Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"The goddess of life can restore it to even the strongest form of death." Mortius comments.

 

“...Oh.” Ihra says, seeming to have expected a different answer as she continues on.

 

"Did you believe this to be some kind of illusion?" Mortius asks.

 

@Exvhius
Psst

 

“Well, I’m used to you being skeletal. I didn’t know if it was your doing or otherwise.”

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OOC: How ironic. Sorry about that.

——
Right...
...
...This is why we were going to kill some time back in town, isn’t it?

 

"That is my true form. Gaia is only able to restore me to my former self while I am in her domain," Mortius sighs, "Though, a permanent return to my old body would not be unwelcome."

 

“How’d you get all skeletal, anyways?”

Ihra tries to gauge how far out the source of life magic is.

 

"I'm the god of death. It would be unfitting for me to be alive; thus, my power caused me to decay the more I used it." Mortius says, though he only seems to be telling half the truth.

Ihra seems to be getting much closer to the immense source of life magic, not far from it now.

 

“You know, this whole mess I made is because everyone didn’t know a key part of things. I know you’re pissed with me right now, but could you at least tell me you won’t say instead of beating around the bush?” She asks.

Ihra starts to get nervous, clearly feeling guilty and concerned about confronting Gaia.

 

"Do you truly wish to know?" Mortius asks, using his scythe to block Ihra's path.

 

“If it means that much to you, no.” Ihra says, looking Mortius in the eye.

 

Mortius seems a little surprised.

"Very well. I was certain you would." He says, removing the scythe and letting Ihra pass.

Mortius seems a little distant, seeming to think something through.

 

“I mean, I’m curious, yes, but boundaries are boundaries.” She says, starting to continue on.

 

Mortius sighs, stopping and changing his size to one closer to Ihra's before offering his hand.

 

Ihra hesitates.
“You sure? You don’t have to.”

 

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be offering you the knowledge." Mortius says, eyes narrowing once more.

 

Ihra sighs, slowly taking Mortius’ hand.

 

As soon as Ihra touches Mortius' hand, she blacks out.

Ihra begins to see a vision, which seems to become her reality. Seemingly from the perspective of Mortius, he appears to be walking with a young looking Gaia through a lush field.

"Wooow! Look at all these pretty flowers Max!" Gaia says, running over to a small rose bush. The sound of running water nearby seems to mark the dip in ground ahead as a stream. A frog jumps out of the way of Gaia's path, falling into the stream with a splash.

Mortius happily follows Gaia at a slower pace, before he glances down at his right hand. A tingling sensation turns to pain, Mortius clutching it as it suddenly begins to wither.

"G-Grace, it's happening again!" A young Mortius says. Gaia hurries over to Mortius with slight worry on her face, grabbing his right hand and seeming to focus. The pain fades, and Mortius' hand seems to return to normal. Grace smiles, removing her hand. As she does so, the pain immediately returns as the hand begins to wither again.

"A-Aaah!" Mortius cries in pain as Gaia fails to heal the withering of Mortius' hand a second time, which seems to begin spreading up his arm. There's pain in Mortius' left foot, and he falls into the grass, clutching at his foot as Gaia desperately tries - yet fails - to heal Mortius' withering body.

"P-Phoebe! I-I need help!" Gaia cries out, Mortius glancing toward a young Praecantatia in the distance, who looks a bit like Stephanie. Praecantatia runs over as Mortius glances down at his leg, which seems to have turned completely skeletal. The withering effects seem to now be creeping up his torso, making their way toward his heart.

"G-G-Grace I-I don't w-want t-to d-d...die!" Mortius cries as he grabs onto Gaia's arm, tears starting to fuzz his vision as his left hand begins to wither too. Gaia meets his eyes and seems to be equally tearful.

"Y-You're going to be f-fine. I-I can fix this, w-we can fix this. P-Phoebe's going to help." Gaia says, holding on to Mortius' now skeletal hand before picking him up in a hug, plant life flourishing around her as she puts all her focus in trying to heal Mortius. The pain numbs a little, but the spread doesn't stop. Praecantatia, having arrived, flips through a notebook, trying to find a solution before simply supplying Gaia with more magic power. Mortius holds on to Gaia with what little strength he has left, though it's quickly fading.

"G-Grace...I-I'm scared..." Mortius sobs as he feels the decay crawling up to his chest, and up his neck; making it harder to speak, "W-What's going to ha-cgh."

"N-No, no no no, please...we'll heal you," Gaia sobs, lying to herself more than anyone, "You're not going to die, Max! P-please, don't die! Please..."

Praecantatia seems unable to hold back her tears too as Mortius loses all strength, falling out of Gaia's grip as all he can do is stare blankly up at his friends; eyes being the only thing now spared from the decay of his face. The decay reaches his heart, and his vision fades as he can feel it beating slower, and slower. Gaia shakes his skeletal body, shouting panicked words he can't hear. Tears fall down her face like twin waterfalls, splashing onto his bones. Praecantatia sits down beside Gaia and takes out a red potion. She panics, simply pouring it's contents on Mortius' bones to no effect. Mortius uses the last sliver of his strength to raise a bony hand to Gaia's face, a young and shocked looking Caelia appearing in his peripheral vision before everything goes black; Gaia's panicked, crying face hopelessly trying to stop his death the last thing he sees.

Things stay black for a long while. A feeling of nothing fills Mortius', and by extension, Ihra's body. After what feels like an eternity, Mortius' vision and strength are returned. He tries to get up, before looking at his hands, and the rest of his body. His flesh seems to have completely withered away, leaving him as a skeleton. A strange force lifts his bones from the ground, holding him above a rocky surface. Looking around, Mortius seems to be in some grand underground cavern, a musky, dusty smell in the air. A suffocating darkness surrounds him, only a strange, dim light seeming to come from his center lighting the area around him.

"Grace? T-Tiffany?" Mortius tries to call out, scared, but all that comes out is a rattling of bones. Mortius tries to feel his throat, but all he feels is his spinal cord. He desperately looks around for a pair of red, glowing eyes in the dark, thoughts of a young Tenebrae rushing through his mind, yet he seems to be the only one there. Mortius desperately tries to think of a way out, a way back to Grace, and Phoebe, to the fields they were running through. He tries calling out to Tiffany again, but without a voice box or any lungs to provide air, he cannot speak at all. Mortius lets go of the force holding him up, collapsing as a pile of bones in a place he doesn't know; alone and afraid, and incapable of dying again.

Ihra wakes up on a pile of cotton near to a giant altar surrounded by thick trees. She finds herself instinctively taking a deep breath, having lungs to breathe with again. Mortius sits nearby, carving a small log into a figure of himself with his scythe.

 

Ihra hesitates, before offering Mortius a chipped tooth.
"I'm sorry."

 

“Oh. Okay!”
Crystal smiles.