thusia | Dreampost continues

[deep, shaky breath, and a glance back at the gems . . .

Her expression hardens a bit as she reaches into her cloak]

. . .

And if I choose another option?

[Lightning arcs across the ceiling]

There is only one option.

[there's a soft click as she takes out the switchblade she's taken to carrying on her and opens it - she waits a moment or two longer, to make sure that if the others are watching, they see what she's doing - before a grim smile spreads across her lips]

So you think.

[and without hesitation, reaches up to slit her own throat]

[The others' eyes widen--not just shock, but fear.

You hear the lightning fall before your consciousness slips away, followed by the booming echo of just one word- penalty- as the other two rooms are snuffed out, just like that.

You seem to have been left to ponder your final seconds however you choose.]

[I AM CURSING YOUR VERY EXISTENCE IN MY LAST FEW SECONDS THANK YOU VERY MUCH]

[On the bright side, the darkness swallows you fairly quickly. Even better, you eventually find yourself once more standing in the arena, the revival apparently bypassed, the figure on the throne as unfazed as ever.

Somewhat more unfortunately, you have a front row seat to the dozens upon dozens of revivals from nothing]

[. . . what, but I—how—

. . . she watches, horrified, as bodies are pieced together, and parts are regrown from nothing, before she has to turn away, a hand to her mouth]

[The voice booms around you again, as unimpressed as ever]

You know the rules, Blank. You do this willingly.

[her shoulders hunch, shaking, and she whirls, hand dropping from her mouth to shout something—

But you can't hear it over the sound of reviving blanks on the ground. ..

And from one moment to the next, the screams of pain change, women and children crying out as fire engulfs them, agonized screams of death, rather than life.

The village is burning brightly, lightning up the night sky and forest surrounding it. Loud laughter somehow rings over the cries of death as men ravage the village, lighting fire to anything that has yet to be touched, slaying those brave enough to attempt to stop them.

A complete and utterly merciless massacre]

[It's certainly a disorienting thing, shifting from a passive dreamer to an active one. Even worse when the shift brings full cognition with it.

What do you do with that, really, but stare in horror]

[regardless of Chrono's staring the massacre continues - a group of men appear from somewhere - some elves, some not, some half - to attack the men with whatever they could find, from pieces of debris to farming tools.

The attackers - bandits, you somehow know - take them on with swords and knives, and it isn't long before they too are taken down, most killed instantly, one or two left to die from their wounds]

[He moves forward, almost automatically-- to do what, he's not even really sure. He doesn't even have a weapon on him.

... He doesn't technically need a weapon, and he knows it.]

[while you debate - one of the bandits fall, just in front of you. Behind him, a young girl is holding a large piece of wood, panting hard and crying, and as soon as she's sure the bandit is unconscious drops it.

Her hair isn't the right color and it's long - as long as Chrono's, just like she said - but a young Tempest pauses to glance upwards, towards the cliffs rising up behind the village - and takes off, just as another bandit spots her and gives chase]

[Nope nope nope nope nope

Following.]

[you're right behind them - Tempest is much faster than the thief, however, and the bandit yells out a curse as she hits the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs and begins scrambling up.

Something glints in his hand, and you recognize it immediately as a dagger, made for throwing. He draws back, aims—]

[He comes up even with him while he's distracted, seizing his arm in a grip that easily crushes the nerves and tendons, and turns that dagger on the bandits own throat]

[the bandit's cry of pain is quickly hushed by the dagger to the throat, though he tries to gurgle out something - a curse, a last word - as his body falls to the ground.

Tempest doesn't seem to notice, and she hits a path leading up the cliffs and takes off running again. You can hear her calling out to someone, her accent much thicker than you're familiar with]

"Maias! Maias, answer me—!"

[It really is like riding a bicycle.

He takes the dagger from the bandit's throat, flicks the worst of the blood off, and takes off after her without hesitation]

[the path up is winding and dangerous, and the sort that one wrong step could end up with one falling right off the side.

It doesn't seem to stop her, though, and she navigates it as if she's traveled it a thousand times. She calls out the name a few more times, and as you near the top, there's finally an answering voice - "Aurae?" - soft and concerned]

[... His grip tightens on the dagger and he doesn't slow down, keeping her within his sights at all times as he follows her up the trail]

[a man appears at the end of the trail - handsome, his dark hair kept short and his beard neatly trimmed - and catches Tempest as she collapses against him, holding her up]

"What is it? What happened to you - ?"

"The village! It is - it is - "

[she can't see his face from where she's clutching at his shirt and trying to speak between desperate sobs, but Chrono can. And the slow smile there doesn't match the tone of his voice, fake shock as she explains what's going on, his suggestion of going to get help—

His eyes meet Chrono's . . . and the grin widens]

[... It really isn't until he grins.

He's in motion again, sending the dagger flying at the man--aim terribly precise--but not for a killing blow. Just enough to distract him from Tempest long enough to leap forward and grip his throat]

[Maias' laughs, a horrible, hollow sound, so unlike the gentle, concerned tone he was using with Aurae - and he grips her shoulders, dragging her in front of him completely.

The knife Chrono threw buries itself in her back, right between her shoulders, and she's quickly shoved aside just before Chrono's hand closes around Maias' throat]

[He doesn't even have time to curse.

He just breaks the man's neck in that one hand, strength enough to crush it all the way to the vertebrae]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject