together, and the only reason it did not get out of hand is that the girl already matured somewhat, and spends some of that energy looking after her brothers and sisters.

She grew tremendously since you first met her. In everything except her height, which you quietly smile about.

"It'll be lonely when you go."

There goes the smile. You blink and turn your head, to where Paoras is looking at you sadly. "I know I can't stop you, but I'll miss you a lot. You're my best friend... and my only friend, maybe. I'm not sure Lulu counts." She throws her carving stone over the edge and you can hear it bounce off further down. "Why do you have to go?"

You explained it to her before, but perhaps she is still too young too really understand time. You probably don't understand it either, despite being so connected to it.

All you can do is find words she will understand. It takes an uncomfortably long silence until you have some. "Think about it this way: my papa is waiting for me, and I miss him. I love you to bits and there are some great people here, but this place just isn't my home. If you had friends elsewhere but not your mama, would you not want to come back to her too?"

Her lack of response is telling enough, you do not need to look at her to know. "Yeah, I don't like it either. But I'm just... I don't want to fight anymore, either. I don't like having to kill others, and I have to do it more the longer I stay."

This time, Paoras' response is immediate: "That's not true! You can just say no and no one can stop you! You're the strongest on the planet!"

All you have for that is a sigh. She is right. But she knows nothing else than how it is done here, even if Maya taught her to be kinder than most Demons are. "But I don't wanna," you confide quietly. "Maybe I wouldn't care if Elisabeth wasn't also my friend, but I don't want to make her trouble. She's been really kind to me."

"...she is really nice. General Argus was, too."

And so you fall back into silence. There is no need to disagree, you both know it was the truth. Maybe those two are only nice by infernal standards, but that still counts for something. Yet Argus is dead and you feel you did not know him as well as you might have wanted to.

After some more time, Paoras nudges you with her foot, then shakes you lightly. "Are you still tired? I wanna keep going."

You still are. It has only been a few minutes and you were already climbing for two hours before that point. As you fail to react, partly out of laziness and partly to tease her, she huffs and... picks you up? "What-" "If you can't walk anymore, I'm carrying you!"

And so she does, lifting you into a clumsy princess carry. You immediately bat her shoulder. "Hold it, stop!"

"Huh?" At least she stops. You sigh and wiggle a little.

"The part where I don't want to be carried aside, I'm not secure like this. Put your arms a little further apart, left hand under my knees." The only reason you actually can instruct her about it is that Orux likes to carry you around like that; he seems to enjoy it, as he always enjoys holding you, so you let him. Paoras is significantly less good at it, which may be related to her comparably short arms. She is just so small, and her bust is not helping her with this one either; she can not get her hands under your knees properly.

After a few seconds of fidgeting and trying around, you sigh harder and tap her shoulder again. "Let me down. If you need to work off energy, you can have that." Once you stand, you point down. "To your knees."

She blinks at you, then looks down. "Are we doing this thing mama and papa did sometimes?" Despite the weird question, she does go down to her knees. "You know, with the-" "I can guess, and no."

You did not mean to answer that question at all, but you really do not want her to keep talking about this. Stupid Succubus, stupid half-Succubus.

Stepping around the other girl, you measure her height with your eyes and consider. It will be a little awkward, but possible. So you step against her from behind and hop onto her shoulders, legs locking right over her chest and pushing into it, hands grasping onto her horns for hold.

Paoras squeaks and sways for a moment, but balances herself out before she falls. "Oh, you're riding my shoulders! I like that, too!" She swerves a little while getting to her feet, thoughtful expression somewhat weird from your perch. "Maybe I should do that with the others. They can't piggyback because their legs are so long once they grow, but this works!"

What it also does is look significantly awkward, but you take it. Some rest for yourself and an outlet for your friend. Maybe it helps her not think about the upcoming goodbye, like it does for you.

Then again, the almost inaudible "I'll miss this" tells you it does not. At least you can pat her head from where you are.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

You spend some more time with your various friends, but nothing long or taxing like that hiking episode. Once the week is over, after seven days since fighting the Dragon, you even feel mostly up to normal again.

Elisabeth holds a small briefing in her office once you tell her you are ready; Lu is there as well and both of you listen as she checks her notes and explains. "What we know is that this Angel, whoever she is, remained unaffected by our Angel Slayers' powers. Specifically, her presence burned them despite their immunity to it. I could not figure out her name yet, but we confirmed her wielding two blades with great skill. I need you both for this because I do not want to risk an ambush if she can counteract Lucifer's powers as well."

She also offers a crude drawing of a blonde woman with dark wings; not as dark as Lu's, but definitely not the pristine white of most Angels. And there are four of them. You have never seen an Angel with four wings before.

What is more, she has two bony, dark horns growing out of her head. They align with each other pointing straight up, almost like a crown. Her clothes are not that remarkable, with little detail at all.

Lu grabs for the drawing almost immediately, taking it into her remaining hand that you realise is shaking slightly. She studies the visible traits for long moments, then raises her gaze from the parchment to Elisabeth. "You did well waiting. I can not say if I can defeat her. These traits match an old friend and peer of mine, but there is too little detail on her face to say for sure if it is her."

She peers down at the drawing again, then hands it to you. "If she is, then this is an ambush of some kind. I have not seen her in over a millennium."

"...and you're still going?"

The words are out before you can stop yourself, but your thoughts on the matter are obvious. If this is so likely to be a trap, triggering it is stupid. It is something you would do, and that Lu always warns you about not doing.

She just grins weakly. "I learned from you, too."

You have no response except a sigh. "Alright, fine. But before we go... she has four wings."

Elisabeth picks up on your point first, rubbing her chin while she studies Lu and her three feathery appendages. "That is a good point. You rarely see a number different from the usual two, present company excluded. I do know that the few I saw were incredibly nimble in the air."

"It is a matter of course," Lu tells you with a shrug. "I have a third wing to emit thrust into an additional direction, having four wings allows to steer even better. I heard of six wings and even a few really odd cases with eight, though they usually always come in pairs. Aside from different mobility, I am not aware of any uniform traits those Angels possess over the most common kind. Though it is a sign of prestige in certain circles that I never frequented. I cut down enough vain idiots that thought they were special because of those wings, they die all the same."

"I see." Elisabeth basically said it all. You have nothing to add, though you do wonder what kind of friend Lu might be talking about. You faintly remember her mentioning someone, but forgot the name.

Once there are no more questions, Lu nods to herself and stands; you follow her lead and give Elisabeth a thumbs up. "Don't worry, we'll be back soon."

She just leans back in her chair and smiles in return. "I am well aware. Stay safe, the both of you."

Lu actually pauses and glances back, nodding again; you are a little surprised for Elisabeth to extend the words to an Angel, but she has always been a little different from most Demons.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

Soon after, the two of you travel to one of the landing points on Milidia, closest to where that particular Angel was seen. The time you spend waiting in ambush some distance away from the base is spent hammering out a basic plan which mainly consists of striking hard and fast before playing it defensive in case your target survives.

At least, that is what you want to do. When she actually appears up high, flying close to the infernal lines without ever getting in range of their fliers, taunting them, Lu nods to herself and picks you up. "Change of plans. One strike and if she lives, I will speak with her. Call it foolish if you want, I know it is and I am still not changing my mind."

You whack her forehead in response while she takes up speed. "Fine."

With one wing wrapped around you and her hand readying her cross, you almost feel like the woman you are closing in on has no idea you are there.

(Presence of Light: Lucifer takes 6,000 damage
Lucifer Health: 39,600 - 6,000 = 33,600)

You know better when Lu hisses and burns in the light that simply bends around her darkness and her flames. Her power reaches out and washes over the other Angel, who does not even flinch and turns around to watch your approach without so much as changing her course.

(Blood Soaked Cross: +5000 Base Damage, +1434 dice, +5000 Ramming Speed = 11,434 Total Damage

Attack negated.
Riposte!

Twilight: +4000 Base Damage, +287 dice = 4,287 Total Damage

Attack has Anti-Parry Guardian's Excellence says hi.

Attack negated.)

"Took you long enough," she greets with a smirk and frown both while catching Lu's cross easily. Her voice is bright, which absolutely clashes with her no-nonsense tone. You slide past her on your own momentum and feel the counter coming for the side Lu is holding you on. "It has been a while, Lucifer." Something about that sword of hers is odd and Lu is in a bad position to get to it, so you push out your spear to push it off-guard.

It tries to phase through your weapon as it closes, becoming something weirdly ethereal instead of physical, but you catch it anyway and get a surprised blink from the other Angel. Her aloofness returns a moment later as she pivots to face you, the same way Lu slows down and does similarly. Now that you get to see her in person, you find the drawing accurate. In addition to it however, she has creamy skin and is clad in a black and white garb with golden ornaments all over; the back of her jacket flaps behind her like a cape, red on the inside.

Spoiler: ???

(Presence of Light: Lucifer heals 6,000
Lucifer Health: 33,600 + 6,000 = 39,600)

The light around you shifts and stops burning your friend, instead healing her wounds. Both of you watch in wonder while the other Angel sizes Lu up. When she speaks, it is with a note of biting contempt: "You know, my original plan was to track you down, beat the stupid out of you, and drag you back home. That ship has long sailed though, so now we're on Plan B: wherein I beat the shit out of you because I really want to hit you in the face, and to put a stop to this madness."

Lu is still looking for words and you frown at the tone this woman takes with her. For the first time in a while, your tongue is faster than your brain: "You've had what, a thousand years? More? How slow are you?"

Her eyes narrow and you just hold her stare with a scowl. Lu is silent while you size each other up, and it ends with neither of you looking away. The woman just raises an eyebrow. "I thought you were taller."

