After a Dream ? ? ? Wendy opened her eyes... Wait? Was she still in the game? What happened? Urgh..... Magi felt her head. It was throbbing terribly. It was so painful! What was going on? What happened to Gwyn and Alonso? Those other two? Magi sat up and her head started spinning. Her body felt weird like it had been on a roller coaster ride ten times in a row! Ah.... she did miss that kind of thing right about now. Magi felt grass all around her. Looking around as her eyes adjusted to the terrible blurring they had gone through for no reason that she could tell. There was some water here too. She looked up and saw the sky far above. Oh right... she had fallen down here from above probably. How long has she been down here? It was still kinda like outside but underneath... weird. Well she could not just sit here all day. Maybe she should log out and go to sleep. It was pretty crazy how one could get knocked out in the game and it really felt like you were... she had no recollection of anything while she out knocked out. The fall must have really been a doozy. Gee whiz... Taking a few minutes to recover. Magi stood up from the ground and wobbled. Okay, time to use some pure heart powers! Magi Heart focused and began to recover her health with Pink Heart Power. "Whew.... that's better..." She was still kinda tired though. Looking around again she saw that going up from right here was going to be really super duper hard. The rocks and grassy ledges were going to really test her jungle gym skills. Okay time to give it a go! Magi tried to grab onto a green covered wall and foliage came off of it. Magi made a frown. How was she going to climb if it came down when she pulled on it? Guess the rocks then. Magi blinked when she noticed that right behind where the foliage had been covering was not rock! There was a door here! "Wowzers... " The magical girl saw that it had no key hole. It was made out of a something Magi never saw before. It was kind of translucent but not.... She reflected in it but it was all jumbled up and had weird shadings. It was a pretty shade of blue. Calling it just a blue door would not be right but that was kinda what it was. A bluish mirror door! Magi tried to push on the door shaped crystalline surface,. Nope. No handle or key hole. This might be magical.... "Sigh... I don't know how to do this.... ummmm Blue Heart Power OPEN! " That was not going to work.... Defeated she turned and looked around for another place to climb up. That's when she saw a small tunnel that she had missed before. Looks like this was actually a underground cave she had fallen into. Or something like that. Probably easier than climbing, and maybe she could find a way to open the door! @Eldhi (OOC: Let's take our time and have fun with this one.)
Vermillion Manor It was another fine evening in the Vermillion Manor, the roses were blooming, the moon was blood red, everything just picture perfect for the titular owner. Lightly swishing the 'wine' in the crystal glass held in her right hand, Lady Vermillion Romanov was doing one of her most favorite activities. What's that you might ask? Scheming, of course, those puppets weren't going to pull their own strings after all. Now, she had received reports regarding a concentration of prism shards within the territory of that infantile nation, Astorea, led by a disgusting king which had a fetish for anything gold. What kind of king name his territory after himself? Hmph, only she could have that honor. Nevermind the insignificant mongrel, she was interested in the shards in his territory, he could just drop dead and it wouldn't matter a single thing to her. "Hmmm, Saber." The lavender-haired Vampire called out to the white-haired girl clad in heavy armor just standing nearby, the wannabe Knight of Tyl. She had proven herself quite useful ever since she ripped her away from her false god. While not among her precious collection of thirteen... yet, she was certainly one of her more reliable agents. "Come here, hmhmhm, I have an assignment for you." "..." 'Saber' sighed mentally. There Mistress went again, giving her a new nickname just for the heck of it, she hoped that this one stayed, she didn't exactly want to be called 'Sword', then 'Saber', and then 'Rapier' tomorrow. Still, she obediently went over to the shorter girl, "How may I serve you, Mistress? "I am sending Trizzaldi and Misha on another Prism Hunt and this time." The ancient vampire paused, slightly displeased as she remembered the two's abysmal performance recently, "I want you to go with them, keep an eye on those two." Her crimson irises narrowed, "Make sure Misha doesn't waste her time away binge eating and Trizzaldi doesn't instigate pointless fights with anyone that looks at her funny. I tire of their antics and I give you full permission to remind them of their task... with additional persuasion if necessary. If they protest, report to me and I will make sure they regret it." She took a deep breath, then exhaling in annoyance, "Do I make myself clear, Saber?" "Yes, Mistress." Saber answered curtly, it wasn't her place to comment about her two seniors. Mistress gave her an order and that was what she's going to do. The white-haired girl turned then, about to head out when... "Oh, Saber." The Vampire quipped once more. "Yes, Mistress?" "If you find any... diamonds in the rough, make sure to bring them to me, hmhmhm, let's see if I can polish them." "Of course, Mistress." "Hmhmhm..." Astorea ...and that was how Eldhi found herself unwittingly spelunking into some random cavernous complex in Astorea, the so-called 'Player Kingdom'. "Haaa..." An exasperated sigh echoed along the cave walls as she dragged herself forward. If it wasn't for Mistress' orders, she wouldn't have any business with those two dynamic douchebags, but alas, she was here, searching for their whereabouts, assuming Misha and Trizzaldi weren't dead already. Well, deader than she currently was for the former. One moment, one single moment, she took her eyes off them, they somehow got themselves spiraling down after the ground literally gave way underneath their feet... alongside with