• 129 HP
  

  MAX 129 HP

• 175 EN
  

  MAX 195 EN

• 7-5 = 2 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

-20 EN for Dispel
-5 Dissonance

So. Here they were. The soooooul paaaaaath. Freaky. Rat had followed along with Seigi after the child had run up and shout-splained about the crumbling everything. Weird, how she hadn't noticed it herself, what with her one eye and all that. But Seigi had dragged her off, and she had avoided an untimely dust shower as everything crumbled like a house of cards. Only... concrete, and not paper.

They had rested. They had recovered. They had traveled onward to... some kinda... was that an eyeball in the corner? And then Ivan had taken them like... through a portal to... was that an orphanage? Speeches were happening and... Oh okay, some shadows. What was happeninggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg?!?!?!
Well. Whatever! It was time for Rat to do what Rat did best! Which was... sitting and watching other people do things, actually.

Reaching into a pouch, she poured some rocks onto the ground and used her geomancy to fashion them into an ugly little stool for her to sit upon, resting as she floating in some sort of mysterious void known as the Soul Path, hovering between a battle of the Body and a battle of the Lolis. Er, Spirits...
She looked at herself, decided that whatever this Dissonance stuff was, it probably wasn't good, and channeled some White Magic to purge it from her.
"Sōten Kisshun, I reject!" she shouted as a white glow surrounded her, driving off the miasma build up of the Dissonance. She had shouted it to keep in the flavor of the moment, considering everything happening... but it just made her feel dirty inside. Turning to her allies, she smiled and settled in on her stool for a good long rest. They could handle the getting beaten up part- she would wait here, to heal them when needed.
"Just swing by when you need some help and I'll be sure to patch you up. Won't be setting foot on the battlefield, though, if I have anything to say about it..."

Dispel 5 Dissonance Stacks on Self @Rat
Tracker / Roll

 

• 160 HP
  

  MAX 160 HP

• 149 EN
  

  MAX 149 EN

• 8 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

Well, this was something looking around at the place the seemed to have been made a holding area for the backup squads. It was nice a bit like what someone might thing purgatory was like, calm peaceful and there wasn’t much going on a man could learn to love a place like that. Well that and she still had the rest of the bottle he has stolen from the duke, and as it turned out the man’s person stock had a wonderful collection of red wines. However, he was here to keep the duke alive so until the man needed him he would wait where he was. If the man died here was taking him and chaining him to the duchy, he could work on his reasonability in a place that he would be able to watch him. Or he was going to bring much bigger arrow and maybe he should get a stronger bow one with a better kick. He loved the old girl but if there was the level of threat that he would have to keep facing it would take more than just avoiding the damage. He would need to be able to kill the things, damn one day there will be no more of these things and he could just kick back and drink in peace.

Downing, the rest of his bottle and letting it fall to the floor as he takes out his arrow checking each one, he would need to be ready after all when the call would come. However, he could feel the slowness of his reactions his body was slower like it wasn’t completely in a sink. A tingling just underneath his finger not pain but he knew it was not something that was normal. Damn this dissonance he need to be able to function and this would stop him. However, he just tightens his gloves as he pretending like all was fine and got back to his arrow. They would need someone to sub in he needs to be ready, so he check his bow changing the strong and making sure it was still ready to be used. However, now all he had to do is wait that time will come soon enough. "Dont die."

Tracker / Roll

 

• 145 HP
  

  MAX 145 HP

• 110 EN
  

  MAX 130 EN

• 10 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

-20 EN for Dispel

Dissonance.

It was a force that Bradwynne did not understand yet, but he felt that it was something that was affecting his psyche. Although he was not feeling anything wrong, he felt uneasy in dealing with something he did not know much at the moment. It was like being shot by a stray bullet, it was painful, but the greater fear was where did the bullet hit, and when he would manage to see it, the pain becomes magnified so much that it would be petrifying.

