Meka gritted her teeth as she got up behind Ushri. She was struggling to fend off Miyan's swift attacks. Meka hobbled over towards Ushri, who had just been kicked hard in the face. Miyan held his glowing sword above Meka’s closest friend.
You were the closest thing to family I ever had. You gave me the world. Now it’s time for me to give it back to you.
Meka shoved Ushri to the ground behind her.
*THUD*
Miyan’s blade crashed down, slicing Meka’s torso cleanly, spraying blood over Miyan and Ushri.
“NO!” Ushri screamed as Miyan stumbled backwards in horror. Then, the two parts of Meka fell to the ground in a haze of purple from Naku Tsuki’s blade.
*THUD*
—----
Everything happened in slow motion for Ushri. Meka was dead.
Ushri wiped off the blood from her eyes.
“I will avenge this, Meka,” Ushri said.
Ushri turned to Miyan. This time she attacked rashly with no pattern. She swung blow by blow at Miyan, every blow stronger and faster than the one before. Metal clangs filled the auditorium and Ushri’s audible screams with every attack put them more on edge.
“You are a monster.” Ushri yelled. Miyan tried to counterattack, but Ushri blocked it easily, then buried her blade through Miyan’s leg. The monk howled in pain as Ushri screamed in fury.
The samurai kicked Miyan in the face, forcing him to drop his sword, then kicked him again. Ushri picked up Naku Tsuki. She could feel its demonic power coursing through her. She held it so that the tip of the sword rested on Miyan’s chest. But she couldn’t kill him. Something about the killing felt wrong. Something about the weird purple light felt off. Something was calling her to kill the monk but she still tried to fight it despite all her rage.
“Meka wouldn’t have wanted this. I don’t want this.” Ushri cried. “I’m done.” Ushri chucked the sacred blade into a window and sheathed her own. “Go on. Tell them you’re a champion. All I want is to have Meka back.”
Ushri waited by Meka’s body as Rehela descended down into the city. She wove a spiral of golden light around Meka. The threads pulled Meka back together but Rehela still looked confused. Suddenly, the same glow emitted from Naku Tsuki during the fight engulfed Rehela and the golden magic. Rehela staggered backwards.
“Is Meka alright?” Ushri asked quietly
“I don’t know what’s happening. The spells are all right. I re-enchanted the stadium the today.”
“Is Meka alright? Can you revive her?”
“I’m trying.”
“It’s a yes or no answer.”
There was a brief pause. Aki came behind Ushri and put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry Ushri,” Rehela said.
Ushri took a few moments to process Rehela’s words. Then she burst out crying. She threw Aki away from her and ran out of the stadium.
Miyan watched Ushri run off. Ushri was right. He was becoming a monster. And within all of this he needed to find Melodie. He needed to know more. He needed to find her. He wasn't going to let her become another Meka.
A day later, there was a funeral held for Meka. Miyan watched in the shadows, knowing he wouldn't be welcome. He looked for Ushri, who didn't seem to be in the initial crowd either.
I'm sorry.
This was a tough match to decide. Had this been in the first round, Ushri and Meka would have been a clear winner, but Miyan's character development blossomed more in the quarterfinals while Ushri and Meka's story were left on the backburner. The champion card design slightly favored Miyan while the signature card was much stronger for Ushri, especially since Melodie didn't make an appearance in the fight as per Usaer's request. All of you did a wonderful job and should be proud of yourselves. This was quite the match.
@Usaername Congrats on winning the your quarterfinal match! You may now upgrade your champion to a card with max CMC7 or create a new signature card!
@East2West One must win and one must lose, and unfortunately Ushri and Meka lost the match today. Feel free to post and concluding story segments and cards, I would love to see them. And as you requested, Meka is now dead, so it would be interesting to see how a final story would play out.
@Tommia and @DrakeGladis ; The next match will be held at 6PM PST on Wednesday, so let's try and figure out everything before then!! If you need more time, I'd be fine with starting the match at 9AM on Thursday instead, but no later than that.
A scream echoed through the woods, piercing through the thick tree cover like a sword through flesh. Birds scattered across the sky like the splatter of blood as Michio dropped to the ground.
"Heavens above!" Michio rasped through gritted teeth. "You've gotten a lot better with the swarm!"
He looked to Mia, and her face was distraught. He looked down and realized he was bleeding, a ghastly wound in his gut.
"That... wasn't me!" Mia squealed, almost fainting at the sight of Michio losing blood. "We need... to get you... to the tent." "You need to control the swarm!" Michio pleaded as the birds whipped around, turning to black crows and cawing. "I'm trying... I don't know what's going on..."
Her hands pointed towards her flock, Mia strained to regain control. Behind her mask she was grimacing, her head aching. While Michio had been stabbed through the abdomen, Mia felt like someone was drilling into her head. Drilling, pounding, boring and smashing against her skull. She suddenly collapsed, her spirit form coming undone.
"Mia!" Michio called, reaching out. "Speak to me! Let me know what's happening!"
There was no response. A shadowy scythe formed and slashed at Michio, chopping clean through trees and gashing his side as he dodged. He made his way towards the medical tents, calling out for aid. But no one could answer. His prior scream echoed with the resonance of a thousand voices, but now, he shouting was like a whisper in the wind. Fog began to dance around him, inky smoke swirling and snaring him, like a snake constricting around him.
"No... this can't be happening..." Michio swore as he drove his blade through the smoke. "What are you doing to my daughter?"
The trees began to twist around him, caving in. They reached out in desperation like a mother grasping for their falling child, but with none of the warmth. Michio was restrained, unable to fight back against the sudden, powerful ambush. As the entire flock approached, he closed his eyes. Was this the end? Had he really come all this way, training for years and making his allegiances just to die like this? The flock began to take a form before him as he prayed, shattered remains of the paper mask falling to the ground in front of him. Gasping in shock, he tried to draw his blade and run, only to be pushed back down.
"What is the meaning of this?! Who are you?! What did you do to-"
Michio was suddenly silenced by a finger pressing against his lips. Joining it was the flock making a body, one that was not Mia's... the hand was soft and gentle, the crows creating the stature of a slender, beautiful woman. Familiarity washed over the ninja as his eyes widened.
"That's no way to say hi to me, Michio," a gentle voice rang from the new form. Michio tried to back away, straining. "No... stop playing tricks with me. You're not-"
Michio was met with a kiss on the lips from the form of his beloved. That same touch he knew from his time back home... Haru... tears began to form in his eyes. The Abyss will play tricks on your mind. On your heart. On your soul. Those thoughts raced through his mind, but so was the thought of his wife, who had been missing for so long, returning to him.
"It's been so long since we've last talked," Haru whispered. "I love you with all of my heart." "I love you too, Haru..." Michio returned weakly. "But I know you-" "Please come back to me. I've missed you."
Haru reached out a hand to Michio, and he was conflicted. He felt a heavy weight on his emotions, like his heartstrings suddenly held up the weight of the world. He wanted to reach out, to go home and reunited with Haru. But he made a promise to stay here until Friyena returned.
And yet, he had also promised to return to Haru...
A breath in, a breath out. A breath in, a breath out.
She had already beat the Abyss twice and Michio, while he had been tempted, had indicated that he would resist. He and Mia seemed like good people, and Kumo seemed to like them. She could trust Kumo's judgement surely.
A breath in, a breath out. A breath in, a breath out.
Miyan had killed Meka. Irreversibly killed. She could not be resurrected. She could not be healed. She could not be returned to any semblance of life even. Her fears that death would be permanent here seemed more and more likely to be true, meaning her promise to Kumo and Ushri was even more important.
A breath in, a breath out. A breath in, a breath out.
Michio had promised not to kill too. He was honorable. He would stick to his oath. While she was sure he wouldn't easily surrender, getting him without his items would be a great first step.
A breath in, a breath out. A breath in, a breath out.
Oritira slowly stretched, arching her back away from the walls of the grass pod she had grown at the roots of the oldest tree in the forest. The moth on her left arm fluttered it's big, brown wings slightly, preparing to take off if she needed to move. She stilled it, assuring it that it could rest there a bit longer. She would move soon, but it was pleasant having time away from people. It was important to interact with others if she was to get people to help preserve the natural beauty of the islands, but it was draining as well.
She never really had socialized before. While she had searched for other druids, that mainly meant asking the animals about other beings like her that understood them, and wandering the forests.
That's how she had first met Salzkaith. On the words of an injured deer, she had gone well out of her territory in search of someone else like her. She had unintentionally trespassed through the drake's territory, and he had confronted her. It was a rocky start to the relationship as he had tried to eat her, but being able to talk with him changed his mind. He-
Oritira's train of thought and breathing exercises was disrupted by a can thunking down on her head. Those silly monkeys... she had to assume they had escaped domestication. They seemed very familiar with the function of cans. Sighing, she got up for good and deposited the moth onto a quiet knot on the tree trunk.
Mia's mind broke under the immense pressure. She felt a thousand cries and screams as everything came back to her. She saw everything flooding her mind like a dam breaking, and yet nothing at all, blinded by it all. She found herself in darkness, in nothingness. What had happened? Was this the afterlife?
"Father!" Mia called out. "Can you hear me?! Please! Say something!" Silence. Or not? No, a roaring flame. Red seared through the darkness, orange and yellow parting the crimson veil like a rising sun. And yet, what she saw next was anything but radiant. She saw home, but it was dark. Painful. She looked down, and she was in her body. Back home, but still bloody. "Mom? Dad? Anyone?"
She tried to stand, but her body gave out. She was too weak to make proper movement, and soon, she heard the shattering of glass. Paper cranes began to spill into her room, taking sharp, serpentine forms. She tried to control them, but she was helpless to stop their advance as their pierced her body. Her arms, her legs. Her soul.
Michio was frozen in place. As Haru stared back at him, he saw every little memory returning to him. How he risked everything to return home in peace, and how he longed to have her back in his arms. She was right here, to have and to hold.
And all he had to do was give up his freedom... which he had already.
For him, there wasn't much to lose at all Mia's mask lay there, shattered. She was already gone, so he need not worry about losing her. And if he said no? He was helpless right now. Trapped. This abyssal projection could just simply form a blade and impale him. Perhaps break into his mind... maybe even force him to succumb. It seemed like a lose-lose situation.
This is the problem with dream magic, he thought. The slightest bit of mental weakness and it wanes. The moment Mia began to lose control it all came crashing down, and the moment she was shattered it was gone.
He and Mia were fighting an uphill battle against the Abyss. Its very being, its very machinations, were parallel in execution. Mia could create life from nothing. The Abyss could make anything into a husk. Michio could stalk from the shadows, disguising himself to take down his enemies. The Abyss could hide in his mind. coming out at the most opportune time as his own thoughts. How was he going to fight something when it was able to use their best strategies against them?
"Please... come back to me," Haru called out to him. "Come back home." "Home..." Michio's voice echoed in his mind as the branches parted, allowing him to reach out his hand. "We can be a family again. Instead of living our lives on the run, constantly in danger-" "My home... is here!"
The form of Haru gasped as Michio used his now free hand to quickdraw his blade. Before the trees could catch him again, he vanished, flanking into position.
How do we fight? It's simple. We just do. I didn't get where I am today by asking questions or looking for answers. I got here by living in the moment, and taking things one step at a time. Haru. Mia. I know you're out there, and I will find you. But this is not how I'm going to reach you. We may not be on the best of terms with each other just yet, but I've made a family here. And I won't let anyone separate us.
The swarm grew violent as Michio's refusal rang clear, Haru morphing into an Abyssal terror... the same kind that had restrained Michio in his dreams.
"Your home is with Septhis!" The horror roared. "I'm not entirely sure who this Septhis is," Michio retorted, "but he sounds too damn dangerous to be living with!" "That joke was terrible... are you sure you want those to be your last words?"
Michio responded with a backflip shuriken toss as he faded from sight again. Spikes of shadow took down tree after tree, leveling part of the forest into a ruined clearing to take away any form of cover. Suddenly, a blade drove through the horror, then left as quickly as it came as the trees began to rise once again. The horror mangled them, only to find them not collapsing nearly so easily; the trees were forming back stronger than steel.
Frustrated that Michio could possibly gain back even partial control over the swarm, the horror formed them into a blast that would hit him no matter where he hid. That's when the horror found that it could hit him all he wanted, but his magic allowed him to take the form of a tree. This tree sent back splinters of its own as Michio transformed back to normal, though he seemed extremely dizzy afterwards.
"Fun magic trick, but I have one better."
Tendrils surrounded Michio from all directions, before collapsing around him to box him in... but he was one step ahead. An explosion rang out from the mass as someone else joined the fray. Was that... Raeza? The form couldn't tell, because as soon as they appeared they vanished, only for a gunshot to echo from behind one of the trees. It missed, but the tangle of waves that came soon after surely didn't. And with the entity trapped, something struck it... the staff, flying from where Mia had dropped it. The flock wavered before dissipating, and the form of the horror collapsed into nothing, before regaining its colors and form. Michio reappeared before falling himself, his blade shattered and several wounds across his body. But he was alive, and as he looked before him, so was his daughter Mia.
"Mia?" "I heard you calling. It took me forever to find you, but I'm here. The Abyss... the Abyss tried to consume me." "Then it's a good thing I got you back in time. We can't have you turning into... whatever that thing was ever again."
Oritira found herself in the vast castle gardens an hour before her match. She sat on a crystal bench that split the morning sun’s rays into colorful shards that dotted the flowers in front of her.
The beauty of the moment seemed to distract the druid from the horrors that seemed to plague the tournament. Oritira closed her eyes to focus. The overwhelming palette of natural sounds painted such a serene picture in her mind. One wouldn’t even know the abyss had ran through the city a few days prior. In the distance, she heard some chirping. Sad chirping. It was a sad song but it was peaceful nevertheless. The music sent chills down Oritira’s spine as though she could feel something horrible coming.
“So you hear them too,” Aki said as he sat down on the bench.
“The birds?”
“Yes.”
“Why do they sound so sad?”
“I don’t know,” Aki responded, “No one has ever seen those birds before. They’re a mystery.”
“A mystery?” Oritira prodded.
“The only thing we know is their chirps have occurred before the greatest disasters of our kingdom, yet somehow, they still remind us about the beauty of this world.”
“That’s reassuring,” Oritira laughed nervously.
Aki smiled. “If there’s one thing their song has taught us, it’s that there’s always light even when the darkness threatens to take over.”
Oritira smiled. “Come on,” Aki continued, “It’s time for your match. Good luck out there.”
“Thanks,” Oritira said.
The two walked silently to the meadow stadium under the warming rays of the midday sun. Oritira took a deep breath before stepping into the stadium. Right as she entered, a cacophony of voices from the cheering crowd filled her ears, numbing her senses. She looked to Aki in the stands, then to Michio and Mia across the large meadow.
Oritira walked towards Michio and shook hands with him.
“Good luck,” Michio whispered.
“Let the second quarterfinal match of the tournament begin!!”
“Let the second quarterfinal match of the tournament begin!!”
Oritira, Michio, and Mia readied themselves before Oritira waved her hands. The grass started to knot around Michio’s and Mia’s feet. Sparkling gold pieces of paper rose into the sky and folded themselves into the cranes. Mia swept her hand down gently and two cranes left the flock to cut through the knotted grass. They flew in a graceful arc to rejoin the rest of the flock, which had now turned into multiple pastel colors.
Mia waved her hand, staying back like usual while Michio dashed towards Oritira. The cranes matched Michio’s pace, hiding him in the midst of colorful paper birds. Michio swung the flat face of his sword at Oritira as he approached the elf, careful not to injure Oritira.
Oritira closed her eyes and thick vines erupted around her within a second. Michio’s blade bounced off the vines and the cranes were forced to part from the masked ninja. Within her chamber of vines, Oritira silently summoned snakes to wrap around Michio’s feet. However, Michio’s legs instantly crumpled into paper as the snakes wrapped around them. To the left of the vine cage, Michio appeared in the middle of the swarm of cranes. He slashed quickly with his glowing blue blade, cutting Oritira’s vines to shreds. The druid tried to summon more vines, but just paper erupted from the earth.
The paper cranes parted as Michio aimed a kick at Oritira’s legs. Oritira was knocked off balance and fell backwards onto a bed of cranes. They carried her high into the air. The elf looked down at the ground and gulped.
