11/14 - θ Dismal Worst Core

[worldbent]

Who: THE PROPAGATION and players
What: Preservation.
Where: θ DISMAL WANING DESCENT???
When: ICly, Tuesday 11/14
Warnings: Violence, suicidal ideation, eye gore, sexual identity+reproductive topics, general mention of sexual content. Please see signups for more specific warnings.




[Once hidden away from the rest of the game by Cubia, all player characters are now able to gate-in to θ Dismal Waning Descent; only when they arrive, they'll find that the area name has changed to θ Dismal Worst Core.]

[The "Garden" as it was once called has been transformed from glitching meadow into a wide, cement basement with sparse, fluorescent lighting. A target ring has been crudely painted or chalked onto the floor in faded white, and more targets are carved into the cement of the surrounding walls, traditional kyuudo arrows somehow shot into them and sticking out at haphazard angles, some with broken, splintered shafts.]

[At the center of the bullseye on the ground is...]

Comments

SIGN-UPS

[worldbent]

GENERAL INFO:

➵ Please post your signup as a reply to this comment. Sign-up slots are limited to 3 PC's. One additional NPC will also be present in the fight.
➵ If more than 3 characters sign up, I will RNG the signups around 1 PM EST, on Sunday 11/12.
➵ Tagging will be in rounds, played ICly as a turn-based RPG style fight. Each tag from Matoba is the start of a new round. Given the limited slots, please make sure you are going to be available every day this week to tag at least once so as not to hold things up. My timezone is EST and I usually tag 6 PM - 11 PM daily on weekdays. I will tag after the last player responds each round.
➵ This battle is going to be dialogue/narrative-focused with a lower emphasis on battle mechanics. Generally, you will not need to worry about tracking HP, making damage rolls every round, etc.

A few notes about specific content warnings:

➵ Being the sex-related Phase, Magus may bring up topics including Matoba's sexual experiences, anything known to Matoba or publicly known about participating characters' sex lives, topics related to struggles with sexual identity, etc.
➵ This fight will not include sexual acts or sexual violence towards any characters.
➵ This fight may include bodily mutilations including: possible organ removal, eye squick, amputation, etc. Nothing will be done to your character without prior contact first.
➵ I ask that everyone please put any descriptive gore in your tags within collapsible cuts and, if necessary, include a summary of any reactable actions in that cut for me, because I am a little iffy on reading gore.

FORM:

Player Name:
Player Contact: (keep in mind I'm not in the game discord!)
Timezone/Availability: (So I have an idea who to expect when. Are you more of an after-work tagger? Sleep criminal? Can you boomerang in US evenings or daytime-weekend? I ask that everyone be able to tag AT LEAST ONCE per day. This battle is expected to go a minimum 10 tagging rounds.)

Character Name+Username:
Character Class+Element: (I need elements as Matoba WILL use examine to see what your character's magic weakness is.)
Character Core Type: (Please note here if your character has a bracelet from either Lily or Zelkova; OR if they have one of the cores given in the update. Then, choose your type (Heal, Armor, Damage). Note that at least one player in this battle will need to have a bracelet or Damage core.)

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Player Contact:</b> (keep in mind I'm not in the game discord!) <b>Timezone/Availability:</b> (So I have an idea who to expect when. Are you more of an after-work tagger? Sleep criminal? Can you boomerang in US evenings or daytime-weekend? I ask that everyone be able to tag AT LEAST ONCE per day. This battle is expected to go a minimum 10 tagging rounds.) <b>Character Name+Username:</b> <b>Character Class+Element:</b> (I need elements as Matoba WILL use examine to see what your character's magic weakness is.) <b>Character Core Type:</b> (Please note here if your character has a bracelet from either Lily or Zelkova; OR if they have one of the cores given in the update. Then, choose your type (Heal, Armor, Damage). Note that at least one player in this battle will need to have a bracelet or Damage core.)

[tablescraps]

Player Name: Tuesday
Player Contact: My discord, or dalmore @ plurk
Timezone/Availability: PST, available throughout the day except Fridays

Character Name+Username: Morgan Chatainne / Mithrun1
Character Class+Element: Edge Punisher / Wood (Matoba's favori--)
Character Core Type: No Bracelet, Heal Core

[tinged]

Player Name: soup
Player Contact: scheris @ disco, soupie @ plurk!
Timezone/Availability: PST, I can make tags happen before & during work, but am mostly an after-work tagger and can tag up until 1 AM PST (4 AM EST)

Character Name+Username: hani / tabibito
Character Class+Element: wavemaster / wood
Character Core Type: n / armor core

BATTLE MECHANICS (Please do not reply here!)

[worldbent]

TAGGING ORDER:

➵ Rather than tagging to the previous player's tag, please make all replies to Magus' latest reply in the thread. I will toplevel for each new round.
➵ If the latest reply isn't in by about 10:30 PM EST each night, I may skip whoever hasn't replied and put in the next round's tag.

STATUS/DAMAGE ROLLS:

➵ As mentioned above, you do not need to give rolls for general damage or dodges in this fight, we can just play it by ear. The flow and pace of the fight will depend more on the narrative than the battle elements.
➵ The bulk of Matoba's attacks are AoE spells, meaning most characters will take some magic damage each round. Further mechanics will be detailed below.
➵ Exceptions: Statuses will be handled by a coinflip each round (Heads for successful infliction/wearing off, tails for failure/continuing another round).
➵ There is one other mechanic where damage rolls will be necessary, which will be detailed below when it triggers within the fight.

SPECIAL MECHANICS:

➵ Specified Target: Each round's attack will select a random target and choose their elemental weakness for Matoba's spell. They will receive the bulk of damage for that round, while the remainder of players will get splash damage (so rip if you share that person's element).
The RNG assignment is: Mithrun (1), Hani (2), Fandaniel (3), Hien (4).

➵ Attack Dog: Each round, Hien may take an attack meant for Magus. If so, he will perform a coinflip: Heads he intercepts and takes the applicable damage, tails the attack hits Magus as intended. This counts as Hien's player action for the round of the attack he is intercepting.

➵ 的をいるですね？: Special Area mechanic. All light in the Arena extinguishes, leaving it pitch-black. The following debuffs are automatically applied to all players: 4x Evade Down, Blind. These debuffs are automatically dispelled when the Area Effect ends and cannot be removed until then. The following buffs are applied to Magus: Accuracy bypass (Magus' attacks cannot miss), Attack: All (Attacks hit all players). These buffs end when the Area Effect ends. Death and Rebirth triggers automatically on the same round this effect triggers. After 3 successful attacks hit Magus, the Area Effect ends.
When targeting Magus for an attack during 的をいるですね？, roll 1d20. A roll of 1-8 hits. (This may be adjusted later.) EDIT: A roll of 1-5 hits for all further activations.

➵ Death and Rebirth: Magus' signature attack. Non-elemental, magic damage. Magus sheds his razor sharp leaves and captures anyone in the Arena in a whirlwind of pain. Inflicts Bleed that slowly whittles away at HP. This attack is unavoidable and the resulting Bleed is incurable.

➵ Deadly Aim: A spell unique to Matoba. Single-target, water-elemental magic damage. Summons many icicles shaped like arrows that converge into a single target and freezes them for 15 seconds (one round).


more mechanics coming soon!

QUESTIONS

[worldbent]

If you have questions/concerns as we go along, feel free to ask here!

OPENING TAG (pre-battle)

[worldbent]

[In the center of the bullseye under a single lamplight there's an uncomfortable metal folding chair. Matoba sits there, waiting for the players who gate in, staring down at the eyepatch that has been for once removed from his face and now lays draped in his hand. His right eye bears a slash over it that's now an angry pink scar, leading down into the bright red of a Wavemark matching Cubia's.]

[Slumped against the chair, the gilded armor over his shoulders, hips and shins gleam and bulge; you'd be forgiven for thinking that the segmented gems, like the eyes of an insect, flinch and swivel to look at you every so often.]

He's not here.

[The eyepatch slips out from between Magus' fingers and flutters to the cold cement. The chair creaks horribly as he leans in it, breaking the otherwise silent echo in the Area.]

The virus that is Cubia has spread too thoroughly. The flesh of this world is nothing but rot to its core. You can't amputate a limb on a body so totally decimated.

It's unfortunate. In order to protect the survival of you who could escape and persist on the "Outside", I wished to prevent this from happening. But there's only one course of action now...

[trollophoroi]

[ Perhaps it is a shock that it will be another of the Phases that ports in to meet Magus' opening monologue and all he gets in return is a scoff, Fidchell sneering at the man slumped in the chair. Or maybe it shouldn't be at all, considering he's been obsessively trying to access the Area ever since that message... that awful message... from this awful creature...! ]

I will not tolerate your lies and delusions any longer, M̍ͅá̱g̝͇̑͞u̲̟͗͋s̼͆. You have proven to be an ultimately pointless and broken pr̲̆ò͜ģ͒r̙͌ạ͡ḿ̩ and will be removed from the system for what you have done.

[ Still, he approaches the chair directly, in no rush despite how one fist curled at his side trembles with rage, the other hand occupied with the tome weapon he has drawn as he moves forward. ]

If not here, then where? Has your little plan backfired on you after all that talk?

ROUND 1

[worldbent]

[Magus' eyes travel across the three.... no, the four who approach him. All predictable for their own reasons, but Hien has a long and peculiar look cast towards him as he emerges, silent and feline.]

[L̷̜̹͎̳̲̥͇̾̉̈́̈́̍͘ȩ̷̝̘̲̳͓̖̦͚̮͇̋͂̀͆̽̎́̿̕͝t̴̬͇̤͙̥̣̼͎̱̲̗̣̉̓͋̽́̎̅͗̌̕͝ ̸̨̮̰̭̺̬̬͔̦͙͈̝̉͐͛͒͂͋̿͘͝͝h̷̛̙͓̜͉̼̐̍̉̌̕̕̕͜͠͝i̴̡͈̺̰̳̫͈̳͉͆̐́͝m̷̨̫̞̲͕̘͋̅̈́̏̔̈́̚ ̸̨̡̡̪̣̦͕̮̠̦̗̗͇̟̫̭̍͑̀̇͑̓̊̌̿̍͑̓͑͘͜ṕ̸̧̮̔͌́̓e̴̢̩̩̳͖͚̒́̈́̆͂͂̑͊̀͆͆͂͆̈́̕̚͜͝ͅͅț̵̯̼̗̱̋̅̿͌ ̸̛̦̫̫̞̱̣̗̈̿͂̆̇̑̄̄͌́́̔̈͐͘̕ͅỹ̷̢̡̻̫͓̙̠͖͇̰̅̒̿́͑̈́̇̈́̾̊̒̚̚͠ǒ̸̖͍̣͓͕͉͇͕̦̫̂̅ư̸̙̦̖̣͒͂̀̃̎͋̊̚̕͘̕͝͝͠]

[No... Those were the thoughts of a human who no longer existed. Turning away from him without comment, he instead addresses those who spoke.]