After taking a first glance of the enemy in person, Bradwynne was then transported to some place he did not see before. They say that it was the intermediate barrier between the body and the soul, but for Bradwynne, it was just a data location within some mainframe of a server, and was called a Soul Path just for the aesthetics since they were to deal with the soul of some NPC in the game. He might be in the wrong though, as he had seen a lot of shit going on in this game that warranted an outsider to look into it, especially the government. But it should be better if they solve this themselves, as insiders they had more access to any facility that ran the game than all the intelligence groups of the world combined.

Knowing that he should find something that this Dissonance was vulnerable to, he then chanted a series of Hebrew words, invoking a certain angel that could elucidate with their actlon what was the dissonance in their bodies made of, and who of the eight here in this party that deserved the removal of the threat. He then shouted the name of the angel. "Raziel!" His mind was then filled with the data about the expanse that the Dissonance had affected his body, and then as he saw the others yet again with this power, he then determined the extent of the Dissonance in their bodies. Some was greater than his, some lesser. As the effect of Raziel was to give something that would reduce the effects of Dissonance, or increase the defense against this, to a person who needed it the most, he could not change the target as light enveloped a tall archer within the waiting party, removing some of the Dissonance within her body.

Having bored with nothing else to do, he then materialized a large steel lunchbox and a barrel canteen from his inventory. He opened one of the compartments of the lunchbox, which revealed a huge steak still warm from the cooking process, then poured some of the contents of the canteen, and with a small burning taper, set it ablaze. The contents of the canteen turned out to be wine, as he ate the steak with gusto while taking a swig from the canteen.

Dispel @Gwyn ap Herne, removing 5 stacks
5
Tracker / Roll

 

• 129 HP
  

  MAX 129 HP

• 155 EN
  

  MAX 195 EN

• 2 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

-20 EN for Dispel

Ahhh, that was so much better... Now that the majority of the darkness had been lifted from her, Rat turned to look at her companions in the soul path which bridged this strange metaphysical plane to the physical one they had left behind. She wondered briefly about how the other team would manage with most the heavier hitters and healers camping out on this end of things... But then, no battle came without losses, and it had been up to others to formulate their battle strategy; she need only abide.

Watching the fight of heroes and shadows, she watched as Cain Darlite took a healthy dose of damage, which was a really weird way of phrasing things. From his shouting down below, it sounded like he intended to swap out soon.. which meant she needed to try and prepare somebody for going out there to fight. Nalla liked to nuke things, so she waved a spell at her friend to remove some of the Dissonance that had infected her.

"It looks like @Cain Darlite might be changing out soon to rest shortly. Resting will revitalize his strength and allow him to continue fighting, hohoho. It is a wise choice, hohoho. Ah, @Seigi is going to focus Nanami with her Heroic school of martial arts. This is a form of combat which channels GUTS with great EFFORT, relying on pure willpower rather than actual talent or form. Many consider it a forbidden technique, for it strains the body as well as the soul by forcing the flow of KI in the body, disrupting its natural rhythm. KI is the source of all power for those who use martial arts. It is their Killer Instinct. Seigi is overflowing with KI, but even that will not help her in this fight."
Sniffing, Rat focused on the battle below, waiting to see what would come of the small girl's careful punches against the midboss.
"She will not be able to win this fight. Dude's not weak. @Seigi just has Lancer luck."

Dispel 5 Dissonance Stacks on @Nalla
Tracker / Roll

 

• 120 HP
  

  MAX 175 HP

• 85 EN
  

  MAX 150 EN

• 15 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

And... here she was. Battered, beaten, bloody, but still alive! And if anything, Seigi felt her soul way more drained than her body. Of course, the solution to that was... "Food? I heard there's free food?! And fetch me some beer, too! I'm goddamn thirsty!" @Aalam Abungu looked like quite the stereotypical drinker. "You! Got anything good to drink?" The young girl who wasn't an adult asked the very adulty adult. There was, after all, a bottle on the... urm, floor?

"Oh we can totally see what's going on too, huh? It's like being in a lounge! So... so... anti-climatic." But they had food! "I'm willing on the lookout for new, exciting, things to drink! I got some stuff myself, too." The orange-hair hadn't had a drink since she joined the expedition. In all her excitement, she forgot, and now it came back biting her. Like a thirsty zombie.

Recover Energy @Seigi
0 + 20 = 20
Tracker / Roll

 

• 129 HP
  

  MAX 129 HP

• 120 EN
  

  MAX 195 EN

• 2 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

-35 EN for Single Reckless Heal

The fighting continued, the adventurers throwing everything they had at Darkest Timeline Mary Poppins until they could throw no more, at which point they alternated out for somebody more fresh from the bench warmer's league which waited in the Soul Path. Seigi herself changed out after a little fan service from the boss, which seemed to involve some vines. Rat rooted for Seigi to escape and did a fist pump when the girl managed to run off to safety, swapping places with the Werewolf in Stokbon.

"Like I said, Lancer luck!" Rat shouted cheerfully, giving Seigi a firm pat on the back in greeting. "Let's see what we've got here... Ah, yes. I see what the problem is. You have what we in the medicinal field of medicine call 'a boo boo.' It's my professional opinion that this probably happened during the boss fight, or perhaps after a very clumsy attempt at back flipping into some pants suspended from a clothesline, from off of a second story balcony. Either way, I know just what to do to make this worse!"

Reaching into a pouch she pulled out a hand full of natural rock salts, channeling white magic into them.
"Did I say worse? I meant better... Now hold still and grit your everything!"
And with that, the healer began to rub actual salt into @Seigi's actual wounds, the white magic radiating into her body and healing it of all its woes. Except a horrible horrible burning sensation.
"I know what you're thinking!" Rat said conversationally as she shoo'd the girl away with a wave of a hand.
"Did I have to do that, for you to be healed? Definitely not, no."

Reckless Healing @Seigi for 65hp
22 + 43 = 65
Tracker / Roll

 

• 160 HP
  

  MAX 160 HP

• 149 EN
  

  MAX 149 EN

• 8 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

Catching the drink in his free hand and resting his bottle on the ground, he would get back to that wine later much later. Taking the cap off the bottle and taking a nice long deep whiff of that smell, oh that was nice. You could just catch the hit of oak that they must have aged the drink in. Ohh yes, he knew that red old two hundred or so years old and was that a bit of honey in those undertones? Coving the bottle back up as he put it back in his coat, he was going have to build a wine cellar when he gets back to the duchy a place to put the special stuff.

Blinking as he looked at Seigi ok so she wanted him to give her something to drink, well that was a crime in at least twenty seven different places. But was it a crime in Roland’s duchy though, well Brad had gotten a drink before and then there was that test in the beginning. The girl was able to back a good enough punch and was on the primary team to fight the core of the beast. That was a worthy enough reason to give her a drink however there was no way in cold hell he was giving him this King’s whiskey there were going to bury him with the bottle when he left this game. However, there was something he could give him a little bit to warm the blood both nothing too strong.

Patting his pockets as he looked for one of the bottles he was sure that he bought it, it was hiding somewhere in his inventory until he was able to find it. Yea this would work a hard cider; it would give her a buzz but nothing too serious after all. He would need her to be able to fight, and that was difficult to do drunk. Either way not his problem after this, tossing the bottle in @Seigi direction. “Catch and drink up but do it slowly. Also don’t die down there Sir, you're still needed.”

Tracker / Roll

 

• 129 HP
  

  MAX 129 HP

• 160 EN
  

  MAX 195 EN

• 2 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

+40 eng

Nalla ran off to join the fight. Gwyn, too, rushing to face the body. Rat felt a lot less useful than the others, just sort of sitting there and patching people up as they swapped out now and then with the turning tides of the battle. Seigi was back to full health but radiating Dissonance. Of course Rat could be removing that but... she had also burned through a lot of energy very quickly, and decided to perch atop her stool, breathing deeply and resting a moment to revitalize her medichlorians, so that she could continue patching people up when they needed it most.