some other people. Eldhi didn't get a look before they were swallowed by the dark abyss below. Said abyss turned out to be a whole collection of interconnected caverns, damn it, she wouldn't be surprised if this was the nest of giant ants. However, no giants ants so far, no signs of the undead glutton and the egomaniac sorceress either. Instead, she heard a rather... familiar feminine voice echoing from up ahead. "..." Stopping in place and making sure her ears weren't playing tricks on her, Eldhi marched forward, a hand on her longsword's grip just in case something hostile reared its ugly head. A moment later, the corrupted knight emerged into a wide opening with an extremely tall open ceiling. It didn't take long for her red eyes to spot the only pink among the stone-colored floors and walls. Magi...?" There was no doubt about it, those pink locks, matching eyes, and frilly attire. She was no other than Magi Heart, the magical girl player who was apparently her friend, way back before the rose was planted on her right shoulder-blade. What was she doing here? ...wait, was she among those people that fell alongside Trizzaldi and Misha? If she survived then they would likely still be alive, good, she would find them later. For now... maybe she could... yes, her Mistress' other orders. Eldhi had fought alongside her, she was definitely the aforementioned diamond in the rough. "Hey, Magi." The swordswoman decided to make her presence known as she approached the pink-clad girl, noticing the strange bluish 'mirror' behind her but not minding it for now, "I was around the area when I saw the crumbling ground and a few people were caught in it. I'm surprised you are one of them." Then, she tried to smile, really she did but it was so so hard to make herself even remotely care about Magi's predicament, all she wanted was to get this girl to the manor, to Vermillion. All Eldhi could manage was a rather forced one, "Are you alright?" @Magi Heart
Magi's face brightened when someone exited the very tunnel she was about to enter. It was Eldhi! The justice knight girl! Magi did not get a whole bunch of time to talk with her or to play the game together. Which was sad because Eldhi was one of the few people Magi had met that seemed to play the game in a similar fashion. Why Magi wished she was stronger and a bit more successful so she could have invited her into a magical girl squad or something! That would have been great to lead a team and use eachother's love and friendship to beat the evil meanies! Sigh... crud. A girl could dream. Magi Heart was thrilled to see Eldhi again though. Seeing the knights smile and giving her own best attempt to not show her stress. "Eldhi! Justice Knight yay! Cool beans! I didn't think I would see you again! ... Yeah, I was with others and there was a bunny and someone was trying to... eat it? Ummm yeah. Hahaha! Anyway, I don't know if everyone is okay or not but it is just a game so hopefully they got to healing. I'm kind of getting tired myself.... I might log out soon for homework and bed." Magi started to take a few steps toward Eldhi. She wanted to go hug her friend, but... something was weird. Maybe Eldhi was tired too. She seemed less... um, invested? She did not have the look of someone having fun. Oh no... did she die once too? That can really mess things up for a while. Wendy still had issues from it. Not light ones either... There was something tickling the back of her mind. She had no idea what though. "So I was going to log out but got really curious. Eldhi? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Nothing bad happened... right?" The magical girl would take one more step and felt something horrible. What was that? A weird ringing was in her ears. Something really bad was here... something that wanted to hurt Magi and Eldhi! ....Right? A weird flashing image went through her head. She could not make it out. So bright and warm but...there was a big crack, like a broken mirror? Was it because she touched that door? Was the game glitching up? Before Magi could respond the vision faded and she felt a sudden force pull her back away from Eldhi! "...Wha? AHHHHHHHH!!!" Magi Heart was lifted off of the ground and pulled backwards into the crystalline doorway. It melted away as she flew through it like water. Her arms and legs outstretched as she cried out to Eldhi. Then she crashed to the floor. The strange force that had grabbed her was gone. The girl got up and trembled a little from the creepy experience. Was it a ghost? Magi was not afraid of any ghosts! Not after what she had seen so far! Still... hopefully it wasn't. "Woah... cool beans... Eldhi do you see this?" Magi looked around and saw she was in some kind of.. temple? The place was really different then usual. The cave walls had areas that looked like they were made of some kind of metal. It was so shiny. Magi's eyes then fell on something. She had been thrown close to a chamber that had a elevated center. The strange metallic flooring and walls were much more intact in here. She looked around and hoped Eldhi was coming to look at this. It was amazing! For her anyway. It was rare for the young girl to find anything cool really. That happened to everyone else in this game. Taking a few more steps that echoed in the hollowed area. Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no! The statue!" The statue of the legendary magical girl! She had found it! It was in the center of the room on the highest platform. Beyond it some in the back was another statue, of some woman with enormous angle wings. Both of these statues... were destroyed. "B-but.. what about inspiring heroes? Magical girls? ME?! ...wa....waaaaa!" The girl fell to the ground and tried to put the old pieces of the mysterious material back together. Tears fell down her face as she felt terrible for both her situation and the loss of this monument to love and justice. She saw the two halves of the girls face and tried to put them together helplessly. They fell out of her hands to the floor and bounced down the each step of the platform until they reached the bottom. Wiping her tears and looking up she saw the large statue in the back. The large angelic figure was split straight down the middle. Each half split to the sides but still standing unlike the totally destroyed magical girl statue. Magi Heart shook her head. This was mean. "W-who would... do this? Why? What for?!" She looked up and felt as if the large statue's split head was somehow staring at her. She shook off the feeling and stood up, turning to face the path that she had been thrown in from. What had done that anyway? Was it this place somehow calling for help? Magi had no clue what to do here... "Eldhi... this place was supposed to be for people like us.... I-I don't know why this happened. I don't know what I-Im supposed to do?" She hoped the girl was coming and could hear her. Magi was certainly not speaking quietly right now. @Eldhi
The bubbling enthusiasm, the bright sparkles in those light red irises, the aura of innocence she radiated. This was definitely Magi Heart, there in the flesh. However, Eldhi's gut felt there was something different compared to the Magi back in Zalra, marring that innocence was specks of weariness and doubts. Considering what happened to her just now, it made sense for her to be exhausted, it was already quite a miracle she lived, the distance from here to the newly-created hole above was staggeringly high. Still, the knight couldn't shake the feeling that there was something deeper, more profound, to her emotional distress. A part of her felt Magi was losing the innocent resolve fueling her dreams. Eldhi used to share them... but she was a fool to think the world's problems could be solved by a foolish childish notion such as 'love'. No, love and compassion would only get in the way of order and progress. Discipline and law should reign, justice needed not to be mellowed by leniency. To question is to doubt, doubt begets treason, treason means death. She'd open Magi's eyes to the truth just as Mistress had opened hers. --- The younger girl approached her, what was it now? It seemed she wanted to give her friend a hug but decided against it. In the past, Eldhi might have noticed the gesture and hug her herself or feel disappointed when the offer was turned down. Now, she felt nothing, it was of insignificant matter. Hug or no hug, as long as Magi could serve her purpose, their friendship was no priority. Subtly, Eldhi checked if she could access the portal to the Vermillion Manor and as luck would have it, this cavernous complex disrupted the connection. If she wanted to transport Magi there, they would have to leave this place first. New objective noted. Trizzaldi and Misha? They could take care of themselves. "Well, we are already here, don't log out yet." She couldn't have her log out, not now, not when she had her right here with her. "I heard this place contains a number of artifacts like prism shards." She wasn't exactly lying there, "Now that we're here, why don't we look around for a bit?" The white-haired girl tilted her head slightly, finding Magi's concern to be quite strange, "I'm fine, I think you are more hurt than I am." Bad... no, nothing of the sort, in fact, she was enlightened, something she must share with the magical girl, "Let's say I couldn't be better. I've learned a lot since the last time we met." Ah well, she supposed the hug could be given even if only to ease her worries, a calm person was more amicable to request than a nervous one after all. "Hmm?!" That was when things took a sharp turn as Magi buckled down, holding her ears and wincing. Whatever she was experiencing, Eldhi didn't feel it, however, she brandished her longsword nonetheless, the edge shining golden with her luminous power. Searching around for any signs of threat, she found none... until Magi's body was drawn in by an unknown force. "Tch!" The white-haired knight, part out of self-preservation instincts and part desire to not let her potential catch get away, chased after the magical girl. She sheathed her sword and armored hands reached out to grasp Magi's, however, she wasn't fast enough and Magi phased through the strange ebbing 'mirror' she saw earlier. "..." Eldhi stepped in front of it, debating whether to enter or not until Magi's voice reassured her. The knight followed suit without any trouble, one foot in, then her body, then followed by the other foot. Red eyes examined the wide chamber, a ruined temple of some sort. In worship of what? Female figures with wide feathered wings... Iedi then. A former place of worship to the so-called Goddess of Prosperity and Wellness. In practice, she was worshiped by the destitute, weak, and sickly. That didn't matter really, the important question was, were there any prism shards lying about the area? "!?" Magi's panicked shout briefly brought the Paladin on high alert... till she realized it was a false alarm, really Magi? Worrying about broken statues in ruins? While instead, She should be surprised if they were intact. Sighing heavily, Eldhi approached the pink-clad girl from behind as she bawled over some shattered sculptures. "Magi," Eldhi called, if the distraught girl decided to turn at the knight, she'd see red eyes of mixed annoyance and apathy, sharing nothing of her anguish over the statues, "These are just statues." Eldhi stated plainly, "Are you seriously letting these marbles to be some... holy grail representing your ideals? As if they mean something more than just decorations. Look around you, this whole place is abandoned and likely has been looted multiple times. Simple really, looters came here for treasure and they searched every nook and cranny, who knows, a gem or two might be hidden in one of these statues so they broke them." A simple, cold, logical explanation. "You know what you are supposed to do, Magi?" The knight chuckled once, closing her eyes for a second before opening them again, staring right straight into her pink eyes, "I'll take you to someone with the power to make the world a better place, actual tangible power unlike these lifeless statues." Now, a small smile graced her otherwise stoic tanned features, "I promise you will find your conviction there."
Magi Heart blinked and tried to be strong, drying her tears with her gloved hands. Looking at Eldhi she sniffled and tried to figure out what was so not right about her friend. She seemed so friendly before but now felt... intimidating? Eldhi did not seem to notice and said she was alright. So Magi would respect that. Respecting your friends was important. Eldhi felt Magi was hurt... yeah she was, but she had to tell herself that it was just a game. A game that was becoming less and less fun everyday for the magical girl. This was likely the end. Wendy was given the game to keep for good by that lady, Hitomi in a really nice gesture. Back then Wendy was still struggling to decide on if the game was right for her. If it was just better to live as a normal girl and watch her heroines on TV. No more trying to do something that was not any fun because it just was not the same formula. "Prism shards? ...um... isn't that *sniff* what everyone was trying to mine in the crystal place? I don't have a single one. ...Hahaha.... not surprising I guess.... *sniff*" Magi's eyes saw the rose on Eldhi's shoulder blade. Oh, that was pretty. Flowers were nice, but it kind of clashed with her outfit. Was Eldhi going for a more... kuudere character style now? Was that why she was so much... colder? Then Eldhi's change became much more obvious as she began to bring down the temple and tell Magi Heart how silly and pointless her tears were. That... that was not helpful at all! Why would a friend say that? Magi began to wonder if she had judged Eldhi wrong. Was she not the girl Magi thought she was? "B-but Eldhi. This place was supposed to help me find the path to being a magical girl. Like... you know... *sniff.* When a hero feels down and wants to give up... something always turns things around and...and... they get stronger!" Magi sighed and realized continuing to stand around and cry was not helping. What Eldhi said was cold but not completely wrong. It just should not have been said that way. So mean... why was she being mean now? Magi decided to not let it cause a rip in their friendship. She wanted it to get stronger so they could hang out more after all. Maybe not in this game though... no more Terrasphere. It just was way to unfun and cruel. This was not a game she wanted to be a part of anymore. Dreams or not. Magi would approach Eldhi and again with a sad look started to bring up her menu. She checked her character stats, her equipment, her recorded quests and messages. Sigh....It just was not fun enough. Magi's eyes met Eldhi's as the knight continued. This time... Magi's eyes opened wider and she took a step back. Her menu closed and look of real worry crossed her face. This was... not Eldhi. She eyed the knight from up close. "Are you... trying to become a different kind of character? Like kuudere? I don't like it Eldhi please stop... you are starting to sound like a bad person. A villain. Are you really Eldhi?" Magi did not yell, she was honestly too freaked out for that. The emotional overload was just too much lately. Why wasn't she just logging out? Probably out of concern for if something had happened to Eldhi. Who was this person she spoke about? This just gave a really bad feeling. "Um.... no. No thanks. I think I'm done playing Terrasphere. It isn't as fun as I thought it would be. Ummm... maybe you should log out for awhile too. Rest is a good thing." Magi prepared to open her menu again to log out. Hesitating because she was truly worried about her friend. No one else she had met before had changed this much. Unless they had swapped character avatars... what was going on? Did she even want to know? @Eldhi
"Correct, similar to the ones in Zalra." The white-haired girl answered matter-of-factly, maintaining the callous stare as the pink-haired girl bawled her pretty little eyes out, such a pitiful, pathetic sight. She never realized Magi was this much of a spineless child. However, Eldhi still saw the potential in her, she could be so much better... if she could just take her to Mistress. "Heroes..." Eldhi paused for a moment before a small chuckle escaped her lips, "It doesn't work that way, Magi." She shook her head slowly, "The heroes you think of exist only in fiction, fake, fabricated stories. True heroes fight for what they wish, they have the power to make changes, they wrench victory from the cold dead hands of their enemies!" She raised her voice, approaching even closer to the shorter girl, her eyes burning with zealous determination. "Being a little crybaby won't help you to be a better hero." "..." The knight fell silent for the moment as Magi took her in time in reviewing her logs and achievements so far in Terrasphere, only looking up when the 'magical' girl expressed her concerns. Oh Magi... no, she wasn't becoming a different person, at least not deliberately, "No, in fact, I couldn't be better." Eldhi forced a welcoming smile, she was losing her patience over the younger girl's melancholic antics, "What... why?" She didn't like it? "Of course... because you are a naive girl who thinks love and compassion will get you anywhere." Eldhi dropped the ball, leering coldly, "I have outgrown such childish notions." She took a step forward, her armor clinking, apparently taking offense when the young girl called her a 'villain', something Eldhi worked so hard to fight, a core reason on why people like her exist, to right wrongs, and cleanse those evil-doers from the face of Terra! If she was a knight of justice, how could she be a villain? It didn't make sense. Then again, everything Magi stood for didn't make sense either. "Silence, brat!" The knight cut her off, "You know not of which you speak. Me? A villain? Heh... what preposterous notion. Nay, I am a true Crusader of Justice. I bring order to chaos, law to anarchy. I am the Hand of Vermillion that'd enact righteous retribution upon evil. I am the Judge, Jury, and Executioner!" Eldhi put one hand against her forehead, a chuckle escaping her which soon grew into a dry laugh, "Hahaha... For that insult, I'll have to punish you." Then the knight did the unthinkable, she brandished her longsword, edge immediately shining with a golden glow, facing the blade against who was supposed to be her dear friend, "If you won't listen to reason, then I'll have to use force!" Hidden: Music Ignoring Magi's advice for them to log out, Eldhi made a wide swing from the distance, launching a crescent-shaped Illuminant wave at the magical girl, interrupting her attempt to log out. She followed with a charge, lunging at her, slicing, dicing, while carefully watching the girl's HP Bar. She didn't want to kill her, if she did, Magi would just log out. Eldhi knew that this was her only chance of acquiring Magi for Mistress. This elusive diamond in the rough. If she didn't have a reason to stay in Terrasphere, Mistress would give her one. If she didn't know how to become a proper heroine, Mistress would show her how. Yes, Mistress was the answer to all of Magi's problems. It might be harsh, Magi, it might hurt, but it was for your own good! @Magi Heart