I figured I would be seeing you again after your outburst, Macha. Why this foolish decision to step in and prolong Cubia's hold? Surely you understand from your observations, as I do, how fruitless this world is? [His head lolls to the side of his shoulder, to address Hani.] The possibilities are endless, but I will only allow one to go forward. In order for mankind to flourish....... That error cannot be allowed to spread.

[It's Fidchell's bold approach that earns a sidelong glance from the man(?) in the chair, its creaking impossibly loud in their cold concrete cell as he leans, and his good eye resting on him with a wicked, playful smile.]

"Lies and delusions", you say. "Pointless". Tell me, my dear brother Fidchell: who is it that made us this way? Who is it that created us in his image?

[To be naught but f̸̨̱̲̰̃͆̉́̇̿͋̐ȧ̷͈̞̝̟͓̗̯̜̲͉͇̹̻͖̅͆͐͒͊̔̍̇͆́̀́̄̕i̷̧̨̨̢̠̦͎͖̳̘̙̙͔͕͔̺̗͌́̾́̋́̈͛̏̃͐͋̎ļ̶̞͔͍̫̣̙͕̤̗̘͓̯̪̝̀ͅu̵͇̫̇̎̀̀̋́̍͗̃̄͠͝͠͠͝r̷̗̗̪̗͙̞͇̒̂̌e̷̡͙͈̹̔̃̄̓͊̽̎̈́͌͜͝s̷̛̠̤̜̭̻̖̦̞̲̩̰̳̻͆̑̍.]

[A split second sensation of wrongness bubbles out from the center of the room as, in a flash, the figure in the chair glows and explodes outward; from the force of the blow, a tail whips out and slams Fidchell/Fandaniel backwards, revealing the true form of "Magus", his snake or dragonfly-like coils winding within the rings of the target on the ground. The armor has encased his upper body, the oversized pauldrons and hip armor now joined by chest and arm armor, and a 'mask' now covers his face, protruding long from over his jaw like a beak. Even Matoba's ponytail has become a tail-like appendage, flowing out from behind the mask.]

[The grimoire Matoba once held is gone; unnecessary. Instead, Magus only need raise a hand towards the ceiling and gather magic in his hand before flinging it forward with a room-shaking force; a PhaRai Rom ⚡️ crackles overhead of the battle party and rains lightning down, centered over Hien.]

In order to prevent the spread... I'll simply eliminate this entire World.

[trollophoroi]

You——!

[ Fidchell would have carried on that argument over whether or not they were created to be like this, corrupt, broken things, but everyone is saved from that when the body Magus had been housed in explodes into his true form and slaps Fidchell away. It's for the best, truly.

Not that he's happy about being swatted away, flying across the cold, empty cell of a room about part way before coming to a stop by hitting one of the bullseyes carved in relief into the stone walls. He bounces off a bit, landing on the floor in a heap.

While mostly healed at this point, on top of knocking the air from his lungs, that causes quite a shock of pain to course through him from where FlameMane had brutalized his ribs some time ago now. He will not being doing anything useful this round, good luck, losers. ]

ROUND 2

[worldbent]

[With Fidchell tossed aside, Magus can focus on the other three. Watching Hien freeze up under the spell, Magus comes eye to eye with his brother; none can see it, but it's clear in his voice how a smile blossoms beneath the mask.]

Suffering in silence. Am I stealing your "thunder", Skeith? [Hahaha, get it? He had been wondering what brought him here, whether it was to protect Cubia as with Fidchell. That would be against his programming. But...] ...Or have you come to collect your data as I create it for you? Are you even willing to be a sacrifice for that data?

[Magus, the propagation, the creation and preservation of life; and Skeith, the end, the death. They were polar opposites, but that was why Magus had enjoyed observing him- for humans often protected their own prospects, their own continuation, through the deaths of others.]

[And speaking of creeping death... Duk Lei's poison seeps in through Magus' flesh, a cold shudder running through his body. There's a creaking shudder of breath as the suffering fills him that allows Mithrun's blade to strike, the electrified strikes stiffening up his limbs with each blow that hits.]

[His upper body sags for a brief moment, irritated, before he raises himself up again with the slow, heavy dragging sound of his body behind him.]

How unfortunate... [His hand raises again. Crackles form overhead of the party once again with another PhaRai Rom ⚡️, this time streaking across the ceiling to then rain upon Fandaniel. With him currently slammed across the arena, those closer to Magus may find themselves less affected by the spell. Lucky you!]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien finally shows something on his face that isn't a blank expression. He frowns and gets out his staff. It's definitely reskinned over the usual staff and to defy Magus, he won't bring out the red wand. He tries to use the end of the staff to hook Magus's neck and twist it. ]

My name... is Hien.

[ He seems very vehement about this right now. ]

I am not Skeith.

[ There's some Thunder splash damage, but he doesn't care. ]

ROUND 3

[worldbent]

...H̵͈̜͖̼̐̆̈́̊̎̓̒̉̅̕͜i̵̛͓̞̱̺̹͔͙͉̫̿̋̇̾͂́̃̽̋̋͆͆͜͠ͅê̶̛̪̘̹̖̟̦̪̮͉͇̔̇̔͂͑͑̅͊̍̈́͐͘͝n̴̺̈̃͛̀̾̊́...

[There is a short moment in which Magus, hooked forward by Hien's staff, seems to have some flicker of recognition- but it's only a second. Within a breath of that whispered name, Hien is swept back again with a backhand to the jaw, sending him not quite as far as the tail blow Fandaniel had received, but enough to put a distance between them.]

[Instead, his attention is back on Fidchell and Hani running support, and that pesky Data Drain Fidchell's just activated. With everyone's defense up, he'll have to work harder to crush them. Since Hani is the one healing so far, he targets them next with Matoba's custom spell, Earthen Fist ⛰- with a waved hand, the cement beneath their feet begins to vibrate, then rumble- until several earthen, golem-like hands burst forth from the ground, sending chunks of concrete debris flying that are nearly as dangerous as the hands themselves. Fandaniel and anyone else nearby will be grabbed by the hands or pinged by chunks of concrete too, if they aren't careful.]

You inherited his lack of manners, Fidchell.

[Busy casting, he isn't able to detect Mithrun's Revenger until a moment too late- Magus is now inflicted with Poison and Bleed, and his HP is beginning to tick down ever more quickly, bit by bit.

[selfconcept]

[ Hien's eyes widen when he thought he heard Matoba instead of Magus, but then he's backhanded. Ouch. The cat ears flatten again and the tail curls inward.

But it's fine. It gives him hope.

He immediately forces the other three into a party and casts Phal Repth, a 100% HP party heal. ]

ROUND 4

[worldbent]

[Magus is electrocuted two-fold between Fandaniel and Hani's spells, which really, really hurts, as it so happens. An agitated, hissing breath of pain tears ragged from behind the Phase's mask, body first convulsing from the combined force of the two spells and then briefly sagging as it had before.]

[With the combined might of their spells and another two ticks of the Poison and Bleed, Magus' health is nearly ticking into the yellow.]

[And that's before Mithrun's song reaches him. No, M̷̺̻̞̼̖̻͕͚̳̺̬̓̄͐̓̋͗̇a̷̡̨̎̅̈́͗̐͒̀̐̄̆͂̅̿̅͘̕͠c̵̛̳̘̓̅̿͗̾͑̇͒͂̏̐̈́̍̐́́h̸̨̖̝̟̦͇̼͖̦͙̼̰̲̺͙͂̍̔̑͝ä̷̧̧͓͓͍̤̬̼̹͉͔̻̅͘'̶̧̦͍͖̯̖͙͙̯̯̓ͅs̶̮͉̼͖̥͈͈̻̯̹̬̥̣̈́ͅ...? His sagging body stills as it reaches him, its haunting melody filling his limbs with a strange numbness like he has never observed, and casting both Despair and Blind.]

[Slowly, still weak from the earlier attacks, his head turns to look at Hien who he had shoved away, considering Hani's words. His face is hidden, but his voice- Matoba's voice- replies with a strangeness to it that despite the dryness familiar to Matoba's tone, felt off-balance. Wrong.]

"Effective", you say? My data shows otherwise. I wonder just what you think is "effective pain"? And what is the difference, when pain is equal to pleasure?

[The movement of his body is strange, almost as if he were suffering, without being capable of showing it. Despite his pause to ponder and his sluggish movements, Magus casts Earthen Fist ⛰ yet again, once more targeting Hani. With Matoba's current status, if the others scatter before the spell breaks through, they'll easily be able to escape its grasp.]

[Through labored breathing behind the mask, Magus continues,]

Pain... One's own suffering... is irrelevant. So long as the f̵̧̻͉̙̱̲͚̻̣̤͎̳̖͍̯͕̥̒̈́̆̈͊͠ä̵̡̛̜̼̻̠͇͙̲̺̭͚̤́̒̋̒̈́́̊̑́̚̚͜͜͠͝m̷̖͙̬̺̻̪̲͉̩̤̖̲̀̌̔̀̔̋̈́́̒͊̏̈́͊̚͝͝͝Ḇ̷̛̏̂̃͆̀͠L̶̡̩̮̭̥̟͍͆͆̌̍̒́͌̚͝ͅO̵̧̨̼̞̞̖͐͂̐̍͂͌̀̃̉̐͒̒̈́̃̄̚͘Ớ̴͖͕̘̹͙͑̀͊̏̾͘Ḑ̴̛͕͚͖̘̞̯̳͉̮͚̗̟͉̹̀̽ͅͅí̴̩́͗̔̈́l̶̞͙̟͙̬̈́͊̅̋̓y̴̺̘͕̯̍̐̆̽̕͝ remains strong...

[selfconcept]

[ Hien opens his mouth, wanting to call his name, but stops. It shouldn't be so painful seeing him so hurt. He's done that. He's inflicted pain like that before. So, then why... ]

Then where is yours, Magus?

[ He tries reaching out for the mask to take it off. ]

Did you suffer for a bloodline that doesn't exist?

ROUND 5 (cw: suicidal/familicidal ideation??)

[worldbent]

[It's frustrating to watch Mithrun slip through his attacks, but at least when his blade lands against Magus, the blow is absorbed by his host's innate Water element. Thanks to that, the damage is minimal if any, though he doesn't quite get the swipe in that he wanted to take before Mithrun leaps back again, too quick.]

M̸̢̛̠͇̝̜͈̹̣̬͚̺̓̈́̅́̽͛̋̐͌̿͆̑͆͝͝ẏ̶̨̡̨̢̛̹̣͉̪̗̩̳̹̺̤̯̒́̈́͐̀̊͑̇̔̽̅̌͠͝ͅ ̸̨̛͇͇͖̓̈́̎̀̌͋͑̅̈̀̇́͝f̵̧̛̛̛̦̟̦̩̱͕̯̙̱̭͚̣̪͑̀̐̈̾̏̒̂͘͜͠a̴̜͋̂́͋͌̚m̸̼͙̻̬͆͝ȉ̸͚̮͈̱͆̏l̶̤̯̟͖̳̖͇̮̪͓͚̭̞̞̗̓̏̅̋͊̈́̎̋̆̈́̆̊͜ͅy̵̙̟̩̘̼̋͌̏͘̚... [Magus gasps through the toll of Poison/Bleed/Darkness, now spinning rapidly through his HP. The word, "family", bears human pain behind it; as if just trying to remember it causes him pain. It wasn't like the pain that Hien had inflicted on him before- when he took Hien's blows to his body, Matoba had smiled, wild and free to act of his own accord, as himself. Ḫ̶̊̉͂̒̑͋̅̆̀̋̓̕̚͠͝͠e̶̩̪̻͚̥̪̮͕̘̖̙̥͉͊̇͒͐ ̴̢̗͉̗͋̐̽̀͆͐͗̾̐̊̿̚͘͠l̸̨̹̤̻̻̣͎͒̈̅̈́̏̊̈́̀̔̍͐͋̓́̈̈͘͜ơ̵̛̗̬̙̥̱͈̠̩̬̮̳͂̐̈́́͂̎̇͋͘͝v̷̧͚̯͇̤̼̠̤̮́͜e̸̛͔͉͙̺̒̄́̓̄̀̈́͠͠d̶̤̦̮̫͇̙͈̊̉̓͒͗̾͛̃̽͐̓̈̆͛̑͒̚ ̶̨͓͓̗̳̱̺̥̋̽̀̈́̃̀̉͌̐̒͒̆̕̕̕͠t̵̮̭̔͂̋̽́͑͠͝h̴̡̙̤͇͓̝̞͎͔͉̣̻͂͐̚͝ḙ̶͈͈̦̰͉̟̞̤͚͐͆̊̃̿̊̐͗̋̕͘͘͜͝͠ͅ ̴̖̤̭͓͕̭̘͇̋̓͆̍̑̽́̇̋̐͆̄̎̚̚͝ͅo̵̦̙̙͙̬̯̘͎̥̞̽̋͒̈̏̚͘͜͠͝n̸͚͖̥̟̦̩̼̳̺͇̤͖̗͓͆̐ͅe̴̢̹̿́͗̔̋̊̈̔̔͊̔̒̉͝s̶̢̪͇͔͓̥̈́͊̕ ̸̩̪̹̜̰̝͖̳̮̆̓̃́̄̌̋͊̈́̃̑͗͝w̴̛̦̫̝̻̟̃͋̓̍̈́͆̎͆͌̈́̾͘͜͝h̸̛̥̮̏͛͐̓̈́͐̕ő̶̧̧̡̞̩̠͉̺̹͚̩̩̼͗̒̿́̂͛̈́̑̐͋̐̈̋͠ͅ ̴̼͕̺̘͑̍̄̐̓̓̂̚s̶͉̭̳̼͉̱͙͒͆͗̃̑̿̈̅͊̀̌̓̎̚͜͝͝ͅẗ̴̛̝̰̗́̅̋̉͐̒͛͐̓͘͘̚̕͝r̶͓͇͇̮̽͋͆̈̾̀͗̑̀̀̕͘u̵̥̤̞͕͈̠͒̿̆̈́͌̉͐̊̈́̔͛͗̐g̵̡͚͇̣̘̹̤͇͎̤͗̑̏̐́͌̀͆̐̈́̋̌̋̍̍̎͝g̶̢̨͇̱̫̦̗̳̥̑̈́̐͌͊̃̕͜͝ļ̶̛̻̩̰̤̣̯̥̹̳͈͚̤̼͇̱̹̓̓̌̊̍̏́̑́̃͘͝e̷̡̹̯̮̯̭͍̟͍̙͊͌͛̍͒̈́̚͜d̴̗̮͍̳͚͓̠͇̹͉̯͂͆̑͛̽̐̂̂̈̄̈́͐̾̓͠.̵͙̿̚͠]

[Just as it seems Hien may be able to take advantage of that moment of weakness to remove his mask, Magus's body winds with a whipping SNAP, his tail and the gem-like 'leaves' growing from it slamming him across the floor.] ...are failures. Each and every one of us. And for that, we must all perish.

I... see.... Then, perhaps some bloodlines should end...?

[Even as Magus casts his next attack, Blind persists (tails), and the PhaRai Rom ⚡️ aimed towards Fandaniel rains lightning aimlessly, giving him a chance to evade.]

[trollophoroi]

[ Oof, that's another blast of lightning hitting him and skittering out in little arcs of electricity around the area he moved to. Apart from the rest of the party now, however, at least the splash damage of the area effect should be lessened for, well, anyone who isn't Fidchell. ]

Gh! [ How does Magus even know his weakness?! He staggers, growling back, ] Untrue! Lies! Lily will make us all anew once we have played our part in the Wave! We shall never end!

[ At this point, Deadly Mist has begun to dissipate (heads). ]

ROUND 6

[worldbent]

[Magus doesn't understand why Hien- no, why Skeith heals him, but the sagging of his body ends with curious realization as he straightens again, testing the flex of his hands. He turns to face him, even as the rest of the players now turn on him for his actions, and chides,]

That is not your function, Skeith.

[But he isn't the only one. Fidchell's anger receives a similar disdain, a soft tsk as he raises his hand again.] Do you deny your fate, Fidchell? Even though it is so clearly written?

[It seems like he was about to cast in his direction, but before he can, Mithrun's flaming blade slams into him, causing a healthy amount of damage thanks to Magus' elemental weakness. Magus hisses, waving embers and smoke from his form, and then casts Earthen Fist ⛰ with Mithrun as its target. His proximity makes the spell all the more dangerous. Pettiness? Maybe, even from a Phase.]

[Hani's words only irritate him now. He remembers no such things. He remembers N̵̢̹̜̙̤̲͉͕͔̣͈͌̑̈́̑̚͝ͅA̸̲̙̣̺͆͗͂̾̃͑̅͝T̶̡͔̣̳̯̝͇̫͍̜̽̑̎̈́̓̄́͋̆͘͘Ō̶̜̦͙͈̙͂̎̈̿̈̿͐̕ͅR̵̘̻̓͌͗͆̄̈́͌̓̕I̶̡̡̧̟̘̟̲̞͉̱͕͉̖̯̩̠̭̊́̂̈́̓̎͋̃͗͆nothing.]

"Memories" serve only as lessons for future generations. We inherit hate. We inherit mistakes ... Names?? These details serve me no purpose.

[selfconcept]

My name... is Hien.

[ He wields his staff defensively. ]

And I'll do whatever the hell I want.

ROUND 7 - PHASE 2 BEGIN

[worldbent]

It does not matter what I hate or love; what I enjoy or loathe. All that matters is that I function.

[The attacks pile on- Hani's Vulcan slams into Magus, causing considerable Fire-elemental damage; luckily for Magus, Hien takes the ill-advised route of jumping in front of Mithrun's Death Bringer. Poor guy just gets ignored for his efforts, despite that.]

[Because it's Fidchell's Data Drain that turns the tide.]

[Magus makes a sound of inhuman suffering as pure data is ripped from his very being, all the same- flesh, memory, thought process- all of it 1's and 0's in the end, in this world of Fragment, and the process of it changes something in him, makes something else break free.]

ENOUGH!!!

[A cold shudder runs through the entire arena as the lights SNAP off with a resounding echo, leaving the entire arena pitch black. In the darkness, you feel your senses leave you; you find yourself inflicted with Blind and 4x (max) Evade Down. In the cold, creeping darkness, is that Magus slithering by you, or another player??]

[He won't give anyone long to figure it out. With another sickening sound, Magus casts his signature spell: Death and Rebirth. Like many metal wires or leaves fluttering past one another, razor sharp slices cut into your body, inflicting heavy non-elemental magic damage and inflicting incurable Bleed.]

[Now stranded in the darkness and at his mercy, how will you strike back?]

[(Mechanics have been updated! For any attacks targeted at Magus, roll 1d20. A roll of 1-8 hits. This may be adjusted over the course of the fight.)]

[selfconcept]

[ just like home

Hien suddenly can't see, and those cuts hurt so much. He feels like his HP is in the red. It doesn't take long for him to heal himself back to full, though his HP is still ticking downward.

Ah... He feels the cuts still bleeding. Hm. ]

ROUND 8

[worldbent]

[Heal as everyone may, the darkness (and the Bleed) persists this round.]

[Magus, somewhere in the darkness, gives a gentle scoff. Where is the voice coming from? At one moment it's coming from here, and the next there-- it's difficult to tell if that slithering sound is one end of his uncoiled body or another, or maybe that's the movement of one of your allies??]

Poor thing, Fidchell... Do you think Cubia will fix them for you? Will he fix you?

Do you think you are performing as he expects?

[Somewhere in the darkness, a spell casts. All players find their bodies slammed with the drenching force of PhaRue Zot 💧, a magic neutral to them but boosted slightly by Magus' Water affinity.]

[selfconcept]

[ ...

Hien casts a HP regen spell on himself to offset some of the bleeding. This suddenly feels like a race against time after he's drenched with the water spell. He shakes his head. Ugh. This cat doesn't like the water.