You can not help but blink in surprise. Despite your presence that, you think, is not actually affecting her, she seems completely unphased. You can respect that. "I like you, but fuck you."

"Can't say the same, now hush. The grown-ups are talking." She dismisses you and turns her attention back to Lu, who absently puts a hand over your mouth and ignores when you bite into it, muffling your immediate attempt to hiss back and holding you still when you struggle against her grasp. Her absurd pain tolerance makes her not even react even though she bleeds into your mouth and receives several kicks to her shins and an elbow to the crotch.

"It has been a while, Leliel." Lu's words are measured and she carefully eyes the now named Angel; you calmed down a little and can at least take in what they are doing, but you are also still squirming.

"A little longer than that. I would chat a bit about that little pet of yours if I hadn't lost all my respect for you." You fall quiet and take a deep breath, then make to throw your spear toward her right eye and feel yourself adjust to hit with pinpoint accuracy, but she easily shifts her posture and deflects the weapon before it impacts. "Now, before I tear out your wings, tell me why you betrayed... no." Your weapon returns the moment she interrupts herself. "I know why you betrayed the Host. Why did you join forces with Hell?"

You calm yourself forcefully, somehow managing to stop doing any more than glare at Leliel, who in turn glares at Lu. Your friend just tilts her head slightly. "For convenience."

Both you and Leliel have to stop glaring at that. Her response came so easily that you have to glance over to her. Leliel seems to have similar issues, she just blinks and then utters a flat "What?"

Lu shrugs. "I made it through the first few years through obscurity and mobility, but keeping myself alive was difficult. Even with all that anger and all the pain, food and water and a bed to sleep... you never realise how important those things are until you do not have access to them anymore." Her reasoning is sound, but-

"And that is why you joined our ancestral enemies?!"

Yeah, that. It is the first time you hear actual emotion from Leliel, a mixture of hurt and anger and some other things.

Your friend does not seem to notice, or care. She just continues calmly: "You make it sound like I had a choice. Who else would have taken me, a traitor to Heaven? Where could I have gone and found a supporting structure? I did not want to die back then, that is why I chose to hate in the first place. I do not need to get along with the Demons, but they give me all the resources I need to do what I want to do most."

Leliel is fuming, but she stays her hand admirably; probably better than you could have in her situation. Then again, the venom in her voice is eerily similar: "You could have just run away like I told you to!"

Not that Lu seems to care about the changed angle, she just tilts her head. "And what? What would I have done? Build myself a life somewhere far out, alone and in constant fear of pursuit? Wither away into insanity as my mind breaks apart without a clear goal?" You heard about that before and it bothers you a little how serious a threat this apparently is. Leliel just clenches her fists.

"That would have been better than what you ended up doing!"
"For Heaven in general? Yes. For me personally? No. And, pardon my infernal, but fuck Heaven."

Leliel twitches and you wince. As someone who is not really involved, you have to award points to Lu for staying so calm. Her voice did not even waver while she delivered her judgement, ever the executioner. The light around you coils in response to Leliel's anger, but refrains from burning Lu still. You doubt it will last, and are simply glad for your own immunity.

She is seething at this point, blades shaking in her hands. But her voice is barely more than a whisper: "You, you could have gone away, found something, anything else to do. You could have come back, even. We could have figured something out."

You are somewhat calm again, else you might have missed the edge of something odd in her words there, but you have no time to ponder it; Lu does not seem to have noticed, or to care, she just calmly answers as she has before: "Do you truly, honestly believe that Heaven would have let me live after I came to my senses? I do not hate you, but I hate them for forsaking me when I needed them most."

Leliel opens her mouth, but Lu beats her to it, her calm demeanor still in place: "You asked my reasons, so listen to me until the end." She closes her mouth, if unwillingly.

Your friend sighs and shakes her head. "Even back then, the few allies I had could be counted on one hand. Namely, you and Gabriel. Neither of you would have had enough pull to save my life. You already had to go behind their backs and break me out of that prison, at best they would have arrested you as well once it came out."

This is admittedly starting to sound depressing, though you are not sure whether it is the subject matter or the fact Lu is so calm. Or... is she? Now that you calmed down yourself, you realise how she is shaking and trying her hardest not to squeeze you to death. None of it is audible in her voice. "There is nothing that could be done."

Leliel's expression darkens and she pulls back a little, almost as if she is winding up for something. "We are not bound by fate, Lu. You did not have to choose this path."

Now it is for Lu to still and you feel that this is going to get violent any moment now. The ice in your friend's tone gives you the creeps either way: "I understand. You are meaning to say that death is preferable to the path I ended up taking."

There is not even a denial, Leliel simply nods. "...yes. Yes, it is," she says before adjusting her stance. Lu rematerialises her own cross and it takes no genius to understand they both know the conclusion of this conversation already. They probably knew it since the beginning.

"So it may be," Lu answers softly. "I know it, too. But I want to live, Leliel. I always just wanted to live a happy life. I rather take a life over no life."

(Presence of Light: Lucifer takes 6,000 damage
Lucifer Health: 39,600 - 6,000 = 33,600)

The light consolidates itself and burns itself into Lu again, eliciting a surprised hiss while a sharpened blade aims for her throat. "Then I'll make that decision for you!"

Her blade is deflected by a flick of Lu's cross, the resulting counter parried just as easily, and her returning counter pushed away by you. "I'm still here, are you done crying at each other how unfair the world is?" It's good to be talking again.

Leliel just snarls and moves to strike at you instead, but you kick her blade out of the way with just your heel and blow a raspberry. "I was with you for the first half, now you can go fuck yourself!"

Lu healed up from countering the other strike before, but there is no further opening and your opponent is far more agile than she is, especially with one wing slung around you. Leliel noticed as well and mutters under her breath, then switches her strategy to only parry with the blade Lu can catch, and try to maneuver around her so you can not stop the other one.

Lu picks up on it and turns with her old friend, keeping you between herself and Leliel like a living shield. You use the opportunity to deflect her sword again and give her a nasty cut, but only get two stabs off before she pushed herself out of reach, so you throw your spear after her.

(Aetheric Tide: +1400 Base Damage, +1598 dice = 2,998 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +1400 Base Damage, +1598 dice = 2,998 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide (thrown): +1400 Base Damage, +1598 dice = 2,998 Total Damage

8,994 Unified Damage
Leliel: +6000 Base Resilience, +3123 dice = 9,123 Total Damage Reduction

Attack Ineffective)

Except that, same as with Lu, even your quick reaction and throwing to get another hit in are not enough to break the small flood of mana augmenting her defense. Leliel salutes you with her middle finger raised but otherwise serene in her expression, all the while your spear reverses momentum behind her. Lu kept carrying you away and she pursues, not watching her back.

Sadly, you miss and the spear ruffles her feathers as it rushes past. Leliel watches and gives you a quick glance; enough for you to know this will not work again.

"Hate's Seal."

Feathers are loosened from Lu's wings, almost forming a half-circle to engulf Leliel in order to give you breathing room. You wait for her to dodge, but she does not. This is going to be the-

"Starless Sky."

-end you were going to think, but apparently not. You can see a layer of death form on, no, right over her skin. It clings to her and moves with her, eradicating any mana it contacts. Lu's feathers cease to exist the moment they impact her, their constricting power neutralised just like that. It looks dark as the night sky to you, just as its name suggests.

Lu grumbles quietly and rotates you to prevent another strike from Leliel, who appears similarly frustrated with your continued interruptions.

That does not mean she stops; her attacks keep pushing you off-track, away from the UD's fortifications where Lu was meaning to go. Her presence keeps burning your friend and she gives no opening for Lu to heal, and what damage you can deal after a short time is healed away under Lu's own power that still surrounds you all.

You watch as Leliel's wounds stitch themselves back together, clearly the result of the inky miasma your friend emanates. Her annoyance is gone and made way for smugness; you might be able to beat her on the ground, but not in the air and limited by Lu. Not at this speed where you could not stand freely and are barely able to keep track of Leliel as is.

Lucifer swerves and turns and drops and rises with skill she rarely displays, but Leliel matches her every maneuver and does better, perfectly angling all four of her wings to cut off your path time and time again, to herd you up or down or elsewhere. She gives you no breathing room to focus, you just can not get your mind set on a time or place with how she pushes.

This is not a fight you can win, and not a fight to flee. You need a distraction, something, anything to get yourself a second or two.

Then you spot it, flying toward the aerial battle at a sedate pace and completely hidden from view. Large and imposing, just like you remember them to be. A plan forms.

Once Leliel swerves past on another foiled attack run, you tap Lu's melting face. "Bring us lower and hold her in about the same area, slow down!" Your voice is loud enough to be heard over the rushing air, but hopefully not loud enough for your opponent to overhear.

Lu does as told without question; you do not think she has much longer until the light burns her to a crisp, this has to work.

(Presence of Light: Lucifer takes 6,000 damage
Lucifer Health: 15,600 - 6,000 = 9,600)

You drop down with Leliel hot on your heels, no further words exchanged. The centerpiece of your plan steadily rushes in for reasons unknown, maybe out of hunger. You keep an eye on it, knowing that Leliel can not spot it even if she looks for what your eyes are on during her pivots. She tries to herd you again, but Lu redirects her this time with a jab to her wing's base. Her blade sings in turn and you deflect it easily, not bothering with a counter because she already pushed herself back.

(Presence of Light: Lucifer takes 6,000 damage
Lucifer Health: 9,600 - 6,000 = 3,600)

A little further, a little longer. Lu stays where she is, allowing Leliel to circle around you and testing your defenses. The other Angel taunts you with disdain: "Giving up already? I thought you had more fight in you."

She easily deflects your thrown spear, just at the point you need her, and pauses for a moment to watch the weapon sail away.

Only for a screaming Bazelgeuse to become visible as it slams into her, as big as the one you remember, scales completely grey with age. It must be ancient, yet its explosions are just as powerful as a young one's would be, if not more so.

You immediately focus while the explosion ahead sends a horribly maimed Leliel your way, still covered in that dispelling shroud. But you lag. It takes longer than usual to find something you want, a moment longer to call for Voyage, and you feel her slamming into your portal just as it engulfs you and Lu. Your magic sparks and screams as it fizzles out while you are thrown into the void...

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

What follows the constricting and almost painful jump is light, with the both of you slamming into hard stone. A wing on your back breaks while the one on your arm holds tight to the fragile, unresponsive woman you carry; her transformation faded away. You blink away the bright spots Leliel left in your eyes and look around to find soldiers of steel. Some further back seem frozen in the process of ringing an alarm. A garrison surrounds you.

A man almost right in front of you stares dumbfounded, then calls for a medic and raises his hand, holding it up flat.

You are the fallen Angel Lucifer, and you just landed in an Elven stronghold on a world you do not know. You were almost burned away by your old friend, your new friend is unconcious in your arms, and at least ten thousand Elves surround you.

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

[] What will Lucifer do?
-[] Wait and See
-[] Fight
-[] Flee Impossible while carrying Heidi
-[] Write-in


No EXP-plans until Heidi regains conciousness

=====​

Allied Forces:
-Magical Girl Defiance (unconcious)

Confirmed Enemies:
-

Potential Combatants:
-The Elvin Empire (20,000 Soldiers, 200 Commanders, 1 Champion)
-???

Objectives:
-Keep Adelheid alive
-Figure out what went wrong

=====​

+10xp Met Leliel
+20xp Lucifer's Lost Friendship
+25xp Saved Lucifer
+50xp Bazel Lived Long
+250xp Made It Through This Leap 'Unscathed'
+250xp Seriously, You Should Be Dead

EXP gained: 605
Total EXP: 635

=====​

(Unlocked Level 5 (Max) Character Sheet: Leliel)
(???)

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] What will Lucifer do?
-[] Wait and See

Fire surges through your weakened leg and you almost buckle, an unusually strong flash of the familiar pain. But you stand, the almost instinctually responding anger quelled.

Ten thousand Elves or not, you could fight here and make it out... if you were not holding Adelheid in your arm. A single stray hit would be her end. So you hesitate, and hear the man in front of you call for a healer. Not reinforcements, but a healer.

Something odd is going on, you realise. Your viscous skin aches almost soothingly in the cool air of Spring while you press your friend closer and warily eye your surroundings. No hostilities still, just a garrison of surprised soldiers that take up their arms after all.

You can not flee, not while carrying Adelheid. You would not even know where to, for you have no idea where you are.

The commander, for you now notice several ornaments on his helmet, interrupts your readying for battle with a surprise: "Form defensive perimeters, watch out for any breaches in the wards! Shout if you find anything that followed them!"

You are confused now, and the incessant stinging all over your body from Leliel's presence does not help your concentration. It will take a while for the skin to solidify properly and for the internal burns to fade.

The elven commander approaches you now and salutes with a hand flatly on his chest. "Well met, ma'am. We were not expecting any further angelic presence at our small outpost today. Be assured that you will be perfectly fine with us. And, please forgive my nosiness, but how did you breach the anti-teleportation wards?"

You blink almost mechanically, trying to understand what is going on. Not even a hint of suspicion, even though some of the soldiers seem to be pointing at your third wing in particular. Despite a warding you doubt was done haphazardly, but that gives you something else to work with. You already theorised one way for Adelheid to break through such things.

There is a commotion a little further away, but you decide to ignore it and focus on the man in front of you, thinking of something to say. A nod is given in greeting, giving you that moment you need. "Well met, I am glad to know we made it back into friendly territory." Your usual calm is replaced with as much cheer as you can bring up, which is not much. They will hopefully mistake it for exhaustion. "My companion composed a means to circumvent wards such as yours, which we are obligated to keep quiet about. I hope you understand?"

You motioned for Adelheid in your arms and he immediately nods. "Yes, of course, certainly! Now where are, ah, there!" He motions for a pair of Elves in white robes making their way over. "If you allow, the healers will see to your companion and make sure she is alright. If you could lower her to the ground?"

You are tempted to refuse, but you have a hunch about this. And so you play along, trusting in the Elves' behaviour so far. Adelheid is released from your grasp and gently brought to lie down; the healers immediately kneel by her side and begin their examination while you take a step aside with the commander. He offers a friendly smile. "Despite the circumstances, it is quite an honour to have another angelic guests. An outpost so far from the Hypergate rarely gets that much attention."

You merely wave it off and bring yourself to smile in return, despite your wobbling lips. "Quite so. My thanks for your quick actions. Say, what world exactly are we on? My friend did not say before she brought us out of the ambush we were in." It is technically not a lie, you were ambushed, if not by who he would expect. You still have to be careful about investigating the oddity even though you have an idea for why; this should wait until later.

The Elf is visibly surprised by your question, but quickly recovers and believes your explanation. "I see. You found yourself on Reluxus, the Empire's main staging ground!" He makes a wide motion for the surrounding area and you follow with your gaze; a high mountain rises in the distance, with something like a monastery built into its side. Lush forests and green meadows can be seen stretching over the horizon, with a lake lying quietly in the distance.

The garrison you are in the middle of is quite vast for a 'small outpost', with actual buildings several storeys high and some kind of transportation system in place, tubes of steel running on tracks, each one carrying dozens of soldiers around.

Finishing your survey, you mull over what you heard for a moment. Reluxus is adjacent to Hell's territory, that is something to work with. "Thank you, it is good to know where we are." The constant smiling is going to give you wrinkles, you just know it. "Do you have any news of the war effort?"

Your cover aside, you need to take a gamble here. Adelheid already told you that this war will persist for far longer than your own time; if your hunch is correct, then-

"Ah, certainly! There were no complications so far, ma'am. Our initial assault swept through Hell's territory and still goes strong while the Unified Darkness' forces are tied up elsewhere by the Home Realms and Heaven's Host. It is a shame we are so far off and may not win glory for the Empire, but-" "Sir!"

He is thankfully interrupted by one of the healers, who rises to his feet with an odd expression. "Sir, she is unharmed, merely unconcious. And weird, sir." He looks back down again while the hairs on your neck stand up, motioning while he explains: "She looks like us, but there are several differences. I have never seen cheekbones as gently curved as these, her face is a little too round, and look at this."

The other healer pushes Adelheid's silver hair aside to reveal the most damning piece of evidence: her ears are round, where everyone around you has pointed ones. You need to be quick, good thing that you can reuse the same excuse you made up last time.

"My friend is a hybrid," you begin and gather their attention with that, "half Elf, half Fairy. She inherited your size and most of your physical traits, but the magical aptitude of the Fey as well as a few minor details." The explanation causes some whispers among the soldiers while the three immediate issues look down at Adelheid in surprise.

"My, that would explain it, would it not? She does seem a little short." Does she? You can not really tell, having about a metre on basically all of them at the least.

Now, while they are distracted, for the last part of your gamble: "I know it is rude, but needs must. May I ask for shelter at this base until she has recovered? I can not carry on with her like this in good conscience. We would move on to False Heaven with our report once she recuperated properly, it is not urgent."

The commander eyes you and her for a moment, then pushes a hand against his chest again in salute. "Naturally. It would be an honour to receive you both. If I may know your names, for my own report?"

Did you really do it? "I am Leliel, and my friend is called Adelheid." It makes for the best cover name still, but this time it feels a little odd to use. You do it anyway because Leliel can't tell you what to do. He nods and quickly asks for clarification about the spelling before noting them down, then calls for one of his subordinates. Ordina is the name you hear.

She is instructed to show you to an unused barrack and salutes before doing as told. You carefully pick up your friend and carry her yourself, kindly declining the offer to have her carried. It is a short walk, as you were already near the barracks anyway. Just a few minutes of watching curiously staring Elves, offering nods, and trying to stay focussed on the woman in front of you. They look all the same to you in their armour and you might lose her otherwise.

"There we are," she speaks up as you stop in front of a stone building that seems somewhat deserted. Her tone is curtly and you are greatful for not finding any kind of smile on her that you have to return. "Simply turn around the badge on the door of whichever room you want to use, to tell anyone looking for you where it is. They will probably send you some food and drinks soon."

You nod at her with the same formality and heft Adelheid a little higher. "Very well. Please extend my thanks for the Empire's hospitality." She confirms that and stands there for a moment until you realise what she is probably waiting for. "Dismissed."

Another salute, and off she is.

You suppress a sigh and bow down to fit through the door, lamenting how Hell at least builds most of their internal structures big enough for you to pass.

The room you pick after a quick inspection is spartan, with just a small bed to sleep in, but you do not mind that. Your friend is deposited in it gently and you check her pulse as well as her breathing, both fine. Then you stretch your wing; it was starting to cramp up a little from being curled for so long.

It is a shame that you are not in your own time, but at least there should be no threats for Adelheid at the moment. No one associated you with the Unified Darkness, which means that even if something in your story does not add up, they are more likely to take her into custody first. As long as she has time to wake up, she will be fine.

Now what do you do?

