63 HP

MAX HP

90 EN

MAX EN

-5 EN Traverse
-17 HP Traverse

"...Go to heaven puppies❤!"

Tenebris continued to shoot energy arrows repeatedly into a beast as it barely resembled anything close to what it once was. Crystaline shards and organic guts were all around her feet. She also just so happened to be standing in the poisonous plant life that Harveste had all so generously decided to try and keep her from. First off the Dark Heart barely heard others while fighting, her mind entering a murderous state of pure conviction to save her victims. The second reason the advice was ignored? Tenebris would not miss the chance to suffer from poison! Her body ached and she felt herself become dizzy, falling to her knees she started gasping.

She had gained a great deal of power compared to her wussy past. Even if she preferred to think of herself as worthless trash with no hope just like everyone else. Yet things like poison were still wonderfully horrible experiences for her! Sometimes... she was not even sure what the pleasure was. She just sought it out. Without care. The grief and agony was just too good to miss...

"....*Gasp gasp*. It w-would suck if I died though. Damnit... stupid s-stuff...."

She cured herself with a pinkish glow around her. It annoyed her that she still had this. It was not that she hated pink for any real reason other than it being a primary color for Magi Heart. The really annoying thing was that Magi used a lot of color hues for her stuff. Tenebris wanted to be herself. Her colors... whether that even mattered was not something she thought about.

"P-Pink stuffy stuffs... bleh."

She barely used a trigger phrase to cast the spell. Getting back to her feet she saw the path was clear now.

"...Hehehe.... hehehehe."

Laughter came to her as she tried to calm down. The more poor creatures Tenebris got to save in here, the more out of control she will become. This was something that was advised to her and while she really couldn't care less about it, she did not want to accidentally kill herself and fail the mission. How horrible was that?

"County really ruins my fun. Wowzers, I can't experience death again or I'll fail the quest thing. Bet that makes you laugh right Cainy? Hehehehe... I love it❤! I'm so screwed! Tell me how useless I am! How useless we all are! You lie out your butt hehehe, but it still sounds so hateful and truuuuue❤! I feel myself cringe inside with every tease you make. Be sure to do it while I send you on your way to death too! All the way to the end! Hehehehe!"

Giggling like a school girl (which she actually was if she was outside the game) over her own horrible situation. Tenebris continued down the passage. The walls next to the group were becoming closer as the path grew narrower. Reflections of each of them were showing in the crystalline walls. This was the last stretch. The magic barrier protecting this location from the manor's teleportaion. This was why she had to go through here or the even more dangerous Silent Grotto above.

"Almost there! The-"

A Crystalite emerged from the ceiling blocking the passage. It launched several bolts of lightning striking the distorted magical girl and throwing her back towards Cain and Harveste! She would slam into the wall and pieces of the ceiling cracked and fell down upon her, burying her in sharp cold crystal fragments.

Red began to seep out from it...

Single Buff 25 (Self), 2/3 Turns
28 + 35 + 25 = 88
Crystal Passage: 335 / 1000​

 

29 HP

MAX HP

85 EN

MAX EN

-5 EN Traverse
-5 EN Single Heal
-30 HP Traverse
​

Another destructive set of area of effect attacks wiped out the pack, the initial spread of arcane explosions and toxic gasses enough to soften up the crystal beasts for Magi to finish them off with her pink arrows of DESPAIR AND EDGE. Of course Harveste’s warning about the poison was ignored. Of course that idiot psycho archer was going to go out of her way to toss herself head first into even more suffering. Of course she was losing her goddamn marbles over all this. Of course, of course, of course.

And he was rising to the bait every time it was tossed at him, drawn to the madness and the hilarity of someone whose form of evil was manifested in chaos and hearts, demented joy crystallized by the Demon’s Rose that set its thorns into her heart. Ah, bullying her, teasing her, it all felt like fun and games, didn’t it? As the dust settled, as his own body began to burn and freeze over from the crystalline infection that clawed at it, Cain opened his mouth, about to retort, to give her the sugar sweet lies that he used to dig into her spinal cord and piss her off further, when that memory flashed once more. The sunset clock tower and that blindingly earnest gaze.

He closed it, brandishing his flagpole instead. Between like and dislike, he wasn’t all too sure where she stood. Between good and evil, he wasn’t all too sure where she stood. The fortuneteller had given him intangible hints. Blind. Lost. Ill-leashed. Who knew what she was? Who knew what she wished to be?