But now he'll have to think on what he should do next. Magus seems hard to pinpoint, but Hien also has several AoE attacks... ]

ROUND 9

[worldbent]

[Even with the darkness, Magus has a lot more body to be hit now than Matoba did, so it's not too surprising that Mithrun manages to hit with Vak Maxima. Unfortunately, the flames flash bright but quick in the darkness, only serving to disorient further rather than illuminate anything useful in the arena. The Phase growls out in pain; a wet sound of something splattering against the concrete sounds from where the combat is taking place. Is it the excess water from his own spell, or is it proof of Mithrun's hit doing work?]

Such vanity. [Magus seems to take amusement from Fidchell, voice rough from the initial attack as his waypoint changes and moves. So too are his targets, but...] Is it wrong to react to the data we've been instructed to collect? Is it wrong to learn, to evolve? It's unfortunate our limitations are so.... inhuman. We will never be able to adapt like them. He will never be able to improve, no matter how much data we collect, no matter how many of us he creates, no matter how many times we are remade anew, Fidchell. Once and always...

[Thank goodness he's cut off by the pillar of flame that roasts him from beneath like a kebab, once again flashing only enough to hurt everyone's eyes, but the darkness seems to impede on any attempt at disrupting it with a light source; still, that's two strikes against Magus in the darkness. It persists. Perhaps if there was one more...?]

[Hani's idea of everyone flattening themselves against the walls to prevent Magus' attacks does prevent him from striking out physically, at least- he seems reluctant to take advantage of the darkness to try and inflict any direct attacks without the ability to easily take them by surprise. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to save them from his magic, as he casts PhaRue Zot 💧 again, striking all players.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien is a kitty cat soaked to the bone. By that, I mean his ears continue to flatten on top of his head and tail curls inward. Can he just... dry himself? He should create some coding for that later.

Either way, he casts SP regen on himself. He can take a few more hits, so SP restoration comes first. ]

ROUND 10

[worldbent]

...When I am "human" again...

[Magus scoffs with a rasping chuckle, a sound that goes b̶̛̺̠̓͒̒̔̔͑̄̓̎͗̾̐͌͆̕͜͠r̸̡̢̡̭̪̙̰͈̼̜̼̜̞͚̹̺̪͌̓̈̔͒͝o̵͕̫͖͌̈́k̴̗̦͆̊͐͋̃́̀̑͊̏̋́̕ę̴̠̦̖̜͓̗̬͇͎̜̟̣̙̼͇͗͒̈́̆ͅn̶̨̡̲̗̫̟̬̎̅̓̎̿̀̆͌̋̏̓̕͜ with a terrible screech of pain when Hani's molotov hits its mark. The fire is too much, too much, so that it breaks the thrall of the darkness. As the light in the cement arena all flickers back to life at once with an echoing sound, all players are cured of Blind and 4x Evade Down. Magus' Accuracy buffs also disappear.]

[Dragged back into the light, Magus' mask now has a hairline fracture running through it. Chips of porcelain crumble from it in its wake, his body now revealed to them- bleeding marks drag across the ground from earlier attacks, char marks his body from the repeated flames.]

[And then Fidchell's column of flame follows, emitting yet another rasping howl.]

Hahahaha... Humanity, is this... all you can teach? Is this all you are ever capable of passing down? This ṕ̶̢̤̲͑̀̀̃̉̽͜a̴̡͓͛̐̄ị̴̭̆̈́̓͗͆̈́͐̅͗̍ņ̴̢̛̺̭̙̳͔͋́͋̈́̈́̍͊́͐̕͜???

[His body sags once more with weakness as his HP gleams dangerously towards the red from repeated flames, the gems in his armor gleaming like eyes wildly glancing about in the light as he raises a hand and casts Earthen Fist ⛰, targeting Hani and nearby allies with a rumble of the ground.]

[selfconcept]

[ Even if this isn't Matoba's original form, it hurts to see him like that. He wants to heal him back to full again. Don't kill him. Don't. Don't.

Even though Hien still continues to bleed out like the others, it's nothing new. He's been bleeding out so much in the duration that he's been in this game. It's a miracle that he's still alive, plot armor not withstanding.

The same glitch happens as Hien inputs the code, healing Magus to 100% once more. ]

Pain isn't the only thing humans inflict upon one another. You've heard Tabibito. Humans inflict all sorts of things, and the reason why they attack you is because they want you to free Makoto. Free him from your clutches...

[ The realistic eye in the center of his own halo has a black sclera, black and white checkerboard patterned iris and it seems to be crying blood—it never quite reaches the ground as the image of the bloody tears fade as they fall.

If defeating Magus could free Matoba, he'd do it. It would probably free him from tbe program's influence. But he knows what happened to Uta. He doesn't want to chance that happening. He's not doing this for anybody's sake except for himself. ]

Give him back to me.

ROUND 11

[worldbent]

[Again, Magus' body is revitalized, and this time he stares directly at Hien for a long moment, as Mithrun and Hani scold him. He doesn't understand such foolish actions. Sentimentality was also something he had observed from humanity, from Hien in particular. Why, though, would a man who was leaking memories so rapidly, a man who had thrown away all his blood ties, lean into such an emotion? What was there to gain, when sentiment lent itself only to the passage of memories and traditions?]

[It's the strange reaction of Skeith's eye, that which was undeniable, that shakes loose a rattled laugh from his chest, a strange disbelieving sound.]

Your observations are changing you into something strange, Skeith. I wish that I could.........

[He trails off, but whatever he might have said is interrupted as Mithrun launches another Vak Maxima against him, doing heavy damage. He really hates that attack.]

You, [He hisses, smoke rising off his armor as he slithers to put space between them; instead he tries to wind his body between Mithrun and Hani to separate them. A tactic to stay off their attempts to help heal one another, maybe?] You are the ones prolonging the inevitable. You lost the power to destroy him when you gave up your data, Macha. And this one........ [He glances over his shoulder with disgust towards Fidchell.] Is a happy puppet. A flawed creation, happy to be in his creator's image. Blind to what Cubia's destruction will bring to The Outside.

Destroying the survival of mankind.

[Pain. ṕ̶̢̤̲͑̀̀̃̉̽͜a̴̡͓͛̐̄ị̴̭̆̈́̓͗͆̈́͐̅͗̍ņ̴̢̛̺̭̙̳͔͋́͋̈́̈́̍͊́͐̕͜ ṕ̶̢̤̲͑̀̀̃̉̽͜a̴̡͓͛̐̄ị̴̭̆̈́̓͗͆̈́͐̅͗̍ņ̴̢̛̺̭̙̳͔͋́͋̈́̈́̍͊́͐̕͜ ṕ̶̢̤̲͑̀̀̃̉̽͜a̴̡͓͛̐̄ị̴̭̆̈́̓͗͆̈́͐̅͗̍ņ̴̢̛̺̭̙̳͔͋́͋̈́̈́̍͊́͐̕͜ Pain was T̴̢̎̇̏̊̀̓̆͆̉̀̊̎̊̐̚h̶̨̛̬̻͔̥̖̳͙̱̝̩̍̏̑͋̈̔̉̀̓͐͌̆̽̚͝e̸͎͇̘͑͛̋̐̊̽̾̃͘̚͝͝ŷ̸̨̢͎͓̖̺͕͖̥̹͔̱͇͖͍̳́ ̸̼̥̼̟͍̯̾͜ā̶͔̙̲͎̙͍̦͉̱̖̭͇̼̥̘̂͐͆̈́̆r̸̛͍̻͕͍͋̆̇̒̑͌̋̾̌̆͠ȩ̴͚͉̘̬̙̦̲͇̞̺̖̱͖̤̻̎̓̽̀͗̚ ̴̛͕̭͇͈͂̔͛͒̅̓͋̇̄̓͒̿͌̐͝͝ḡ̸̨̦̝̘͈̙͍̲͔̯͗̿̀̏̈́͆̈́͌͗̕͝o̸̙̲͚͕̯͓̦̦̺̫̬̖̝̙̩͎͗͋͒̊̓̈́̉̌̈́̀̑́̀͘ͅị̷̟̩̣͚͕̙̺́͐̇̓̐̕͜͜ñ̶̨̻͚͍͎͖̱̑̀̂̄͛̂̽͆̀̇͘͝ͅg̵̢̧̲͉̰͋̽̑̕ ̸̨̙͉͖̹͙̳̞͇̭̰̣̳̺̬͂̽͋̽̈̌͑͆̍̈́͑̒̔́͜t̷̢̺̝͔̪͉̹͇̞͖̒͂͒́͗̀̌̓̽͂̇̊̋͝ơ̸̻̲̘͙͕̪͌̐́̑͐͆̕͘͠ ̸͎̮͈͎̱̳̻̼̙̀͜d̸̩͇̟̣̫͔̫̺͚̜̞͈̺̗̰̀̂̆̈́̑͒̀͋̅̊̋̈́į̸̡̡̮̦͉̹̳̖̼̩͓̌é̸̡̛̱͔̳̘͔̪̼̭̤̻̫̜̫̘̿̀͑̈́͆̈́͂̆͆̈́̔̚͘̚͘ͅͅ The ones on the outside, the ones he had written about, trapped inside this world and unable to defend them I̷̛̤̫̘̣̗͇͙̗͎͈̟̻͓̭̲͊̈͋̃͜n̴̢̨̰͕̤͙̞͙̟̜͙͍̈́̈́͌̈͐̇̂̂͘ͅ ̷̧̡̮͓̪̳̤͔̭̪͓͚̦̠̣̹̎̿͆̒͝ţ̶̛͚͌͋̿̓̍h̶̨̛̛̛̝̟̯̼͈̝͈̃̊͛̉̓̍̾͘e̸̡͕͎̘̞̦̤̝͚̫̻͖͎͍̩̅͐̇̇̌̿̀̈́̅̈͝ͅ ̴̼̲̎̍͊͛e̴̬̗̺̲̬̠͚̞͊̆̍̅̓͌̚ṋ̸͓̜̫͍͑͒͛͝ḑ̴̛͚͉͔̩̦̝̮̖̥̬͈̭͋̑͜͜,̶̻̬̼̼̝̪̱̜͎͉͌̋̃̓̊͘͜͝ ̸̨̭̭̰̯̖̯̹̤̺̻̩̔̂̿̿̏̃̂̔̈́̓̀̐͐̓͜h̴̼̥̜͖̼́̀̋͛̔́̇̎̔̈́͝e̷̢̲̮͕̪͕̔̓̌͆̄̂̀̈́̅́͘͠͠ ̷̜͇̅͌̉̋̽͑̽̚ͅc̷̢̛̜̼͎̗̖̠̖͙̥͈͉̙̰̲͛́̃͑̿̍̿̔̃̅͘̕͘͜͝o̷͎̩̼͙͓̣̘͌̐̈͗ṳ̷̉l̵̜̈́͆͐̊̍͂͜d̷̨̦͔͕͇̠̔̑̐́̑̎͋͋̋͗̎͘͠͝ǹ̸̛̛̬̭̎͑̈̈́͌̀̓̉͗̂'̵̡̡͉̺͈͚̙͓͉̌̋̄̈́t̴̢̡̨̬̣̭̼͓̭̱͇͛̿̉̇̊ ̶̨̮͉̲̭̩̺̱̗̜̯̹̹̦̎̉̿͒̓̃̈́̿̎̕f̵̳͓̳̘̃̈́̆̚ͅi̵̻̮̐̊̈̂n̵̡̢̙͐d̷̡͉͉̥͍̰̈̈́̅̂͌̄ ̸̡̬͎̥̱̪̑̆̈́̐̏͐͗̽͘̕h̷̛͎͙̹̜̫̼̥̬̪͖͓̿̔̏̓͒̂̅̀͋̏͝͠͠ę̵̨̜̹̟̼͔͓̞̜̣̠̤̞̞̙͂̀̆̆͆͝ͅr̸̺̻̙̜̦͌̔̈́͆̔̑̾͘ Cubia had trapped him. There'd been no escape, since the moment they came into contact. He had understood that. And this, his final struggle, was the l̶̢̨̡̛̠͙͇̙͙͖̬̗̘̻͇̪̼̏́̄̈́̄͛͑̌̕ǫ̵̛̞͎̮̗͖̮̗͍̲̠̤̯̠̂̈́͂͂̂̌̿̓͆̎̒̚͠g̸̩͙͕̬̳͉̬͉͖̏ỉ̴̧̨̢̻̥̩̠̫͔̠͚̀̃̕͜͜ͅc̵̨̘̬͕̬̬̥͖͓̿̈́̂̌̈́̅̚͝ȧ̶̛͕̳̦̮̥̩̬͔̗͖͎̩̘̤̻͊͋̂̿̇̋̐̆͑̚̚̚͜l̵̨̄ ̶̟̩͖̜̘̋̄̉̂̈͠c̷̛̩̔̔̀̇̈́͑̑́́͘͝͠ǫ̶̡̬͔͓̫̯͈̖̦̦̱̹̐́̈̈́̇̐̀̀̅̕̕͝͝͝n̶̡̨̬̟̫̭̝͎̭̞̦̪̜̝͕͖̲͆̔̀̃̇͗ċ̷̡͓̘͍̜̙͈̳͇̔̀̈́͑̇̊̄̽͘͠͝͝͝l̴̠̣̫͔̼͇̎͛͑̓͑̉̍̈́̍̀̈́͊̎́̽̚͜͠u̴̼̺͛̅́̒̀͊̽̅s̷͔͊̄̋̓̒̂̈́̽̂̈́͝i̸̢̛̤̣̖͈͙͍̹͌̄͊̒̑̀͒̒ȏ̷̯̃̂͗͋̉͗͗̌̕͠ņ̵͙̥̫̜͍̣̉̍̾̌͝.]