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

[] Stay with Adelheid, just in case
-[] Stay vigilant
-[] Take a nap, you need to heal

[] Look around and try to find more information

[] Write-in


No EXP-plans until Heidi regains conciousness

=====​

+10xp Lu Did Not Get Into a Fight

EXP gained: 10
Total EXP: 645

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] Stay with Adelheid, just in case
-[] Stay vigilant
-[] Take a nap, you need to heal

(both options were tied, so you get a bit of both)

Once you are certain that your friend can breathe properly, you slide down to sit at the wall in a manner that makes the open door hide you. It is a little cramped with your wings still out, but you might need them quickly, and they make for good cushions against the hard walls.

Your eyes drop for a moment and you force them back open, wondering if you should try getting those healers to see to you. This stinging sensation is starting to annoy you as it takes away your focus. How long will it take for your body to solidify properly again? Can you ward off sleep for that long and watch over Adelheid in case something happens?

Your gaze turns back to the small form you tucked in clumsily with one hand; you have to blink rapidly to keep your eyes open, mind starting to slow now that there is no immediate danger.

Maybe, just, a few minutes....

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

Familiar darkness and chains and pain snap away as you return to consciousness, the faint squeaking of the door hinges alerting you to an intruder.

You tense up, but it is only an Elf out of armour, bringing in a package of food and drink. He still salutes with his free hand. "Provisions, ma'am." You nod at him and he places them on the small bedside table, then you watch him leave the room. He shivers for some reason you can not discern, mind just leaving the calmness of your battle trance and immediately returning to being tired.

It is still bright out, so nothing happened. You blink and watch your friend for any changes, but find nothing. You are not hungry or thirsty.

Five more minutes should be fine, right?

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

The next time something tickles your senses, you do not remember what you dreamt of. Your favourite kind of dream.

It is not the door this time, and you become alert immediately once you realise just what is caressing your skin.

(Hope Amidst War: Fallen Lucifer heals for 2,000

Fallen Lucifer Health: 19,500 + 2,000 = 21,500)

It is light that suffuses the room, but also an alien sense of hope that you never felt in angelic presences before while it soothes you. Someone who does not know about you is near, but their power passes right through your own. The second Angel whose light is not snuffed out by your darkness.

Who are they? Why are they here? The Elf you spoke with implied there was another Angel on base recently.

To your horror, you realise they are not far distant, but rather almost at the door. You can hear their steps. How did the presence not wake you up earlier? It mostly erased the stinging while you slept, soothed you into a comfortable slumber you rarely ever have over the centuries. That might have been it.

You materialise your cross and inch further into the corner to make sure you are not seen, hope that whoever comes does not check for you. Your auras are pulled back in to make certain. There is no time to hide or to retreat.

(Hope Amidst War: Fallen Lucifer heals for 2,000

Fallen Lucifer Health: 21,500 + 2,000 = 23,500)

A slightly louder step right in front of the door, a pause that makes you hope they leave. Your heartbeat comes loud and clear, also fast from worry; Adelheid is completely defenseless.

The door opens, its hinges squeaking almost inaudibly; you tense up and wait for what may come. Then pause as she enters.

It is a woman, no doubt. She stands at about your height, if a little taller; her wings are of one of the purest whites you have ever seen, folded over a long trenchcoat added to her cuirass. Ashen white hair trails down her back and you can see her head swerve as she takes in the room. She carries herself with seasoned motions, guard relaxing as you watch. Her armour is almost ornate and quite comprehensive, from what you can see. Not like your own rags. No weapon drawn.

Be it your focus on her or instinct, or perhaps her own training, she does turn around to check her blindspot. She finds you crouched in the corner and you can clearly see the moment your state is processed. Her eyes widen in the same moment you surge forward, a single step back being made before you reach and bowl her over. Your ultimate power trumps after all, snuffing hers out; the light fades and the shock makes her stumble instead of ducking below you as she probably intended. Her tells are well-hidden, but still not completely unnoticeable. She is good.

Being good does not prevent her from landing on the ground back-first, head smacked into the bed's foot. You straddle her, cross aimed for her throat.

Only now does your concious mind take control again. Instinct and wrath for all things angelic guided you, but that half-remembered spark of Hope gives you pause once more. Something about her is different; sharp features drawn into surprise, deep blue eyes widened in momentary fear.

You remember Gabriel and her kindness where none should have been expected, and you hesitate. Considering mercy for long seconds, long enough for the spark of fear to fall away, and the woman at your mercy to scowl. "If I am to die today, make it be quick and not... whatever this is."

Her words are calm but laced with a hint of indignation, not fear. You just stare down at her a moment longer, blinking as you try to figure out just what exactly you should do. You need more time to think, so you get yourself a few seconds by answering her: "I am still considering what to do with you. If it were just for me, I would let you go and leave. Unfortunately, I have my friend to consider. Her safety is important to me."

You go back to your considerations while the other Angel blinks up at you. She does not even try to use her wings' thrust to shake you off, probably assuming -rightfully- that her head would be off before she separates from you.

If you let her go, she will likely alert the Host to your presence. A fallen Angel is a serious matter for them, especially one that made it out of Heaven's territory. They do try to keep the entire matter under wraps after all. Though that was to your advantage, considering these Elves did not suspect anything.

A sigh from her interrupts your train of thought; it stalls entirely over what she says next: "Then I promise that, unless you or your companion turn out to be our enemies, or either of you give me active reason to fight you, I will neither report nor attack you." She has an eyebrow raised as her promise takes effect, waiting for your response.

It takes a moment until you manage to pull your jaw back up. "Why?" She chose good conditions for it to not impair her, but that notion does not distract you from just what she did. A promise to a fallen, freely given.

She shrugs at you, as best as she can with you restraining her. "My auntie taught me to always give others the benefit of the doubt. You wouldn't trust me with any less than this, would you?" You have to agree there, and hesitantly rise back to your feet. The cross is dismissed while she rights her ruffled feathers and hair.

Spoiler: ???

Your power lets off of her and the other woman breathes more easily, her light returning and mending your remaining wounds. She nods at you and shakes out her wings, then dismisses them and sits on the floor, right in front of the bed. You do the same after a moment, offering her the courtesy.

She breaks the silence once more, eyes narrowing a little again. "Now, for the actual reason of my visit. You are not Valkyrie Leliel." Wait, Valkyrie? "I can see why you would give a fake name, but I would have your actual name now. And I have you know that I firmly disapprove of you using my friend's name like that."

You can not help but ignore the demand in favour of focussing on what she just said: "Valkyrie Leliel? The only Leliel I know of is a child of Heaven. Did her name pass on?" The look that gets you would be insulting if you actually cared, but then she becomes thoughtful.

"I did hear that she looks uncannily like her predecessor, but I can assure you she is one of Valhalla, the same as I." Your frown makes her wilt and avert her gaze. "Well, not exactly like me. I am a child of love, not of faith." So conceived by two Angels' union, like Elves and Fairies. She even explains her unusual presence without you having to ask: "I come mostly after my mother, who is a Valkyrie, but I inherited some of my father's presence."

"Who is of Heaven," you complete. She nods. That at least explains why your own presence did not act initially, hers is nonstandard and thus unaffected. "I never heard that the powers can mix like that. You get either one or the other, not a bit of both."

She just sighs. "I know, it is an odd case. I had to explain this so often that it became second nature by now." Then she shakes her head and turns back to you. "But no more of that, your name?"

Right. If Leliel died at this point in time and her name passed on, you have to be careful. She is not someone who dies easily, and you can not fathom just who or what could have ended her. But if that much time has passed, you might as well be honest. It feels good to speak cordially with someone you hated for so long, and that damned presence of hers makes you feel more at ease with the revelation. "I am Lucifer."

Her eyes narrow, just as you expected. Yet no weapon is drawn, even though she crosses her arms and scowls. Instead of being intimidated, you are just confused by the actual response she gives with a low growl: "More lies. I thought we had an understanding here, but you are seriously straining my goodwill!"

You blink at her and have to stop clenching your fist over her disbelief. Your name is your name. "It is the truth."

"It can't be," she shouts back while pointing at you. "That's my name!"

...

Her name.

Hers.

For the first time since your fall, you feel truly cold. The red hot pain freezes and turns to ice, falling from your mind like so much snow. You can only stare back at the now named Valkyrie.

Angelic names are unique. The only time an Angel with an existing name is born, is if its previous holder has died.

Your eyes sting, vision grows blurry as realisation sets in. You always knew, intellectually, that your life would end one day. Now the very reality of that fact sits in front of you, confused about your reaction. Your body shakes as the walls close in on you, growing dark and trapping you in this small cage once again.

You are going to die. There is no escaping your fate. You are going to-

"Hey, what's wrong?"

You snap out of the darkness and stare at the blurry face in front of your own. Wetness rolls down your cheeks but nothing makes it out of your throat, an eery quiet only broken by her, by Lucifer's questions, the cold of your body warmed by where her hands touch. "Come on, don't cry on me, I can't deal with crying people. What's wrong?" She keeps on babbling at you, but you pay no attention to her words. The sound of her voice breaks the horrible silence.

And from deep within, your anger ignites once more. Brings back flame, brings back reason and thought. You snarl and make her backpedal, then rub your face until the tears are gone, scowling all the way while the anger thaws your body. Deep breaths, in and out, until the rage has burned away your fear and you can quell it. Now is not the time for either.

"What's wrong with you?!"

She, Lucifer, is staring at you bewildered. You just shrug at her with a faint smile, calm slowly returning. "I fell, is that not explanation enough?" Your attempt at humour only earns you a raised eyebrow, so you sigh and point to Adelheid. "I am Lucifer, though. My friend holds dominion over time, and apparently pushed us far enough ahead to leave a time where I would still live."

Even calm, you understand that your own mortality has never been as clear as now. With your own successor right in front of you, skeptical as she is of your response. You wipe your eyes again and suppress a hollow chuckle about this; a meeting normally impossible, once again, made reality by this single human girl.