Magi's eyes opened wide in horror as Eldhi drew her sword and... began to attack her! Wait, what?! Eldhi was her friend, the closest to being a best friend she had in this game. Wendy had such different ways of thinking than other people. Eldhi was one of the few who shared many of her feelings. This was... was... crazy! "Eldhi! What are you doing?! S-stop iiiiit... wait... hey... stop! Seriously!" Magi jumped back, luckily she had stopped being quite as clumsy compared to how she was a few days ago. The sword swipes barely missed her as she continued to duck and sway. Her small build also helping. Pulling back more and more as she thought of drawing her bow to defend herself. No! She would not hurt a person again, especially not her best friend! Aaaaah this game was some kind of curse or something! It made people crazy! That explained a lot! Magi was not thinking clearly. She was too busy trying to avoid getting chopped into two. Reaching the first elevating step that led to the broken magical girl statue. She tripped back her arms flailing as the sword cut into them mercilessly. Falling onto the hard floor with blood gushing from her arms. The stinging pain was awful... Magi had decided to use the lessened pain option after learning how bad pain felt but there was something hurt worse than Magi's health... her feelings. "What did this game do to you?! .... I won't fight you... I refuse!" She felt tears welling up again. No Magi, not again! Not now! She screamed and kicked her foot hard to try and keep Eldhi off of her and turned her body to run, or more like crawl up the stairs. turning back around to look at the knight. Magi's eyes held tears and confusion but also a strange awareness. Maybe there was something she need to figure out about this mean, unfair, evil game. "Eldhi... if you are still her... I need to try and stop you from doing something like this!" Magi thrust out her hands and shouted. Her mind running a hundred miles an hour. Her mind sparked and she came up with something on the spot. It was something Magi did on occasion. Even if she was never truly aware of it. She chanted a quick phrase to fulfill casting requirements... and: Hidden: Magi Heart's Best Effort! "Enemy of pure hearts! Don't spread your scary wings! CAGE EVIL!' Magi almost screamed it as her Arcanamancy and Illumancy fused to form a wire frame like glowing cage around Eldhi. Magi grabbed her bleeding arms that stung badly as her knees buckled some. Magi stared at the cage she created to stop her one time friend... no Eldhi was her friend still! There was just something wrong with her! Magi had to do this, had to be the heroine for her friend! This cage,... would it hold her? Magi worried. Her spells only worked so well the first time she used them... at least this made a break though! "What is going on in this... game? I have to cure you... urgh. Save your pure heart! Somehow... " Magi did not even care about her own health. Standing straight again with a determined yet still terrified face, she focused and tried her healing magic on the distorted knight. "Pink Heart Power! We can't give up! ELDHI!" She cast the curing pink light over the Eldhi's body. The knight's health was showing a increase but nothing else... she did not have any status ailment? Really? Seriously? Magi Heart checked the knight's status from her own pane as she tried to figure out what to do. In the end she resorted to many more castings that continued to drain her energy... she was not going to give up. There was going to be a turning point here, there had to be! @Eldhi
The white-haired knight kept up her relentless attacks against her friend, heedless to her pleas. It wasn't out of vindictive rage or even anything personal, nay, Eldhi did it out of pure pragmatism. If she paused or gave Magi a chance to react through anything other than fighting, she'd just open up her player to log out. At that very moment, she'd lose her forever, she wouldn't accept it, not when she already had Magi in her grasp. The magical girl should be honored really, it wasn't often Eldhi go this far to recruit a girl into Vermillion's collection. "Fight me!" A snarl echoed in the broken temple hall as Eldhi fired a particularly wide crescent light wave at Magi's elevated position. "Defend yourself! You are a hero, aren't you?!" Eldhi taunted as out of frustration and deep in her heart, in her own corrupted way, she wanted Magi to be a real hero, a warrior, not a bawling spineless infant! She wanted Magi to be able to take what she wished, fight for her ideals! A hero's will must be absolute, a hero must not bend under pressure. Magi had none of these traits and while Mistress would bring them out of her, the knight figured she could at least push her enough to fight back. Even a skittish deer would defend herself when cornered enough, was Magi even more cowardly than that? "Haaaaaah!!" Launching herself to the stumbling magical girl, Eldhi made her first clean strike as the searing blade cut through Magi's small arms, she bled, she cried, but it'd all be worth it. In the end, Magi would see why Eldhi was willing to go this far. "This game had done nothing but awakened me to the truth! Now fight me!" She made another swing as Magi turned her back, crawling pitifully, ripping another gash wound on her back. "Magi..." Eldhi gripped her blade, walking up towards the distraught magical girl, "This can stop, you know, just fight me. I know you are stronger than me. So come! Draw your bow! Unleash your power! Achieve your victory!" Her words seemed finally get through as Magi worked a spell, yes! Magi, do it! Eldhi winced as an arcane cage surrounded her, confining the white-haired knight in bars of pink light. "...?" and, was that it? This was just some kind of restraining spell. "This isn't fighting back, Magi... once I get out of this cage, I wi-... what?" Then, all the effort Eldhi had built crumbled that very moment when the magical girl healed her instead. Nevermind that the knight was at full health, Magi was healing her enemy, what kind of 'hero' do that? Right, a foolish one like in those children shows, believing in the goodness of the heart and that when shown compassion, everyone would see her ways. "Foolish girl..." Eldhi growled, watching with bitter annoyance as Magi cast her healing spell on her, again and again to no avail. Why? Because there was nothing to 'cure', she was fine, in fact, the one sick in the head was Magi herself. A naively gullible wreck with an utterly narrow view of the world. "Do you know, Magi?" Eldhi sighed as the girl's energy ran out and the arcane cage ceased with it, she walked up to the girl, red eyes coldly staring down at her. "All dreams end when the dreamer wakes up." Then without hesitation, Eldhi drove her longsword straight into Magi's stomach, just enough to bring her down to a sliver of health left, "It's time for you to open your eyes." @Magi Heart