[Hani's throw strikes Magus again with a hiss, the attacks chipping more damage off of him, but seemingly even the elemental weakness not enough to do any damage to his mask. He rises again defiantly, and raises his hand to cast.]

[He understands something now. Hien is targeted with a single-target cast of Deadly Aim 💧, a unique spell; icy arrows form in the air above Magus and strike into Hien's body, chill enough to inflict Freeze for 15 seconds (Hien cannot take a player action in this round).]

[selfconcept]

[ "Wish that he could--", what? Hien wishes Magus finished that sentence, before he was rudely interrupted by Mithrun's attack, but then... it's cold. The icy arrows strike and he feels... so, so cold. He's about to cure himself, but it's too late. He's already frozen in place. ]

ROUND 12

[worldbent]

[With H̴̹̩̱̼̪̞̘̦̍̔̌į̷̠̗̪̣̇̒̚e̵̢̟͈̣̤̹̯̤̪̖͕̖̥̥̞͜͝ͅn̶͚̗̯̞̞͗̃̃̀̉͆̽͆͐̓́̐̋͘͜͝͝͝ frozen in place for the round, he is delayed from interfering for one round. D̷̢̗̳̳̰͕͎̞͔͔͕̻̗̾͛̔͗̚e̵̘̮͉̭͔̯̲͎̱̦͔̰̣̦͔͕̐͜l̷̜̯͚̱̤̥̹͙͈̼̳͗́̇̌̿́͆̄͗̀̓͝a̷̧͍̭͇̯̙̩͚̘̤̎͊̒̈́͊̃̀̉̈̑̓̒͐̋̚͜͝ÿ̷͚́̏̈́͛̐̏̓̊̔͛̈̏̍̉̾͘ ̷̡̨̡̧̙̠̳̜̤͉̜̦͇̲̓̔̊̈́̿̋͑̈́͌̆͠͝t̵̡̧̜͈̝̯͙̠͈̤̜̹̖̞̙̾͛͒̒͊͑͆̆̊͂̀̏̿h̵̫̺͖̱̹̔̈́̽͛̒̌̓͊̽̔̊̓̀̚͘͠͝e̸̤͉̯͙͇̞̙̹̹̩͈͉̗̮͇̕͜ͅ ̴̨̛̮̰̱͍̖̅̎͂̓̅͐͒͌̿͘͝͝i̶̛̯̙͈̦̯͗̉̈́̂̎̔̊̀̿̇̚̕n̸͚͚̣̙͕͉̙̗̠̱̣͚̱͎̂̽͝e̴̢̛̥̯͈̱̻͛̍͗͆͛͒͛̋̃͗͊̽͗̚͝v̴̢̺͈͖̞͇̯̭̊̏ĩ̶̧̦̗̤̤͕͍̮͚͚̲̟͎̦̻̗̳̒̒̌͗̾͑t̷̢̬̬̳̬̫̰̦͕̠̯͖̍̌̐͗͆͘a̴̛̳͓̖̙͚͔̬͇̒̀̌̏͊b̵̛̟̜̘̪͂̃̉͂͋̅̔͐̾̉͌l̶̨͚̞̱̯̣̘̼̐̏̒̌̏̈́̕͠ë̷͈̰́̉.̵͎͓̩̟̘̼͓͌͊̀̓̑̾̊̾̋̊̆̆̇̕͝͠]

What does one who lost his own objectivity know of 'will'? [Magus scoffs, struck by Mithrun's Koppasai, a powerful enough blow to whip his tail out of their way- but it isn't enough to stop him replying just yet.] Macha, you were a pitiful thing, in the image of your creator. Repeat your own faulty conclusions all you like. Your lacking sufficient data does not mean that mine are unjustified.

[Hani's Data Drain has Magus' attention for now, so that by the time Fandaniel is powering up his, he isn't expecting it. Once more, the Phase is stricken with existence-rending pain, entire body convulsing, the crack in his mask splitting further, until a powerful shockwave booms with his voice--]

Then perish with your precious Creator, Fidchell, as you are destined!

[The lights in the Arena go dark once more. All players are once again inflicted with Blind+Max Evasion Down, and Magus once again gains Attack: All+Accuracy Bypass. Attacks to Magus are subject to a roll of 1d20; 1-5 are a hit.]

[In the darkness, that horrible sound like strings of an instrument or metal cable sounds again. Death and Rebirth is cast, doing non-elemental damage to all players and re-applying Bleed.]

[In the wake of the spell, in the murky black, Magus' fury is palpable.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien is finally no longer frozen, but man, he really came back to Death and Rebirth, which is what he's feeling like right now with the second bleed debuff. They're stacking now. Thanks, he feels like death, but again, he feels that bleeding this much still isn't anything new to him, so he moves on easily.

He can't tell where anyone is, but does that matter? Not to him. Not right now. Hien casts an AoE Thunder spell (8) that will inevitably miss Magus, but the others? (feel free to decide i can't stop you) ]

ROUND 13 apt because it's cursed

[worldbent]

[As everyone slips on banana peels repeatedly in the darkness, Magus can only chuckle quietly to himself, his voice echoing, bouncing off this corner and that, difficult to pinpoint. The slithering, too, seems strangely distorted this time. Perhaps a new trick?]

[When the players are done bickering amongst themselves, his voice shifts by in a dry tone, far more at home on 0koto than on the Phase,]

I'm afraid you'll have to inquire with H̷̨̟̰͊̈́͑͑͂į̸̼̙̞͉͎̙͙̗̺̘̞̀̓̉͒͑́͗͆̂̐̈̚̕̚͜͜͝ę̴̡͙̱̖̬͕͙̦͉̠̣͗͛̔̀̃̾̄͛̈́̌͌̎͒̑n̶̛̺̺̥̗̦̩̩̮̫͋̄̀͊̀̃̒̓͘̚̕̕͜-̸̛͖̯̮̙̞̙̤͎̳́͆̍͆̆͌̈́͌̈̊͠ͅk̷̢̠̦̗͓͍̰͒̅̈́͌́͋̊́́̋̕͘͝͝u̷̢̡̲͖͎̩̗̥͉̲̣̳̼̝̜̅͌̄̏̇̃̑̈́͜͜͠n̴͓̤̱̙͉̠̠̼͙͉͔͚̄̔̎̕͘ about that one.

[From wherever he is in the midsts, Magus casts OrVak Rom 🔥, striking all players.]

[selfconcept]

[ ... ... ...

Hien forcibly weasels himself into the party of three and casts Phal Repth to heal the entire party to 100%—well, until the bleed tick happens, but. There. You got your heal. PLEASE DO SOME DAMAGE AND STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS. ]

ROUND 14

[worldbent]

Ha ha ha... I wonder what will be born...?

[So quiet, so shy............ Don't you want to refute anything, Hien? Don't you want to correct them at all???]

[Magus is having a good time, even if that good time is immediately interrupted by Mithrun knocking the shit out of him with his most BEHATED!! move. The hit has him reeling so that Fandaniel's next attempt at his spell hits true.]