And besides... there was no guarantee she wouldn't have to swap in suddenly to throw down a clutch buff or some such thing. Scary, not knowing if her teammates would be ready to go in when they were needed.

Reckless Resting (aka deep breathing)
20 + 20 = 40 eng
Tracker / Roll

 

• 145 HP
  

  MAX 145 HP

• 90 EN
  

  MAX 130 EN

• 10 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

-20 EN for Dispel

As other people in the soul path went away and new ones went in, Bradwynne greeted the newcomers, with a smile in his face, and food and refreshments in his hands. Although he was thinking that that was the only thing he could do for the meantime. He thought he was never qualified enough to stand with these legends in battle, and this should be the least he could do: to keep their spirits high while they battled the person which had became Titanius. Although as he watched the whole thing, he then realized what would happen if a person became engulfed with the Dissonance. Or maybe when a spirit was, since this world was set in a post-apocalyptic world where the inhabitants were reduced to sticks and stones after whatever had happened. The dark New York setting - might as well call it Noir York - was quite a perfect, although, sobering background to whatever happened to Nanami. It was a tragic scene that, with the prompting of the God of Madness and Sin, turned her into the monster they were facing right now. And maybe they would be the same if they were to listen to this insidious phenomenon called Dissonance. And so, he was determined to rid everyone of this condition.

As he was musing about this, from the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar face. It was one of the heroes who haf attended the meeting, and also the person who talked with Alphabet that led to the mine of information he had right now, Seigi Ling Ling if his memory served him correctly. And he knew that if he would stick with her most of the time, he would know where Magi was staying right now. After she should finish her conversation with Aalam, he would approach her, a perfectly grilled steak in his left, and a cup of low-alcohol champagne-like beverage which should taste like lemonade in his right to be handed out to her. After those had been handed, he would mutter a spell, and, after generating a ball of white light, he would plunge it towards her body. She would feel that something evil would be removed from her body. He then would say, "Nice meeting you again, Seigi," although she would never remember meeting him. Not his face exposed, at the very least.

Dispel @Seigi, removing 5 stacks
5
Tracker / Roll

 

• 175 HP
  

  MAX 175 HP

• 105 EN
  

  MAX 150 EN

• 10 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

+20 EN
+65 HP

The fist-bump was a cool thing, the medic seemed also quite the funny personality but— "Owh...!" Rat's first-aid(?) stung quite a bit. Was this really necessary? Not like she had gone through worse but healing was supposed to feel, well, good!

"Wow..." Nonetheless, Seigi was amazed. "It's like I have never been hurt in the first place!" All her physical wounds were gone! "Thank you!"

With that out of the way, Seigi finally got the promised food and drink from Aalam and Brad that she mentally heard about earlier! "Just... actually... I'm not going to question it." Seigi nodded as she ate the steak and drank the two beverages. Not the best she had tasted, but different, which was what counted...? For being such a brute Seigi showed actually quite the table manners - as far as it was possible in their situation anyway.

"Nice meeting you... again? Have we met before?"

Recover Energy @Seigi
0 + 20 = 20
Tracker / Roll

 

• 18 HP
  

  MAX 126 HP

• 21 EN
  

  MAX 180 EN

• 09 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

+20 EN for Recover Energy

Cain toppled over the moment he zipped out of Titanius’s Core, hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes. Damn that was exhausting. Wiping the sweat off his brow, the midnight haired muse pulled his hair back, tying it into a messy ponytail before letting out a long, deep sigh. In the corner of his eye, his EN bar blipped in critical conditions, only a single point of energy left to keep his mind alert. His health wasn’t doing much better, practically brought to the point where even a goblin could kill him, but he was alive and safe now, and that was all that mattered.

