Fandom The Gray Scales - A Dark Multi-fandom Adventure

[Goonfire]

The end of your world arrived so suddenly.

Few could have predicted it, if any. One moment, all was normal. The next, a variegated swirling light appeared up high, painting the entire world in pastel pinks and oranges. Mass hysteria ensued and experts struggled to grasp the nature of this anomaly. Within twenty-four hours, other foreign scenes appeared as the sky became a mirror into other worlds. Finally, the very fabric of reality seemed to warp, twist, and tear. It was the end of the known world as one knew it.

However, a handful of individuals felt a pull as their vision blurred. They felt their bodies hurtling through the very fabric of reality. The sensation comprised of speeding, squeezing, stretching, and burning, all in one nightmarish package. Both sensory overload and sensory deprivation came, alternating faster than the brain could process. Every fiber of their being screamed, as though it was fraying rapidly. Their eyes were frozen open, and for a split second, they thought they could make out a flash of a luminous nebula cloud in the shape of a skull, staring at them with no eyes. Their consciousness started to fade.

Then, a flash of light appeared and these characters found themselves ejected from this fleeting hell. Their heads spun for a moment, the world coming into focus as they regained their senses as normal. Around them was a tall rotunda with a skylight and unusual runes carved into the floor. Tall, narrow windows with ornate black iron grids revealed a night sky outside. The portals from which the people came returned to their inert state as standard wall mirrors.

Blue light emanated from the hanging lanterns around the edges of the room, while the glow of myriad candles circling a reflective pool added contrasting warmth. An altar stood towards the back of the room, a set of scales resting atop it. Despite the vibrant colors of the flames, neither showed on the scales; the gleaming metal remained perfectly neutral shades of gray, keyed to nothing.

Four figures flanked the new arrivals, three of whom were seated upon pews pushed against the walls. One was a young woman with wax covering her eyes, dressed all in black and holding a staff longer than she was tall with a small flame. The next appeared to be a boy in his teen years, wearing armor adorned with faint white lights and silver accents. A pale woman in a blue uniform was the third; she held a thick book in her lap while watching with intelligent yellow eyes.

The fourth, a red-haired woman wearing vintage sunglasses, rose from her kneeling position beside the altar. "The wait has been long, brave souls," she greeted in a posh accent before gesturing to the strange scales. "Welcome to the Conflux, a haven nestled in the veil between worlds. You are here at this moment not because of chance, but because you have been chosen for a task most daunting. Get comfortable; this may be a jarring experience."

--------------------

Sophitia could perceive nothing; it was as though she had no substance. She could make no noise or touch anything. It was dark, silent, and empty; no light, noise, or even the ground to stand upon. An echoing male voice then pierced the profound quiet: "Sophitia Alexandra... Your work is not complete... yet. We, the gods, see disaster beyond comprehension. Go, exalted warrior, on a mission from Thanatos. Serve our universes as a great counterweight on the balance of the multiverse."

With that, Sophitia's vision returned. She was on the ground and could see herself in the reflection of a mirror. Other people were present--others similar to her, rising after a potential jarring experience and being comforted by a redhead woman. Despite arriving under different circumstances than the rest, she was able to hear the same briefing.

 

[Hahli Nuva]

The blonde angel had shaken her head to clear the stars.

Had she heard correctly? Clearly this was no dream. She was on her way home to finally be reunited with her husband and raise their children together in peace after being absent from their lives for all of one year. Soul Edge was a persistent and malicious foe, and it had seemed he had gotten some final say before his ultimate demise. So now here she was, lost on a world alien to her as she was to it. Her bright attire and heavenly weapons certainly caused her to stand out, but instead one thing still managed to shock her: She was on this new mission on behalf of Thanatos, death itself. Sophitia could barely believe it. While she had worked for dark forces in the past, that was out of necessity to ensure her children's survival. She wanted nothing to do with the darkness or evil or anything ever again.

But this was different. Sophitia had always known that she was a paragon of light, that to be a true mother meant sacrificing anything for your children, no matter what one had to do, no action or task was too dark or demeaning to make sure they lived to see another day. This harsh reality weighed heavy on her heart, and even in this new world all she could think about was if her husband and children had been okay. Sophitia heard the strange woman's words, and rose to her feet, dusting her skirt off. Was that a mirror? Who were the others? She had never seen such strange attire or weapons before. Just what was going on? Only one way to find out. Sophitia looked around for her weapons but could not find them. Where were they?

"Another task...I wonder what it is that Thanatos wanted. Maybe she can help me.." Sophitia thought as she waited for the rest of the explanation.