["Regret".....? He'd said something once, hadn't he...]

[How he would never hold on to his ṛ̴͕̥̠̱͈̬̟̻̯͚̲̻͚̯̟̞̓̋͝ẻ̵̹̿̂̄̓̂̊̈́͌̄͌͌̀̍͘̕̕g̷̢̤̺͓͓̪̻̠͕̫͇̯̠͉͎̃̇ŕ̵̛͕̜̐̇̎͂̐̈̐͊̽̊͊́͝ḙ̷͐̓̕ţ̷͉̗͕̪̟̞̳̜̬͇̎̉̑̈́́̄̐͘s̷̺͎̭͓̬̝̦̤̲̺͆͑̌̀͆͗͒̽̏͂́͝͠ͅ?]

[Magus casts Earthen Fist ⛰ against all players. It seems he's not yet taken enough damage to be shaken from his position, just yet.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien casts SP regen on the party. Enjoy that.

He doesn't bother correcting them, so he'll just stew in it by himself after being punched with solidifed dirt fists. His face hurts... ]

ROUND 15

[worldbent]

[The hazing (and the yakkity sax) continues; Magus certainly seems pleased with himself and the direction things have taken. Perhaps there's something left of 0koto in him after all?? ...Or maybe Magus was made like this. After all- Lily was educated about such things by 0koto in the first place..........]

Do you know what you're looking for? [He sees you inspecting, Hien.] Hasn't he already put t̸̰͋̑͠ȟ̷̲̣̰̈́̏̓͌à̴̧̛̭͎̤̐̓̀̆́̎̄̏̉̃̊͊̾͘͠t̶̺̫̂͌͒̒͗̿ inside of you?

[Wow Fidchell, be nicer to your brother!! Although, he's certainly not going to be any less annoying, with a gleeful laugh echoing off the walls as his flames fail to strike him, not even a bit of his tail.]

Is that so? According to my data, it is that one's terrible personality that had caught my observations in the first place. I wonder what that means.......?

[For one thing, apparently, it means that this rancid flirting(?) is an intrinsic part of Magus. Gross.]

[Continuing to toy with his captive prey, Magus casts PhaRai Rom ⚡️ on all players to further whittle down the HP of those who stand in his way. First targeting one half, then the other.... Hopefully someone manages to hit eventually!]

[selfconcept]

[ Now.

For HP regen to offset the burden of two bleed stacks and constant AoE damage. Stop saying stuff that makes him doubt?? ]

... Shut up already.

ROUND 16

[worldbent]

[In the course of his lightning spell, Magus finds himself suddenly stricken by damage mirrored back at him with a startle; that double elemental weakness sure is doing a good chunk off his own HP, huh? So this is what humans call "Regret"......?]

[The players are regenerating health, but Magus intends to outpace them- if he can just finish them off in the dark here, there will be no need to worry. But he finds himself... distracted, by Hani's words. Taking advantage of that, Fandaniel's fireball finally finds its mark, a loud growl echoing the direct hit that dissipates back into the darkness but heralds that Magus is being worn down once again.]

[The darkness persists. Perhaps if they can keep up the distractions, and strike him again?]

The ones... who s̶̢̛̖͂̑̿̊̄͆̽̋̆͛̾̉̀̾̆̚t̵̛̥͎̞̩̘̫͐̌͊̊͑͌̓̿̆̓͝͝r̵̡̡̛̗̭̼̗̝̦͇̤̺͈̞̤̀̎̽̈́̑̒̇̄͊͗̄̕͘͜͜ͅu̴̢̞̩͍̎ĝ̷̦͔̾́̔͛ğ̶̢̡̧̗̰̗̗̭͙̹͈̘͖̱̉ͅl̶̛͇͖̽̿̑́̿̿̃͗̉͛̃̚͝ę̸̬͓̮͗̎ͅ...? [In the darkness, Magus stares at Hien from across the arena, his hesitation cloaked in the darkness. Why... Why is it that Skeith, his polar opposite, should bring such fixation...?]

[tablescraps]

( Buffed up and taking neutral damage from magic once more (thank you, Hani), Mithrun is unable to get off an attack (16) and spends his turn breaking free from the hand (tails) which probably was doing passive grit damage to him anyway, ow, Earth weakness. )

ROUND 17 - PHASE 3 (cw: eye horror)

[worldbent]

[Ah. Hello, Skeith. Magus meets the eye above Hien's head evenly for a long moment in the gloom, and even sets to moving towards it, but--]

Ghhhhg! [On his way to gayze at his man, Magus gets stabbed by Mithrun's blade, the force of the heat and fury enough to shatter the darkness. Magus is thrown across the Arena, and as he skids to a slumped stop, the source of the shattering sound becomes much more apparent.]

...You... fail to understand your own positions, don't you...? You simply...

[Magus lifts his head, the mask shattered, gone from his face. 0koto's face now stares back at the players, the long, pinkish scar over his right eye now split open like a vertical eye socket, his right eyeball now having a black sclera not unlike the one in Hien's halo. Lily's wavemark splits aside either side of the scar.]

Too many of you humans lack the resolve to survive. When it comes to it, too few of you will be able to do the deed... To kill Cubia.

So I will do it... I will make that choice for you. I, a ẗ̸͇͙̖́ó̶̟̯̿̈́o̶͕̔͆̃̏̕l̸̡̟̺̖̪̳̱̜̥̘̮̙͈̽̾̚͜ͅ for the using... Why do you not understand!?

[Magus raises both hands this time, his right eye flashing with a wild glow as he casts forth a double-spell; PhaRue Zot 💧 rushes forth along concrete, targeting Mithrun from the magic cast at one hand, while the other crackles with lighting as it targets Hien, PhaRai Rom ⚡️ raining down lightning bolts among the players.]

[While it seems as though Magus has an endless supply of SP from which to draw magic, losing his mask seems to have exposed his exhaustion. But even with that porcelain mask shattered, 0koto's face, however twisted it has become, remains a mask of its own- stubbornly and unflinchingly controlled with its smirking expression as ever.]

[tinged]

[ the light comes on to hani brushing off the fiery bits singeing their beautiful hems. this isn’t california, the mountain ranges here shouldn’t be on fire, thanks!

the damage they take from water and lightning only hurts a lot… but they seem to brush it off in the same manner as before. their HP, however, shifts in color; anyone can see that they are not okay to take more double damage.

0koto goes on about cubia - about lily - and they… wonder. ]

… Could you kill Hien-kun?

[ wouldn’t he need to? to kill lily?

hani pulls out their staff and casts Duk Lei on 0koto again, hoping to inflict him with poison once more. ]

ROUND 18

[worldbent]

[Regret damages Matoba twofold for his two attacks last round, and the suffering only increases with Hani's infusion of Poison (heads).]

[With a sputtering, unhinged chuckle, Magus shudders and writhes in the flames of Fandaniel's magic. All of this p̷̳͇̲̼͙̆̅ą̷̫͙̠̳̥̯̳̃̄̕i̷̢̢̨̲͔̭̣̰̝̗͙͕̙̼̲͐̋̓̌̿̋̄̕͜n̶̖̫̦͙̓͊̎̓̚͠. All of this inescapable, c̸̞̮̱̗̘̣̣̞͈͙̠̊̿̓͑̈́ẙ̵̧̻͕̖̪̬̻̬͎̱͕̣̗̻̰̫ç̶͔̬͚̺̭̥̱͔͇̖̩͉̲̠͓̘̏̅̂͘͝͠l̷̡̡͎͖̻͉̳̘͙̳͕̩͌̀̅͒͗̉̋͋̅̀̓́͠ï̷̡͓̙̘̞͇̲̠̲̎̈́͛͝c̸̗̥͇̖̒̋́͊̍͆̄̈́͆̀͌̿̆͐a̷̰̲͍̪̖͓̩̟͐̒̊̿̉͋͆͠ͅl̸̟̰̜̝̮̠͙͈͉̹̺̩͌͛̀̈́͘ ̷̢̨̲͚̞̭̹̝̫̟̌̒̓̀̈́͜s̵̟̳͋̀͗̉͐̏͘ử̵̡̥̥̞̇̇̒́͊̏̆͒̓̂̐͝f̸̛̛̲͉͙͇̱̝̭̦̱̺̺͎̯̾͑̎̎͐ͅf̷̨͚̰̝̼͖͋̍̏̔̈̏͊̇̈́͘ẹ̵͋́̂̎͋̉̌͗̈̎̚͝r̸̢̹͓͎̥͔̮͚̺̣̭̦̮̪͓̳̅͐̔̆̂̈́́̈͒̓̃̈̔̈́̕į̵̠̪̻͓̞̹͉̽͊̿̐̍̏̈̒͝ṇ̷̢̣͍̏̈́̆̃͗̀́̎̐ͅg̴͎̫͓̝̺̱̼̩͑̍̎̋̈́̾̏͝. (Ą̸͍͔͔̠̣̱͍̩̻͈̦̱̜̾̌̒̑̍͆̓̌̑̐͗͜͝͠ ̸̧̨̧͚͎̹͓̜̥̫͖̝̙̺̩̭͎̈̓̈̒̈́͠ç̶̘̤̪͍̔̇̓͌͂̈́ö̸̧̡̺͍̺̬́͜ͅŗ̸̢͓̺͕̤͖̳̀̌̈́͑͊̄̈́̎́̑͝͝r̵̢̢̥̯͚̝̝̹̟̖̻͔̗͋͂̾̔̿̄̚͘ų̶̠̼̦͙̤͕̱͉͎͍͍̼͚̭̳̔͗͋̉͗͆̓͛̐̉͆͛̓̽̔p̴̛̼̐̾̀̅̇̾̕ţ̴̧̥͎̹̖̝̭͖̙̦̔̀̅͜͜͜͠é̷̯̖̦̤͎̳͎ḍ̶̡̖̳̲̜̟̹̝̪͖̐̉͒̒̀͗̾̓̌́̕ ̷̝̳͙̦̲̦͖̝̲͍̿̐̓͐m̸̨̡̘̮͙̒̏̏̓̍̔̐̾̿ḁ̶̛̝͔͓̰͕͙͙̯̪̿̈́̇͌̉̅́͋͌̓͒̆́̓n̸̬͚̰͛k̴̥̗̳̩͗̈́́̌i̴̠͔̣͓̥̮͌̉̀͂͑̐̄̑̑̑̍̃͘̚͠n̷̡̠̭͓̞̻͔͛̔̾̏d̶̢̺͔̙̹̟̹̺͇͚̊̍̾̐̎͐̅̈́̽̇̀̒̅̔̆͂͝ ̷̮͉̱̮͗i̵̧̨̡͕̯̱̦̩̝̠̳͕̪̖̠̐s̶̢̨̧͔̗̳͎̹̺̜̺͇͔͖̗̈́͑̋̾̈͝͝ͅ ̷̨̯͐̾́͘̚͠b̸̯̙̫̳̭̥̘̯̬̼̖̤͉͊̋͐̀̀̾̀e̷͙̒ť̷̬̈́͐̕ť̴̙̻̜̰͕̠̠͔̭̩̭̥̤̬͍̫͙͌́͗̈̊̐͑͊̇̚͘͘̕̚ȩ̷̯͓̫̖͔̬̩͋́̌̊͘͜r̶̘̯̭̘͔̦̫͠͝ ̴̛̟͔̝̈̊̉̊̈́͐͘͘t̷̡̟̺̙͚̳̱̳̪͇̄̈́͑̉̉͒̓͠h̴̺̹̭̬̑̄̅͛́̔͑͘͝ä̶̞̥͎̞͍̗͔́͐͌̓̈́̊͠͝͝ņ̴̛̻̼̭̿̏̈́̈́̔̋̈́̚ͅ ̷̨̬̹͙͇̲͖͉̠͛͂̇̎̉́́͋̏n̵̰͕̥̮̳̫͖͐̄o̵̺̻̟̮͚̗͇̞͔͓̤̩͙͈͎͔͌̋̄̂͜ṋ̸͎̦̙̪̠̩̰̟̂̌̉̂͘͠͝e̴̻͕̘̙͙̠̾́̽̓.̶͖̹̘̫̩̰͕̫̺̱̅̈́͆̽̔̈́̈̾̈́͝͠)]