“Don’t worry, Magi,” the midnight haired muse said as their feet clicked against the narrowing passageway, “I’m a proper support, a true gentleman no matter what the situation. No matter how useless and edgy and crazy you are, I’ll make sure you get the job done. Through hell and back, that’s what I want. Not just some pathetic d-”

The crack of lightning interrupted his spiel, a million volts crashing into the unstable magical girl’s body and sending her into an adjacent wall, spidercracking the reflective crystals. Moments later, before a barrier could even be erected to shield her, the ceiling collapsed, dirt and stone crushing the fleshy form beneath.

Red began to seep out from it...

And Cain reacted a beat afterwards, arcane lights fusing into a singular beam as he sent a blast straight through the rubble. Magenta brilliance carved a swath through the pile, and before more could collapse to replace what had been incinerated, he reached in, pulling the bloody, lacerated form out. Christ, she was so small and so cold. Behind, the Crystalite’s lightning charged up once more, an arc jettisoning into Cain’s barrier as he prepared a double-cast.

Christ, this was hard.

Christ, she still had so much HP.

Christ, he was going to piss her off so hard!

“Harveste, get that thing off me!” Cain cried over the din of the lightning bolts, “And Magi, stop being a stupid prick and playing dead! That asshat count teeth-shit’s probably sent you here just so you could fail and get shat on by literally everyone else, and you’re just going to obediently take it like that? Get the hell up, you masochistic moron, grab your crappy crystal things, and punch out Count Red Fang Rose Fucker’s teeth out with them, instead of flip-flopping about like Eldhi’s discarded stockings!”

Each anger-filled word was one of healing, even as his own HP continued to drop and drop and drop.

Self Buff 35/1turn
Single Heal +35 HP @Magi Heart
Risky Traverse/Fight
33 + 35 + 35 = 103
Crystal Passage: 232 / 1000 ​

 

40 HP

MAX HP

75 EN

MAX EN

-5 EN Heal
-5 EN Traverse
-20 HP Traverse/No Armor Aid​

Uncertain what the muse was talking about, Harveste opted to struggle with her curiosity and focus on the fight at hand- though, considering the way he was getting seriously injured himself, she made sure to send some healing energy towards him in the form of health-infusing plants. She wasn't really sure what she sent, though- she just sang from the depths of her heart, practically crying out whatever words seemed right at the time.

Emotions swirled in her subconscious. Normally, this entire situation should scare the living daylights out of her- but somehow, what scared her more was that she was enjoying the destruction and the danger. Her fears were wrapped up in a tiny box with a big shiny ribbon and stored somewhere she couldn't reach like a child's holiday gift.

The only things she could comprehend were words to help Cain, and the darkness swirling in her heart that she'd been fighting to ignore, to get rid of. It swirled until the nature sprite found the only way to deal with it was to fight something else.

And so, even with her energy and fatigue from healing making her more at risk of danger, she rushed in to fight the crystallite. She fought it with songs, with ivy, with anything she had in her. A new song was bubbling in her belly... But it wasn't the time to sing it. This song wasn't meant for the ears of others, she told herself.

She'd have to come back to this place on her own, some other time.

"I bit off as much as I can, Cain! Get Magi out of here or finish it off! I don't know what you two are up to, but I don't want you two having to hear my next song... I'm saving that for this fight's sequel!"

Single Heal @Cain Darlite for 35 HP
Buff 35/Final Turn
Traverse/Fight
58 + 35 + 35 = 128
Crystal Passage: 104 / 1000​

 

73 HP

MAX HP

85 EN

MAX EN

-5 EN Traverse
-27 HP Traverse
Single Buff (25):1/3 Turns

It was pretty dark.

Tenebris really did not have a problem with dark places anymore. Still, something about this particular darkness was not the kind of grief ridden shadow she wished it could be. No... what was this? Did she die again? That would have been kewl beans...maybe? She felt funny. The aching in her heart was all she felt, the steady beating of a sound she could not make out far into the darkness was all she heard. This was kinda familiar.

"Wendy...."

Oh gosh... no. What was this? This was....

"Wendy Ann Quinn..."

It was so... annoying!

"Shut up!"