The paper cranes are still animals, right? What if I could control them?
Oritira’s staff started to glow a bright gold. In her head she could feel Mia struggling against her.
It’s working! It’s working!!
There was a click that echoed through the elf’s mind, before Mia staggered backwards. Oritira closed her eyes, yet somehow, she could still see. From the vantage point of a crane in the flock, Oritira saw a sparkling world folded precisely to perfection.
What type of dream is this? Is this what Mia sees?
Oritira had a million questions but she knew she had to focus on the fight. The cranes dropped her softly on the stiff paper ground before she waved her staff again. The cranes zoomed towards Michio pinning him against a tree at the edge of the stadium. For the first time Oritira felt truly powerful. She could see Michio fighting against the cranes. She could feel Mia struggling to regain control of her flock, her voice echoing in the corners of his mind.
Michio reached for a mask on his belt, but some of the cranes resisted him. Mia’s attempts to regain control grew stronger and Oritira started losing control. Suddenly, a tear in the perfect paper world started to appear. Oritira felt herself lose control of the cranes completely as the dark world washed over her like a nightmare.
Michio was quickly able to fight off the cranes and join Mia. Her paper form looked crumpled from her stress against the flock.
“Mia!” Michio shouted, “Control it! I know you can!”
“I can’t. I don’t know how to stop it. After Oritira took control of the flock, I lost the power I had defending it against the abyss like last time. It was only a matter of time before the abyss regained its power over it.”
The cranes dove towards the three contestants, their beaks sharp as daggers ready to kill. Oritira yelped in the distance, covering herself in a shield of vines. Michio slashed them out of the air with his glowing sword while Mia spun her staff to knock them away.
“We must protect Oritira,” Michio instructed Mia, “Follow me and focus on the flock. I will protect you as we run.”
The nightmarish world continued to twist and bend. The vines protecting Oritira were ripped apart and the flat meadow curved into large hills as the ninja duo ran towards the elf. Part of the flock chased Michio and Mia as they ran. More tears appeared in the meadow ground expanding into holes that stretched into nothingness.
As Michio and Mia reached the top of the hill, they saw Oritira holding her battered staff into the air. Twisted vines and paper cranes were all clawing at the staff as it glowed with a brilliant golden light. A large drake sped into the clouded stadium, beating its wings to blow away the swarm of oncoming cranes. It wasn't Salzkaith to Oritira, but it would do. More cranes attacked it from the back, however, letting its blood spray like rain onto the rolling hills below. They scattered in the air around Mia. She closed her eyes, struggling against the dark, deceptive forces that held the cranes captive. One by one, the cranes returned to their rainbowish pastel colors.
“I…I can feel it…the light!” Mia whispered.
A tear in the meadow started to appear below Oritira. Within a few seconds, the ground opened up beneath her into a paper funnel allowing Oritira to plummet towards the inky nothingness below her.
“ORITIRA!!!” Michio shouted.
Mia snatched a mask from Michio’s pocket and threw it into the air. The cranes Mia had newly regained control of gathered around the mask, forming the shape of a drake. It dove down, tearing through the paper world and snatched the elf druid out of her fall. As it ascended up, Mia waved her hands. All three masks Michio possessed glowed brilliantly and the world started to fall back in place. The hills flattened. Tangled vines retracted back into the earth. Holes repaired themselves as the sky cleared back into the dazzling afternoon sun.
The flock delivered Oritira right in front of Mia.
“I’m sorry Oritira, you can’t interfere with the flock anymore.”
Mia swung her staff carefully, but with intention at Oritira’s head. The elf collapsed onto the meadow ground. As the elf fell, the audience cheered unaware of the nightmare they just lived through.
One person’s nightmare may be a simple dream for others, so think before you act.
While both had strong stories and characters, Michio won out when it came to card design. Congrats to both of you on amazing characters so far.
@Tommia Congrats! Michio has willed himself to the semifinals! The abyss seemed to get to Mia and the flock for a moment, but she regained control quickly. I look forward to see what cool things Michio has to offer. You may also upgrade your champion to CMC 7 or create another signature card!
@DrakeGladis Unfortunately, Oritira had to lose today. You did an excellent job with your story and reacting to tournament events, and I really hope you decide to continue participating in the story, even if it is just by reading. You were really a pleasure to have in the tournament.
"She's okay, right" Michio asked.
"Yes," Rehela said as she revived the druid, "She sustained more injuries from the controlled flock than the staff. That blow was perfectly placed to knock the elf out."
Michio smiled at Mia. "I'm proud of you" he mouthed to her.
----------
@Lujikul and @Aggroman15 your match will take place on Saturday at the latest, so please try and get everything in that you can on Friday!
The squire was seated on the bed of their accommodation while Cedric "stood" over them, his arms crossed as they usually were. "You haven't talked much since we faced that creature with Navor and Kumo, and I'm concerned for you. You've spent much of the time training, eating, or sleeping with hardly any words besides acknowledgement." The youth sat there, as though they were thinking, and turned their head to look up at Cedric.
"I'm fine. I think."
"You think?" If Cedric has visible eyebrows, he would've raised one. "What do you mean 'you think'?"
"The last couple months of my life have been more intense than I ever could've imagined. I found a helmet that held a ghost that insisted on training me as a knight. We joined this insane tournament. We've fought in a life-or-death situation twice now. I've gotten the chance to learn and study under real knights!"
"One was a dog."
"He's still a knight. And you're a ghost. And soon we're going to be fighting another knight!" "So what, you're starstruck? Finally processing that you're around people you'd call heroes?" There was a tone of mild impatience to Cedric's voice.
"Yes but, no? This is a course I never thought my life would take. If you weren't in that helmet I would've just sold it off to some curio shop or museum for a few coins and continue scrounging. I never would've become a squire!" "Well, becoming an archaeologist is a noble enough profession, you know. The past is as important as the present. You shouldn't be ashamed of the other paths your life could take. And even as a knight there are many it could still take. I've known knights that stay their course, some that retire to a calmer life, and others that..." The golden specter shudders. "Go down a less noble path. I may have stories for you when you are more experienced, but for now, those stories will remain untold." The squire stands up. "Hold on, haven't you told me about a knight before? Your mentor? She sounded fine." "She was. Until she wasn't." The silence of tension hung in the air, heavy enough that it felt like it'd crush the youth if they weren't careful. Cedric and his squire stared at each other for what felt like several very long minutes, though it couldn't have been more than just a few seconds. "Whatever," shrugged the squire. "Like you said, you'll tell me more when you think I'm ready. But I do want to hear these stories someday." "And someday you shall. But now that you're finally talking, I have a request for you." The squire's eyes widened. Was this entire conversation a ploy just to have their attention?! "Like you said, we have found ourselves in battle several times now, and soon we shall be up against a true bonafide knight, your first for combat. And Navor is a powerful foe with his ability of duplication, it'll be like a two vs one battle."
"Which of course is a near impossibility to win at this point."
"Correct. And if we wish to stand a chance, we must employ a new strategy, and that's where you come in. Without you, I would've lost the last match, and our clash with the beast would've been harder. If you would be willing, I'd be honored to fight by your side. Not just as your protector, but as a true partner in combat." "Of course, Syr Cedric. It'd be my privilege to work alongside you."
(New signature card for Cedric as my official "upgrade" entry!)
(Directly after the battle with the Abyss is over)
"We must help people evacuate, and help fight any of the other Abyssal horrors out attacking." Aki said, looking at the other knights expectantly. Kumo bounded off, eager to aid those others who needed help, and the Squire barely hesitated before taking himself and Cedric to the areas where civilians were trapped under rubble and needed aid in evacuating.
Navor wasn't quite so quick to rush off. He stood over the rift the beast came from, deep in thought. The crack still faintly glowed of abyssal energy, though it was fading quickly. This is only the first wave, and a group of highly trained knights had trouble defeating one of these monsters. We're going to need to be a lot stronger when the Abyss comes full force. I'm going to need to be stronger. With this thought came another: he was woefully ignorant about how the Abyss really functioned. It had shaped the course of his life, yet he had barely known about it until after the tournament began. He looked down at the swirling darkness in front of him, before going down on one knee to get a better look. Perhaps, if I can study it a bit, even as it fades, I can gain some of understanding of how it functions. Navor leaned down even further, peering down into the strange, wispy darkness. The abyssal energy was already beginning to fade, which was good for the city, but rather unfortunate for Navor’s studying efforts. Unable to discover anything of use, Navor stood up, and began walking out to help those still under attack.
Navor spun around, but saw nobody. Aki had already left to aid those that needed help, and everybody who was in danger in the immediate area had already been evacuated. Navor turned wildly in every direction, before he heard the voice again.
Finally, Navor pinpointed the source of the voice. It was the abyssal portal, which seemed to be reactivated, inexplicably glowing black. The darkness pulsated from it, overwhelming the light of the surrounding area. Against his better judgement, Navor slowly approached the opening. It seemed the abyss was trying to talk to him, and he had some questions he needed answers to. Navor pointed his blade down towards the blackness, not to be caught off guard. “There. I found you. Now, where is Jacks?”
Navor glared at the darkness. There was something off about this, beyond the fact he was talking to some sort of abyssal portal. He almost felt he recognized the voice. “Don’t try and trick me with your technical definitions of ‘alive’. I know Jacks is still breathing, but the soulless husk of a body you left him as could hardly be called living.”
“What?” Navor stumbled back in shock, before regaining his footing and taking a more aggressive stance. “How? Tell me now, or face the consequences!” Navor found himself becoming irrationally upset. He knew there was nothing he could meaningfully do to a disembodied voice coming from a hole in the ground, but he felt the need to threaten it anyways.
A strange, raspy chuckle echoed around the plaza. O̸̤̕h̴̖͗,̶̫̀ ̴̦͒I̵̞̒ ̵͘ͅd̶͜͝ô̵̪n̷̠̍’̵̢͗t̸̓͜ ̴̬̈t̴̯͋ḧ̴̜́i̸̠̎ṅ̸ͅk̶̤͒ ̷̜̄y̷̠̋ö̵̳́u̶̱̐’̵͎͋l̸̦͛l̴̼̄ ̵̪̑n̶̲̒è̷͖é̴̜d̵̈́ͅ ̸͖̇t̷̻̅ǒ̶̞ ̴͈̊w̶̙̑o̴̫̕r̸͇̒r̵̳̈́y̵̜̿ ̵̙͌ả̷͖b̶̡̈o̸̡͑u̴͍̚t̸̪̐ ̷̡̛h̶̹͋o̸̙̽w̶̪̓ ̷͚̐t̴̳͑o̴̹̍ ̶̬͘r̶̻̈́e̵̛̝ŝ̴̡t̸̠͆o̷͎͘r̵̞̽ẻ̸͕ ̶̹̏h̷̢̕ḭ̸̎m̷̖̽.̴̡̑ ̸̪̋I̶̼̓’̵̮̈́d̸̖͂ ̶͎̄b̶̡̾é̷̼ ̴̼̀m̵̗̊o̶̖̒r̷͍̓ė̵͖ ̴̰̓ẁ̶͎ó̸͇r̷̘̿r̴̖͊i̷̭͝ẽ̸̬d̴̾ͅ ̴̻͐a̷̩͂b̵̙̈́o̶͚͝ŭ̷̺ṫ̷͍ ̷̭͌p̷̺̑r̷̪̂e̵̢͠s̵̭͌e̵̓ͅr̶̖͘v̸͎̆i̴̞͠ń̴̲g̵̊ͅ ̴̬̀ÿ̸̟́o̶̤͠ú̴̧ȓ̴̘s̴̺̕e̸̥̓l̷̤͒f̶̰̆.̸̏͜
Within the shadows swirling around the crack, a deep purple light began to puncture through. The light began to bulge out of the darkness, swirling throughout it and taking on a more humanoid form as it rose up from the hole. As its body was sculpted out of the inky darkness, so too was a face. Navor fell to the ground. Nothing could have prepared him for the shock of what he saw before him.
T̷̡͋h̶̫̀è̷̥ ̶̖͑t̷͕͋ị̶̀ḿ̵̟ḛ̶͝ ̷̱̔h̴͉̐a̴̮͠s̸͈̔ ̴̗͋c̷̜̈́ô̵̫m̸̩͛e̶͙̔ ̴̳̂f̷̠̈ó̶͜r̴̤̒ ̵̺͐y̷̼͂o̷͔͝u̸͓͗ ̵̿ͅt̶̘́o̸͖̔ ̶̥͛j̸̭̔o̶̥̅i̵͎͋n̶͚͌ ̴̈́͜J̵͙̈́a̵̪͂c̸͓͋k̵͔͒s̵̜̉,̷̧͗ ̶̮́a̸̢̚ṅ̸̻d̷̻̍ ̴̘̔ȓ̷̻e̷̛̳t̴̮̑u̶͓͠r̸̯̉ń̶̖ ̴̱̈́t̶͖͝ó̷̜ ̷͚͐t̸̲͌h̶̗̉e̴͕͊ ̴̘̐Ô̵̼ŕ̴̭ḏ̵̈́ḙ̷̑ṟ̵̄. Declared the voice Navor now recognized as a warped, distorted version of Master Kosi’s. Her unmistakable manifestation, an inky black with swirls of deep purple, took a step out of the abyssal portal and began to glide toward Navor. Y̷̨͐ö̷́ͅù̸̡ ̶͖̿e̷̢͊v̵̙̎a̵̦͂d̵̻͋e̷̹͝d̸̟̀ ̸̱́ò̸͓ǘ̵͕r̵̜͂ ̷̦͠s̵̛̼i̶̠̔g̷̛̠h̴̩͌t̸̛̹ ̸̖̊ḟ̵̘o̶̍ͅr̶̰̎ ̵̤̀ã̵̮n̸̹̕ ̶͔́í̵͈m̵̛͇p̸͇̆ṙ̸̻ē̸͙s̴̮͝s̵̛̟ĩ̵̞v̶̭̓e̸̡̓ ̸͈͊a̵̫̕m̶̝̅ọ̶͊u̸̗͂ṇ̵͆t̵̺́ ̵̼̈́ȏ̷͙f̶̖͗ ̵̼̍t̸̲͠ȉ̸̳m̴͙̀ẹ̴̽,̸̩̃ ̶̛͓b̵͇̆ǘ̶͎t̸̠͗ ̷̯͌n̷̞̚o̶̘͗ ̵͚͝k̷̲̎ǹ̵̹ȉ̵̪g̸͎͆h̷͈́t̴̻͒ ̸̩͋c̶̭̔a̶͍͑n̸͓̒ ̴̖̉r̶̜̃ŭ̵͚ǹ̸̨ ̵̠͋f̵͉̍o̵͎͋ȓ̴͓ȅ̶̠v̸͕̂ĕ̵̺r̴̘̋.̵̃͜ ̴̖̈́Ṋ̴̐ȏ̵̪ŵ̶͙ ̸̐ͅs̴͍̚t̴̪͐ạ̵̇ń̶̘d̵͚̓,̸̟̈́ ̶̢̐a̸͔̾n̶̤̓d̸̬̈́ ̴̞̑a̵͇̒l̸̠͒l̷͚̈́ò̸̘w̶̰͌ ̵̟̚m̶̱̚e̶̘̅ ̸̜̅t̶̳̃ő̴̧ ̸̬̽b̸̕͜ř̵͙i̸̻͠n̸̝̚g̶̲̈́ ̸̦̏y̷͉̒ȍ̸̰ṵ̴͐ ̸̡̑ȉ̵̗n̷̰̑ṱ̸̈́o̶̱̾ ̵̞͋t̴̹͝h̷̢̕e̵͇̓ ̸̡͛ẗ̸͉́r̵͖̅u̴̱͛e̵͎͆ ̶͔̈́r̷̰̊a̵͉͒n̸̥͗k̷͉̕s̴̡͝ ̷͚̈́ŏ̵͉f̴̼̾ ̴̙̀t̷͕̚ẖ̶̎ḛ̵̈́ ̴̮̎Ó̴̼ŕ̶̬d̸͎͆e̷̦͛r̶̝͋ ̸̨͌o̴̩̅f̶̢̚ ̸̛̞M̸͕͌å̵͖n̵̘̈́i̸̩͑f̶́ͅe̴̤͠s̵̫̔t̴̖͐à̴͎ṭ̴̓ḯ̷̟ö̷̯́n̴͓͘.̷͇̈
Navor felt himself compelled to stand, and he stumbled to his feet. His manifestation was forcefully wrenched from his body, and Kosi reached out a long-fingered hand tipped in malevolent purple claws. She placed her hand on top of the head of Navor’s manifestation, and Navor felt the terrifying, painful sensation of having his soul wrenched out of him. He closed his eyes, his inner self hurting too much to be defiant.