The events within the Core, however, were far less pleasant than he had imagined. Despite the effort put in by Mizuki, Roland, and Ashiore, Saya’s sword was still lost to its former master. Great. A deep backstory and previous connections to the ‘good guys’. Would have been nice if Weiss told them about that possibility, huh? Welp, just meant that they had to get out of there sooner. Had to be ready to move.

Pushing himself up to a cross legged sitting position, the Flagbearer grabbed a thick slab of meat and ate it whole, enjoying the juices that exploded within his mouth and the grease dribbling down his throat. Next came the bread, then the cold milk, and finally, the satisfaction of a full stomach. Digestion would take time, but it was all pretty whatever as he offered a toast to Seigi.

“Made it out pretty healthy, eh? Whatcha think of round one, Sage girl?”

Recover EN
20
Tracker / Roll

 

• 175 HP
  

  MAX 175 HP

• 125 EN
  

  MAX 150 EN

• 10 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

+20 EN

"Oh, Cain!" Seigi called out as people got swapped in and out as if they were some sort of pokemon. Continuing the FEAST like a QUEEN. "It's like some television twist, with the sword and all! But it just means we have to punch harder." The girl nodded as she took care of another slab of meat. "Though that blade doesn't seem all too well on serving her! Have you seen the stabbing? And if Saya is the Current, urm, Master? Maybe she can just, I don't know, pull it back?" Was Arbiter now the Master Sword or something? "Once I've eaten enough I'm ready to rumble again! It's... way more exhausting... than actually painful."

Recover Energy @Seigi
0 + 20 = 20
Tracker / Roll

 

• 18 HP
  

  MAX 126 HP

• 41 EN
  

  MAX 180 EN

• 09 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

+20 EN for Recover Energy

“Well, we’ve always had to hit harder to solve things,” Cain replied, watching Seigi mow down the food like an African baby who broke into a candy factory, “And the stabbing only works for as long as Nani’s not holding onto the sword, right?”

He took another deep breath, feeling his imaginary veins recover from the trauma caused by those Grudges. It would still be a long while before he can act, before he can rejoin the fight. If they could break her hold over the sword somehow, if they could remove her ‘status’ as Arbiter’s former wielder...

Thoughts for another time. Saya had been disarmed, but as a support and a tank, she could still function perfectly well.

“It IS tiring, isn’t it? I’m going to probably take a nap or something at this point. All the HP in the world isn’t going to make up for the massive amount of energy I lost. Gotta say though, it’s to be expected of a Flagbearer of Miracles that I perfectly calculated my EN loss so I wouldn’t Mind Down from all the Grudges I’ve been taking.”

Cain grinned then, toothy and cheeky.

“Don’t think you can go super reckless just because I’m not there to flick you on the head for such careless behavior though, Seigi.”

Recover EN
20
Tracker / Roll

 

• 129 HP
  

  MAX 129 HP

• 125 EN
  

  MAX 195 EN

• 3 STK
  

  Dissonance

Location: Soul Path

-35 eng

People continued to switch in and out. Seigi, amazingly, didn't punch Rat in the metaphorical dick for shoving salt into her wounds, and seemed to almost get a laugh out of the sneak healer's antics. Good! A happy customer in the crowd! It was what made being a doctor person worth while, bringing a smile to all the people she saved. Speaking of terminal diseases, Cain was back, looking like he'd had a concert with very enthusiastic groupies. Very enthusiastic.

He struck up a conversation with the kid and warned her not to get herself killed. That was... yeah. Not dying was great advice, generally.

"What Cain's trying to say is, for the first time in his life, he pulled out at the right moment..." Rat quipped from behind the man, then moved around to his front. No wounds to rub salt into so... Craning her arm back, she stared the man in the eye for a moment, before slapping him across the face like the gentlest pimp in the world with the back of a grimy hand.
"Stop getting hurt. Daddy don't like it when his girls come home ugly, ya hur?"
White magic had flowed into the man when her hand connected with his face, healing a degree of the wounds.

Reckless healing @Cain Darlite
3 + 43 = +46 HP
Tracker / Roll