"I guess that explains it... no, would explain it, but can you provide me any proof?" Reasonable, you have to admit.

Your hand lowers as you think back to what you know of the future. Mayhaps there is a way, for your word, your promise alone means naught. "How long has it been since the war began?"

She thinks for a moment, wary, but still accomodating. "About six thousand years. Why do you ask? Why would you not know to which point in time you traveled if you are capable of it?"

You just point at the unconcious form on the bed again. "Try asking her."

"...fair."

That settled, you consider the time. Six thousand years, that means you will die within another three thousand years. She, your successor, is not a newborn, so subtract at least a few centuries. Maybe two thousand years? You are not sure that will be enough to get used to the fact, but at least it will not be next year or so.

Now to the actual issue at hand, pushing aside your morbid considerations. "That aside, I do not think she planned for this. We got hit by an anti-magic field while she was still casting." You do not want to imagine just what that could have done to her, and go back to the subject matter. "We were ambushed, and everything happened too quickly to really take in." Kind of the truth, but you are not going to speak of Leliel here.

Lucifer, the other one, sighs and drops her hands into her lap. "Suppose it is true... how do I confirm your words? I do want to believe you, but this is insane."

She has a point, and you tell her so. Then, while considering what to do, you get up to look over Adelheid and bring up something else: "We are both Lucifer, how do we distinguish each other? I am usually called Lu by friends."

There is a momentary silence and a light clacking of armour, then her response: "My usual nickname is Lucy, so I guess we can call each other by those?"

"That works." You check her breathing once more and find it unchanged, calm. Now for the slightly complicated part, the one constant throughout the timeline that will not get you in trouble. "Go and find Gabriel, wherever she may be. Tell her that Defiance has emerged, she will want to see her. Do not attempt to have her confirm anything, her promise not to speak of this matter around those unaware is ancient. Her reaction should be proof enough."

She nods thoughtfully and throws you a look. "I can see the reason in this. Auntie is old enough to have met you before, if your words are true."Lucy stepped up to check on your friend as well, curiously tracing her jawline. "She is an odd one. Defiance is her real name, then?"

"Yes and no. Adelheid is the name her parents gave her, but Defiance is another name she obtained, a rare racial trait for humans. I did lie about her being a hybrid between Elf and Fey, admittedly. She can explain that better than I."

She nods and turns away while your thoughts are constricting. Confusing. Your feelings are worse.

This is not just about protecting your friend anymore. Be it how this Angel makes you feel more at ease through her presence, or that she carries your cursed name, you want to get along with her. Perhaps it is your age, or your past, that makes you want her to be happy. Something you could never have. Never again.

"Lucy?" She is already on her way out of the room when you call out to her, but stops and turns back. "Once we are done with this, could we speak some more?"

She mulls it over for a moment, tilting her head slightly before offering you a smile. "Of course. I am quite curious about you, likely as much as you are about me." Then she leaves the room and you are alone with your thoughts.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

The room is dark when your eyes flutter open. Moonlight shines inside from a small window, illuminating a feathery wing that is curled around you. You feel odd, as if something is missing.

You have no idea what happened, or where you are. You are Adelheid Schmeling, Magical Girl Defiance.

And with you is your best friend, Lucifer. She must have watched over you while you slept, though the lack of Maya and Orux is a little confusing. You would have thought they would be there, too.

Perhaps they are busy.

Pushing the entire train of thought aside, you carefully try to push Lu's wing aside; she stirs almost immediately, so you stop and suppress a sigh. You can not bear waking her, when she was looking over you for who knows how long.

Instead you roll onto your side and think about what happened. The last you remember is going back to Charon's Keep, and having your portal wobble for some reason. Did it break? You feel restless now, something is wrong.

So you meditate to try figuring it out; the light of your transformation is muted, weak under your own feelings. Finding the problem is not difficult at that point, it almost glares at you the moment you direct your gaze inward. Whatever exactly happened, it broke something. Most of your self is still as it should be, your powers no different. Except... that Conundrum is gone.

You try to search yourself as best as you can while doing something introspective, check the flow of your magic and your instincts, but it is gone. You mumble a quiet "Conundrum", notice Lu stir before settling again, and find nothing happening. No protective shroud, for you or anyone. No nothing. You still remember how to affect the shroud, but it does not follow your command anymore. You can not cast it.

Your thoughts are interrupted there; the door creaks open and Lu is wide awake in an instant, weapon out. It lowers about as fast, as the familiar yet so much more powerful presence of light fills the room while actual light shines in from the door.

You do not need to see her to know who it is; with the light comes a feeling of smallness that you never felt before. It is not threatening, enveloping you in the knowledge that you are safe, for she is a being of great power.

Just, what is she doing here?

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

[] Stay quiet and listen

[] "Hey Gabriel."

[] Write-in


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

=====​

+20xp Met Valkyrie Lucifer
+100xp A Meeting Thought Impossible
+250xp Successor to Lucifer's Name
+400xp (Future) Successor to Gabriel's Throne

EXP gained: 770
Total EXP: 1,415

=====​

(Effects Revealed: Malicious side effects of an ongoing time travel spell being dispelled; Conundrum, Soft Mechanics of Conundrum, and all exploits of Conundrum removed)
(Unlocked Level 5 (Max) Character Sheet: Lucifer) (The Valkyrie, to be found on the UL-tab)

 

[Naron]

"Hey, Gabriel."

The wing covering you retreats, revealing three surprised Angels. You only know two of them, but the third came in with Gabriel and should thus be fine. You sit with a groan and shake off the momentary nausea; yet the sudden, pounding headache remains. "My head feels like I ran into a wall."

Gabriel merely smiles. "I would not be surprised if you did, friend."

"I'll say." You throw Lu a sour look while the two Angels chuckle. The third one keeps looking between the two; her eyes sometimes fall on you as well, but that happens less often.

Once the two are done making fun of you, Gabriel fully enters the room and ducks her head slightly; the other woman, about Lu's size, has to actually bend her knees in order to fit inside. An unspoken agreement has all of them cast off their wings to take away less space, and then they all sit in a loose circle in front of your bed.

Well, it is not yours. Far too uncomfortable to what you are used to by now, anyway. You slide out of it and let your aura out; the unknown Angel starts a little and eyes you curiously, but you ignore her while you take the spot between your friends. "What happened while I was out?"

There is a suspiciously long silence while you look between them, with Gabriel even starting to fidget. Lu ultimately breaks it and points at the other Angels. "You messed up your jump and sent us three thousand years ahead, to Reluxus. The Elves have no idea yet, but we had bad luck and Lucy there found out." Lucy, as she is now named, offers you a nod and then turns her attention to Lu.

"On that note, I had auntie fill me in on your... 'history'." There is some bite to her voice and you wince while Lu shrugs. Lucy does not seem happy. "Do you have nothing to say in your defense?"

"No. I know I am a monster, I know I long exhausted any moral high ground I might have had, and I am not going to change for I have no other way left to live. You can neither stop nor change nor kill me here." They stare at each other for long moments, only interrupted when Gabriel sighs and chimes in.

"It was good that you thought of informing me. Not many do think of you when speaking the name these days, but those who do would not be inclined to give you any quarter." You do not like the sound of that, but Lu seems unsurprised. She does shake a little though, you can see that in the candlelight. Gabriel distracts you from the sight at that point: "And hello to you, Adelheid. It is good to see you again, although everything is a little hectic at the moment, as you probably guessed."

You just wave back and return her smile. "Hard to miss. So, who is she?" A motion toward Lucy is all it takes for Gabriel to switch tracks, though the woman herself speaks up first.

"Valkyrie Lucifer, at your service."

Aaaand there goes your somewhat good mood. You blink at the Valkyrie dumbfounded, mouth opening before closing again, then turn to Lu, who nods. "Huh." Your eyes go back to Lucy, who has her own eyes lowered. You know that angelic names are unique, so it is very clear what that means. Lu will die. Even though she is still alive right next to you, she will die and you can do nothing about it despite your power over time. It will happen either way.

You suddenly do not want to be here anymore, but play over it as best as you can when Lucy addresses you curiously: "I was meaning to ask, but how do you know Gabriel?"

It is a welcome distraction, which you take with a small shrug. "We, uh, met when Gabriel was still a little girl." "That never changed." You throw Lu a look for the interruption while Gabriel pouts at her, and Lucy blinks before coughing in a manner that almost sounds like a giggle.

"So, as I was saying, we met when Gabriel was young. Technically, at least... you know, time travel. It's weird." Lucy nods while the other two are still busy pouting and chuckling respectively, so you continue. "Then again when she was an Archangel; we had a battle, that I won," you just have to add that, "then we killed a Dragon. You know, the usual things friends do together."

That last bit had a bit of sarcasm while Lucy gapes at you. Gabriel makes to speak, but the younger Angel's voice drowns her out: "That was you?! You are The Dragonslayer?"

You stare at her for a moment, then at the faux-innocent looking Gabriel, then back to her. "You're serious? People still remember that?"

"Not many," Gabriel now chimes in with a kind smile. "But you arrived from nowhere, bested me, and then destroyed the last Dragon sighted since then, with me as a witness. I doubt any beside Selector Hildr and I remember your name, but many still know the legend of The Dragonslayer. I saw to that." Her smile turned a little more devious there and you can not help but flip her off in exchange.

Lu takes over from there, motioning back to Lucy. "So, 'auntie'?"

And just like that, Gabriel's mirth is gone and replaced with sheepishness. She plays with a loose thread of yarn on her clothes for a moment, then tears it off neatly and repeats the procedure. "Well, I took to tutoring Lucif-, er, Lucy, on occasion. She is my protegé."