 

[Sir Fungus]

A bright light was all Agito Makishima could remember during his battle against the Zoalord Archanfel. With the Aid of his Comrade, Sho Fukamachi, Also known as Guyver I, and his new Guyver Giant form, Victory was all but certain. Until the Leader of the Zoalords, and founder of Kronos had done the unthinkable. Rather dying by his own hand than by the defeat of measly humans wielding the power of the Guyver unit, Archanfel used what remained of his own power to destroy the world that Agito had known to exist.

As all he saw for him was darkness, the young man's body had regenerated one final time from the power of the Guyver, to allow him to awaken in a new plane of reality unknown to him. Quickly readying himself in a fighting stance, he looked around frantically, unsure of how he got there, and Unsure of where he was. "Sho!?" He shouted questioningly, his body ready to initiate combat as he shouted once more. "Mizuki?!" Upon activating his sonic blades, Agito pointed to all Four of the beings and began to shout and demand at them "You! Where am I?! Speak now!" He readied himself to fight once more, staring at them through the eye's of the Bio Booster Armor.

Lost and confused, Agito's memories slowly came back to him...His Friends...Family...His Vengeance. All of it had been torn away from him in just a blink of an eye as his stance seemed to waver, his arm blades retracting back as he simply stood there in silence.

 

[BnemonicDevice]

“Remember the delicious pajeon we ate the first time we met? Buy some for me when you get back.”

“But of course, your majesty. I’ll be back as soon as possible.” A dark-haired man dressed in a three-piece suit had said his goodbyes to his cherished wife one last time.

. . . . .

White skies. Dark Days. Sound. Then nothing. Put all together in succession, it was a jarring experience for the blue-eyed, grey haired woman of black. She hardly remembers the past few moments, the only things sticking to her was the immense pain she went under, then a short reprieve, and then another intoxicating world of hurt.

But, she was always the type to find light and the end of the tunnel. As she came too, she could hardly get up, landing squarely on her knees. As she tried to push herself up off the ground, looking down towards her torso, she realized something else was missing too. Her heart skipped a beat as she frantically pressed her gloved hands around her stomach, checking to see if the child she was bearing was still there. Her eyes widened, shakily coming to the realization that—

Someone was talking to her. A red haired woman who was recently kneeling next to what seemed to be an altar table. She went on about being summoned for a very demanding task— and as much as she wanted to grit her teeth and take a swing at her— she knew that right now she couldn’t even bring out her preferred weapon of choice. She took a deep breath in and exhaled just as fast, steeling herself for another time. She did not know what Corporation, Syndicate, or Association dare drag her out from her moment of weakness, but she’ll—

Hold up. Did she just say this is a place between worlds? She turned her head to the right and then quickly to its opposite side to find a cast of characters of whom she wouldn’t find combat ready. She couldn’t imagine a single Workshop working on the attire any of them were wearing. Nor did the people standing before her have any uniformity in appearance— as if this were really some ragtag ad hoc adventure group.

Hopefully this will be done before Roland gets back, Angelica had thought to herself. After internalizing her own situation, she raised her head, attentive and listening to what this speaker had to say.

 

[SilverFlight]

The sky was filled with fire, but this was not an unusual thing. Thirteen and the other mages were responsible for the blaze, or they usually were, but this fire looked different. It was then a series of things happened, most of which was beyond the scope of Thirteen's ken. It felt they were being torn every which way, their molecules seared, it was unpleasant. Very unpleasant. Pain had only been described to them, was this pain?

Then at once, everything stopped. Thirteen felt weighted again, felt solid ground under their feet. They pushed against it, and found they could stand.
"What is this place?" They said slowly, in their distant, echoed voice. They noticed others too, slowly rising to their feet. The nearest one seemed unsettled for a moment. A female ( BnemonicDevice ), one of the last to appear before them, they surmised. Thirteen, without thinking, offered to help the woman up off the ground, standing with her to look at the others.

"The Conflux?" Thirteen repeated. They took in their surroundings properly now. There was an aura to this place, magical, and also not precisely magical, at least not in they way they experienced magic. "I sense we are in a place far different from wherever we were before..."

Thirteen's staff lay on the floor beside them and they reached for it gingerly, examining the instrument for damage. A damaged staff could be quite dangerous.
They had been chosen, that is what the speaker had said.
"What parameters were measured to make us candidates for this selection?" Thirteen asked, they were prepared to listen, for now, there were too many things that did not make sense.