When Navor had closed his eyes, he was in excruciating pain, on the brink of death. When he opened them again, rather than seeing Kosi’s manifestation sucking his soul out of him, he saw Aki, stooped over the monster, shaking Navor frantically. Navor blinked, and looked around. He was kneeled in front of the crack in the ground, his hand wedged into the crevice. Upon further inspection, the portal seemed to be gone, just as it was before he got up to leave. Where there had previously been an inky figure rising from the pulsing blackness, there was now just a crack in the ground, nothing magical about it. Aki sighed heavily in relief, before releasing his iron grip on Navor’s shoulders. “Navor! Thank Friyena you’re alright! I thought you had died, maybe even gotten possessed!” Navor groaned, and took off his helmet to take a breath of fresh air. “No, I’m here, alive, and still me as far as I can tell. My head hurts like hell, though.” Aki gasped as Navor removed his helmet. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! Are you sure you’re alright?” ”You’re not too far off. Regardless, I’m fine, let’s go get everyone evacuated.” “Navor, you were out for a solid while. The whole thing’s over now, everyone’s out. I came back after Cedric and I were done to see how you were getting on, and found you crouched here like this, reaching into the hole. That was a few minutes ago.” Navor shook his head. “I 've only been here a couple minutes, at most…” “Doesn’t change the fact that the attack is done. Let’s go to the castle, I’ve got some things I need to discuss with all of the contestants.”
————————————
Navor was finding it exceptionally difficult to sleep in his new quarters within the walls of Castle Rosakel. The uncanny resemblance to Castle Persill was even more pronounced in the living quarters, which were near-exact to how Navor remembered his room back at the Order’s headquarters. Troubled memories began to bubble to the surface, not exactly helped by his vision of Kosi earlier in the day. Times he had spent with Jacks in a room similar to this. Joking, laughing, studying. And the abyss had taken all that away. In one fell swoop, Navor was left without a best friend, and more importantly, Jacks was left without a soul.
And that wasn’t to mention all the others that Navor had grown to care about growing up in Castle Persill. Older trainees he used to hang out with, who went on to become full-blown knights, after which they seemed to lose interest in anything other than training and fulfilling missions. Like Jacks, they had lost all individuality. All those younger trainees who came after him, who had no chance to escape their fate. The entire thing made his blood boil. So he decided to take a walk. Navor gathered a guard to escort him, and exited the castle. Load of good one guard is going to do if we’re attacked by the Abyss out here. Navor thought. But, that was the reason for this trek. Navor knew that silver swords were particularly effective against the Abyss, and when made properly like the one Aki had given him, not a bad choice in a regular fight either. However, Aki’s blade was not tailored to Navor’s style. It was too light, didn’t have quite the right shape, and so on. It was a fine sword, but not one Navor would feel comfortable taking on any sort of opponent with outside of an emergency. Navor entered the blacksmith’s building. He had come to know this particular blacksmith quite well during his time here, and knew that he was quite a night owl. “Ah, Navor! What can I do fer you on a fine night like tonight?” The burly man behind the counter said cheerfully. “I need a sword. And not just any old longsword. I’ve got some specifications for this one.” He pulled out a notepad with sketches of the blade and notes on its construction on it. The blacksmith looked, and nodded. “Difficult, but doable. I’ll have it done by morning.” ”Thank you, sir.” Navor smiled. “I have full trust that you will deliver the finest I could ask for.”
————————————
(The day of the match)
Navor walked with a confident purpose towards the arena. In a scabbard at his side was an elaborately crafted silver longsword, which Navor took out, and studied one more time. It was very similar to his previous blade, a long, well-balanced sword which offered great control and allowed for nuanced fighting. The blade was reinforced with other metals, some of which shone through in a simple pattern down the broad side. Ever since acquiring it a few days earlier, Navor had been practicing with it, getting accustomed to the nuances and details of handling it.
Next to Navor walked his manifestation, sharing his confident stride. Much the same way that the manifestation was made of wispy shadows, mirroring Navor but not replicating him, it held in its hand a wispy blade of white light, indicative of the silver that the blade contained. Sunsinger. That was the name of the blade. It had been the name of the sword Jacks wielded, passed down from his father and his father’s father and beyond. While it was not the same sword, it brought Navor some form of ease to know that Jacks was with him in some way. As he neared the stadium, Navor felt a sense of excitement. He had won the first round, but now he had to prove himself against a fellow knight. A fellow man of honor, who he had not so long ago fought shoulder to shoulder with. But regardless of fellowship, Navor knew that neither side would go easy. Both of them would be on the top of their games. Navor smiled at the thought. He was prepared to have one hell of a fight.
(Navor’s new supporting card) (If it’s not balanced, oops, it’s 3 in the morning my time and I just wanted to get this done.) (Most likely because i was doing this at 3 AM, I forgot to make Sunsinger legendary, which it definitely should be. That is now fixed.)
Hidden behind a tree, Aki watched Kumo and the squire training for hours the morning before the match. It was an overcast day—not too hot nor too cold for such exertion. There was a golden flicker next to Aki, before the form of Syr Cedric had manifested himself in front of the prince.
“Oh! Syr Cedric!” Aki laughed nervously, “Wh-what are you doing here?”
The knight looked down at the helmet on the ground.
“Oh, right.”
There was an awkward silence before the champion began to talk. “May I inquire why you’re watching my squire train?”
“Oh I was just passing by, you know…” Aki turned to walk away.
“Please, I know when someone has been standing next to my helmet for hours.”
Aki opened his mouth like he had something to say, but nothing came out.
“You can talk to me, you know,” Cedric continued, “I just can’t hug you though for obvious reasons.”
“Your squire,” Aki sighed in defeat, “He wants to be like you.”
“He wants to be dead?”
“No no no…he wants to have your bravery. Learn your skills. Protect people like you’ve done for him,” Aki corrected.
“Well, that’s obvious,” the knight commented.
“Don’t let him lose you. Ever.” Aki turned and walked away from Cedric and his knight.
Otherwise, the squire would suffer just like I had with the king.
“You have a match at the cliff stadium in forty-five minutes,” Aki yelled as he walked away, “Don’t be late.”
Cedric paused to ponder the meaning of Aki’s warning before calling over his squire.
—
“...and some stories even say that these very cliffs along with the bridges of the lake stadium, predated even the gods of this plane-”
Rehela elbowed him softly.
“Oh. Am I saying to much? Well, enough of the history lesson. Let the third match of the quarterfinals begin!”
The squire and Navor stood on a large cliff in the center of the arena. The squire lunged first, one hand on his sword and the other on Cedric’s special helmet, forcing Navor to parry his blow. They exchanged a few more quick blows before retreating to their initial positions.
“The squire has gotten better,” Rehela commented.
This time, Navor swung his silver longsword with great purpose. The squire bent his knees and blocked the attack with perfect form. As the blades connected there was a high-pitched ring that caused the squire to falter.
Navor pressed forward and twisted, forcing the squire’s sword out of his hands. It clattered to the ground. Right as Navor tried to attack again, a golden spirit flew out of the helmet knocking him backwards.
Below his helmet, Navor smiled. This was the fight he had been waiting for.
“You fail to remember that you are supposed to come out as a surprise.”
“Well, I couldn’t hold it in. The fight was calling my name,” Syr Cedric told his squire confidently.
Navor hacked at the edge of the cliff repeatedly.
“What is he doing?” the squire asked.
“I think he’s gone mad,” Cedric responded.
As Navor continued to bang his special sword on the ground cracks suddenly slithered throughout the entire cliff. Almost comically, there was a moment of silence, then the entire edge of the cliff gave way in front of Navor. Cedric and the squire plummeted to the rocky ground below as the boulders falling on the ground stirred up endless sand and dust in the air.
“Are you okay?” Syr Cedric asked.
“I- I think so! I can’t see anything. Where are you?” the squire yelled.
Above, Navor watched the destruction. Then, he closed his eyes and a manifestation leapt from his body into the dust.
Syr Cedric saw a wavering form of Navor approach him from behind, but he was ready. Just as he raised his shadowy sword, Cedric drew his own and lunged at Navor. The knight quickly stepped out of the spirit knight’s radius of the helmet.
“Again.” Navor smiled from above the sand cloud.
This time, the two knights’ swords met. A flickering black sword clashed violently with Cedric’s golden sword’s form.
I won’t be able to venture outside my radius of the helmet, so the only option for me is to let down my defenses and lure him in.
Cedric stole a quick glance into the slowly fading oblivion of dust before striking again. He intentionally placed himself in awkward positions, hoping to lure Navor in. However, Navor was smarter than that. He made sure to keep up strong defensive positions while still preying on Cedric’s supposed weak positions. Cedric started getting frustrated. He jabbed at the opposing knight, who dodged easily. Navor’s flickering blade whirled around him in a large arc, this time forcing Cedric to block it at an awkward angle.
As the dust cleared, the squire ducked behind a fallen boulder, watching Syr Cedric duel with Navor, each blow more powerful than the first. The loud clashes of the blades had the audience cheering for more. So Navor and Cedric continued to give it to them. However, something about Navor wasn’t right. There were slight imperfections in his form. Something Syr Cedric wouldn’t notice in the heat of battle. The squire looked up. Navor was standing at the edge of the cliff, eyes closed. He was focused. The knight Cedric was fighting was a manifestation, which means Navor could tire out Cedric at no cost.
There was however, a way back up the cliff. The squire sheathed his own sword. There was a narrow, steep path back up to Navor. The squire quietly started up. He needed to surprise Navor and stop this whole thing.
Meanwhile, Navor handled his manifestation perfectly. Sharp attacks that forced Cedric on defense combined with calculated moves steps ahead left Cedric on edge. The spirit’s plan wasn’t working. Cedric tried to lunge again, but this time Navor ducked and pushed his blade towards the spirit knight’s leg. The manifestation’s blade somehow buried itself into the spirit’s leg. Cedric screamed in pain. It was such a pain that he hadn’t felt since he was alive. The spirit tried to counter attack, but the manifestation retreated out of Cedric’s radius again. Navor carefully attacked Cedric from a farther distance now. The pain would be able to do its work to tire him out now.
The squire started moving faster after Cedric’s screams. “I need to stop this…now. I don’t even know if ghosts can be healed!” After what seemed like the hardest journey of his life, the squire pushed himself back on top of the cliff. With adrenaline pulsing through his brain, he charged.
Navor felt in tune with the world. His mind was peaceful. He was controlling the fight against Cedric at no risk and his squire was nowhere to be found. Then, there was a shift in the rocks behind Navor.
It’s just the wind. Focus on Cedric. Keep tiring him out.
Then more rocks shifted behind him. There were footsteps charging at him. Running. The squire had returned. Navor opened his eyes and spun around just in time to block the squire’s attack.
The squire shouldn’t last long. I need to defeat Cedric though.
The squire played offensively, using strokes Kumo had taught him in the endless hours they had spent on the training ground. Despite the defensive gaps the squire left, Navor was unable to capitalize on them. His mind was focused in too many places at once. Still, he could feel the squire’s adrenaline running out. Each strike became less and less powerful from the squire, but the same went for his manifestation. As Navor focused more on defeating the squire, his manifestation started to lose its power too.
“Ha!” Navor slashed quickly at the squire after another one of his weak attacks. It sliced the squire’s left hand cleanly off. There was blood all over the floor that started to dribble over the edge of the cliff.
Now it was the squire’s turn to scream. With nothing left to do, he dove at Navor’s leg. He grabbed it tightly with his right hand before falling off the edge of the cliff, dragging Navor with him. In surprise, Navor lost control of his manifestation. With a little pop, it disappeared.
The audience gasped.
Beneath the falling knight and squire, Syr Cedric readied himself. With a perfectly calculated swing, he slammed Navor on the head midair with the hilt of sword. He reached for the squire with his free hand, but he was out of reach. The squire hit the ground hard.
“NO!” Syr Cedric yelled. He started to say more but his wound on his leg had finally gotten to him. Cedric’s form flickered and disappeared into the helmet. Were all of them dead?
The audience was dead silent. Then, one of them stirred. They willed themselves up and a cheer ensued from the audience.
This was an incredibly difficult match to decide, so I'll walk all of you through my process. My initial thought was Cedric if this matchup ever happened, when the end of the first round came around, Navor had an advantage. The toughest thing is that both characters' stories rely on being in the tournament. In terms of card design, Lujikul had a strong advantage, especially with how tightly Luji's cards fit in with Cedric's story AND how fun and simple they are. It was especially cool playing out how Cedric's protective nature over the squire is reflected in his second ability. For Navor, he was more part of the world, a main motivator as to why he was able to defeat Ozge the round before as well. The connections with the abyss and Jacks woven into a beautiful backstory was really strong too, and interacting with the world is a HUGE plus. However, Syr Cedric seemed to interact other characters to greater impact, which is what really gave him the edge.
@Lujikul Congrats on your victory! You may now upgrade your champion to CMC7 or create a new signature card!
@Aggroman15 You did fantastic in this tournament. I would love to see a concluding story segment because your writing was simply flawless. Well done.
-------
@Arceus8523 and @feralitator your match will be held sometime on Wednesday morning. Does that deadline work for you?
The dreams continued for a whole week. Claire was seen less and less, as she took more and more time in her room to think. The dread arkanai attack did not make things easier for her. After helping take down the abyssal monster, Claire returned to her room again. This time, her head was racing so much that she completely forgot about the tournament. She only realized she had to leave after hearing some of the other contestants leaving their rooms.
Oh crap I'm going to be late!
Catching up to the other contestants, Claire was out of breath. She had done too much running today. While the others were talking about their fights with the abyss, she was preoccupied, thinking of her dream.
As they were approaching the castle, Claire snapped out of her thoughts, feeling something touching her. Kumo, who noticed that she was mentally in her own world, was nuzzling his head on her leg. She kneeled down and pet the dog.
"Thanks"
Kumo smiled at her, wagging his curled tail and licking her cheek. They returned to the rest of the group at the dining hall, where they heard the news of the king's death. She didn't have a connection to this world like the other contestants, so the news didn't have that much of an effect on her, but she reasoned that if a king is anything like a captain on her world, then people should be respectful of their passing.
What was more shocking to Claire was that she didn't realize who her next opponent was until now...
Aki traced his finger numbly down ancient pages under a tree in the moonlight. The cloudless sky left a mess of sparkling stars across the sky as the pale moon watched upon the plane, casting its light for the kingdom in absence of the sun. The calming rays illuminated what seemed to be pictures drawn carefully like words to illustrate some sort of story. Many images however, were faded and it was difficult to understand. At the bottom of the sheet, there was a neat signature, one that seemed to resemble the letter R.
“Arrgh! I can’t make any sense of this!!” Aki yelled.
He threw down the papers in frustration. Aki took out a knife and dug deep into the tree. He took it out and hacked at the tree again, this time with more force.
Why did you have to leave? Why did you have to be the hero? I needed you. Right now the world is falling apart and I need you so much right now.
Aki raised the knife again, but this time a gentle hand stopped him.
“Aki,” a familiar voice said, “I’m sorry about your father. About the tournament.”
“I…just wish he was here. I looked up to him all my life but he never noticed me. Now…he’s gone.”
Aki dropped the knife. It landed softly on the grass next to him. Aki felt a tear roll silently down his cheek. Under the moonlight, it glowed a striking silver as it touched the moon's rays.
“I- I’m sorry…” Aki took a shaky breath, “You shouldn’t be seeing me like this.”
He turned to look at the comforting person. It was Michio. “I know what it is like to lose someone,” he started, “I lost everyone I loved in one night.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Could you do a favor for me?” Aki asked.
Michio nodded. The prince and ninja sat down by the tree.
“I just want to see him. One last time. I just want to say goodbye.”
Michio turned to face Aki and touched his hand to Aki’s forehead. Shaking, Aki closed his eyes. The world around Aki seemed to transform. He was still sitting at the tree now, but the scene was different. Aki and his father were training. The prince watched as their training swords met over and over again. Every sound echoed in his mind a hundred times before disappearing. It was almost overwhelming.