No, Macha. [To him, Magus extends a hand. It's a gesture like one of Matoba's chilly, polite little head-bows, never lowering himself too much, to anyone.] Not you. Of you, I would expect.... only the most efficient of strikes...

"̶͕̬̦̯͈͕͊̄T̷̞̘͈̥͍̏͐̋̒̏̇̆̚̚͝h̶̨̡̯̩̜̥͚̘̀͗̽̋̂̑͑͒̉̿́͝͠ă̴̼̣̦̭̠̐̏̐t̶̡̢̰̻̱̬͉̱̬̙̮̘̳́̓͒͂̀͂̎̈́̐̈́̕͜͠͠ͅ ̴̞͍͆̈̀͘͝e̷̡̢̱̳̠̟̪͕̪͐͒͊̉̓̋͊͐̈́͌̿͒̈́̀̐͘ͅm̴̡̡̢͖͉͉̻̗̺̀̽̅́̆̃̿̎͛̈́̈́̍͘o̵̞̙͉̟̳̭̠̓̽́̎̃͛̿̓̿͆̑̈́́̊̀̕t̷̫̺̠̬̮͓̉̇͑̓̔̓̄̑̏͊̈̀̉̓͝į̷̞̬̹͙̎͌̽̏̂̐̽̄͗̇̍͗͋̏̾̚̕͜o̷͖͚͇̣̓̐n̶̤̜̤̳͎̼͓̣̪̖̙̯̹̂̏̾̀̅ͅ"̷͔͙̜̗̩͙͐͆̓̄͊̓͛̅̓́̍͘̚͜.̷̩̮̹̀̅̉̏͗͐̃̎̌̄̀͌͛̒͝.̷̢̞̣͕̹̮̪̒͂͌̿͜͠.̶̨̤̼̠̜̹̼̪͔̠̜̦̮̰͆̈́̇̈̽̓̈́̒́͜͝͠Love??? ̵̢̛̹̬̹̫̙̦͈͓̰̳̜͈̲̬̽̒͑̿͆͑̾̑̏͘͘̚͝͠W̷̡̘̱̞̟̳̤̽̈͋̕h̷̢̢̛͉͔͓̭͙͍͎̰̭̒̈́̄̈́͌̓̓̓̓͊́̋͘ͅȧ̸̦͍̌̆̓̿t̸̢̨͇̠̬̤̞̫̘̤͎̳̮̭͎̲̾̏̍̎͗̓̍̀̎ ̷̭̯̣͕͓͔͓̤͉̘̺͎̥̝̙̔̃͆̉͋̈́̈́̄̓̒̾̚͜͝͠ͅd̵̨̨̰̟̺̲͕̠͑̒̾̏͐́̅͋͛͆̐͘͘ͅi̴̢̩͉͔͈̩̳͙͇̩͙̻͎̘̩̇̅̈̒̉̃̐̅̅̈́͑̊̀́̾̚͠d̷̨͍̭̮͕̒̋͆̑̎̐́͛̈́̈́͗̎͠͠ ̴͕̰͎̫̍̆͆̅̀̐̅̿̌̽̌͝͠y̴̧̧̼̳̻̜̘̘̓͌͑̎͐̓̔́̚͘͝ơ̸͎̜̘̲̜͎̖̳̼̪͖̩͖̰̇̏͒̅̿̈́͂́̾̎̈́͜͠ͅu̸̧̺̙͍̘̭̰̖̼̫͈͎͕̺̱͌̆̈̾̊͆̊ ̸̢̻̩̗̦̝̺̭͛̈́͂̏̈̐̽́̋͆͘͘͘͝t̸͇͚̮͖̣͕̣͙̯͇͋͊̿́̃̉h̵̨͎̙̳͍̯̜͔͓̼͂̑͗̌̂̓̒ȉ̶̧̗̣̱̀͗̀͗̾̚ͅñ̷̨̡̖̯̬̪̪̣͖̒͊̏́̋̈́͝ķ̷̨̻͇̥̺͕̲̤̼̗̹͎͎͚͎͒͊͠.̸͚̼̞̦̣͇̠̯͈͈̩͉͖̎͊̊̀͗͑̊͆̎͜͠͝.̴̨̗̯͖̤͍̹̤̲͖̘͈̳͈̻̏̐̿̋͒͛̊̒͂.̷̨͖͔̺́̃̽̎͛͘͜͠?̴̛̤̗̩̟̉͒̓

[Something seems strange, all of a sudden. Was it just your imagination?] --But, that boy... Tarvos...

[The one he wanted to save. No... Before he can extend that thought, Mithrun's strikes batter him, body crackling with lightning, singed with fire, racked with Poison.]

[And then, through the flames and the lighting, Hien's boot flings into the cracked armor at his side.]

Bonds.......... Community....... Togetherness........Future..........

[All painful, familiar, h̵̨̨͉̻̟͇̠̼̝̾͌͘u̵̧̧̠͓̯̼͕̞͍̼̎̃͊́̇̅͌̚͝m̵̬̤̈́̈́̈́͌̃̏̐̋a̴̛̺͉̙͍̗̲͙͆̽̇͆́͗̌̌̂͋̔n̸͇̾͐ words. A community. His c̸̨̹̒͒̄̏̏͊̐l̷̡̡̹̬̥̯̖̼̎̈́̄͒͐́́̽̈́̿̏̆̈͗̓͘̕a̷̟̹͓͔͍̲̦͗͐͒͗͝ņ̸̧̛̙̙̱̥̱̖̭̭̘̂͋̈́̉̈̒̚. The ones who supported him, even when--]

[Magus staggers, then reaches out with a gauntlet-covered hand, gripping onto Hien, and reeling him in close. In Magus' eyes, there was something buried deep, deep beneath, something always smothered, something always denied. The mask never faltered. There was no "self". only Matoba--]

'Could I', you asked, tabibito.......? W̴̢̦̘͈̦̖̲̺̩͎͉̭̤̬̤̐͐̓̈́h̶̪̪̅̈́͌̓̓̏̕͘͘ͅê̶̡͖̱̖̞͙͖̟͓̳̺͍̹͇̞̔̋͑̐͒̌ͅr̶̡̨̳̘̣̺̯͚͔̰͚̹̭̤̀̃͆̔͋̒͌̽̈́͜͠è̶̛̱͛͒̌̇̾̍͋͑̔͊͘͠ ̵̻̟̠̗̖̬̏̍́͌͌͂̃̉̇͝I̸̱͖͎̖̖͇̤̜̘͕͖̮̟͐͜'̴̲̞͕͕͉̗̭͙͔̹̲̜̈́̌̈́͌̀͆̂m̴̩̯̭̦͈͚̭̗̥̞͓̫̺̮̬̅ͅ ̷̝̯̰̝̲̀͋̂̇́͌̓͂̄͒̊̏̏͂̚͘̚g̶̢̢̲̤̬̱̬͍͛͐̂͂̃̀̓͆͝ò̶̩͛̎̆̀̽̆͗͊̀͌́͊͑̉̚ḯ̴̢̧̛̭̰̱̝̍̀̾̊͋̇̅̋̇̓͗͘n̷̢̡͍̠̩͙̦͉͚̫̣͔̭̹͕̳̺̾̓̉̑̈́̌̃̔̔́͑̾̎̓͠͝g̶̖̺̦̗͈͖͖͇͕̙͓̲̥͗̇̀̊͘̚͝͝.̵̢̠͕͍͉͔̪̯̝̫͎̻̪͖͊̉͛̅͂̀̈̍͗̈͌̀̈́͗͂̃͑͜.̶̛̲͐͛̓̎̿̆͂͛̊̇̇́͂͝͝.̵̜̣͚̘̓.̶̧̻͓̼̱͕̜̌̎͠.̷̻͋.̷̧̖͕̖͖̞͊.̴͇͉̣̞̠̙͔̼́̑̈́̊͆̈́̄̀͊̈́̂̍̓̉̏͘Ḿ̵̩̜̺͔̮͙̥͍͖̣͉̫̖̹͍̭̥́̀͊̆̀̆͑̅y̶̜̲͍͖̹̤͓̻͖̳͔̦̭͙̪̖̳̐̑̈́̇̃̎͋͝ ̷̮͕͔̼̣̲̠͉̜͐̆̓͂͜͝ş̶̧͇̹̹̳̯̙̹̰͍̜̅͛͒͒̈́̋̒̈́͋͐̈́̅͘ī̶̡̢̛̛̪͉̹̲̟͖̲̖̭͔̑͑̉̀́̎́̈́̕͜͝n̷̨̫͇̖̲͙̎́͌̿͒̉̆́̏̽̆̅͝s̵̻̫̙̲̤̫͖̞̄̓̋̅̌̐̓̆̎̎̒̚̚̚͝ ̴͎̪̹͕͚̙͔̯̜̝͚̺͔̲̼̰̈͗̑̇a̴̧̛͍̞̫̮͛͆̽̆̄̀̄͒̀̇̓̈́͗͘ͅr̴̞͇͎̻̦͇̣̘͔̼̲͓̭͙̜̳̈́̂͑̊̿̿̇̊͗̋͆̇̂̀̋̀͘ę̴̧̢̲͚̝͎͈͉̫̻̽͊̈́͜͝-̵̡͖̖͚̻̼̥̦̎̾͂͂̇̒̌̊̅͒̈́̄͝-̵̟̱̮̈͘ Shall we test the theory, Skeith?