"That translates to having to fight her for every bit of paperwork she is not supposed to do herself but does anyway," Lucy quips while you can not help but keep looking at her, thinking. "This might be the first time this year that I got her away from her work."

Lu chuckles, but you do not feel like laughing. With Gabriel mentioning her name again, your mind got back there and now you can not push it away anymore. You just, somehow, do not feel like having a reunion. You just found out one of your best friends won't live to your own time.

You feel like crying.

So you get up, ribbons and sleeves rustling but otherwise silent. The others are watching you, though. You should give them something at least. "I'm going to take a walk." Good enough.

Lu gives you a look but says nothing and Lucy merely nods. Gabriel, meanwhile, looks between the other two and then back to you. "Would you mind if I accompanied you?" You do not mind that with her presence soothing you like it does, but do you really want to have her along?

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

[] Go alone

[] Take Gabriel along


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

=====​

+10xp Chatting With Friends

EXP gained: 10
Total EXP: 1,425

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] Take Gabriel along

You are Lucifer, and your two closest friends have left you in peace for now. Well, you and your successor; Gabriel probably noticed that you want to speak with her, or Adelheid's distress, perhaps both.

"I admit," Lucy starts after a few seconds, "I did not expect you to be so calm about it all. Rebelling against Heaven like you apparently did, that is hard to believe even with auntie being nice about it." She is staring at her hands, clenching and unclenching them as if to maintain her calm. You can not help but feel anger, wrath which is quelled just as fast as it appeared.

"It is how it is. I tried to scream bloody murder at first, but that no longer felt freeing after the first year or two. I just ended up with a hoarse throat after every battle." You shrug when she looks up to meet your eyes. "Just because I don't scream about it anymore or pretend it is just does not mean I am any less convinced of it."

"And that is what I do not get. How can you be so sure of yourself despite knowing what you do is wrong?"

She does not understand; how could she? Without falling herself, having the agony gnaw at her mind whenever she loses focus, becoming so used to it that even life-threatening injuries feel like little more than bruises, how could she know?

You can only sigh. "As an old friend recently pointed out to me, my only other choice is death. I am the selfish kind of person that gladly seeks battle and kills, if it only means I can stay alive." Looking at her, you can guess why your end is inevitable. "And that dichotomy is going to be my undoing one day." You shudder at the thought and change the subject: "Tell me about your parents? Children of love are not that common in my time, at least from what I remember."

Lucy shrugs at you this time, brows furrowed in thought. She holds a fond smile at the same time, though. "They are still rare, to be honest. With the war and everything giving us little time for romance, and all the other races around, we have more hybrids than full-blooded Angels conceived." You nod and wait for her to continue, which she does softly. "My parents are an odd couple, to be honest. Father ascended to the rank of Archangel a few centuries ago while Mother is just, er, 'just' a squadron commander."

She pauses a moment to think; you consider interjecting and asking their names, but decide that it can wait.

"I am a particular rarity for having inherited an Affinity from each of them, Hope from Father and Battle from Mother. Also most of Mother's traits, but a presence similar to Father's. And of course, I could use neither Judgement nor To Glory all that well, so I had to make up another spell all my own. Would you like to see?"

You raise an eyebrow and nod, which prompts a smile. Lucy materialises her weapon, a blade of energy held in form by a black casing. "Radiant Dawn!" Its name gives you pause as you realise what it is. Just like your own spell, an aura of bright, silvery light wraps around her sword and almost blinds you. Lucy beams. "It is quite potent," she offers with audible content.

A chuckle is your first response; the light hides her face, so you can only read the confusion from her posture as you summon your cross and turn off its anti-magic property. "Radiant Dawn," you call as well while magic surges out from your hand and around the weapon. Lucy almost drops hers while you shudder as it burns your hand.

"Radiant Dawn came to me just as easily. It seems to be tied to our name. It is the only part of my powers that remained unchanged through my fall, but it now burns my hand wherever it touches me." You dismiss the spell and Lucy does the same a moment later, looking thoughtful. Your weapons are dismissed as well and you push the conversation elsewhere to sate your curiousity: "What are their names? How were you raised?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. Of course you would be curious about that." Lucy shrugs softly and looks aside, probably thinking back. "My father is Archangel Michael-" You twitch violently, but keep it under control. "-and my mother is Valkyrie Commander Sigrún. They raised me rather strictly in regard to studies and exercise, but any time we spent on recreational activities is probably among my fondest memories."

Her smile lasts until she notices your grimace, then it drops. "What's wrong?"

You can not hold her gaze and avert yours to the ground. "My little brother was the previous Michael. I fell when I broke my promise to protect him."

She is quiet at that, thinking, while you get yourself under control and force the calm back into place. Now is not the time to break down. Again. "It was a long time ago."

"Perhaps it was fate, then?" You have to raise an eyebrow at her, but Lucy just shrugs. "We who share names and are both connected to the name of Michael, if in different ways. Brought together by a most unusual being. If I had not agreed on a whim to come inspect this garrison for how suitable it is to have Angels stationed here, we would have never met. That does sound like fate to me."

You try to respond, but have no words. If fate really is a tangible force, something that sets up all that is and will be, to happen exactly as designed, you want to find and murder it. "Perhaps," you can finally get out. Lucy does not seem to mind.

"Well, enough of that. Tell me about Adelheid. What is she exactly, and how did you meet her?"

That, at least, is a subject which gives you enough to talk about. "Oh, where to start. She initially arrived as weak as a common Elf and was put under my tutelage. From there-"

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

The cold is actually quite calming. No snow or anything but this is definitely Spring, if not late Winter.

You shiver a little despite the calming light of Gabriel's presence; your friend walks next to you, preventing any and all Elves from approaching you out of respect. You hear whispers about a hybrid though, so Lu probably spun the same tale as last time. The ears make it kind of obvious, admittedly.

Oil lanterns illuminate the streets you walk down, Archangel by your side. Gabriel stays quiet while you calm down from the intense burst of emotions you felt earlier.

Perhaps you already guessed something like Lu's death subconciously, but you never really thought about it. How you would have heard of someone like her if she were still fighting for the UD in your time. Especially as Lucifer; no way Christian dignitaries would not have talked about that.

And now it was rubbed in your face that she is going to die, not even deliberately. The very existence of her successor means there is no hope at all.

You feel tears prick in your eyes, but wipe them away with your long sleeves. Cloth rustles quietly as you walk, not caring for where you are going, just on and on until the feelings become manageable again. Gabriel being with you is soothing.

"When?" Your friend starts. "When is she going to die?" You have to know.

"Oh." Gabriel wilts under your stare and mutters quietly: "About fifteen hundred years ago. I oversaw the proceedings, I, I am sorry it had to come to this. I-" "It's fine."

You wave her off, feeling empty even while doing so. "It's not your fault." It might be hers, but you do not want to think that. If not Gabriel, someone else would have done it eventually. This has always been what happened, even before you went to the past; yet somehow, understanding that does not make it feel any less horrible.

"Perhaps so, but I still consigned her to death." Gabriel slumps a little and you both sit down on a small bench, a soft wing wrapping around you to guard against the cold. "When her name passed on three hundred years later, I took it upon myself to tutor the next Lucifer. Make sure she could be happy, as my own way of atonement. She is doing well for herself, on a fast track to become Hildr's right hand and taking command of the entire Valhallan theater."

The words make sense to you, but only one part breaks you out of your muddied thoughts. "Hildr? She's still alive?" Right, there was something about that.

Your friend perks up at that and nods, a bit of a smile on her face. "Oh, she is. She was crowned Selector a good millennium ago and keeps Valhalla secure no matter who leads the charge."

"Sounds just like her." You can not help but chuckle and Gabriel does the same after a moment. You watch her carefully, the gentle features you know can turn into hard lines in a hartbeat. "What about you?"

"Me?" She ponders for a moment before offering you a smile. "Oh, nothing extraordinary. My life is rather quite steady, though Lucy is quite the dear. She is working to help me against hostile gods if we encounter more of them; the Satans are unusually active recently, so she decided to build herself a bow tailor-made to strike down divine beings. She still has a long way to go for it work, but I see great potential there."

She is babbling. And, you realise, trying to distract you. All that gets her is a flat stare which makes her fidget even while she continues, somewhat faster than before: "It is, ah, a blessing to have her there to help me out with my work, the load increased a little more when I made Grand Archangel last year and... please stop?"

The last bit is more a whine than anything else while you hold your stare, arms now crossed. There are no Elves nearby, which is the perfect opportunity to make Gabriel squirm. You let her fidget a little longer before dropping the act. "I was asking about you, not about your work or about Lucy. Please tell me you got a life since last time we met."

"Um, well...."

You smack your palm against your forehead and sigh deeply. Gabriel just averts her gaze. "Seriously, get laid or something. Or get a hobby. Or anything, really."

You get no response to that.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

The conversation and fresh air definitely helped you calm down somewhat, though only seeing Lu close to being actually happy lifts the burden of this knowledge somewhat. For a reason you do not get, she took a liking to her successor and they seem to get along quite well.

Maybe too well, you think the following morning.

"Okay. Why?"

"She is only staying for a week, and that is nothing to you who commands time. Is this really too much to ask?"

Because, apparently, they decided to hang out for a little longer than you expected. Gabriel chuckles at the side while Lucy watches your exchange with a mixture of confusion and mirth. Lu's wings are lowered in disappointment, her eyes averted... how does she manage to look so miserable while towering over you?