“Aki, you have to block my blade here! That way you can set up for an attack of your own. You know this!”
The young prince quickly adapted. Repeating the same strokes again, this time opening up an attack of his own. He saw his father’s faint smile before they were interrupted.”
“Sir, there are forces moving in on the east…”
The king walked away, leaving the prince alone in the middle of the field.
There was a flash of light before the scene swirled into another. Aki was now behind jade green curtains, listening to the king and queen arguing.
“You need to know that someday, your bravery will get you killed…all of us killed! There was no need for you to fetch this yourself.” The queen gestured angrily towards his palm.
“You don’t understand. This locket is important.”
“More than your life?”
“No! It could mean much more. More than every life on this plane.”
"You can't be the hero in every story," the queen said bitterly before walking out.
After the queen left, the king opened a silver locket in his palm. It contained an odd map made out of black corrupted steel. There were dots in certain places. Unfamiliar places, but Aki could make out from the shape of the map that it was of their kingdom.
There was another flash. Aki found himself behind a bookshelf, watching his father locking away his history books while talking to the queen. "He needs to be more like a king. Spending time on these books will do nothing if he can't fight like I can." Another flash. This time, he saw himself practicing his father's favorite moves in combat. Another flash. The king was walking away from Aki into a dark room. The door slammed shut and Aki opened his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Aki.”
“Don’t be,” he responded, “Now it’s time for me to move on. The tournament needs my full attention. After all, it’s the only thing that could connect us back to Friyena.”
Michio nodded as Aki picked up the fallen papers.
“Thank you,” Aki said before walking back into the castle.
(The day before Kumo's match, after the Abyssal attack.)
The mood had been dreary since the Abyssal attack. Even though the initial wave had been resolved, and as many people were kept safe as possible, it still did not help that the Abyss' presence had grown so strong so suddenly. This was worsened by the reveal of the king being lost to the Abyss. Kumo had come from a far away land, at the far corners of Avelaide, and was by no means a member of the Rosakel empire in any meaningful way. However, he acknowledged the severity of the event just as any other person in the room did, and felt sorry for those who were deeply and directly impacted by the death of their monarch, most notably Aki himself. The change in tournament rules was expected, though not exactly welcome. It only furthered worried Kumo. He knew it was safer to be in the palace, and to be escorted to and from his matches, but he didn't feel safer. If anything it only reaffirmed that the Abyss' uprising was inevitable.
It didn't help that multiple of his contestants had gone through encounters and experiences with the Abyss since. Miyan had killed Meka, fully and truly to where she couldn't be revived, and Kumo suspected the sword they had used to do had some sort of Abyssal tie, if not being a weapon from the Abyss itself. Michio had been tempted by the Abyss and only scarecly been able to fight back against it, and now Kumo feared the ninja may soon be lost to it. He had even heard rumors that Navor had been briefly pulled into the Abyss following the attack. Ozge had left, Ushri was heartbroken and gone to the winds, and Oritira was no longer living at the palace due to her elimination. Heck, he was even scheduled to fight Claire, which meant that one of the two of them would be leaving after this round, leaving into an uncertain world and uncertain life thanks to the recent Abyssal Uprisings. It felt as though, in a matter of days, Kumo had gone from complete confidence that there were people here in this tournament that could care for and support him to having nobody, and being just as alone as when he had first arrived.
Kumo tried to keep an optimism about him, but that was entirely an external facade, out of an obligation he felt. He was a dog; dogs were not supposed to have problems or worries or anything like that. They were supposed to be companions for people, and Kumo had become a companion to many of the contestants here. If he showed the others that he was having doubts and fears, it would only worsen their mood, and he couldn't put them through that. Heck, even setting aside the fact that he was a dog, he had been subject to some amount of divine intervention in the last round, and now he was some kind of figure of importance, as if he represented Friyena in her absense. If a representitive of Friyena was having doubts and worries, what did that say about the state of things? No. He needed to hide this, hide his feelings, hide his weakness. He was strong. He had to be.
Kumo was curled up tightly in his room. The new room was much nicer than the one he was given previously, but something about it made it lose much of the warmth that the old contestant housing had. Maybe it was the cold light of the magical lighting, compared to the warm torchlight that illuminated his old room. Maybe it was the fancy decor that Kumo felt he needed to take the utmost care not to distrub. Or maybe it was the mood of the contestants and palace staff he was living with, and the near total elimination of the cheeriness and excitement that had permeated the first round of the tournament. Kumo had speculated things would come to this, but he had hoped it wouldn't be so soon, or at all. He had been right when he had talked to Michio and Oritira: this wasn't a tournament, it was a war, and he had been drafted.
Kumo spent much of his time in his room, coming out only on rare occasion. He had helped Syr Cedric's squire train the day prior, but he did that out of an obligation he felt to the youth, and because the youth would need somebody there with him per the new rules anyhow. Otherwise, he tried to limit himself to brief appearances where he felt he could handle the emotional stress he was feeling, just so he could interact with and provide comfort and encouragement the other contestants, even if it was just a facade. He had to force himself to eat, since he knew he couldn't let physical weakness reflect the emotional weakness he was feeling.
While alone he spent much of his time thinking about the Abyss and Friyena, and what he could do about it. He had come to realize the whole reason he even came to this tournament to begin with was on some hope that Friyena would return, and more specifically that he could make her return with his fate alone. He had some renewed faith and trust after what had occurred in the first round, but it had gone entirely unexplained, and he had no guarentee such an occurence would happen again. Worse still, ever since, he had felt a pit forming within him, a pit of doubt, and worry. Fear. With all the Abyssal encounters, he had come to fear that power he had felt during the first match, the power he wanted to make his own and trust in to help keep himself from being tempted by the Abyss, was Abyssal power in of itself. It didn't seem like it at the time, but paranoia had gotten to him. Had he already been touched by the Abyss and not realized it? Worse still, what if Friyena had succumb to the Abyss herself? In the grand scheme of things, he knew very little about the Abyss, as the only way to know more would be to venture in himself. For all he knew a god could be tempted by the Abyss as easily as any mortal. All these thoughts made his mind rush with fear and uncertainty and uneasy purpose.
By entering this tournament, Kumo now felt himself responsible for stopping the Abyss, and in finding Friyena, and the weight of that responsbility, especially when he was alone with nobody to help him, was heavy. Kumo could only think: if Septhis arose from the Abyss tomorrow and tried to unleash darkness upon the overwrold, what was he to do? After all, he was a knight of Friyena — or at least an honorary member — and, much more importantly, he was the one who had been responsible for the first possible sign of her in fifty years. The first thing people would do would be to look to him, and he wasn't sure what to do. If Friyena really was trapped in the Abyss, could he bring himself to venture in after her? Risk the horrors, and dangers, and most scarily the corruption of his own self?
All the introspection over the past few days had made him realize that was his deepest fear. He was supposed to be brave, but he was scared of the Abyss, scared of what it could do to him, scared of what it already had done to his friends. He had been able to resist it thus far, but he knew he couldn't go his whole life without it attempting to take him. He was scared of needing to make that choice: of whether or not to go after a friend taken by the Abyss, or even after Friyena herself if she really did need rescuing. He didn't want to get trapped down there! He didn't want to potentially have to fight tooth-and-nail against someone he cared for that had been corrupted to the point of aggression! And he didn't want to be corrupted himself! All his life he had been talked to, and taught, and seen what the Abyss' corruption can do to someone, and it terrified him, to not be in control of himself, to hurt the ones he loved and cared for, to lose all sense of himself and who he is entirely, to be chained down there, forever, never to escape again, and to not even be aware enough to realize the horrors of that fate.
Kumo cried to himself frequently in moments like this, but he didn't dare let himself be seen or heard by the other contestants. They couldn't know he was going through this. He needed to be strong, or at least appear strong, for them. What was important was helping others. He could help himself later. And above all, what was important was winning this next round, because if he didn't, it would be his fault when the Abyss won.
For the rest of dinner, Claire didn’t touch her food. She just sat in her chair, staring at one of the walls, conflicted. On one hand, she didn’t want to hurt Kumo in a fight, but on the other hand, she knew she wasn’t strong enough to defeat Tibarro or the abyss if she lost, whoever got to her first.
Claire was one of the last contestants to leave the dining hall. She slowly walked to the large doors leading to the hallway of the castle, still trying to figure out her own thoughts. As she stepped through the door frame, she felt something bump into the back of her leg. Kumo was headbutting her. She knelt down to her next opponent.
“I don’t want to fight you… I don’t want to hurt you…”
Kumo barked at her. There was determination in his eyes, and seeing this, Claire realized that he wouldn’t hold back. As quickly as the doubt arrived, it vanished. She had already grown, and with new friends, she knew that she wouldn’t be alone in the future.
“Alright. If you won’t hold back, I won’t either,” she said with confidence, “But… Let’s not try to hurt each other. Ok?”
Kumo responded with a playful growl and a bark. Claire petted her opponent before standing back up and walking confidently out of the castle.
Claire had been sitting in her room silently, thinking about the matchup, and about Kumo. They had agreed not to seriously hurt one another, but what if things got out of hand? However, she was shaken from her daze by a knock at the door. Standing in the entryway was Oritira, Kumo at her side. "Y-Yes?" the hydromancer stammered, a bit confused.
"Kumo says he's expecting a worthy challenge from you, and to cut the bullsh*t about not wanting to fight," Oritira replied bluntly before turning to leave. Kumo, for his part, nodded and gave a soft, cheery bark before turning to follow the druid, tail wagging eagerly.
The air was tense as the audience filed into the lake stadium. It was a few minutes before sunset, and the sun glowed a dangerous orange as it approached the grasp of the horizon. Kumo stood vigilantly on the docks with a sword behind him on the ground. Claire, on the other hand, was on the bridge farthest from Kumo. She was pacing on the bridge, stealing frequent glances between Kumo and the water.
As most people sat down, Aki got up to give his regular speech at the beginning of each match. “After some research, I found out exactly what previous hosts said before each match. It was a phrase that didn’t make any sense, yet somehow it seemed so important.”
Aki took a deep breath. “Our contestants will not die so long as we have faith in them,” he quoted, “Faith. We’ve had contestants die already. For good. Did our faith in them really help? We’ve seen hosts die. Innocent people have died during the abyssal outbreaks, but our faith hasn’t been enough. But now, I realize, faith in each other is all we have. As the abyssal outbreaks get worse and worse, we must have faith in each other to defeat it. We must trust each other or else I fear much worse could happen. Let us have faith in each other so the tournament can continue. With our faith, we could have such power that it could even attract the attention of the gods.”
Aki looked at Kumo, then at Claire. Then his gaze shifted to Michio and Ortitira in the audience, “Together, we defeated so many abyssal monsters. So, let’s not forget what we’ve lost, but we must also celebrate what we all have achieved. Let the last quarterfinal match begin!”
Kumo sprung into action, grabbing the hilt of his blade with his mouth and charged across the maze of rickety bridges towards Claire. Right as Kumo got close, walls of water soared out of the lake from around the bridge and blocked the dog’s path. With a mighty leap, Kumo jumped to a bridge many feet away.
Claire waved her hand, allowing tentacles of water to wrap up around the bridge. Kumo started to run. The faster he ran across the bridges, the faster the tentacles followed, sinking the bridges as they chased the dog.
Kumo growled. Ran closer and closer to Claire, closing in the gap quickly.
“I’m sorry Kumo,” Claire sighed, “I have to do this, or else Tibarro will kill me like he did my father.”
She drew a sphere of water from the lake and cast it towards Kumo at a blinding speed. The dog, however, with plenty of reflex training with arrows, easily jumped to dodge it. The water projectile collided with the tentacles of water, causing them to mush together into a large wave. It crashed over Claire, knocking the hydromancer off her feet.
Then, through the white, foamy spray of the waves, Kumo suddenly galloped towards Claire. The hydromancer flicked her hand, and a sudden blast of water ripped Kumo’s sword from his mouth. Kumo lost his balance and splashed off the bridge and into the water.
With most of the bridges in the stadium wrecked, Claire smiled as she slipped off the dock she had fallen on in the lake. She was bleeding a little bit, but the water on her body instantly healed her wounds.
“Ah…” Claire smiled, “This feels just like home.”\
Claire made an arc in the water, causing a whirlpool to form. Kumo barked as he tried to paddle away frantically but the current was too strong. Slowly, but steadily, Kumo felt himself get pulled farther into the vortex. It was an inescapable fate reeling Kumo in slowly and dreadfully. He howled to the sky. To Friyena, but there was no golden light to help him this time.
The vortex started to grow larger and larger, collecting everything in its path, finally, the current reached Claire as it continued to grow. She watched as Kumo disappeared under the water’s surface. She tried to fight the current, but slowly, it started to pull her in too.
Instead of drowning like he thought he would, Kumo felt a dark world engulf him. He felt like he was floating through shiny, black ink only somehow the dog was able to breathe.
Kumo tried to swim upwards, but he just kept floating in the same direction. Down.
Am I dead? Is this what death feels like?
For many minutes he drifted on the serene, silent place. It was quite the change compared to the stressful match.
What is this place?
Kumo felt a funny feeling drift through his entire body. Something he had never felt before. Then, he was dropped onto a dark brick path.
Kumo whimpered. He was lost. He looked up to where he came from, but it just remained a sky of ink, slowly dropping into odd pools of black on the floor.
There was no sun. Just a faint light reflected from the shiny sky.
Kumo started to walk down the pathway. His light steps echoed loudly like heavy boots would in a tunnel. Ahead of Kumo laid a large stone gate. It seemed taller than the castle itself. The dog nudged it open with his nose. It was surprisingly light for such a large stone structure. It opened silently.
Kumo slowly set foot inside the abandoned courtyard behind the gate. He looked back to watch for an escape route, but fog closed in behind him. Kumo was trapped. The match had been stressful but he knew revival was always possible on Rehela’s watch. Now there was no one. For the first time during the match, Kumo was scared.
He had no option but to continue into the large, abandoned castle in front of him. It resembled Rosakel castle on the outside for some reason.
Kumo tried to shake of the fear and nervously stepped foot inside the throne hall. He saw a gigantic figure sitting on a huge throne.
A wave of shadows rolled towards Kumo. He barked loudly but his cries just echoed back to him. He felt the swirl of darkness overcome him, then everything went black. Again.
Claire felt herself being pulled beneath the surface. She quickly created a bubble to protect herself from drowning. It was clear she had no escape from the whirlpool.
But instead of the water she expected beneath the surface, she felt herself fall into an odd fluid. Her bubble protected her as a thick black substance swirled around her. It was almost mesmerizing.
Claire, still protected by the bubble, floated down into an odd place. It looked like the town plaza except everything was dark. There were no people and all the buildings were wrecked. There were pools of the shiny black liquid everywhere.
“What is this place…?”
Ahead of Claire she saw Kumo lying on the ground except something was off. Kumo was surrounded by an odd shadowy energy. Something that resembled the monsters she had seen before.
Then it struck her. This…this is the abyss!!
“Kumo!” Claire shouted, “Are you okay?!”
As he heard his name, Kumo druggedly got up. He snarled at Claire.
“Kumo? Kumo!”
The dog barked one more time, then sprang at Claire. She tried to dodge it, but her bubble burst violently upon the impact of Kumo's fangs, tossing Claire onto the stone.
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Quarterfinals - Match 1, Part 3
Meka gritted her teeth as she got up behind Ushri. She was struggling to fend off Miyan's swift attacks. Meka hobbled over towards Ushri, who had just been kicked hard in the face. Miyan held his glowing sword above Meka’s closest friend.
You were the closest thing to family I ever had. You gave me the world. Now it’s time for me to give it back to you.
Meka shoved Ushri to the ground behind her.
*THUD*
Miyan’s blade crashed down, slicing Meka’s torso cleanly, spraying blood over Miyan and Ushri.
“NO!” Ushri screamed as Miyan stumbled backwards in horror. Then, the two parts of Meka fell to the ground in a haze of purple from Naku Tsuki’s blade.
*THUD*
—----
Everything happened in slow motion for Ushri. Meka was dead.
Ushri wiped off the blood from her eyes.
“I will avenge this, Meka,” Ushri said.