"Pink Heart Power! We can't give up! "Pink Heart Power! Pink Heart Power! Pink... Heart..." Magi cast her cure spell over and over. As always when it came down to it, Magi Heart did her best to try and help those who needed it. Even if it killed her, no matter how scary death may be. However, whether she actually succeeded at that saving was very erratic. This one was proving to be another failure for her.... no! The magical girl tried to push every little bit of mana out of her body to save her friend. It was then that she realized her goof up. The cage she made was fading away... Magi did not have enough energy to maintain it anymore! Her body and mind exhausted. Magi could barely stand up as Eldhi approached her completely unimpeded. "Eldhi...." Magi Heart was convinced beyond a doubt that some evil force was at work here. At last what she had wanted all along... a big mean evil force to go and cure with the power of love. To bring love and justice to one's heart, or to protect those pure hearts from said evil. What Wendy had made her character, her alter ego, to do. Her dream in both this and the real world. Magi looked at Eldhi who was before her now... and Wendy found that Magi Heart was completely helpless to save her and this at point herself as well. 'Eldhi... please stop... we have to figure out what's wro-' Magi's voice was cut off as the knight's sword thrust directly into her gut. The sword pierced straight through. causing blood to gush from the girl's mouth. Indeed this was no kid's game, yet again this truth was forced into her by the most brutal way possible. Magi's eyes widened with horror and pain, her body trembled and her voice squeaked out in a high pitched sound that even she could not recognize. The young girl's gloved hands reached for the sword. Grabbing it as her eyes reflected the blood, her blood, bleeding onto her gloves from the sword going through her stomach. her friend's sword. Slowly, Magi's eyes moved from the sword up the gauntlets and further up the torso of Eldhi's face. Her face... it was so cold... This was not happening! Magi was going to die? Again? This feeling... "'Cough'... why is...'cough' this.... happening...?" Her eyes grew heavy... the loss of blood and sheer pain was too much. "...'Cough'.... gosh... I... should have 'cough'... brought the game back right then.... ha....ha.... ' The feeling of regret in her quickly fogging mind was unbearable. All of this happened so quickly but this moment was like it was in slow motion. "...Gee.... whiz...." Magi Heart's eyes closed as she went limp on Saber's sword. It would not take much longer before a sudden voice was heard throughout the temple. It was a familiar voice to those who were in Vermillion's service. "Saber. Good, you have been found. Life levels ten. Perfect condition. Your location had a magic jamming field in effect to prevent teleportation. Effort level eight was required." The Over Watcher spoke to Saber with complete monotonous indifference. However this was known to be how she spoke to everyone other than Vermillion herself, and even then it was still in a cool manner. "Congratulations. There is a Prism Gem near where you are. Priority level ten. Trizzaldi and Misha have already returned empty handed. Do not follow their example." The Over Watcher's voice ceased and made no comment about Magi's unconscious bloody body that rested on the knight's blade... @Eldhi
"..." The callous gaze didn't relent even as those red eyes reflected the crimson spilling from her friend's mouth, coating her fair lips and chin in her own blood. Eldhi stayed still, merely watching the naive child's pitiful squeaks and whimpers. Even when tethering close to death, Magi was still blind to the truth. She asked, in all her disbelief, of what exactly transpired even though the answer was right in front of her. "Because you are weak." Eldhi growled, "Because you can't fight. Because your childish ideals cripple your true potential." Even with her longsword impaled through her friend's belly, the knight ruthlessly battered on Magi's psyche, she wanted her to break so her flawed self could be reborn by Mistress, yes, just like what Vermillion did to her. Eldhi didn't want Magi to log out and never return, she wanted her to stay, she didn't want to lose her. For a very brief moment, a somber gaze fell on the knight's features as Magi fell unconscious. This was the right thing to do, this was all for Mistress, her wishes had nothing to do with it. Magi being there with her would merely be a bonus. "Hmph..." Grunting, she pulled the blade from Magi's form then quickly lay her left hand on the open wound. The corrupted Paladin worked her illumancy to heal the smaller girl, stopping the bleeding and mending the tissue until a red sore patch was all that was left. Hidden: Music "Ha..." Staring at Magi's restless face, Eldhi's thoughts were interrupted when the Overwatch's emotionless voice suddenly echoed throughout the ruined temple. Though Eldhi was aware this was merely an illusion, no one else could hear it as the voice came from the rose embedded on her shoulder-blade. "I see." Eldhi curtly replied, there was no need to engage in an extended conversation with the doll-like creature, "Understood." The white-haired knight sheathed her sword then took a moment to search for the Prism Gem. Its arcane nature made spotting it rather easy through Investigation Mode. She picked up the gem, stored the prismatic jewel into her digital inventory then went back to Magi. Without a word, she picked up the pink-haired girl then made her way out of the temple... Vermillion Manor "Ah, Saber~" The Arch-Vampiress smirked, her mood visibly well as she sat on her throne in the extravagantly decorated room, one hand swishing a wine glass. Before her