In the end, you heave a sigh. "Alright." She perks up immediately, and you can for the life of you not figure out if the previous behaviour was an act or not. Either way, you stop her from saying anything by raising your hand. "But only for a week, not a day longer. Are we clear?"

You only get a simple "Yes", but honestly did not expect any more. Lucy nods as well and offers you a happy smile. "I am quite glad about this as well, and please forgive my rudeness last night." She steps forward. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Adelheid."

You shudder and throw Lu a glance. "Please, just Heidi." What is it with Angels and using your full name?

"Very well." She steps even closer and holds out her hand. Once you move to take it however, she pulls back a little. "No, no." Lucy frowns while Gabriel's eyebrows rise. The Valkyrie taps her arm, a bit above the wrist. "You are supposed to grab here, not take the hand."

Her instruction is simple enough, so you follow it and she grabs your arm in turn; her grasp is tight and you try your best to match it. Lucy grins. "This is how us Valkyries greet a friend, and you are my friend from this day forward. Do not ever forget it."

You stare at her for long moments, hardly comprehending the statement. It has not been twelve hours since you met, one does not make friends that fast.

Reading the question from your face, Lucy nods toward Lu and Gabriel. "If both of them think of you as a friend, then I feel I want to do the same."

It takes another moment of disbelief before you sigh and nod. "Sure, no problem." What is it with these Angels?

"Well," Gabriel breaks the building silence with a fond though saddened smile, "I believe it is time for me to take my leave. There is still much... um, is something wrong?"

You keep one eyebrow raised and cross your arms while turning to her fully. Lu steps back and takes Lucy with her, leaving you free to step toward Gabriel. A flat "No." is all you have to say.

"What do you-" "No."

She appears as if she wants to keep questioning you, so you roll your eyes, take her hand, and pull her toward the other Angels. "'No', as in, 'you are not going to get back to work as long as we're here'. You, my dear friend, are taking a break. And you are going to like it."

She looks as if her world is crumbling around her, but the deer-in-headlights expression quickly turns into a bright flush when she realises that both Lucifers are laughing.

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

Aside from spending time with the Angels, you do have a bit of time to yourself. What do you do for the first few days? Pick one:


[] There is a monastery on the mountain, time to investigate

[] You heard there are Elven Champions around and go to find out more

[] Practice with Gabriel
(No write-ins for this one)


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

=====​

+25xp Vacation Time!

EXP gained: 25
Total EXP: 1,450

 

[Naron]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] There is a monastery on the mountain, time to investigate

"I was meaning to ask", Lucy starts, "what brought you to be UD-aligned in the first place? After what I heard from Lu, you do not strike me as the evil, no, the type to thrive in their society."

It is just the two of you, a few hours after you decided to stay, sharing tea while Gabriel and Lucifer the older went out to explore the base. You made sure not to call it a date where they could hear, though Lucy laughed when you mentioned that later. Now you shrug. "Not much of a choice, really. My only option to get out of there was to use this completely uncontrollable spell and hope I don't bring myself somewhere worse."

"That makes sense." Lucy takes another sip from the sweet tea before adding a curious question: "And why did you not defect during that episode on Valhalla I heard about?"

A good question, one you have trouble answering. The thought to just switch sides never crossed your mind. To abandon your team, abandon Paoras of all people... ah, that explains it. You just shrug again and nurse your own cup. "I know you're at war and everything, but the UD has some decent people around. Not that many, I think, I don't even know because no one can actually speak their mind or do as they wish unless they are super powerful."

It is getting away from you there, so you take a sip to organise your thoughts. "Anyway, I met some good people and they just... grew on me. Decent people trying to make do in a horrible place."

"I see."

Lucy thinks that over while you take a sip of your own. Both of your cups return to the table with audible clinking noises, but you are the only one who speaks, albeit reluctantly. "That aside, I'm planning to go home soon. To my own time." After a moment, you also point at the surprised Angel's face. "And if you're calling us friends, then you better not go and die before I get to meet you then!"

She laughs at that, a quiet cackle that holds on for quite a while. You meant it, but even you can see why she finds it funny.

"Naturally," is the response you receive after a few seconds. "I am not planning to die, and this I promise you. Until we meet again, I shall stay alive no matter what."

The words immediately worry you, with her giving such a promise, but then your mind parses them and you just shake your head. "Did you just fake out the system?"

"Why, because I made a promise that might make me fall, but which would only do so after I am already dead?" She grins at you, well aware of what she did and completely unrepentant. "Why should I not? I meant every word either way, we will meet again in your time."

You can not help but return the grin and show her a thumbs up. "Sure thing."

The comfortable silence after that holds for a moment, which each of you uses to empty her respective cup. This time, it is Lucy who speaks up with another question. "Back to the previous subject, what will your return to your own time mean for your alignment?"

You make to respond, but halt and think. "Good question." You do not really have any interest to keep fighting in this war, at least not really. There is something about it that just feels off, though you can not put your finger on what it is. You do not want to hurt and maim and kill when you do not have to, and now it is definitely your choice. But if your friends are still there in your time?

"I honestly don't know," is the only truthful answer you can give. "Have to think about it. I never thought any further than actually getting home."

"I can not blame you. Would you care for more tea?"

She quickly refills both cups and you consider what to ask her next. It is quite the pleasant day so far, although you do want to find the other two soon.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

The next day is set for an excursion out to the monastery cast into the mountain overseeing this base. The same mountain apparently also houses various mines where elven miners dig for precious resources, and that is why the Empire has an outpost here, to protect them from any incursions.

"What about the monks," you had asked when that was explained. Lucy laughed at you.

Half an hour into your visit up high, you understood why. Those are not the usual ascetic prayer monks, though that is part of their daily duties as well. They are warrior monks, the kind you see in those old Japanese -or are they Chinese?- karate movies, that jump up onto trees and break walls with their bare hands.

"As you can see, everyone is quite diligent." One of the leaders of the monastery, you forgot his name already but he has a neatly trimmed beard and quite a few wrinkles, motions for the rows of exercising Elves. From acolytes freshly recruited to the old masters, everyone is gathered for their morning practice.

Elven warrior monks. The things you see...

Gabriel nods with a kind smile for all of them, her presence magnifying her approval to the point you think it makes them punch and kick harder.

That is also odd. You had one of those before, but it has not shown itself ever since you woke up here on Reluxus. Going by your friend's explanation, these presences require a certain reputation even after having been earned; with only a handful of people remembering so much as your name, and even with The Dragonslayer remaining as a legend, that is not enough to sustain yours.

You have no problems with that; it saves you a lot of explanations for why no one knows you but you have a presence that requires them knowing you.

The tour of the monastery Gabriel got for you is honestly somewhat... boring. Boring in the sense that while you find the architecture and combat forms and everything interesting, it is only for a minute or two at most. You are no geek for architecture or hand to hand combat, even Lu is not particularly into it.

After a time, once the elder is done explaining how the monks grow their own fruits and vegetables, you speak. "I was wondering about something." He immediately turns his head to you, so you ask straight away: "I'll freely admit I'm not the most, uh, invested in unarmed combat like yours. But from what I heard, you guys here are pretty strong. What's the trick there?"

He grins a grin of several missing teeth and motions for you to follow. "Why, a good question. The Stardust Mountain Sect is quite well known for it, so I am surprised you did not hear, young lady." There is no insult there, though his tone bothers you for some reason. Or maybe something he said?

It takes a few minutes until you reach wherever you were going, which he spent in silence with an impish grin. Gabriel and Lucy are chuckling while Lu looks around with open curiousity. The old Elf led the way into another, wider, and deserted courtyard facing out toward the countryside and the base far below. A single strawman is placed close to the edge.

"Now, it is about time for me either way, so I might as well give a demonstration. Watch closely."

He steps forward with measured steps, which you only now realise are not signs of old age, but of a raised guard. He is ready to defend himself at any time, never off-balance, never unaware of his surroundings. You only barely suppress a whistle and watch him approach the dummy; his stance changes fluidly, hands up and legs bent for stability.

Another late realisation is that the shroud of mana surrounding him is flowing gently, and now surges from everywhere to his right arm in a heartbeat.

Then his fist snaps forward and-

(Essence of Stardust: +2000 Base Damage 1728000000 Laser, dice ignored = 1,728,000,000 Total Damage
Strawman: +20 Base Resilience, no dice, -20 Face Annihilation = 0 Damage Reduction

1,728,000,000 Final End Damage
Strawman is dead. He was not alive, but he is still dead. Also vaporised.)

-the dummy explodes. Literally.

Not only the dummy, the sudden discharge of mana from his fist tears it away and completely destroys everything in front of him with a loud boom. Now you understand why this place is set up at the cliffside; the entire energy slams into the air instead of tearing up the monastery, sending a strong gust of wind your way as it fills the hole his strike left.

There is no trace of the dummy, aside from the first foot of the pole it was attached to.

He bows toward the blowing wind and does not seem to mind how his beard flutters, then rights himself and returns to you with a serene smile. The whole sight is so at odds with what you just saw that you wonder if it really happened. Lu is just as wide-eyed next to you while Gabriel chuckles.

The old Elf returns to his impish grin when he stands in front of you, hands hidden in his long sleeves. "As the grand master of the Stardust Mountain Sect, I can channel and store power for a bit over a hundred days. Any acolyte who completes their first year achieves ten days at the very least. It is quite the potent response to just about anything, and we are quite capable of defending ourselves even without our Essence of Stardust."

At least you managed to pick up your jaw. After taking in what he said, you point back at where the dummy once was. "So you're saying everyone here can do that every few days?"

"Quite." And he keeps smiling like that. You are really not sure whether to call that whole matter insane or impressive.