Tenebris... Wendy? Whoever she was right now, She was not going to listen to this weird stuff right now! It didn't hurt her, it didn't ridicule her or bring her grief and despair... she did not need this!

"Remember the knowledge you have. It was the last thing I could do.... for you."

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"Count Red Fang Rose Fucker’s teeth out with them, instead of flip-flopping about like Eldhi’s discarded stockings!”

Uh... what? Feeling began to return to her body as Tenebris slowly opened her eyes. Just to see the 'fabulous' form of Mr. White Suit. It immediately made her stomach turn. On top of that, he needed to shut his face about Eldhi stuff! Tenebris stood up off the hard cold crystal floor. Purply was hard at work trying to defeat the Crystalite. The Dark Magical Girl moved next to Cain and turned to look at him with a stare that was surprisingly less crazy than normal. Rather one of confusion. Right now... something was different. Tenebris did not like the feeling either.

"Hey Cain... if you die. You just come back right...? All just a big ole game. So much grief just for fun. Even if we have a blast with all this suffering. It really won't ever end will it? So people... stupid people persons will just keep on lying to themselves over and over and..."

The corner of her mouth twitched but quickly subsided.

"What am I talking about hehehe. Anyway, if you log out. I think... yeah I think I lived in Boston. I'm curious... what I'm like out there. Wendy."

Finishing her sentence abruptly and closing her eyes. The usual mad smile spread across her face and she turned her head sharply as her eyes reopened gazing towards the Crystalite battle that was coming to a close. A single tear drop fell down the side of her face contradicting the playful joy in her words as usual.

"...Hehe. Time to finish this up shiny baddie❤!"

Something the reverse Magi was not saying straight out, at least not by her own knowledge, was the fact that she was experiencing something that she could not control. It was just a fragment but something that was numb before within her suddenly started to feel again. Whether it would bring her a lot more wonderfully awful grief or not was anyone's guess.

11 + 35 + 25 = 71
Crystal Passage: 33 / 1000

​

 

43 HP

MAX HP

80 EN

MAX EN

-5 EN Traverse
-21 HP Traverse
​

As lightning continued to crack against his barrier, as electrifying pain continued to fry his nerves, the only solace Cain could find was in the healing magic of Harveste, soothing the burn of lightning as he continued to heal Magi with his own powers. Oh, this was a hilarious combination, wasn’t it? Just a chain of healing from one healer to another.

“Thanks,” he managed to shout amidst the din of heavenly wrath. In his arms, the Thorn Witch came to once more, and he flashed his signature wolfish grin, about to counter whatever brutally soul crushing insult she was to launch. But what she said next was…unexpectedly introspective for someone who simply sought to sow chaos and grief and suffering. A game that made light of suffering and of jubilation, continuing on for eternity while having no weight on their ‘reality’. No matter pain or joy, no matter kindness or cruelty, they delude themselves about their strength and innocence, capable of justifying anything because it’s ‘only’ a game.

And when they logged out, whatever they did would be removed.

He remembered, those dingy dungeons, the strong stench of blood and that one player who delighted in inflicting pain upon the imprisoned, so drunk on violence and freedom that she didn’t even need a rose to become a sin drenched beast.

Boston. Wendy. That was so little to go off of, wasn’t it?

“It’ll never end,” he spoke, his smile fading, “But if you don’t try, it’ll never happen, and if you do try, you’re likely to succeed. I’ll see yah there, Magi.”

Perhaps, there could be some comfort found within the real world after all. With no magic, no demons, no monsters rampaging about and no invading kingdoms, the two of them could have an actual chat. But that moment of lucidity faded soon enough, and as the madness returned in her smile, Cain released her. Before them, stood the daunting form of the Crystalite, gathering strength from the debris, repairing its cracks with the surrounding material.

“Yeah, let’s end this!”

The corona of amethyst radiance burst from behind Cain as a three dimensional magical array surrounded them, arcane resplendence sparking from the ancient sigils. Three separate orbs spiraled into one, melding together into a singular fist as he reared back, midnight hued hair billowing in the magical currents.

Their relationship probably wouldn’t change. They’d probably go back to the same cycle of shitting verbally on each other once this ended. That was fun, after all. That was a good waste of time.

But they were party members for now, a trio joined together for a common goal. And so…

“Eat shit, you Crystal bastard!”

The magical beam smashed into the center of the imposing elemental, refracting a million times within its prismatic form before exploding outwards, leaving nothing but bare rock all around. The gatekeeper had been demolished, and behind it laid the bounty of rainbow hued minerals that the Thorn Witch was tasked to take.

Letting out a sigh through his nose, Cain clenched his hand into a fist, a strange expression on his face, before saying, lightly, “Aight, you underaged miner scum, get to work!”

Traverse/Fight
44 + 35 = 79
Crystal Passage: 0 / 1000 ​

 

Grinning, Tenebris made her way towards the shattered shards that were littered about. Just beyond them was a bright light shining down from above. A large runic slab strangely unaffected by the crystal sat right under the light. That must be the monolith placed here to block the manor's portal creating options. The whole reason she had to go this round about way instead of just zipping right to her destination. Although, Tenebris was nowhere near able to do what lied ahead alone... she was just meant to do this.

Pulling out a small clear crystal that looked very much like a white rupee from Legend of Zelda. She held it in front of her and touched her rose with her other hand. Instantly all of the shards flew from the ground directly to her and entered the crystal through some unknown, most likely magical means. Prismatic lights danced within the crystal in Tenebris' black glove as she put it into her inventory and gazed at the long thin passage that led to the monolith and ultimately her destination above. A sigh escaped her.

"Okies... you guys were kinda helpful. Not sure how I feel about that, hehehe. It wasn't easy though was it? Always more fun when you get a beating before the pointless success...."

Focusing on the spot where the monolith was for a second she then spun on her heel to face Purply and White Suit guy. Tenebris was not at all against taving friends. She just felt that handling relations in a stereotypical friendly way was not not only inappropriate but straight up wrong. Unfortunately regardless how she felt. She had to do things a certain way this time.

"I know what you people persons want now.. a few shiny shards for the help riiiight? Hehehehe... well...."

A shrug accompanied by a over exaggerated look of pure 'oh well' followed. Gripping her bow tightly and charging she immediately spoke a a trigger word and faded away like a purplish mirage only to appear again right by the monolith. She aimed directly at the ceiling with her bow and using more power than she had in the entire trip, Tenebris fired a barrage of dark arrows into the cieling. The ceiling glowed a ominous reddish for a moment before the entire tunnel starting from directly in front of Tenebris, began to collapse.

"Gee whiz, guess I lied.... *Snicker* sorry guys. I can't let you come along or have any. It was fun though! Hehehehe don't get stuck and unable to leave, that would suck❤! We're friends and I don't want you to die from this little thingy. Don't be so trusting of everyone! Tenebris says❤! hehehe!"

The small form of Tenebris made a Magi Heart pose and waved before turning away just in time for her to disappear behind the wall of crystal rubble that was coming down all around Cain and Harveste!

It would seem that regardless what the two may or may not believe. Tenebris was still very much untrustworthy, unstable, and not on their side. Beyond the crystal barrier that was now between them though, They would miss Tenebris' face and thoughts while she went to work destroying the monolith for VXIII.

"I can't have them get killed by vampy... nope. Can't let them die or suffer from someone else... and then just come right back, wondering why they weren't saved right. My friends... are mine to save. Not hers. I'm not going to be stupid like before... never again."

The dust cleared as she stood over the rubble of the monument and looked up at the area beyond. Her red eyes glossed with a insanity but also a deep feeling of care for those she possibly buried alive. A rose petal fell off of her chest and her eyes shifted to a more pinkish hue for a mere second before returning to red.

"Wowzers, even now I can't get over helping others can I? I just am such a damn moron. It's not like they actually get anything I do for them."

[OOC: We can end it here or you can make closing posts. Regardless, end of thread for Magi.]

 

It took great timing that Harveste didn't have to avoid being pelted by the crystals from above- but, somehow, she managed to get out of the avalanche of roofing scuff-free, and kept from ailment during the process. She was still a bit tired, but she hadn't worked up enough of a sweat to care yet- and, for that matter, she hadn't lost enough health to mind, even if she was pretty low.

For the sake of looking like she had some sanity, she used one more healing spell on herself and Cain, noting that Magi was too out of range to do so. A soft frown was on her lips as she watched the magical girl disappear.

"I'm glad she's not as shy as she used to be, but... I wonder what she meant just now? Who exactly is 'Tenebris'...?" She sought answers with her eyes as she looked up at the muse nearby. He seemed closer to Magi than she was- they'd only met once, maybe twice, so she couldn't really be surprised.