was a familiar armored figure with long alabaster locks carrying a stranger in her arms. Of course, the Overwatcher had informed Vermillion regarding Eldhi's arrival and as such, the Crimson Overlord was already expecting her and the guest she 'invited'. "I see you brought me gifts, hmhmhm." "I have returned, Mistress." Eldhi bowed as best as she could with her hands occupied by Magi, "Yes, a prism gem and... the 'diamond' in the rough you spoke of." "Excellent work. I am quite pleased with your performance, Saber." The vampiress put down the glass then flapped her wings, gliding down from her throne to approach Eldhi. "Yes..." Slitted red eyes raked Magi's form up and down, a fanged smirk curled as her visage turned sadistic with glee. "A diamond she is indeed. Someone you knew, Saber?" A pause then she chuckled, "Actually, it doesn't matter, she will be reborn all the same. Her past won't matter. Hmhmhm." --- When Magi woke up, she would find herself hanging with her arms outstretched to her sides, held up by thorny vines of roses. "Good evening, Princess." A feminine voice greeted her, a voice she never heard before yet it managed to strike primal fear deep into her very soul. In front of her, just slightly below, were two figures. Eldhi and a lavender-haired young girl clad in a white dress with pink accents. The former merely stared at the restrained magical girl while the latter floated up to her, a small hand reaching out as she held Magi's chin, "I'm quite pleased Saber invited you here, lovely creature. Let me introduce myself, I am Vermillion, Mistress of the House and your gracious host." Vermillion's hand traveled to pat her head, brushing against her pink locks, "So, Saber told me you want to be a heroine, I am able to grant your wish... and more." @Magi Heart
"Wendy..." Magi Heart could hear a voice. It was familiar but she could not quite place it. "Wendy... Magi Heart... do you...?" Huh? Magi tried to move but couldn't. Everywhere she looked was blackness except for a single small source of light far away. This was so familiar. Was this? She could not make out the voice that well at all. "Souls.... dimensions.... light...dark... chaos....order... the scales..." Wendy tried to understand. Tried to remember what the voice was talking about. So good people and bad people were the same and could change whenever? That's how she was translating it. Um... that was scary but from what Wendy had seen so far it seemed pretty true. That did not mean she could not help the bad people become good could it? If she could... how? "You.. everything... purpose... cog... balance..." Balance? Magi was becoming confused, no scratch that, she was already confused. Way past that point. Everything was just not coming together. Then she remembered Eldhi. The sword in her stomach. Oooooh gosh. Magi began to feel pain. Was it because she remembered that? How could all of that even happen? "Tria.... I can... hope... purpose.... of this soul.... path...." The small light in the distance flickered out. Magi's eyes opened. A searing pain in her arms and she still felt a horrible stomach ache from the sword wound. Her blurry vision cleared and as usual her eyes widened in shock. Magi was in some kind of castle or something? There were weird vines all over the place and a bunch of them were tied around her. Then she saw Eldhi. Eldhi! ...And someone else "Who... Eldhi!" Magi was at a loss for words at this point. What could she say to change things back to the way they were. Her friend just tried to kill her.... because... Magi's pink eyes watched as a girl in white levitated off of the ground and approached her. Immediately all of Magi Heart's mahou shoujo senses, no matter how weak they may have been, kicked in. This girl was... she was the one behind this! Vermillion then introduced herself and talked about granting wishes. Sure Wendy had a lot of those but really... no thanks if it meant what she was quickly figuring out. "This is all your fault! What did you do to Eldhi?! I won't let you do what you want to my friend... or anyone else..." Magi's eyes were burning with a conviction she never had shown before. The girl did not care if this was a game or not. Eldhi was turned into something she could not even recognize, there were weird dreams constantly coming to her, she was stabbed through the stomach, killed by a spider, drowned twice... and she was about to become a teenager so that she could be made fun of for her childish preferences! This was just too much! "...mmmmmh ahhhhhhhh!" Magi tried her hardest to break free. Her body started glowing with a pinkish light, after a few seconds it began to flicker and brighten to almost white. Why? Why was being good so hard? Please... Magi begged herself and whatever powers of love and justice she could gather her powers from. "White... H-Heart.... AAAAAAH!" A blast of white mana burst form her body.... unfortunately... it did nothing. Magi's head hung low as she breathed heavy. Then she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to be a magical girl and have a fun story." She was not even sure who she was apologizing too. Herself? Eldhi? Maybe even Vermillion for how bad of a heroine she was? Wendy thought of her parents and brother.... she could really go for a hug right now.... @Eldhi
"My fault...?" The vampiress chuckled once, quite amused by how naive and innocent the so-called 'magical girl' was. The things Saber mentioned about her while she was unconscious, one by one they proved to be true. How her principals lay in the childish notions of love and compassion, how her wishes for the world were as narrow as Saber before her awakening, and how she believed they were enough to make changes in the world. She wanted to be a heroine yet she was fighting for a hopeless cause. However, those eyes... those very same burning eyes she saw in Saber, the vampire felt pleasure traveling up her spine at the mere thought of corrupting this pink-haired girl to her liking. She could use those determination for a better cause, her cause. "Why don't we ask her, hmmm?" Vermillion turned in the air, facing down at the white-haired knight, "Saber, what did I do to you?" "You have done nothing but awakened me to the truth, Mistress." Eldhi answered wholeheartedly, one arm diagonally crossed on her chest as she bowed with utmost respect, like a knight to her Queen, her Crimson Overlord, "My life, my soul, and my sword belong to you." "Good girl~" The lavender-haired vampire swiveled back at Magi, "You heard her. Don't you wish the same thing, Magi? I know it, deep in your heart, you