Ushri turned to Miyan. This time she attacked rashly with no pattern. She swung blow by blow at Miyan, every blow stronger and faster than the one before. Metal clangs filled the auditorium and Ushri’s audible screams with every attack put them more on edge.
“You are a monster.” Ushri yelled. Miyan tried to counterattack, but Ushri blocked it easily, then buried her blade through Miyan’s leg. The monk howled in pain as Ushri screamed in fury.
The samurai kicked Miyan in the face, forcing him to drop his sword, then kicked him again. Ushri picked up Naku Tsuki. She could feel its demonic power coursing through her. She held it so that the tip of the sword rested on Miyan’s chest. But she couldn’t kill him. Something about the killing felt wrong. Something about the weird purple light felt off. Something was calling her to kill the monk but she still tried to fight it despite all her rage.
“Meka wouldn’t have wanted this. I don’t want this.” Ushri cried. “I’m done.” Ushri chucked the sacred blade into a window and sheathed her own. “Go on. Tell them you’re a champion. All I want is to have Meka back.”
Ushri waited by Meka’s body as Rehela descended down into the city. She wove a spiral of golden light around Meka. The threads pulled Meka back together but Rehela still looked confused. Suddenly, the same glow emitted from Naku Tsuki during the fight engulfed Rehela and the golden magic. Rehela staggered backwards.
“Is Meka alright?” Ushri asked quietly
“I don’t know what’s happening. The spells are all right. I re-enchanted the stadium the today.”
“Is Meka alright? Can you revive her?”
“I’m trying.”
“It’s a yes or no answer.”
There was a brief pause. Aki came behind Ushri and put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry Ushri,” Rehela said.
Ushri took a few moments to process Rehela’s words. Then she burst out crying. She threw Aki away from her and ran out of the stadium.
Quarterfinals - Match 1 (WINNER!)
Miyan watched Ushri run off. Ushri was right. He was becoming a monster. And within all of this he needed to find Melodie. He needed to know more. He needed to find her. He wasn't going to let her become another Meka.
A day later, there was a funeral held for Meka. Miyan watched in the shadows, knowing he wouldn't be welcome. He looked for Ushri, who didn't seem to be in the initial crowd either.
I'm sorry.
This was a tough match to decide. Had this been in the first round, Ushri and Meka would have been a clear winner, but Miyan's character development blossomed more in the quarterfinals while Ushri and Meka's story were left on the backburner. The champion card design slightly favored Miyan while the signature card was much stronger for Ushri, especially since Melodie didn't make an appearance in the fight as per Usaer's request. All of you did a wonderful job and should be proud of yourselves. This was quite the match.
@Usaername Congrats on winning the your quarterfinal match! You may now upgrade your champion to a card with max CMC7 or create a new signature card!
@East2West One must win and one must lose, and unfortunately Ushri and Meka lost the match today. Feel free to post and concluding story segments and cards, I would love to see them. And as you requested, Meka is now dead, so it would be interesting to see how a final story would play out.
@Tommia and @DrakeGladis ; The next match will be held at 6PM PST on Wednesday, so let's try and figure out everything before then!! If you need more time, I'd be fine with starting the match at 9AM on Thursday instead, but no later than that.
ㄥ~ Ẁ̷̦̰͐ͅh̶̯̩̍̀̓ő̸̯̗͑ ̶̻̊́̿Ç̷̼̫͝a̷̡̾̂͒ͅḻ̵̈́̑l̷̤̮̈́̑͝s̵̯̣̺̆ ̵̫͛F̷̬͍͈̈́̍r̴̺͛̌ŏ̸͍͎m̶͇̒ ̴̤̀͘͘ͅT̷̠͎̘͂͛̏ḧ̸̳͍̬́e̷̪̰͌͆͋ ̶̯̮̌ͅD̴̨̰̄̓ã̸͝ͅr̶̫̅͘k̷͓̞̙͑n̴̢͈̬̈́e̷̻͆͑ś̵͓̗͝͝s̸̞̎̈́̃?̴̢̓̒̍ — Part 2
A scream echoed through the woods, piercing through the thick tree cover like a sword through flesh. Birds scattered across the sky like the splatter of blood as Michio dropped to the ground.
"Heavens above!" Michio rasped through gritted teeth. "You've gotten a lot better with the swarm!"
He looked to Mia, and her face was distraught. He looked down and realized he was bleeding, a ghastly wound in his gut.
"That... wasn't me!" Mia squealed, almost fainting at the sight of Michio losing blood. "We need... to get you... to the tent."
"You need to control the swarm!" Michio pleaded as the birds whipped around, turning to black crows and cawing.
"I'm trying... I don't know what's going on..."
Her hands pointed towards her flock, Mia strained to regain control. Behind her mask she was grimacing, her head aching. While Michio had been stabbed through the abdomen, Mia felt like someone was drilling into her head. Drilling, pounding, boring and smashing against her skull. She suddenly collapsed, her spirit form coming undone.
"Mia!" Michio called, reaching out. "Speak to me! Let me know what's happening!"
There was no response. A shadowy scythe formed and slashed at Michio, chopping clean through trees and gashing his side as he dodged. He made his way towards the medical tents, calling out for aid. But no one could answer. His prior scream echoed with the resonance of a thousand voices, but now, he shouting was like a whisper in the wind. Fog began to dance around him, inky smoke swirling and snaring him, like a snake constricting around him.
"No... this can't be happening..." Michio swore as he drove his blade through the smoke. "What are you doing to my daughter?"
The trees began to twist around him, caving in. They reached out in desperation like a mother grasping for their falling child, but with none of the warmth. Michio was restrained, unable to fight back against the sudden, powerful ambush. As the entire flock approached, he closed his eyes. Was this the end? Had he really come all this way, training for years and making his allegiances just to die like this? The flock began to take a form before him as he prayed, shattered remains of the paper mask falling to the ground in front of him. Gasping in shock, he tried to draw his blade and run, only to be pushed back down.
"What is the meaning of this?! Who are you?! What did you do to-"
Michio was suddenly silenced by a finger pressing against his lips. Joining it was the flock making a body, one that was not Mia's... the hand was soft and gentle, the crows creating the stature of a slender, beautiful woman. Familiarity washed over the ninja as his eyes widened.
"That's no way to say hi to me, Michio," a gentle voice rang from the new form.
Michio tried to back away, straining. "No... stop playing tricks with me. You're not-"
Michio was met with a kiss on the lips from the form of his beloved. That same touch he knew from his time back home... Haru... tears began to form in his eyes. The Abyss will play tricks on your mind. On your heart. On your soul. Those thoughts raced through his mind, but so was the thought of his wife, who had been missing for so long, returning to him.
"It's been so long since we've last talked," Haru whispered. "I love you with all of my heart."
"I love you too, Haru..." Michio returned weakly. "But I know you-"
"Please come back to me. I've missed you."
Haru reached out a hand to Michio, and he was conflicted. He felt a heavy weight on his emotions, like his heartstrings suddenly held up the weight of the world. He wanted to reach out, to go home and reunited with Haru. But he made a promise to stay here until Friyena returned.
And yet, he had also promised to return to Haru...
She had already beat the Abyss twice and Michio, while he had been tempted, had indicated that he would resist. He and Mia seemed like good people, and Kumo seemed to like them. She could trust Kumo's judgement surely.
A breath in, a breath out. A breath in, a breath out.
Miyan had killed Meka. Irreversibly killed. She could not be resurrected. She could not be healed. She could not be returned to any semblance of life even. Her fears that death would be permanent here seemed more and more likely to be true, meaning her promise to Kumo and Ushri was even more important.
A breath in, a breath out. A breath in, a breath out.
Michio had promised not to kill too. He was honorable. He would stick to his oath. While she was sure he wouldn't easily surrender, getting him without his items would be a great first step.
A breath in, a breath out. A breath in, a breath out.
Oritira slowly stretched, arching her back away from the walls of the grass pod she had grown at the roots of the oldest tree in the forest. The moth on her left arm fluttered it's big, brown wings slightly, preparing to take off if she needed to move. She stilled it, assuring it that it could rest there a bit longer. She would move soon, but it was pleasant having time away from people. It was important to interact with others if she was to get people to help preserve the natural beauty of the islands, but it was draining as well.
She never really had socialized before. While she had searched for other druids, that mainly meant asking the animals about other beings like her that understood them, and wandering the forests.
That's how she had first met Salzkaith. On the words of an injured deer, she had gone well out of her territory in search of someone else like her. She had unintentionally trespassed through the drake's territory, and he had confronted her. It was a rocky start to the relationship as he had tried to eat her, but being able to talk with him changed his mind. He-
Oritira's train of thought and breathing exercises was disrupted by a can thunking down on her head. Those silly monkeys... she had to assume they had escaped domestication. They seemed very familiar with the function of cans. Sighing, she got up for good and deposited the moth onto a quiet knot on the tree trunk.
"No deaths today. No matter what."
ㄥ~ Ẁ̷̦̰͐ͅh̶̯̩̍̀̓ő̸̯̗͑ ̶̻̊́̿Ç̷̼̫͝a̷̡̾̂͒ͅḻ̵̈́̑l̷̤̮̈́̑͝s̵̯̣̺̆ ̵̫͛F̷̬͍͈̈́̍r̴̺͛̌ŏ̸͍͎m̶͇̒ ̴̤̀͘͘ͅT̷̠͎̘͂͛̏ḧ̸̳͍̬́e̷̪̰͌͆͋ ̶̯̮̌ͅD̴̨̰̄̓ã̸͝ͅr̶̫̅͘k̷͓̞̙͑n̴̢͈̬̈́e̷̻͆͑ś̵͓̗͝͝s̸̞̎̈́̃?̴̢̓̒̍ — Part 3
Part 2: https://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/comment/224402/#Comment_224402
Meanwhile...
Mia's mind broke under the immense pressure. She felt a thousand cries and screams as everything came back to her. She saw everything flooding her mind like a dam breaking, and yet nothing at all, blinded by it all. She found herself in darkness, in nothingness. What had happened? Was this the afterlife?"Father!" Mia called out. "Can you hear me?! Please! Say something!" Silence. Or not? No, a roaring flame. Red seared through the darkness, orange and yellow parting the crimson veil like a rising sun. And yet, what she saw next was anything but radiant. She saw home, but it was dark. Painful. She looked down, and she was in her body. Back home, but still bloody. "Mom? Dad? Anyone?"
She tried to stand, but her body gave out. She was too weak to make proper movement, and soon, she heard the shattering of glass. Paper cranes began to spill into her room, taking sharp, serpentine forms. She tried to control them, but she was helpless to stop their advance as their pierced her body. Her arms, her legs. Her soul.
"̷Y̸o̶u̶ ̶w̶o̵n̶'̴t̸ ̷b̵e̶ ̴n̸e̶e̸d̷i̷n̴g̶ ̸t̶h̶e̷s̴e̶ ̸a̸n̸y̴m̴o̵r̴e̶.̸"̸
"Father! Someone! ANYONE! HELP!"
Michio was frozen in place. As Haru stared back at him, he saw every little memory returning to him. How he risked everything to return home in peace, and how he longed to have her back in his arms. She was right here, to have and to hold.
And all he had to do was give up his freedom... which he had already.
For him, there wasn't much to lose at all Mia's mask lay there, shattered. She was already gone, so he need not worry about losing her. And if he said no? He was helpless right now. Trapped. This abyssal projection could just simply form a blade and impale him. Perhaps break into his mind... maybe even force him to succumb. It seemed like a lose-lose situation.
This is the problem with dream magic, he thought. The slightest bit of mental weakness and it wanes. The moment Mia began to lose control it all came crashing down, and the moment she was shattered it was gone.
He and Mia were fighting an uphill battle against the Abyss. Its very being, its very machinations, were parallel in execution. Mia could create life from nothing. The Abyss could make anything into a husk. Michio could stalk from the shadows, disguising himself to take down his enemies. The Abyss could hide in his mind. coming out at the most opportune time as his own thoughts. How was he going to fight something when it was able to use their best strategies against them?
T̴h̷e̵r̷e̷'̵s̸ ̶a̷ ̷v̵e̸r̷y̸ ̵o̸b̶v̵i̷o̴u̶s̴ ̸s̶o̵l̵u̶t̶i̸o̴n̸ ̴h̴e̵r̸e̶.̸ ̷G̸i̶v̸e̷ ̸i̷n̵.̷ ̴Y̴o̴u̸ ̴c̵a̶n̴ ̸f̵i̸n̶a̶l̵l̸y̸ ̷h̷a̴v̶e̸ ̶t̶h̸e̶ ̴p̵e̸a̷c̴e̶ ̸o̴f̸ ̸m̵i̸n̴d̷ ̵y̶o̸u̷ ̶d̴e̸s̵i̴r̴e̸,̵ ̵r̴e̷u̶n̴i̷t̶e̸ ̸w̴i̴t̸h̷ ̴M̴i̷a̸ ̷a̷n̵d̵ ̴H̴a̷r̴u̵,̶ ̶a̴n̵d̷ ̸l̷e̷a̸v̴e̴ ̷y̸o̷u̸r̴ ̴c̴a̴r̴e̸s̷ ̸b̶e̶h̴i̴n̵d̴.̸
"Please... come back to me," Haru called out to him. "Come back home."
"Home..." Michio's voice echoed in his mind as the branches parted, allowing him to reach out his hand.
"We can be a family again. Instead of living our lives on the run, constantly in danger-"
"My home... is here!"
The form of Haru gasped as Michio used his now free hand to quickdraw his blade. Before the trees could catch him again, he vanished, flanking into position.
How do we fight? It's simple. We just do. I didn't get where I am today by asking questions or looking for answers. I got here by living in the moment, and taking things one step at a time. Haru. Mia. I know you're out there, and I will find you. But this is not how I'm going to reach you. We may not be on the best of terms with each other just yet, but I've made a family here. And I won't let anyone separate us.
"Mia! Are you still there? Come to the staff!"
ㄥ~ Ẁ̷̦̰͐ͅh̶̯̩̍̀̓ő̸̯̗͑ ̶̻̊́̿Ç̷̼̫͝a̷̡̾̂͒ͅḻ̵̈́̑l̷̤̮̈́̑͝s̵̯̣̺̆ ̵̫͛F̷̬͍͈̈́̍r̴̺͛̌ŏ̸͍͎m̶͇̒ ̴̤̀͘͘ͅT̷̠͎̘͂͛̏ḧ̸̳͍̬́e̷̪̰͌͆͋ ̶̯̮̌ͅD̴̨̰̄̓ã̸͝ͅr̶̫̅͘k̷͓̞̙͑n̴̢͈̬̈́e̷̻͆͑ś̵͓̗͝͝s̸̞̎̈́̃?̴̢̓̒̍ — Part 4
Part 2: https://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/comment/224402/#Comment_224402
Part 3: https://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/comment/224416/#Comment_224416
The swarm grew violent as Michio's refusal rang clear, Haru morphing into an Abyssal terror... the same kind that had restrained Michio in his dreams.
"Your home is with Septhis!" The horror roared.
"I'm not entirely sure who this Septhis is," Michio retorted, "but he sounds too damn dangerous to be living with!"
"That joke was terrible... are you sure you want those to be your last words?"
Michio responded with a backflip shuriken toss as he faded from sight again. Spikes of shadow took down tree after tree, leveling part of the forest into a ruined clearing to take away any form of cover. Suddenly, a blade drove through the horror, then left as quickly as it came as the trees began to rise once again. The horror mangled them, only to find them not collapsing nearly so easily; the trees were forming back stronger than steel.
Frustrated that Michio could possibly gain back even partial control over the swarm, the horror formed them into a blast that would hit him no matter where he hid. That's when the horror found that it could hit him all he wanted, but his magic allowed him to take the form of a tree. This tree sent back splinters of its own as Michio transformed back to normal, though he seemed extremely dizzy afterwards.
"Fun magic trick, but I have one better."
Tendrils surrounded Michio from all directions, before collapsing around him to box him in... but he was one step ahead. An explosion rang out from the mass as someone else joined the fray. Was that... Raeza? The form couldn't tell, because as soon as they appeared they vanished, only for a gunshot to echo from behind one of the trees. It missed, but the tangle of waves that came soon after surely didn't. And with the entity trapped, something struck it... the staff, flying from where Mia had dropped it. The flock wavered before dissipating, and the form of the horror collapsed into nothing, before regaining its colors and form. Michio reappeared before falling himself, his blade shattered and several wounds across his body. But he was alive, and as he looked before him, so was his daughter Mia.