For a moment, as if to distract herself, she tried to give a gentle smile- even if it hurt in some way, probably from the fatigue, and maybe a bit from the adrenaline rush starting to fall silent in her bloodstream. "Say, Cain, are you two dating or something? You seemed so close it was adorable. Looked like a Romeo and Juliet moment when you were scooping her up to make sure she was alive."

Her eyes returned just for a moment towards the barrier, her small smile fading. "I didn't really care about the crystals, but I did hope to get to play with her some more... I really don't get what all that was about. But...I did get what I wanted out of it overall..." It was, after all, the adrenaline that she desired. Adrenaline and a new experience under her belt, that she could use in the future for her work.

"Well, either way, that was fun. I think I'll explore other areas of the Zalda now. It's a great place to explore when you need to get out of your head. Especially if there's a battle to keep your mind off things."

Grinning again with a toothy, childish smile, the girl pat Cain's back, feeling she'd done her best to keep him from losing any further health when he left, since she'd healed him up as much as she could. "You did great work. Just make sure not to work too hard, okay? And I'll do my best to root for you two. You look cute together anyway."

[OOC: We can continue this separately if wanted, Ashi, or just say whatever we want to say happened afterward and be done. Either way...]

--Harveste Exit--​

 

Oh no, who could have seen this betrayal coming? Though Cain would have just settled with a genuine ‘thanks’ and maybe a kiss on the cheek, this blatantly obvious betrayal was fun in its own way. So the Resident of the Rose Garden provided her servants with an item that could instantly collect Prism Gems and Shards, was it? Tch, was that Red Fang Count someone who already hit the max level cap and was now drowning themselves in those mastery boosting accessories in order to become even more powerful?

The midnight haired muse sighed from his nose, a deflated smile crossing his face. Boston. Wendy. He kept those words in mind as Magi dug her way out with an arcane barrage, an avanlanche of rubble heading in their direction.

“See ya around, kiddo.”

With that, he turned and fled down the Crystal Passage alongside Harveste, legs pumping up and down, his heart rate never surpassing his battle beat. A productive use of time? No, far from it. But he could be happy with one thing, at the very least.

Grief obsessed or not, Magi, unlike Eldhi, did not enjoy the sensation of a collar around her neck.

~~~​

Panting heavily as the wave of stone turned into a trickle of sand, Cain rested his hands on his knees, sweat beading from his forehead. He wiped it away with a grimace, a silent oath to one day get his Mobility up to snuff. Running, by itself, brought too many bad memories of that failed Seaside Cove expedition. Giant balls of iron that lead them all to an unsurpassable death trap that wiped out the rest of them. Thank god the only things in this particular passage was monsters that spawned from the walls. And somehow, Harveste, with her midget legs, wasn’t out of breath at all from the running.

Damn. Leg day was definitely gonna be a thing.

“Shy as she used to be?” Cain echoed, smiling at his own memories of the pink ball of fluff that leapt out of nowhere to tell him not to kill himself on that Clock Tower, “Wouldn’t know about that myself, really. And Tenebris…probably her new name? Or the name of her boss, at least. She certainly looks like Darkness personified, doesn’t she?”

That was a joke. She was just a pink bundle of steel wool now. Still nothing that was a demonic threat that had to be extinguished with self righteous resplendence.

As the lavender haired Faerin brought up the possibility of the two dating, however, Cain couldn’t help but laugh heartily, shaking his head from side to side. Magi x Cain? What sort of horribly creepy ship was that? No matter how someone looked at it, he was definitely an adult male dating a school girl, wasn’t he? And even if one disregarded that, there wasn’t any chemistry at all, when all he did was troll Magi and mine her for entertainment value. They were, at best, friends, and at worst, two assholes who loved to tear at each other.

“Glad you enjoyed our little drama,” the muse spoke, “But there’s nothing going on with us, really. Scooping her out was just me doing my supporting job. And hard work’s my specialty, so I’ll just try not working to death, ye? See ya around, Harveste.”

…

“Seriously though, there’s nothing going on here.”

Well, no matter what he said there, he was still planning on at least investigating the case of ‘Boston’ and ‘Wendy’, huh?

He waited until the Faerin naturamancer was out of sight before he logged out, jumping back to reality.