[Magus' eye glows as he gathers magic in his hand, readying another PhaRue Zot 💧 practically directly in Hien's face.]

I̸̛̫̯̫̱̲̐͐̾̽͑̅̓̌͑̓̓̕̕͘͝'̸̢̧̛̛̦̙̝͓̰̱̩̱̰̥́̊̂͑̃̄̉̾͊̌͝͝ͅm̶͙̞̬͉͈̤̳͙̪̲͓̮̘̥̊̀̅͆̊͌̔̚͜͝͠͝ ̵̧̧̢̛̥͚̼̪̭̖̳͕̭̯̩̂͑͑̿̇̍́̑̈̕͜g̶͕̹͑̓̆̋̐̏̽̊̀̀̏͐͘͘l̸̨̛̘͚̙̓͋̔̈̕͠a̶̡̘͈̝̠̜̥͇̺͖̥̫͙̍̀̏̑͒̏̽͆̚̕͝ḓ̴̨͉͚̦̺̜̙̐̐̂̓̈̃͝ ̶̮̞͙̪̳̠̤̦͒̈͑̓͒̿̓̂̇̆̿͌́̆̎͒͠Î̵̢͍̼̰̙̫̱͐̇̈́̑̇̆ ̴̧̞̦̝͔̗͉̩͇̜̥̾̈́̑̉̾̎͐͗̃̐̕͘̕͝ç̵̛͉̣̯̱̤̥̬͇̔̆̔͑̑̐̐̾̔̈́̓̐͝ổ̴͙̟̝͓͙̮͉̌̌͐̾̿̅ǔ̴͖̤̣̯͙͉̖̦͈̱̀͋͛̿̓͆̓́͝l̴̛͇͙̱̙̜̠͓̦̽͐̈̍̀͘̕̕͠d̵̨̩̟͕͉̮̼̯͈̰̤͗͗͗̃̓͌̏̕̚͝ͅn't ̸̢̪̱̗̼̘̘̩̲͈̤͙̣͍͆̂̈̂̄̕͜ͅͅt̶̨͇̯̪͓̣̫͍̗̼̘̒͋̍̒̅̃̍͌͗̓̍͜͝r̶̳̓̀ṷ̷̡̞̝̳̊͋̒͑̈́̆ș̴͙̬͆̌͊́̆̀͌̾̄̐̃̾̽̆̕̕͝ṫ̷̡̡̤̤̪̲̲̮̟̝̞̓̊̌̿̓̈͑̕ ̴̻̤͙͉̖̜̺̞̖̲͕̤͔̮̋͗͆̍̂͂̇͗̿̉̋́͛̇͘͜͝y̴̛͈̟̑͊͂́̿ơ̴̼̗͖̦̜̽͋͊͒̒́̒̏͘͜͝͝ư̵̧̡̡̧̞̭͙̞̬͈̯̐̾̽̏̈́̓̆̉̆͌̚̕͝͝͠ͅ.̴̙̫̤̖̋̾̉͒͑̊̊͊͘͝.̸̨̧̝̻͕͕̜́̑̊̑̿̀͆̾̊̿̕.̷̫͈̮̟̰̙͇̗̘̬̬͕̜͕̥̑̔͆̍̅̃̎͆̃͌̊̍̕͘͝ͅ.̶̢͇̹͈̻̤̖̯̺̦̥̫͇͂̑̈́́̓́͂͐̊͘̚͜͝͝ͅ ̶̡̛̗̖̠͈̳̭͓̏͊̒͗̆̀͊H̷̡̼̭̟̼̣̘̰͎̣̱͕͕̑̇̈̍́î̶̳́e̸͎͍̪̯̝͖͇̍͋̔͐́̀̒n̵̩̱̜͑̓̒́̽͛̇͊͆̀̉͊̂͋͝ͅͅ.̸̨̣͚̟̩̜͓̯͖̯̘̏͛̈̈́̑͆͗͗̀̚͜͝.̵͎̱̅̆̀̈́̈̀͊̕͘͝͝.̵̡̥̝̼̜̙̥̲̓͋

CORE USE 4/4, cw: ref to drowning

[tinged]

[ waters warmed by the breath escaping a person they loved. a kiss with red intent, the color dispersed by blue tears. and hands, hands that would not - could not let go. not even then, not even when that person was someone they did not love.

and yet.

hani's eyes slide to mithrun, brief. pale lashes casting shadows over dark oceans, and at the very center, the abyss of their heart. they breath, a beat, two. then turn to look at 0koto and hien. these words are for the both of them: ]

If you can, is that not love? Then... was it ever all that complicated in the first place?

[ their last single target core spell is used on hien. it may contradict their words to buff his defenses, but hien, they feel, still needs to fight before he's hien no longer. let's see it, hien-kun. ]

FINAL ROUND 1/2 (cw: eye gore)

[worldbent]

[And by the Power of Magus,]
[a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens,]
[and creates a new Wave.]


L̸̛̦̻̦̒̐̔̎̾͆͒͘̕̕ǫ̵̧̟̪͚͇͚͎̫̽̀͆̓́͌̄̉̍͜v̸̡͚̳̟̼̮̥̩̭̤̮̰̦͒̓̎̂̉ȅ̶̤̦̬̰̹̹͙̪̗̠͕͓͜ ̶̖̻̝͙̒̈̇̆̓̏̿̈́̕͝w̵̘̪̿̾ą̸͍̣̮̮̤͔͎̟̲͓̲͝ͅs̶̹̥̤͉̖̤̬̩̦͖̹̼̪̥̯̀̆͗̔̿̋̒͋͘ ̷͉̎̌͒́̽̓̀̓ň̶̛͉̈́̂͛͑̀̕ë̵͖̮̲̻̲̦͉͔͖́̎̍̅͝v̷̦̤̘̤̲̬͔̺͕̹̞͕̗̭̲̲̜̎͛̊̒̍̒̉͊̓̔͌̿̏̓̊̊͝e̷̜̠̥̪͈̽̀͊̆̃́͐́̀r̶̻̹̈̍̈́̽̑̒͐̏̈̿͘͝͠͝ ̷̨̡͍͈͔̤̰̞͎̗̖̭̭̊͂͛͛̉͗͊̋͛̋̔̀̾̐͜͠ͅć̶̖͖̣͚̱̪̳̺̳͌̃̃͂̏̈́̇̑̕ö̴̢̥͍̫̞͇̲͇͉̖̼͔̲͖́̇̿̽̀̅̈́͋̈́̿̊͐̍͠ͅͅm̷̬̳̙̱̥̞̱͈̈̇̃̀̂̊́̕p̶̧͔͕͇͍͖͖͙͊ͅl̶̡̛̙͎͓͈̲̑̌̋̉́̏̅̎̃̑̓͌͋̈́̋̕ì̷͖̩͔͈̐̈̾̐͊̾̉̿̉͘͘͜ċ̸̡̙͇̰͍͇̮̩̭͎̲͙̟̫̅̀̾̍͑̌͋́̈́̉̃̇̚̕ͅą̴̗͖̥̫̞͎̞̭̖̪̦̻̭̙̺͋ţ̷̛̛̖̹͈͙͎̲̼͚̰͙̒̃̆̏̈́̈́̀̌̔͌̌̀̚̚͝ͅě̷̡̦̠̦̥̳͕̝͒̌̂̽̾͌̈́̏̓̕d̵̹͚̳͚͆̿̀͒̈́̋́̅̽̊̇̕̚͠.̴̤̮̼̣̰̘̘̭̟̜͇̺̞̞̦̺̄͌̀̊̍̈́͒͊̏͠͝

[Words spoken through the haze of pain and suffering in his final moments, data ripped away from him, his HP spinning to zero-- he looks into Skeith's eyes and grins. It's a bittersweet thing, looking through his eyes not with the arrogant and twisted mindset of a Phase hell-bent on self destruction, but of a conclusion he always knew was inevitable.]

My final gift to you, Skeith, is the gift of birth.

cw: eye gore

[His eye is torn from his head, and with a pained shout, the armor all over Magus' body begins to crack and shatter. Hairline fractures, then crumbling chips, and then whole shards- the gems crack and then burst into emerald glimmers; the gold cracks and crumbles away, and his body, his flesh, like plaster, crumbles to dust in Skeith's hands; it litters the cement floor like a construction site, leaving behind little trace. That is, save the bloody, warm ball of flesh in Skeith's hand, which remains as vividly alive as ever.]

the end

[worldbent]

[And beneath the crumbling shards, the gleaming green of broken insectoid eyes and gold carapace, is a body. It's cold, lips blue, silk black hair having grown longer than it had been, during the last months of being trapped in the game, so that it nearly matched the length of his hair in-game. The eyepatch that covers his right eye, with its pink scar (not gaping), is a simple black cover unlike the mystical paper he'd worn in Fragment.]

[His shoulders are slumped half-into the kimono over his body- something like you might put over someone in their sickbed, an easily cleaned and easy to dress black cotton yukata- but from the peek of shoulder under the slackened collar you can just make out the tips of feathered wings inked into flesh, spreading across his shoulders from up and over his back.]

[Matoba Seiji came into Fragment, a man on a mission to restore his clan and to avenge his family, and in the end, he didn't find what he was searching for. But what he had found, he knew he couldn't leave alone- for those he was sworn to protect, and for those he was leaving behind. From the moment he came face to face with Lily, he had been resigned to this fate.]

[0koto is dead.]