Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

Crystal looks back to Linoa, disappointed.


“That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing to do.”

“It’s alright. You did good. You’re doing good.”

 

"The time will come."

 

"Interesting. That's what sets actual royalty and figureheads apart, I assume..."
Pause.
"I would like to apologize for my sudden appearance and my inability to return on my own accord... You seem like someone already overburdened."
One of Arkclal's eyes seems glassy, and you get the feeling he's distracted as the lingering telepathic connection wavers.


"This will do perfectly... but which shadows do I deal with first?" She mutters to herself.

________________________________

Linoa just shrugs, seeming confused.


"War brings out the worst in all of us. Though... a siege is suicide. He didn't expect us to get through the barrier at all, I would think he's making any and all steps to defend his palace as an overreaction. I can't put the fires out, but I suppose I could sate my bout of bloodlust on the rest of the outer towns. It's been a while since we were the ones making advances, anyways..."

"...And she's already chewing me out for giving orders contradicting hers. Just keep her at least somewhat occupied, will you?"

 

"Being a figurehead is an easy job, and is such an easily replaceable one. Being a contributing member of royalty isn't easy and if you're unique enough, you can't be replaced," I say confidently, "I'm free to do what I want, with the work already done. I'm only burdened when I need to sort out something royal that nobody else can - not even Shadow Stephanie."


A rotten tree collapses in the swamp, landing in the mud with a large splash. Like the den, moss and fungi overtake it, and insects all seem drawn to it.

 

Crystal gives one last look up to see if he can find Avis.


“Then, please, Idhaenna, anything but a needless rampage is good at this point.”

“Noted.”

 

Don't take too long. We still have a list of things to do, like finding your dragon friend.

"...No. I'll call off the extermination order, but I'm not helping with damage control. You're searching for something, I assume. Anyone left here is to aid you in that. The rest of us are moving on, and I'm not promising anything else." She says, still conflicted. "This isn't a children's story, this isn't something with a happy ending. Anyone who surrenders from hereon out is getting locked in stasis until the end of this mess, and you're not getting any more mercy out of me."

As she leaves, she fires a dart that takes off one of the children's ears, sparks left on the wall.
"Except for him. Too many coincidences for me to just up and find him like that. Next time I find him, though..." She says as she leaves.

Arkclal nods.
"The beasts here sure are... something. Is there a reason the wilderness is so hostile? I can't see a timeline we don't get attacked in thirty two to thirty five seconds from now."


Fenira heads back towards the ocean, wading out towards the open seas as she otherwise lets herself drift along.

 

"True. Let's just get some answer from Rema, then we think about what we do with Anne and probably sleep over it."

 

“Right.”
I say simply as she leaves, still watching her until she’s out of my hearing range.

 

You hear her footsteps grow quieter for a bit before they pause.
“I just dealt with one nuisance, get back to the palace before I scrap you.”
“That bad?” A blatantly robotic voice asks.
You can hear Idhaenna’s arm cannon charge.
“At least let me walk you out.”
“It’s moments like these reminding me you aren’t a total failure.”
“I’m your fault, anyways.”
“Still ready to fire, dumbass.”
The robotic voice chuckles before you hear Idhaenna’s footsteps fade completely.

I can take over until we get back to Rema’s, if you can even take a nap while I’m out. That’s like the one place I remember how to get to. It’s almost morning, figure we may as well try to get you some sleep before we snooze the day away.

 

I give it a few seconds before turning to the kids, looking them over.

 

"Sure, go ahead. I'll see if I can sleep."

I'll let him take control for a while, while I try to sleep.

 

They all seem frozen in fear, except for the one who's missing an ear. They blankly stare towards where Idhaenna stood with glassy eyes, otherwise seeming calm.
"She still doesn't tell people everything, does she?" He asks, turning to you with the same stare. "What'd she do to you? Or are you in too much of a rush?"

You enter a sort of lucid state, not quite dreaming but not quite losing touch with your surroundings.

As you come to, you're laying on the bed in Rema's guest room in your normal form. You can hear something puff outside in the main cave chamber, along with Rema letting out an annoyed growl.

 

"About a quarter of them are Shadows gone primal. We used to just consume each other in a chain of whoever is the strongest wins. As civilization evolved, however, we found that maliciously absorbing those weaker than you wasn't a fun time, and often lead to the beasts when Shadows couldn't control their hunger and just went around trying to consume as many people as possible for their power so they could be a 'king' of sorts. Some people still can't control their urges, and turn into those," I explain, "Other than that, it's like the normal wilderness, but where everything takes the form of a bloodthirsty, incredibly deadly demon. Even a mosquito can drain your entire body of blood here and are a bitch to deal with. Flyswats aren't as effective, let's just say."


The river from the swamp aids Fenira in her travel, heading the same direction as she. After quite a bit of travel, she finds herself at the shores of the ocean, and the waters carry her out into the depths.

 

“Sounds like what most people think hell is back home.”
Pause.
“You said something about the stability of my foresight earlier. I accept I am not in position to ask questions, but what spurred that comment?”


Fenira lets one head start releasing a bizarre melody through the waters. While somewhat enchanting, it does nothing to attract wildlife.
Her other heads look mystified, one with a euphoric look on its face and the other as if it’s looking at an unspeakable horror.

 

"I've had brushes with artifacts of time before. Generally it's not so easy to see exact futures than it is to see a general idea of what's going to happen and being forced to piece it together as it happens, unless you have the ability to rewind," I say, "And even then, it's just knowing what certain events will lead to what outcome. If a variable changes, it can be completely different."


Dark figures swim through the waters below, gliding through it like torpedoes. From the very bottom, another melody seems to ring out, almost overpowering Fenira's. It seems far more enchanting, and a part of Fenira's mind seems to tell her to swim towards it so find it's source. The melody is only interrupted when a human victim falls prey to it's hypnotic effect, diving into the depths ahead of Fenira.

 

"Sounds like something didn't go right. hehe."

 

He nods.
“Technically, it is a warp and not a rewind. Slowing my perception on one end to accelerate it on another. Time travel is volatile and often foolish. Many often do and are far more impressive chronomancers than I, but I prefer keeping things as tame as possible if I can. Life and time have a certain... flow... to them, a gentle current pushing everyone forward. I suppose that means I’m easily satisfied... not that it bothers me.”


Fenira continues singing, but she quiets down as her melody changes to a somber, empty tone. Treading along, she seems intent on staying away from the dark depths despite clearly searching for something.

Your bestial form doesn’t respond, probably also asleep.

All of your belongings are on the bedside table, though the cloth scrap seems to not be in the room.

 

I'll just look in the direct where Rema's frustrated sounds came from, if that is even possible.

 

That would be the currently closed door to the main cave chamber. It doesn’t have a lock on it, or much of a latch other than a small rock keeping it shut.

 

"Well, either way, it's good you have the ability to predict what's going to happen." I say, glancing out of the carriage in a distracted manner as there's a loud roar in the distance.


The water around Fenira seems to gradually get colder as she swims, before she eventually bumps into an iceberg among a field of surface ice. A few water guardians appear to be playing on the ice, though after watching for a short while, they instead seem to be practising their control of water and it's temperature.