are lost, just a child wandering aimlessly without purpose. You can leave it all behind now. You can finally grow up." While she cooed, a rose vine slithered through the air, approaching Vermillion's right hand. "Just stay still." She picked one rose, the petals seemed to quiver as if it was sentient, "It won't hurt... much.... nnnngh?!" Then, in a last desperate move, the magical girl unleashed what remained of her hope into one last burst of holy magic. The sheer power was enough to temporarily blind the Arch-Vampiress as she shielded her eyes, unwittingly dropping the rose to the ground as it landed near Eldhi's feet. The knight narrowed her eyes, a hand already prepared to brandish her longsword, she was ready to put Magi down if she proved to be a threat to Mistress, friend or no, she must protect her master. "Heh..." A chuckle, "Hehe... hahahahahaha!! Which quickly evolved into a full-blown cackle. When Vermillion removed her hands, her features already transformed. "How wonderful! Sssuperb! Exquisssite!" Her enlarged wings seemed to loom over the restrained magical girl like a massive bat about to devour her prey, "I couldn't have asssked for a better collection!" Her clawed hands gripped Magi's sides as the vines released her, "Sssaber, catch!" then she threw Magi down as the Knight quickly reacted, receiving the pink-clad girl in her arms. "You can have the honor!" "Yes, Mistress." Unphased by Vermillion's transformation, Eldhi gently put Magi down on the ground. Still kneeling, she picked up the dropped rose then hovered the stem closer to Magi's sternum. "There isss sssomething you mussst know, oh naive Magi." Vermillion looked down, her slitted red eyes never leaving the rose in Eldhi's hand. The rose wriggled as it approached the young girl's skin then once it made contact, it embedded itself, the vines growing to anchor as the rose settled just below Magi's neck, right in the center between her shoulder blades. "Being a magical girl isss sssuffering..." Hidden: Music Immediately, the Demon Rose injected an overwhelming amount of evil and taint right into Magi's heart before the corruption spread throughout her body. Excruciating pain assaulted her mind, body, and soul as if every part of her body was being torn apart. The agony Magi was enduring now was no doubt the worst in all her life. "Hmhmhm! Behold, Sssaber!" Vermillion spread her arms as her wings flapped, bringing her up a few feet above Magi's tortured form, "Witnesss the demissse of Magi Heart and from her assshesss ssshall rissse..." "Tenebris Cordis!"
Vermillion. A monster, a demon, this was what a magical girl should be able to beat right? If evil beat good then wouldn't the world be destroyed? Who even made this game? What was the point? Wendy could not think of a single hero or heroine so far that had actually brought love or justice to anywhere in Terrasphere. Only legends. It was only wars, and evil people, and complicated things that were not clear for the young girl. None of this was mattering anymore since Magi Heart was completely spent. Her body was limp and unable to do anything to save Eldhi or beat Vermillion or even scratch her own nose. Magi's body was tossed straight down at Eldhi. Very little sound came from her mouth. Her mind was trying it's hardest to just block it all out. If she could log out she would... but she could not even open her pane to do so. Eldhi then lowered the failed magical girl wannabe to the ground. Sprawled on the floor and a haze in her eyes, Magi could see Eldhi and smiled in a gentle yet knowing way to her best friend. "I-I... know....y-you...don't mean it.... Eldhi.... " Magi felt a sharp sting as what looked like a flower was placed on her....was this... like... her funeral? Wowzers. Hidden: Theme The pain came instantly. Magi's chest felt like it was on fire. It ran into her arms, her legs, her neck, everywhere. No matter how hard Magi tried to not be here, to not focus on this horrible story that she never wanted to be a part of. It hurt... way... too...much! Her mouth opened as she screamed and tears fell down her face. What was happening? This was worse than when she died to that spider thing.... much worse! "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" Her body squirmed as she lifted her head and saw the rose stuck in her. This flower... her eyes shifted to Eldhi.. one last time before she everything began a bright light. Her body Her last conscious thought was.the realization of what that roses purpose was. Why Eldhi had changed...oh gosh... then that meant.... All remaining thought became lost in pain, anguish, despair... you name it. Magi, no, Wendy Ann Quinn, felt her body from within tear into pieces. Her family, her, dog, her friends, her dreams, her life. Really... It took a while for her to figure it out.... This game wasn't a waste of time.... In fact, it was the best thing she ever experienced! "Tenebris Cordis!" Her eye's opened and everything was perfectly clear. Eldhi was there. That Vermillion person, vampire, demon thingy. Tenebris Cordis? What kind of crappy name was that? Sounded as bad as Magi Heart actually. Making everything in a different language to make it sound all kewl. The girl's now red eyes did not leave Vermillion's visage as she got up off of the ground. Her once bright and cheerful magical girl dress turned into a dark black and red. Fitting for the color tones of the manor in general. A frown crossed her face looking unsatisfied, however there was a strange feeling of connection with Count Chocula here so Tenebris went along with it. "Tenebe Cords? Seriously? Hehe.... but ssssure if you insisssst." Tenebris mocked her creator's speech as her eyes shifted to Saber. Yeah that's what Vermillion was calling her right? Tenebris did not forget though. She still knew who Eldhi was. In fact most of what had transpired was still clear to her. It just came off a lot more clear and less confusing now. A smile spread across her face that was unlike any Magi Heart would have ever made. "I changed my mind. I'm not logging out. That sword was so painful... I want to be able to experience that again with you! Buuuut next time... I'll share the love. Hehe! " She snickered with a mischievous cuteness and a wink at Saber. @Magi Heart Demon Rose (Soul Bound) Special variation of the rare Demon Rose that can only be found in Vermillion Manor. Contains a tremendous amount of evil and vile intent within it's stem. Having this item is a tell tale sign of being involved with the Vermillion XIII. Effects: Exclusive RP / Quest opportunities / Manor Warp Gate Success.