"Mia?"
"I heard you calling. It took me forever to find you, but I'm here. The Abyss... the Abyss tried to consume me."
"Then it's a good thing I got you back in time. We can't have you turning into... whatever that thing was ever again."
Chapter Eighteen - The Tenth Match (Intro)
Oritira found herself in the vast castle gardens an hour before her match. She sat on a crystal bench that split the morning sun’s rays into colorful shards that dotted the flowers in front of her.
The beauty of the moment seemed to distract the druid from the horrors that seemed to plague the tournament. Oritira closed her eyes to focus. The overwhelming palette of natural sounds painted such a serene picture in her mind. One wouldn’t even know the abyss had ran through the city a few days prior. In the distance, she heard some chirping. Sad chirping. It was a sad song but it was peaceful nevertheless. The music sent chills down Oritira’s spine as though she could feel something horrible coming.
“So you hear them too,” Aki said as he sat down on the bench.
“The birds?”
“Yes.”
“Why do they sound so sad?”
“I don’t know,” Aki responded, “No one has ever seen those birds before. They’re a mystery.”
“A mystery?” Oritira prodded.
“The only thing we know is their chirps have occurred before the greatest disasters of our kingdom, yet somehow, they still remind us about the beauty of this world.”
“That’s reassuring,” Oritira laughed nervously.
Aki smiled. “If there’s one thing their song has taught us, it’s that there’s always light even when the darkness threatens to take over.”
Oritira smiled. “Come on,” Aki continued, “It’s time for your match. Good luck out there.”
“Thanks,” Oritira said.
The two walked silently to the meadow stadium under the warming rays of the midday sun. Oritira took a deep breath before stepping into the stadium. Right as she entered, a cacophony of voices from the cheering crowd filled her ears, numbing her senses. She looked to Aki in the stands, then to Michio and Mia across the large meadow.
Oritira walked towards Michio and shook hands with him.
“Good luck,” Michio whispered.
“Let the second quarterfinal match of the tournament begin!!”
The Tenth Match (Part 1)
“Let the second quarterfinal match of the tournament begin!!”
Oritira, Michio, and Mia readied themselves before Oritira waved her hands. The grass started to knot around Michio’s and Mia’s feet. Sparkling gold pieces of paper rose into the sky and folded themselves into the cranes. Mia swept her hand down gently and two cranes left the flock to cut through the knotted grass. They flew in a graceful arc to rejoin the rest of the flock, which had now turned into multiple pastel colors.
Mia waved her hand, staying back like usual while Michio dashed towards Oritira. The cranes matched Michio’s pace, hiding him in the midst of colorful paper birds. Michio swung the flat face of his sword at Oritira as he approached the elf, careful not to injure Oritira.
Oritira closed her eyes and thick vines erupted around her within a second. Michio’s blade bounced off the vines and the cranes were forced to part from the masked ninja. Within her chamber of vines, Oritira silently summoned snakes to wrap around Michio’s feet. However, Michio’s legs instantly crumpled into paper as the snakes wrapped around them. To the left of the vine cage, Michio appeared in the middle of the swarm of cranes. He slashed quickly with his glowing blue blade, cutting Oritira’s vines to shreds. The druid tried to summon more vines, but just paper erupted from the earth.
The paper cranes parted as Michio aimed a kick at Oritira’s legs. Oritira was knocked off balance and fell backwards onto a bed of cranes. They carried her high into the air. The elf looked down at the ground and gulped.
The paper cranes are still animals, right? What if I could control them?
Oritira’s staff started to glow a bright gold. In her head she could feel Mia struggling against her.
It’s working! It’s working!!
There was a click that echoed through the elf’s mind, before Mia staggered backwards. Oritira closed her eyes, yet somehow, she could still see. From the vantage point of a crane in the flock, Oritira saw a sparkling world folded precisely to perfection.
What type of dream is this? Is this what Mia sees?
Oritira had a million questions but she knew she had to focus on the fight. The cranes dropped her softly on the stiff paper ground before she waved her staff again. The cranes zoomed towards Michio pinning him against a tree at the edge of the stadium. For the first time Oritira felt truly powerful. She could see Michio fighting against the cranes. She could feel Mia struggling to regain control of her flock, her voice echoing in the corners of his mind.
Michio reached for a mask on his belt, but some of the cranes resisted him. Mia’s attempts to regain control grew stronger and Oritira started losing control. Suddenly, a tear in the perfect paper world started to appear. Oritira felt herself lose control of the cranes completely as the dark world washed over her like a nightmare.
“Dad!” Mia shouted, “It’s happening again…”
The Tenth Match (Part 2)
Michio was quickly able to fight off the cranes and join Mia. Her paper form looked crumpled from her stress against the flock.
“Mia!” Michio shouted, “Control it! I know you can!”
“I can’t. I don’t know how to stop it. After Oritira took control of the flock, I lost the power I had defending it against the abyss like last time. It was only a matter of time before the abyss regained its power over it.”
The cranes dove towards the three contestants, their beaks sharp as daggers ready to kill. Oritira yelped in the distance, covering herself in a shield of vines. Michio slashed them out of the air with his glowing sword while Mia spun her staff to knock them away.
“We must protect Oritira,” Michio instructed Mia, “Follow me and focus on the flock. I will protect you as we run.”
The nightmarish world continued to twist and bend. The vines protecting Oritira were ripped apart and the flat meadow curved into large hills as the ninja duo ran towards the elf. Part of the flock chased Michio and Mia as they ran. More tears appeared in the meadow ground expanding into holes that stretched into nothingness.
As Michio and Mia reached the top of the hill, they saw Oritira holding her battered staff into the air. Twisted vines and paper cranes were all clawing at the staff as it glowed with a brilliant golden light. A large drake sped into the clouded stadium, beating its wings to blow away the swarm of oncoming cranes. It wasn't Salzkaith to Oritira, but it would do. More cranes attacked it from the back, however, letting its blood spray like rain onto the rolling hills below. They scattered in the air around Mia. She closed her eyes, struggling against the dark, deceptive forces that held the cranes captive. One by one, the cranes returned to their rainbowish pastel colors.
“I…I can feel it…the light!” Mia whispered.
A tear in the meadow started to appear below Oritira. Within a few seconds, the ground opened up beneath her into a paper funnel allowing Oritira to plummet towards the inky nothingness below her.
“ORITIRA!!!” Michio shouted.
Mia snatched a mask from Michio’s pocket and threw it into the air. The cranes Mia had newly regained control of gathered around the mask, forming the shape of a drake. It dove down, tearing through the paper world and snatched the elf druid out of her fall. As it ascended up, Mia waved her hands. All three masks Michio possessed glowed brilliantly and the world started to fall back in place. The hills flattened. Tangled vines retracted back into the earth. Holes repaired themselves as the sky cleared back into the dazzling afternoon sun.
The flock delivered Oritira right in front of Mia.
“I’m sorry Oritira, you can’t interfere with the flock anymore.”
Mia swung her staff carefully, but with intention at Oritira’s head. The elf collapsed onto the meadow ground. As the elf fell, the audience cheered unaware of the nightmare they just lived through.
One person’s nightmare may be a simple dream for others, so think before you act.
The Tenth Match - Winner
While both had strong stories and characters, Michio won out when it came to card design. Congrats to both of you on amazing characters so far.
@Tommia Congrats! Michio has willed himself to the semifinals! The abyss seemed to get to Mia and the flock for a moment, but she regained control quickly. I look forward to see what cool things Michio has to offer. You may also upgrade your champion to CMC 7 or create another signature card!
@DrakeGladis Unfortunately, Oritira had to lose today. You did an excellent job with your story and reacting to tournament events, and I really hope you decide to continue participating in the story, even if it is just by reading. You were really a pleasure to have in the tournament.
"She's okay, right" Michio asked.
"Yes," Rehela said as she revived the druid, "She sustained more injuries from the controlled flock than the staff. That blow was perfectly placed to knock the elf out."
Michio smiled at Mia. "I'm proud of you" he mouthed to her.
----------
@Lujikul and @Aggroman15 your match will take place on Saturday at the latest, so please try and get everything in that you can on Friday!
"So what, you're starstruck? Finally processing that you're around people you'd call heroes?" There was a tone of mild impatience to Cedric's voice.
"Well, becoming an archaeologist is a noble enough profession, you know. The past is as important as the present. You shouldn't be ashamed of the other paths your life could take. And even as a knight there are many it could still take. I've known knights that stay their course, some that retire to a calmer life, and others that..." The golden specter shudders. "Go down a less noble path. I may have stories for you when you are more experienced, but for now, those stories will remain untold."
The squire stands up. "Hold on, haven't you told me about a knight before? Your mentor? She sounded fine."
"She was. Until she wasn't." The silence of tension hung in the air, heavy enough that it felt like it'd crush the youth if they weren't careful. Cedric and his squire stared at each other for what felt like several very long minutes, though it couldn't have been more than just a few seconds.
"Whatever," shrugged the squire. "Like you said, you'll tell me more when you think I'm ready. But I do want to hear these stories someday."
"And someday you shall. But now that you're finally talking, I have a request for you." The squire's eyes widened. Was this entire conversation a ploy just to have their attention?! "Like you said, we have found ourselves in battle several times now, and soon we shall be up against a true bonafide knight, your first for combat. And Navor is a powerful foe with his ability of duplication, it'll be like a two vs one battle."
"Of course, Syr Cedric. It'd be my privilege to work alongside you."
Story Segment 7: Shadows of the Past Part 1
With this thought came another: he was woefully ignorant about how the Abyss really functioned. It had shaped the course of his life, yet he had barely known about it until after the tournament began. He looked down at the swirling darkness in front of him, before going down on one knee to get a better look. Perhaps, if I can study it a bit, even as it fades, I can gain some of understanding of how it functions.
Navor leaned down even further, peering down into the strange, wispy darkness. The abyssal energy was already beginning to fade, which was good for the city, but rather unfortunate for Navor’s studying efforts. Unable to discover anything of use, Navor stood up, and began walking out to help those still under attack.
Navor pointed his blade down towards the blackness, not to be caught off guard. “There. I found you. Now, where is Jacks?”
Ṡ̷ͅo̶̺̒m̷̘̍e̴͖͒b̵͓͗ȯ̶͚ḏ̷̕y̷̫̐’̴̻̋s̵̩͐ ̷̜͐h̵͚̍a̷̳̐s̶̱̐ẗ̷͍́y̴͖̕.̴̭̈ ̸̬́I̶̳̒ ̵̣͂t̵̞̾o̵͎͋l̷̙̃d̷̢̔ ̷̈ͅy̵̝̍o̶͇͗u̸͍͋ ̸̻͋J̸͙͌a̶̰̕c̸͈̈́k̷̳͠s̵̲͊ ̶͎̚w̶͎̽ä̵͎s̶͕̿ņ̶̃’̷̙̊t̵̨̿ ̴̠̓d̷̦̒e̷̱̓a̷̻͋d̷͇̈,̷̩̈ ̴̢͊a̵͔̓n̵͕͝d̷͚͠ ̶̘̑Ḭ̷̍ ̴̛̘d̸̲͝ị̴̕d̸́͜ ̸̲̎n̷̬͊ǫ̷́t̷̢̑ ̴̘̀ḷ̶͂i̷̡͒e̴̢̓.̵̣͗
I̸̲͛ ̷̹͑b̵̥͠ṙ̵̙î̸͓n̷̯͌ǵ̴̦ ̵͓͝ņ̸́ó̶̭ ̵͎͋t̷͎͂r̸̼͘i̵͖̓c̸̬̆ḵ̶̃ś̷̜,̷͖̽ ̶̛̹N̴̰͋ạ̷̇v̷̙̐o̷̗̾r̴̯̎.̶͚͝ ̴̩̃J̸̠́a̶̲̅c̸̪̋ǩ̵̲s̵̭̃’̶̗͗ ̷̧̀s̸̢͌o̴̰͑u̵̚͜l̶͙̽ ̶̟̽i̴̮͘s̶̤̕ ̷͓̆n̸̚ͅo̷̗̊t̴̢́ ̴͚̄d̸͓͐e̵̩̿s̶̡̓t̶̻͒r̸̙̂o̵̬̐y̵̤͌e̸͍͠d̸͕́,̶̡̒ ̵̡̉ạ̸̊n̴̜̑d̵̛͜ ̸̘̒ï̸̳t̸̬̾ ̸̯͛m̵͇͐â̸̠y̷͉͝ ̵̢͗s̶̬̀t̵̙͌i̷̘̒l̵̼͒l̴̲̽ ̸͍̆b̷̭́ẻ̷̖ ̷͙̋ŕ̸̫ê̸͓s̶̙͘ẗ̶̘́o̶͈̚r̶͚̄ḛ̴͗d̷̫̑.̷͈̉
A strange, raspy chuckle echoed around the plaza. O̸̤̕h̴̖͗,̶̫̀ ̴̦͒I̵̞̒ ̵͘ͅd̶͜͝ô̵̪n̷̠̍’̵̢͗t̸̓͜ ̴̬̈t̴̯͋ḧ̴̜́i̸̠̎ṅ̸ͅk̶̤͒ ̷̜̄y̷̠̋ö̵̳́u̶̱̐’̵͎͋l̸̦͛l̴̼̄ ̵̪̑n̶̲̒è̷͖é̴̜d̵̈́ͅ ̸͖̇t̷̻̅ǒ̶̞ ̴͈̊w̶̙̑o̴̫̕r̸͇̒r̵̳̈́y̵̜̿ ̵̙͌ả̷͖b̶̡̈o̸̡͑u̴͍̚t̸̪̐ ̷̡̛h̶̹͋o̸̙̽w̶̪̓ ̷͚̐t̴̳͑o̴̹̍ ̶̬͘r̶̻̈́e̵̛̝ŝ̴̡t̸̠͆o̷͎͘r̵̞̽ẻ̸͕ ̶̹̏h̷̢̕ḭ̸̎m̷̖̽.̴̡̑ ̸̪̋I̶̼̓’̵̮̈́d̸̖͂ ̶͎̄b̶̡̾é̷̼ ̴̼̀m̵̗̊o̶̖̒r̷͍̓ė̵͖ ̴̰̓ẁ̶͎ó̸͇r̷̘̿r̴̖͊i̷̭͝ẽ̸̬d̴̾ͅ ̴̻͐a̷̩͂b̵̙̈́o̶͚͝ŭ̷̺ṫ̷͍ ̷̭͌p̷̺̑r̷̪̂e̵̢͠s̵̭͌e̵̓ͅr̶̖͘v̸͎̆i̴̞͠ń̴̲g̵̊ͅ ̴̬̀ÿ̸̟́o̶̤͠ú̴̧ȓ̴̘s̴̺̕e̸̥̓l̷̤͒f̶̰̆.̸̏͜
T̷̡͋h̶̫̀è̷̥ ̶̖͑t̷͕͋ị̶̀ḿ̵̟ḛ̶͝ ̷̱̔h̴͉̐a̴̮͠s̸͈̔ ̴̗͋c̷̜̈́ô̵̫m̸̩͛e̶͙̔ ̴̳̂f̷̠̈ó̶͜r̴̤̒ ̵̺͐y̷̼͂o̷͔͝u̸͓͗ ̵̿ͅt̶̘́o̸͖̔ ̶̥͛j̸̭̔o̶̥̅i̵͎͋n̶͚͌ ̴̈́͜J̵͙̈́a̵̪͂c̸͓͋k̵͔͒s̵̜̉,̷̧͗ ̶̮́a̸̢̚ṅ̸̻d̷̻̍ ̴̘̔ȓ̷̻e̷̛̳t̴̮̑u̶͓͠r̸̯̉ń̶̖ ̴̱̈́t̶͖͝ó̷̜ ̷͚͐t̸̲͌h̶̗̉e̴͕͊ ̴̘̐Ô̵̼ŕ̴̭ḏ̵̈́ḙ̷̑ṟ̵̄. Declared the voice Navor now recognized as a warped, distorted version of Master Kosi’s. Her unmistakable manifestation, an inky black with swirls of deep purple, took a step out of the abyssal portal and began to glide toward Navor. Y̷̨͐ö̷́ͅù̸̡ ̶͖̿e̷̢͊v̵̙̎a̵̦͂d̵̻͋e̷̹͝d̸̟̀ ̸̱́ò̸͓ǘ̵͕r̵̜͂ ̷̦͠s̵̛̼i̶̠̔g̷̛̠h̴̩͌t̸̛̹ ̸̖̊ḟ̵̘o̶̍ͅr̶̰̎ ̵̤̀ã̵̮n̸̹̕ ̶͔́í̵͈m̵̛͇p̸͇̆ṙ̸̻ē̸͙s̴̮͝s̵̛̟ĩ̵̞v̶̭̓e̸̡̓ ̸͈͊a̵̫̕m̶̝̅ọ̶͊u̸̗͂ṇ̵͆t̵̺́ ̵̼̈́ȏ̷͙f̶̖͗ ̵̼̍t̸̲͠ȉ̸̳m̴͙̀ẹ̴̽,̸̩̃ ̶̛͓b̵͇̆ǘ̶͎t̸̠͗ ̷̯͌n̷̞̚o̶̘͗ ̵͚͝k̷̲̎ǹ̵̹ȉ̵̪g̸͎͆h̷͈́t̴̻͒ ̸̩͋c̶̭̔a̶͍͑n̸͓̒ ̴̖̉r̶̜̃ŭ̵͚ǹ̸̨ ̵̠͋f̵͉̍o̵͎͋ȓ̴͓ȅ̶̠v̸͕̂ĕ̵̺r̴̘̋.̵̃͜ ̴̖̈́Ṋ̴̐ȏ̵̪ŵ̶͙ ̸̐ͅs̴͍̚t̴̪͐ạ̵̇ń̶̘d̵͚̓,̸̟̈́ ̶̢̐a̸͔̾n̶̤̓d̸̬̈́ ̴̞̑a̵͇̒l̸̠͒l̷͚̈́ò̸̘w̶̰͌ ̵̟̚m̶̱̚e̶̘̅ ̸̜̅t̶̳̃ő̴̧ ̸̬̽b̸̕͜ř̵͙i̸̻͠n̸̝̚g̶̲̈́ ̸̦̏y̷͉̒ȍ̸̰ṵ̴͐ ̸̡̑ȉ̵̗n̷̰̑ṱ̸̈́o̶̱̾ ̵̞͋t̴̹͝h̷̢̕e̵͇̓ ̸̡͛ẗ̸͉́r̵͖̅u̴̱͛e̵͎͆ ̶͔̈́r̷̰̊a̵͉͒n̸̥͗k̷͉̕s̴̡͝ ̷͚̈́ŏ̵͉f̴̼̾ ̴̙̀t̷͕̚ẖ̶̎ḛ̵̈́ ̴̮̎Ó̴̼ŕ̶̬d̸͎͆e̷̦͛r̶̝͋ ̸̨͌o̴̩̅f̶̢̚ ̸̛̞M̸͕͌å̵͖n̵̘̈́i̸̩͑f̶́ͅe̴̤͠s̵̫̔t̴̖͐à̴͎ṭ̴̓ḯ̷̟ö̷̯́n̴͓͘.̷͇̈
Story Segment 7 - Shadows of the Past Part 2
Aki sighed heavily in relief, before releasing his iron grip on Navor’s shoulders. “Navor! Thank Friyena you’re alright! I thought you had died, maybe even gotten possessed!”
Navor groaned, and took off his helmet to take a breath of fresh air. “No, I’m here, alive, and still me as far as I can tell. My head hurts like hell, though.”
Aki gasped as Navor removed his helmet. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! Are you sure you’re alright?”
”You’re not too far off. Regardless, I’m fine, let’s go get everyone evacuated.”
“Navor, you were out for a solid while. The whole thing’s over now, everyone’s out. I came back after Cedric and I were done to see how you were getting on, and found you crouched here like this, reaching into the hole. That was a few minutes ago.”
Navor shook his head. “I 've only been here a couple minutes, at most…”
“Doesn’t change the fact that the attack is done. Let’s go to the castle, I’ve got some things I need to discuss with all of the contestants.”
————————————
Navor was finding it exceptionally difficult to sleep in his new quarters within the walls of Castle Rosakel. The uncanny resemblance to Castle Persill was even more pronounced in the living quarters, which were near-exact to how Navor remembered his room back at the Order’s headquarters. Troubled memories began to bubble to the surface, not exactly helped by his vision of Kosi earlier in the day. Times he had spent with Jacks in a room similar to this. Joking, laughing, studying. And the abyss had taken all that away. In one fell swoop, Navor was left without a best friend, and more importantly, Jacks was left without a soul.
So he decided to take a walk.
Navor gathered a guard to escort him, and exited the castle. Load of good one guard is going to do if we’re attacked by the Abyss out here. Navor thought.
But, that was the reason for this trek. Navor knew that silver swords were particularly effective against the Abyss, and when made properly like the one Aki had given him, not a bad choice in a regular fight either. However, Aki’s blade was not tailored to Navor’s style. It was too light, didn’t have quite the right shape, and so on. It was a fine sword, but not one Navor would feel comfortable taking on any sort of opponent with outside of an emergency.
Navor entered the blacksmith’s building. He had come to know this particular blacksmith quite well during his time here, and knew that he was quite a night owl.
“Ah, Navor! What can I do fer you on a fine night like tonight?” The burly man behind the counter said cheerfully.
“I need a sword. And not just any old longsword. I’ve got some specifications for this one.”
He pulled out a notepad with sketches of the blade and notes on its construction on it. The blacksmith looked, and nodded. “Difficult, but doable. I’ll have it done by morning.”
”Thank you, sir.” Navor smiled. “I have full trust that you will deliver the finest I could ask for.”
————————————
(The day of the match)
Navor walked with a confident purpose towards the arena. In a scabbard at his side was an elaborately crafted silver longsword, which Navor took out, and studied one more time. It was very similar to his previous blade, a long, well-balanced sword which offered great control and allowed for nuanced fighting. The blade was reinforced with other metals, some of which shone through in a simple pattern down the broad side. Ever since acquiring it a few days earlier, Navor had been practicing with it, getting accustomed to the nuances and details of handling it.
Sunsinger. That was the name of the blade. It had been the name of the sword Jacks wielded, passed down from his father and his father’s father and beyond. While it was not the same sword, it brought Navor some form of ease to know that Jacks was with him in some way.
As he neared the stadium, Navor felt a sense of excitement. He had won the first round, but now he had to prove himself against a fellow knight. A fellow man of honor, who he had not so long ago fought shoulder to shoulder with. But regardless of fellowship, Navor knew that neither side would go easy. Both of them would be on the top of their games.
Navor smiled at the thought. He was prepared to have one hell of a fight.
(If it’s not balanced, oops, it’s 3 in the morning my time and I just wanted to get this done.)
(Most likely because i was doing this at 3 AM, I forgot to make Sunsinger legendary, which it definitely should be. That is now fixed.)
Good luck @Lujikul! May the best knight win!
Chapter Nineteen - The Eleventh Match (intro)
“WOOF!”
“Aah!” The squire stumbled backwards into a bush.
Hidden behind a tree, Aki watched Kumo and the squire training for hours the morning before the match. It was an overcast day—not too hot nor too cold for such exertion. There was a golden flicker next to Aki, before the form of Syr Cedric had manifested himself in front of the prince.
“Oh! Syr Cedric!” Aki laughed nervously, “Wh-what are you doing here?”
The knight looked down at the helmet on the ground.
“Oh, right.”
There was an awkward silence before the champion began to talk. “May I inquire why you’re watching my squire train?”
“Oh I was just passing by, you know…” Aki turned to walk away.
“Please, I know when someone has been standing next to my helmet for hours.”
Aki opened his mouth like he had something to say, but nothing came out.
“You can talk to me, you know,” Cedric continued, “I just can’t hug you though for obvious reasons.”
“Your squire,” Aki sighed in defeat, “He wants to be like you.”
“He wants to be dead?”
“No no no…he wants to have your bravery. Learn your skills. Protect people like you’ve done for him,” Aki corrected.
“Well, that’s obvious,” the knight commented.
“Don’t let him lose you. Ever.” Aki turned and walked away from Cedric and his knight.
Otherwise, the squire would suffer just like I had with the king.
“You have a match at the cliff stadium in forty-five minutes,” Aki yelled as he walked away, “Don’t be late.”
Cedric paused to ponder the meaning of Aki’s warning before calling over his squire.
—
“...and some stories even say that these very cliffs along with the bridges of the lake stadium, predated even the gods of this plane-”
Rehela elbowed him softly.
“Oh. Am I saying to much? Well, enough of the history lesson. Let the third match of the quarterfinals begin!”
The squire and Navor stood on a large cliff in the center of the arena. The squire lunged first, one hand on his sword and the other on Cedric’s special helmet, forcing Navor to parry his blow. They exchanged a few more quick blows before retreating to their initial positions.
“The squire has gotten better,” Rehela commented.
This time, Navor swung his silver longsword with great purpose. The squire bent his knees and blocked the attack with perfect form. As the blades connected there was a high-pitched ring that caused the squire to falter.
Navor pressed forward and twisted, forcing the squire’s sword out of his hands. It clattered to the ground. Right as Navor tried to attack again, a golden spirit flew out of the helmet knocking him backwards.
Below his helmet, Navor smiled. This was the fight he had been waiting for.
“You fail to remember that you are supposed to come out as a surprise.”
“Well, I couldn’t hold it in. The fight was calling my name,” Syr Cedric told his squire confidently.
Navor hacked at the edge of the cliff repeatedly.
“What is he doing?” the squire asked.
“I think he’s gone mad,” Cedric responded.
As Navor continued to bang his special sword on the ground cracks suddenly slithered throughout the entire cliff. Almost comically, there was a moment of silence, then the entire edge of the cliff gave way in front of Navor. Cedric and the squire plummeted to the rocky ground below as the boulders falling on the ground stirred up endless sand and dust in the air.
“Are you okay?” Syr Cedric asked.
“I- I think so! I can’t see anything. Where are you?” the squire yelled.
Above, Navor watched the destruction. Then, he closed his eyes and a manifestation leapt from his body into the dust.
Chapter Nineteen - The Eleventh Match (Part 2)
Syr Cedric saw a wavering form of Navor approach him from behind, but he was ready. Just as he raised his shadowy sword, Cedric drew his own and lunged at Navor. The knight quickly stepped out of the spirit knight’s radius of the helmet.
“Again.” Navor smiled from above the sand cloud.
This time, the two knights’ swords met. A flickering black sword clashed violently with Cedric’s golden sword’s form.
I won’t be able to venture outside my radius of the helmet, so the only option for me is to let down my defenses and lure him in.
Cedric stole a quick glance into the slowly fading oblivion of dust before striking again. He intentionally placed himself in awkward positions, hoping to lure Navor in. However, Navor was smarter than that. He made sure to keep up strong defensive positions while still preying on Cedric’s supposed weak positions. Cedric started getting frustrated. He jabbed at the opposing knight, who dodged easily. Navor’s flickering blade whirled around him in a large arc, this time forcing Cedric to block it at an awkward angle.
As the dust cleared, the squire ducked behind a fallen boulder, watching Syr Cedric duel with Navor, each blow more powerful than the first. The loud clashes of the blades had the audience cheering for more. So Navor and Cedric continued to give it to them. However, something about Navor wasn’t right. There were slight imperfections in his form. Something Syr Cedric wouldn’t notice in the heat of battle. The squire looked up. Navor was standing at the edge of the cliff, eyes closed. He was focused. The knight Cedric was fighting was a manifestation, which means Navor could tire out Cedric at no cost.
There was however, a way back up the cliff. The squire sheathed his own sword. There was a narrow, steep path back up to Navor. The squire quietly started up. He needed to surprise Navor and stop this whole thing.
Meanwhile, Navor handled his manifestation perfectly. Sharp attacks that forced Cedric on defense combined with calculated moves steps ahead left Cedric on edge. The spirit’s plan wasn’t working. Cedric tried to lunge again, but this time Navor ducked and pushed his blade towards the spirit knight’s leg. The manifestation’s blade somehow buried itself into the spirit’s leg. Cedric screamed in pain. It was such a pain that he hadn’t felt since he was alive. The spirit tried to counter attack, but the manifestation retreated out of Cedric’s radius again. Navor carefully attacked Cedric from a farther distance now. The pain would be able to do its work to tire him out now.
The squire started moving faster after Cedric’s screams. “I need to stop this…now. I don’t even know if ghosts can be healed!” After what seemed like the hardest journey of his life, the squire pushed himself back on top of the cliff. With adrenaline pulsing through his brain, he charged.
Chapter Nineteen - The Eleventh Match (Part 3)
Navor felt in tune with the world. His mind was peaceful. He was controlling the fight against Cedric at no risk and his squire was nowhere to be found. Then, there was a shift in the rocks behind Navor.
It’s just the wind. Focus on Cedric. Keep tiring him out.
Then more rocks shifted behind him. There were footsteps charging at him. Running. The squire had returned. Navor opened his eyes and spun around just in time to block the squire’s attack.
The squire shouldn’t last long. I need to defeat Cedric though.
The squire played offensively, using strokes Kumo had taught him in the endless hours they had spent on the training ground. Despite the defensive gaps the squire left, Navor was unable to capitalize on them. His mind was focused in too many places at once. Still, he could feel the squire’s adrenaline running out. Each strike became less and less powerful from the squire, but the same went for his manifestation. As Navor focused more on defeating the squire, his manifestation started to lose its power too.
“Ha!” Navor slashed quickly at the squire after another one of his weak attacks. It sliced the squire’s left hand cleanly off. There was blood all over the floor that started to dribble over the edge of the cliff.
Now it was the squire’s turn to scream. With nothing left to do, he dove at Navor’s leg. He grabbed it tightly with his right hand before falling off the edge of the cliff, dragging Navor with him. In surprise, Navor lost control of his manifestation. With a little pop, it disappeared.
The audience gasped.
Beneath the falling knight and squire, Syr Cedric readied himself. With a perfectly calculated swing, he slammed Navor on the head midair with the hilt of sword. He reached for the squire with his free hand, but he was out of reach. The squire hit the ground hard.
“NO!” Syr Cedric yelled. He started to say more but his wound on his leg had finally gotten to him. Cedric’s form flickered and disappeared into the helmet. Were all of them dead?
The audience was dead silent. Then, one of them stirred. They willed themselves up and a cheer ensued from the audience.
“It looks like we have a winner!”
This was an incredibly difficult match to decide, so I'll walk all of you through my process. My initial thought was Cedric if this matchup ever happened, when the end of the first round came around, Navor had an advantage. The toughest thing is that both characters' stories rely on being in the tournament. In terms of card design, Lujikul had a strong advantage, especially with how tightly Luji's cards fit in with Cedric's story AND how fun and simple they are. It was especially cool playing out how Cedric's protective nature over the squire is reflected in his second ability. For Navor, he was more part of the world, a main motivator as to why he was able to defeat Ozge the round before as well. The connections with the abyss and Jacks woven into a beautiful backstory was really strong too, and interacting with the world is a HUGE plus. However, Syr Cedric seemed to interact other characters to greater impact, which is what really gave him the edge.
@Lujikul Congrats on your victory! You may now upgrade your champion to CMC7 or create a new signature card!
@Aggroman15 You did fantastic in this tournament. I would love to see a concluding story segment because your writing was simply flawless. Well done.
-------
@Arceus8523 and @feralitator your match will be held sometime on Wednesday morning. Does that deadline work for you?
Aftermath - Part 1
The dreams continued for a whole week. Claire was seen less and less, as she took more and more time in her room to think. The dread arkanai attack did not make things easier for her. After helping take down the abyssal monster, Claire returned to her room again. This time, her head was racing so much that she completely forgot about the tournament. She only realized she had to leave after hearing some of the other contestants leaving their rooms.
Oh crap I'm going to be late!
Catching up to the other contestants, Claire was out of breath. She had done too much running today. While the others were talking about their fights with the abyss, she was preoccupied, thinking of her dream.
As they were approaching the castle, Claire snapped out of her thoughts, feeling something touching her. Kumo, who noticed that she was mentally in her own world, was nuzzling his head on her leg. She kneeled down and pet the dog.