Goonfire

 

[Xen6n]

When the sky was on fire, Stephen was the first to pick up on it. Reality collapsing and multiversal phenomena weren't new to the doctor but what struck this as something he never seen before was how wide of a scale this anomaly was and how fast of a rate it was becoming detrimental to the stability of his multiverse and unknowingly, the realities of other's. Dr. Strange did all he could during this limited time, from attempting to wrestling control over reality, erecting dimensional barriers to resist whatever force was doing this and even going as far as to separate his universe from his omniverse but all those things failed as the last moments he remembered was the excruciating pain he felt when he his very existence was being pulled by an unknown force. The pain was a feeling likened to his existence being warped, it was a feeling he experienced but never accustomed.

He then suddenly felt his body became at ease as the writhing pain slowly dissipated, shaking off the nausea and the bile rising up his throat, he looked around his surroundings and came to conclude he was either summoned or dead, even though he truly cant die, never say never in a world where anything can happen. Slowly getting up, with his Cloak of Levitation supporting him, he saw other individuals near him, all uniquely different to each other. Just like the others he was confused and cautious but he didn't show it, he wanted to know what was going on and he waited as a person wearing a mage like attire ( SilverFlight ) holding a staff asked the same questions daunting him.

As his senses came back to him he noticed the magical aura surrounding the mage with the staff next to him, he was a magic user just like himself...but different in all sorts of ways but he didn't want to dwell on it too much. But what caught his attention was the massive amount of ambient magical energy present in this world he was in, it wasn't as tamed like the energy signature on his Earth and neither was in chaotic and wild like the ambient energies in the Dark Dimension. This made Dr. Strange more curious as where the hell he was and why was he here, so turning to the four people in front of him he waited for a response.

 

[darkred]

Marcus Wright
=========================================================================================================

Marcus was doing his usual tasks for the Human Resistance and or John Connor when he noticed a weird fire going on in the sky and he was pretty sure none of the Human Resistance around him knew about this little weird end of the world event. It was weird because he'd thought Connor would of been told about anything that happened around here.

Having his suspicions, he opened the camp tent he was in and screamed "BLAIR, CONNOR GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE NOW!"

Not a few seconds went by, Blair stopped by and looked up "Marcus, why you calling Connor and me now?

The cyborg pointed to the sky "Look...I need Connor now! Just get him pronto.."

He never finished his sentence as Blair ran to get the General of the Human Resistance only as Marcus was gone and so was the world around him.

=========================================================================================

The pain of being pulled different ways was odd as he was pulled out of his world into a another one.

There were others but there were also four figures looking down.

Marcus blinked up as he got his bearings back. "Huh? What happened?" The cyborg looked up, looking at the others around him.

There was a man with a red cape, a woman with a sword and shield and a few others.

Goonfire
​

 

[Count Gensokyo]

"Well then...take care, everyone. Perhaps we'll meet again, in another life."​

For but the briefest of moments, the woman named Celestia Ludenberg experienced pain beyond measure.


Pain?


"Pain" was too light a word to describe the sensation of one's every molecule being ripped apart and subsequently rearranged, their brain frying like a corpse in the midsummer heat.


Yet as soon as that infinitesimal fraction of a second began, it ceased. At that point, there likely weren't any nerve endings left to receive the sensation, nor any light left to perceive it.


Celestia woke suddenly, her eyes agape in horror as a cold sweat broke out across her pale, fair skin. Her face was still frozen in the same expression she had when, from what she could only assume, she had died.



Death...



This was no dream...the sensation she had felt was as real as any other.



Then this place was...



Celestia's gaze fell to the pool beside her. The clear water reflected her own likeness, showing the girl that she was still the same person she had always been. Had she awoken to find herself transmogrified into something like, say, an unholy abomination or a pile of bones, she would have been aghast, to say the least.



This did beg the question, though: if this was the afterlife, then what was its nature? More importantly, who was the ruler of this world?



What deity had she failed to pay tribute to in life? Was there any hope to make amends for her lack of faith so that she'd be spared from wrath? Would it still be possible to fully realise her dream, even in this condition?



Her dream...



Gone.



Scattered to the winds.



Her pockets were empty, her reputation reduced to ashes.



Was this a sentence of doom, or a chance to start anew?




Celestia's thoughts were interrupted as a young man ( Sir Fungus ), hidden in a full-length body suit and standing right next to her, decided to yell with all his might at...something. The noise he was producing was beyond irritating, but better to let it slide...after all, her knowledge of these people, and this realm, was scarce.


As Celestia slowly uprighted herself into a sitting position, she turned to find the target of the man's anger: three enigmatic figures exalted on podiums mounted into the wall, and a scarlet-haired priestess rising from the altar.



The priestess elaborated further on Celestia's plight: she had been hand-selected to engage in a cosmic "task" of sorts.



A task, hm?



Of course she had been personally selected...this was only natural. Yet, the notion of a "task" would imply a certain amount of toil...