"I can't really imagine how you do it, to be honest. Most I ever charged something was fifteen hours, and that sent me into a week of bed rest." And a vacation that you figure will do some good to you, too.

His smile falls away and old eyes open fully to take you in. "Fifteen hours, truly? And with enough power to exhaust yourself in such a manner?"

"Yes?"

"Hm." He strokes his beard. He's doing the old man pose where he strokes his beard and you get to see it for real! The realisation almost makes you miss his next words. "That is quite the feat, especially as one who is not part of our monastery. If I may offer a piece of advice, pacing yourself is often quite useful. Do not attempt to push as much power into it as you can in as short a time as possible, but keep the flow constant and manageable."

You almost tell him off because that is easy to say for someone who has no limited transformation to use his powers, but bite down on it. Instead, you lower your head. "I will take it to heart, thank you." He is only trying to help after all.

"Now," he continues with a lot less gravitas, "shall I show you to the mural?" It is a rhetorical question, seeing how he already leads the way again, but you do wonder what kind of mural that is supposed to be. You also wonder why Gabriel is snickering.

At some point on your journey through the many halls, Lucy's eyes widen and she starts to cackle quietly, too.

Of course the old master does not miss their amusement. He curiously turns his head without so much as changing the rhythm of his steps. "What exactly would be so amusing to you, Lady Gabriel? Lady Lucifer?"

They both wave him off kindly. Lucy points to you with a smile. "I can still not get over our young friend's reaction to your display, grandmaster."

"Ah!" He huffs softly and offers them a smile of his own. "Well, we were all young once."

"...if we weren't guests here, I'd have some choice words about that."

Now all three of them are laughing, but you do keep it down to just grumbling; it shows how far your self-control developed, you would have torn into the old man if he said something like that to the you from a year ago.

Silence settles again after that, but you can not get their stupid grins out of your mind. Just what is so funny to them?

You are still pondering that when sweet incense fills your nose, the entire group's measured steps beginning to echo as you enter a large chamber. The far wall is filled with a twenty metres high mural and other artifacts are arranged around the room. You can see fine lines of Brand Craft snaking through the stone, connecting each of the display cases with some kind of array beneath. Probably to prevent any adventurous thieves from making off with the stuff.

Magic-wise, that mural is just as interesting; there are at least three layers of wards spread over it.

Turning off your magic sight entirely to take it in, your steps slow and eyes widen. Your guide chuckles. "Quite the sight, no? This is our legacy, the very origin of our sect."

You are on Reluxus. On a mountain.

"We call it 'She Who Brought The Emerald Sun', for in old legends it says that our ancestors beheld a figure wreathed in the most beautiful light atop this very mountain. Inspired by her radiance, they devised the techniques we still use today, chief among them Essence of Stardust."

It is the mountain. And before you is a larger than life depiction of yourself, completely historically inaccurate. They did get the colour of your blade's charge right, a tone almost emerald but somewhat lighter. Yourself? Well, you had no wings last time you checked. And you wear no floaty white dress. Or carry the gathered mana in your bare hands.

"I was meaning to ask, as Grand Archangel, would you know how true these legends truly are? Even at the risk of destroying my own faith in our mysterious forerunner, I would like to know."

And, well, you are not an Elf. Those ears are pretty pointy.

"It is quite alright. I happened to meet the woman in question personally. She is The Dragonslayer, although I have to admit that there was a lot of, ah, artistic freedom, taken with her depiction here. I assume the painter either did not get a good look at her, or took a few years before creating this mural."

You created a sect. The thought keeps repeating in your mind while you stare at the giant painting.

"My, truly? The Dragonslayer, who would have thought we are related to a figure of legend. I-"

A distant boom interrupts the exchange next to you, making the grandmaster pause and turn away while a rumble goes through the stone below. "I believe I should make sure nothing precious was broken. If you would excuse me?"

You take a deep breath and rub your eyes slowly.

"Of course, there is no need to rush. I believe our friend will require some time to take in the majesty of this piece."

Your hands stop minutely, but you can not look at it again just yet.

"I see, I see. Take your time, I shall be back shortly."

Steps move past you, an almost inaudible huff, and you lower your hands to look at this... this a while longer. The doors fall shut in the distance, leaving you alone with the three Angels. All of which you give a flat stare, while ignoring that Lucy's cheeks are red from suppressed laughter. "A word of warning? Just, just one word? Was that really too much to ask for?"

As if on cue, both Lucy and Gabriel break down and laugh, echoingly, loudly while you glare at them. Lu just stands at the side, visibly exasperated but grinning as well.

"You're assholes, both of you."

Nope, more laughter. You sigh and turn back to look at the mural. At least they got the skin colour right? And your gender? That's something.

When the two idiots are done laughing, Lu speaks up from the side: "So our dear friend created a cult because she felt like rearranging the landscape. Are there any other semi-religious movements regarding any of us that we should know about?"

Lucy falls back into giggles while Gabriel straightens up, face flushed. "Ah, I needed that. Now for your question, I believe there are at least two." She raises a finger. "The UD's Angel Slayers still invoke your title, The Fallen One, in combat." Another one. "And, but do not quote me on that, many melee-focussed Demons see The Dragonslayer as their patron and forerrunner. I can not say that one for certain, but I did hear the title mentioned a few times over the years."

You just sigh, unsure what to make of all this. Being some kind of mysterious, legendary figure never even occurred to you a year ago. Life is weird.

But then an idea presents itself and the mix of emotions you feel is overridden by glee. "And how many were inspired by you?"

The question throws Gabriel off and, incidentally, renews Lucy's laughter. The younger Angel is actually on the ground by now, wheezing and choking out a "T-Too, ahaha, too many!" before devolving into giggles again. Gabriel herself is quickly counts on her fingers, reaches ten, and panics while trying to figure out a better way to keep counting higher.

Now it is you who laughs at her, and that is good enough for you. You can sort your feelings about this out later.

. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .​

The rest of the day, which you spend at and around the monastery, is more calm. You slowly begin to accept that yes, you left a more or less permanent mark on history. Perhaps you should head out and find mentions of yourself in old history books when you get back. Maybe you actually will.

To think you were just a normal teenager a year ago still makes you feel odd. Just when did you change so much? Or maybe, you figure, you were always different and just lacked the power to truly stand out.

Either way, you calm down as the day goes on and, after another day spent mainly looking around the base and the mines, end up taking a longer expedition with Gabriel two days after visiting the Stardust Mountain Sect.

Meaning, she carries you in her arms and flies over half the continent to oversee an Elven legion march through the Reluxus Hypergate.

Mind, what the Elves call a legion is probably more like a demonic one, not a human one. Soldiers in absolutely identical armour march in sync, shoulder to shoulder, row upon row. Every single step is so clearly audible that it feels as if a single giant makes them, not millions of men and women. You watch and try to spy a piece of ground, but find none even while they continue to step through the active gate, hundreds of metres wide and tall as it is.

"Impressive, is it not?" Gabriel is gazing down with a fond smile while your thoughts go elsewhere. She does not seem to notice. "Its construction was finished a few years ago. They power it from the active supervolcano located just beneath."

The insanity of that aside, you can see the use of it. Powerful natural phenomena usually come with a lot of mana available to power great constructions like the elven hypergates; they only have a handful of them, but those have a great range and can transport entire armies in as long as it takes for the soldiers to march through. "This is the Empire's road to the war." Something about that makes you feel weird, and it draws your mind back to the thing you were trying not to think about.

Gabriel merely nods thoughtfully. "I feel a little small looking at such a marvel, but I also see a great weakness they will have to shore up greatly. If this gate is lost, the Empire's ability to contribute in the war will be crippled." She pauses momentarily, as if unsure whether she should even say it. "If the gate is taken, the entire Elvin Empire would be in easy reach of UD-forces."

You can not help but grimace as you stare down at it. You know how far the defense of this place will go.

Two thousand years from now, the woman holding you will make her stand here, together with an elite unit from the First Host. The greatest warrior of the Light, lost. And, again, with nothing you can do about it.

"...I see."

Her sudden comment makes you look up, to find Gabriel looking at you sadly. "You need not say anything, I can read it right out of your face. This place will be heavily fought for one day."

She has no idea yet but you nod anyway, mutely. Telling her of the future, this future in particular, would be too cruel.

You wonder if there would be another Gabriel after that point. A new woman, thrown into this horrible war carrying such a burdensome name, the same way Lucy was. What kind of person might she end up being?

You shake off the thought, there is a Gabriel right here, right now. Lu and Lucy are somewhere else, having separated from you earlier. But the thought of your fallen friend does remind you of something you were meaning to ask: "Say, did you manage to get fallen Angels treated better by now?"

The change of subject is most welcome on top of sating your curiousity. Sadly, Gabriel merely shakes her head after processing the question. "No, I am afraid not. Even the Grand Archangel can not undo millennia of prejudice and fear. I can give orders, but I know they are often ignored the moment I turn my head." She hangs hers as she says it and you pat her shoulder. "Lucifer's crusade reinforced the stigma and made progress nearly impossible, but I am still working on it. Slowly, surely, it will get better in time. I hope to see it one day."

You both exchange smiles and nods about it. She is Gabriel after all, and she has a lot of time to make it happen.

By yourself, you hope that there will be no heavy topics during the second half of the week; that would be a nice change of pace.

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

Again, you manage to have some time to spend; but what to do with it? There is little to do in a military base. Pick one:

[] There is a monastery on the mountain, time to investigate

[] You heard there are Elven Champions around and go to find out more

[] Practice with Gabriel
(No write-ins for this one)


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

=====​

+20xp Visited The Sect You Brought Into Being

EXP gained: 20
Total EXP: 1,470