"Thanks"
Kumo smiled at her, wagging his curled tail and licking her cheek. They returned to the rest of the group at the dining hall, where they heard the news of the king's death. She didn't have a connection to this world like the other contestants, so the news didn't have that much of an effect on her, but she reasoned that if a king is anything like a captain on her world, then people should be respectful of their passing.
What was more shocking to Claire was that she didn't realize who her next opponent was until now...
She was up against Kumo.
End of Aftermath - Part 1
Chapter Twenty - Memories
“So he’s really gone…” Aki murmured.
Aki traced his finger numbly down ancient pages under a tree in the moonlight. The cloudless sky left a mess of sparkling stars across the sky as the pale moon watched upon the plane, casting its light for the kingdom in absence of the sun. The calming rays illuminated what seemed to be pictures drawn carefully like words to illustrate some sort of story. Many images however, were faded and it was difficult to understand. At the bottom of the sheet, there was a neat signature, one that seemed to resemble the letter R.
“Arrgh! I can’t make any sense of this!!” Aki yelled.
He threw down the papers in frustration. Aki took out a knife and dug deep into the tree. He took it out and hacked at the tree again, this time with more force.
Why did you have to leave? Why did you have to be the hero? I needed you. Right now the world is falling apart and I need you so much right now.
Aki raised the knife again, but this time a gentle hand stopped him.
“Aki,” a familiar voice said, “I’m sorry about your father. About the tournament.”
“I…just wish he was here. I looked up to him all my life but he never noticed me. Now…he’s gone.”
Aki dropped the knife. It landed softly on the grass next to him. Aki felt a tear roll silently down his cheek. Under the moonlight, it glowed a striking silver as it touched the moon's rays.
“I- I’m sorry…” Aki took a shaky breath, “You shouldn’t be seeing me like this.”
He turned to look at the comforting person. It was Michio. “I know what it is like to lose someone,” he started, “I lost everyone I loved in one night.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Could you do a favor for me?” Aki asked.
Michio nodded. The prince and ninja sat down by the tree.
“I just want to see him. One last time. I just want to say goodbye.”
Michio turned to face Aki and touched his hand to Aki’s forehead. Shaking, Aki closed his eyes. The world around Aki seemed to transform. He was still sitting at the tree now, but the scene was different. Aki and his father were training. The prince watched as their training swords met over and over again. Every sound echoed in his mind a hundred times before disappearing. It was almost overwhelming.
“Aki, you have to block my blade here! That way you can set up for an attack of your own. You know this!”
The young prince quickly adapted. Repeating the same strokes again, this time opening up an attack of his own. He saw his father’s faint smile before they were interrupted.”
“Sir, there are forces moving in on the east…”
The king walked away, leaving the prince alone in the middle of the field.
There was a flash of light before the scene swirled into another. Aki was now behind jade green curtains, listening to the king and queen arguing.
“You need to know that someday, your bravery will get you killed…all of us killed! There was no need for you to fetch this yourself.” The queen gestured angrily towards his palm.
“You don’t understand. This locket is important.”
“More than your life?”
“No! It could mean much more. More than every life on this plane.”
"You can't be the hero in every story," the queen said bitterly before walking out.
After the queen left, the king opened a silver locket in his palm. It contained an odd map made out of black corrupted steel. There were dots in certain places. Unfamiliar places, but Aki could make out from the shape of the map that it was of their kingdom.
There was another flash. Aki found himself behind a bookshelf, watching his father locking away his history books while talking to the queen. "He needs to be more like a king. Spending time on these books will do nothing if he can't fight like I can." Another flash. This time, he saw himself practicing his father's favorite moves in combat. Another flash. The king was walking away from Aki into a dark room. The door slammed shut and Aki opened his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Aki.”
“Don’t be,” he responded, “Now it’s time for me to move on. The tournament needs my full attention. After all, it’s the only thing that could connect us back to Friyena.”
Michio nodded as Aki picked up the fallen papers.
“Thank you,” Aki said before walking back into the castle.
The mood had been dreary since the Abyssal attack. Even though the initial wave had been resolved, and as many people were kept safe as possible, it still did not help that the Abyss' presence had grown so strong so suddenly. This was worsened by the reveal of the king being lost to the Abyss. Kumo had come from a far away land, at the far corners of Avelaide, and was by no means a member of the Rosakel empire in any meaningful way. However, he acknowledged the severity of the event just as any other person in the room did, and felt sorry for those who were deeply and directly impacted by the death of their monarch, most notably Aki himself. The change in tournament rules was expected, though not exactly welcome. It only furthered worried Kumo. He knew it was safer to be in the palace, and to be escorted to and from his matches, but he didn't feel safer. If anything it only reaffirmed that the Abyss' uprising was inevitable.
Aftermath - Part 2
“No… I can’t fight Kumo,” Claire muttered, “I don’t want to…”
For the rest of dinner, Claire didn’t touch her food. She just sat in her chair, staring at one of the walls, conflicted. On one hand, she didn’t want to hurt Kumo in a fight, but on the other hand, she knew she wasn’t strong enough to defeat Tibarro or the abyss if she lost, whoever got to her first.
Claire was one of the last contestants to leave the dining hall. She slowly walked to the large doors leading to the hallway of the castle, still trying to figure out her own thoughts. As she stepped through the door frame, she felt something bump into the back of her leg. Kumo was headbutting her. She knelt down to her next opponent.
“I don’t want to fight you… I don’t want to hurt you…”
Kumo barked at her. There was determination in his eyes, and seeing this, Claire realized that he wouldn’t hold back. As quickly as the doubt arrived, it vanished. She had already grown, and with new friends, she knew that she wouldn’t be alone in the future.
“Alright. If you won’t hold back, I won’t either,” she said with confidence, “But… Let’s not try to hurt each other. Ok?”
Kumo responded with a playful growl and a bark. Claire petted her opponent before standing back up and walking confidently out of the castle.
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/claire-no-longer-alone
End of Aftermath
Claire had been sitting in her room silently, thinking about the matchup, and about Kumo. They had agreed not to seriously hurt one another, but what if things got out of hand? However, she was shaken from her daze by a knock at the door. Standing in the entryway was Oritira, Kumo at her side. "Y-Yes?" the hydromancer stammered, a bit confused.
Chapter Twenty-One - The Twelfth Match (intro)
The air was tense as the audience filed into the lake stadium. It was a few minutes before sunset, and the sun glowed a dangerous orange as it approached the grasp of the horizon. Kumo stood vigilantly on the docks with a sword behind him on the ground. Claire, on the other hand, was on the bridge farthest from Kumo. She was pacing on the bridge, stealing frequent glances between Kumo and the water.
As most people sat down, Aki got up to give his regular speech at the beginning of each match. “After some research, I found out exactly what previous hosts said before each match. It was a phrase that didn’t make any sense, yet somehow it seemed so important.”
Aki took a deep breath. “Our contestants will not die so long as we have faith in them,” he quoted, “Faith. We’ve had contestants die already. For good. Did our faith in them really help? We’ve seen hosts die. Innocent people have died during the abyssal outbreaks, but our faith hasn’t been enough. But now, I realize, faith in each other is all we have. As the abyssal outbreaks get worse and worse, we must have faith in each other to defeat it. We must trust each other or else I fear much worse could happen. Let us have faith in each other so the tournament can continue. With our faith, we could have such power that it could even attract the attention of the gods.”
Aki looked at Kumo, then at Claire. Then his gaze shifted to Michio and Ortitira in the audience, “Together, we defeated so many abyssal monsters. So, let’s not forget what we’ve lost, but we must also celebrate what we all have achieved. Let the last quarterfinal match begin!”
Chapter Twenty-One The Twelfth Match (part 1)
Kumo sprung into action, grabbing the hilt of his blade with his mouth and charged across the maze of rickety bridges towards Claire. Right as Kumo got close, walls of water soared out of the lake from around the bridge and blocked the dog’s path. With a mighty leap, Kumo jumped to a bridge many feet away.
Claire waved her hand, allowing tentacles of water to wrap up around the bridge. Kumo started to run. The faster he ran across the bridges, the faster the tentacles followed, sinking the bridges as they chased the dog.
Kumo growled. Ran closer and closer to Claire, closing in the gap quickly.
“I’m sorry Kumo,” Claire sighed, “I have to do this, or else Tibarro will kill me like he did my father.”
She drew a sphere of water from the lake and cast it towards Kumo at a blinding speed. The dog, however, with plenty of reflex training with arrows, easily jumped to dodge it. The water projectile collided with the tentacles of water, causing them to mush together into a large wave. It crashed over Claire, knocking the hydromancer off her feet.
Then, through the white, foamy spray of the waves, Kumo suddenly galloped towards Claire. The hydromancer flicked her hand, and a sudden blast of water ripped Kumo’s sword from his mouth. Kumo lost his balance and splashed off the bridge and into the water.
With most of the bridges in the stadium wrecked, Claire smiled as she slipped off the dock she had fallen on in the lake. She was bleeding a little bit, but the water on her body instantly healed her wounds.
“Ah…” Claire smiled, “This feels just like home.”\
Claire made an arc in the water, causing a whirlpool to form. Kumo barked as he tried to paddle away frantically but the current was too strong. Slowly, but steadily, Kumo felt himself get pulled farther into the vortex. It was an inescapable fate reeling Kumo in slowly and dreadfully. He howled to the sky. To Friyena, but there was no golden light to help him this time.
The vortex started to grow larger and larger, collecting everything in its path, finally, the current reached Claire as it continued to grow. She watched as Kumo disappeared under the water’s surface. She tried to fight the current, but slowly, it started to pull her in too.
“I can’t stop it!” Claire shouted, “What’s happening?”
Chapter Twenty-One The Twelfth Match (Part 2)
Instead of drowning like he thought he would, Kumo felt a dark world engulf him. He felt like he was floating through shiny, black ink only somehow the dog was able to breathe.
Kumo tried to swim upwards, but he just kept floating in the same direction. Down.
Am I dead? Is this what death feels like?
For many minutes he drifted on the serene, silent place. It was quite the change compared to the stressful match.
What is this place?
Kumo felt a funny feeling drift through his entire body. Something he had never felt before. Then, he was dropped onto a dark brick path.
Kumo whimpered. He was lost. He looked up to where he came from, but it just remained a sky of ink, slowly dropping into odd pools of black on the floor.
There was no sun. Just a faint light reflected from the shiny sky.
“W̷̆̀͜e̶̛̱̱l̸̻̤͝c̸̙͉̈́o̶̦̯̾̋m̵̛̱͓͌e̴͚͠”
Kumo barked. Who are you? Where am I?
“I̵̜͓̋̂ ̵̝̌t̷̞̱͐̇ḫ̷̤̈̑i̸͙̬̓̾n̵̲͂k̶͓̉́ ̴͈̊ẙ̶̮̊ö̴͓́͑u̵̹͜͝ ̵̨̘͋͒k̸̤͌n̸͍̥̓ō̷̦̲̽w̷͖̦͘̕ ̴͕̗̀͝t̸̛͙h̷̨̜̎ä̷͍͎t̵̖̺͆͠ ̷̡̯̒a̵͔̰̅l̵̙̽̊r̶̠͋ę̵̂a̷̤̘͋̎d̸͈̂̋y̴͍͘”
Kumo started to walk down the pathway. His light steps echoed loudly like heavy boots would in a tunnel. Ahead of Kumo laid a large stone gate. It seemed taller than the castle itself. The dog nudged it open with his nose. It was surprisingly light for such a large stone structure. It opened silently.
Kumo slowly set foot inside the abandoned courtyard behind the gate. He looked back to watch for an escape route, but fog closed in behind him. Kumo was trapped. The match had been stressful but he knew revival was always possible on Rehela’s watch. Now there was no one. For the first time during the match, Kumo was scared.
He had no option but to continue into the large, abandoned castle in front of him. It resembled Rosakel castle on the outside for some reason.
Kumo tried to shake of the fear and nervously stepped foot inside the throne hall. He saw a gigantic figure sitting on a huge throne.
“K̷̪͛̚u̷͚̞͊m̵̯͉̽͌o̷̼̠̓̀,̸͙̽ ̷̱̆̄i̵̤͂ẗ̴͔͙’̷̬̊͜s̷͉̬̀̾ ̶̝̜͊̚n̷̰͘͝i̷̘̽ć̸̮̐ẻ̸͍͎̎ ̷͍͌̏ṫ̸̡̛ô̵̢̤ ̶̰́̍f̸͉̣̂̕i̵̯̎n̵̛̪ā̷̛̝l̵̬̬̂l̸̢̐̍ÿ̶̲̘ ̶̛̥m̷̠̟̾̈́e̷̻͈̐e̷̼̮͒t̶͉̟͋̂ ̵̛̥̍y̷̬͗o̵̧̓ͅu”
A wave of shadows rolled towards Kumo. He barked loudly but his cries just echoed back to him. He felt the swirl of darkness overcome him, then everything went black. Again.
Chapter Twenty-One The Twelfth Match (Part 3)
Claire felt herself being pulled beneath the surface. She quickly created a bubble to protect herself from drowning. It was clear she had no escape from the whirlpool.
But instead of the water she expected beneath the surface, she felt herself fall into an odd fluid. Her bubble protected her as a thick black substance swirled around her. It was almost mesmerizing.
Claire, still protected by the bubble, floated down into an odd place. It looked like the town plaza except everything was dark. There were no people and all the buildings were wrecked. There were pools of the shiny black liquid everywhere.
“What is this place…?”
Ahead of Claire she saw Kumo lying on the ground except something was off. Kumo was surrounded by an odd shadowy energy. Something that resembled the monsters she had seen before.
Then it struck her. This…this is the abyss!!
“Kumo!” Claire shouted, “Are you okay?!”
As he heard his name, Kumo druggedly got up. He snarled at Claire.
“Kumo? Kumo!”
The dog barked one more time, then sprang at Claire. She tried to dodge it, but her bubble burst violently upon the impact of Kumo's fangs, tossing Claire onto the stone.
I̷̧̛ṡ̶͍̌͌ň̷̘̋'̶̡̪̙̉́̓t̴̨̀ ̸͕͆͝t̴̞̦͈̀̎h̶̹̥̅̓i̶̹̯͈̎̓̇s̶̢̧̮̋͠ ̴͓̺̆͋̎f̶͖̣̄́ͅú̴̱̃͠n̸̫͐̑̂ ̴̛̪͗̿ṯ̸̠́̀o̴̞͍̓͝ ̶̩̦̝̓͗w̵̨̛͋̓a̸̺̝̎̿́t̵̞̠͈́̚c̴̱̺̅͜h̷̰̬͖̃̐͝?̵͈͍͗̆͋ ̶̱̱̅Ṯ̴̖̩̾̈́ẁ̷̫̘̒ö̸̝̺̿͂ ̴͕́̎̌f̶̜̣̑͛̔r̵̥̻̾̇i̸̯͈̒͝e̷͈̘̽ṉ̴͊͌̄d̴̮̈́͝s̶̘͙͌̋͗ ̵̬͌t̷̗̮̉͜h̸͇̏̎̒ã̷͈̐̀ͅt̶̘͑͊̀ ̸̘̌͜ẅ̷͕́̉̊ó̴̭̗̦̑n̷͉̺̈́̔͋'̵͉͖̎̈͌t̸͎͛ ̶̫̘̏͜ŝ̶͉̾̆t̷̗̻̳̊̿ŏ̴̡̖͉͒p̷̹̳͂ͅ ̶̗͘f̸̰͕̱͝i̶͉͒́ḡ̷͇̘͂h̵͓̍͗͑t̴̰̟͐͠i̶̝͎̤͋̚ǹ̷̙̺g̶̲͈͖̀̿ ̶̩̎̎̽ͅú̴̯̳̥̅n̴̞̬̓́t̷̙͙̋̓͝i̴̺̎̎l̶̖̎̐ ̷̛̣̖̾̚t̴̨͖̼͂͌́h̸̢͔̰̕ȩ̵̥̯̐̒̅ ̸̻͎̕ǒ̸̫͎ͅt̴̞̤̹̕h̷̪͑e̶͍̮̊r̷̫͈̚͝ ̷̖͑̊̽i̸̗̿s̷̗̭̈ ̵̫͓̄͝͠d̵͉̱̓͋e̷̪̹̍a̶̖̒́͘d̵̝͇̹́.̶̠̌.̶̳̓̂.̸̱̇͗