Another voice from the crowd made itself known ( SilverFlight ), asking a rather simple question: "What is this place?".



Had the priestess not made it clear that the "Conflux" was a space nestled between worlds?



The voice had a strange quality to it, unlike the man from earlier's. He was speaking in an odd language...something like...English? Loathe as she'd be to admit it, Celestia had no clue how to distinguish between languages that weren't her own. Yet, even if the language was foreign...she was somehow able to understand every word of it. This certainly had to be the strangest quality of all.



A question formed in the girl's hazy mind, and she was quick to state her piece.

"You have summoned me for the sake of performing a task? If I may be so inclined to ask...might this 'Conflux' be another name for Purgatory?" Celestia asked politely, still seated on her spot of cold cobblestone next to the pool.

"Furthermore, what is the nature of this 'task' you spoke of? Are you to be the arbiters of our life's wrongdoings?"​

She would eventually stand on her own if need be, but she was deathly curious to see which of these others, if any, were the type to reach out and help a mere stranger.



Celestia took an opportunity to survey the contents of the room. Many foreigners populated the space, but even stranger than them were the inhuman creatures beside them. One of the men, a worldly-seeming fellow ( Xen6n ), was floating in midair, and a cloaked figure near him was surrounded in an ethereal glow. It seemed like Celestia would need no further proof that she was no longer in the land of the living.



As soon as Celestia had finished her line of questioning, the cloaked figure who spoke in the strange language brought one of his own to light.



The criteria by which they had been selected? She had to admit...she was immensely curious about that, herself. Celestia remained seated, twirling a lock of her hair in rather-eager anticipation of the strange figures' reasoning.

 

[BnemonicDevice]

The observant grey-haired eminence watched on as many around her questioned their situation. They continued to prod at the figures before them, demanding answers and explanations for their current conundrum.

As a Fixer, she was quite used to hearing mission briefs and being sent out to conduct fieldwork all the time. Life in the City is always full of surprises— and perhaps this was the karma for the peace and tranquility she almost had in her grasp.

While she imagined her brother, the Blue Reverberation, would sharply lash out and ever so-eloquently try to trade verbal jabs with their so-called summoners in this situation, she knew when to still her tongue on such matters. It didn’t matter *why* they were summoned now, only *what* being summoned entailed, and to what extent they must prepare themselves for to get the job done.

She clasped the hand of the being who extended one out towards her. ( SilverFlight ) She couldn't make out a face or any sense of emotion from the figure, and even when it spoke, it was just empty.

Just like how he was back then, Angelica ruminated over the thought of a similarly inward-looking person she knew. She flashed him a warm, tender smile as she rose up from the ground. Knowing that this seemed to be like Charles’s Office all over again, with the ensemble of this modest enterourage meant to work together for a common goal, gave her a bit of comfort. She felt confident in retracing past steps, especially in a situation where she is going to need every last shred of it to survive.

Thanks, cool hat by the way— she whispered under her breath to the same stranger from before. From there, she set her gaze towards the others try to beg for answers from those who have control of all the information, before shifting the towards their new bosses ( Goonfire ) as she broke her silence:

“When would you have us depart, what’s our objective, and how do you expect us to pull this off?” She poignantly asked, bringing her gloved hands to her right side, and by what looked like magic, a hilt for a sword appeared, strapped to her waist when before there was none. She rested her hand on the handle, signaling that she would be ready to fight even in this very room if she must.

 

[DovahBeat]

It had been as normal a day as any other, well, for Sabjorn anyways. Which meant currently trying to get to the bottom of everything happening in Western Skyrim so hopefully he could have more allies in the fight against Molag Bal.
Then the sky was on fire.
Jumping to the conclusion that it must be a side effect of the plane meld, sab had tried to rush things on their inter-dimensional March into Coldharbour, but it was too late by then.
Next thing he knew, he was in an paradoxically overwhelming situation, much like what he experienced when he died the first time.
Then he was on the floor. With a bunch of strangers. He really hoped this wasn't Coldharbour, he didn't think he could escape again if he had died yet again.
He slowly sat up, rubbing his head before looking around more.
Then he heard what the red-haired woman said.
"Aw, fuck. Not again." Sab growled out as he struggled to his feet. Despite his prosthetic functioning as well as it usually did, he still had trouble getting up.
"Why can't you people just leave me alone? I'd like one day, one day where the world isn't ending or I have to solve other peoples problems. Is that so much to fucking ask? Huh, Akatosh? Kyne?" He looked upwards as if the gods he spoke of could actually hear him, actually cared. Sabjorn then sighed, and looked towards the red headed woman.
"Just tell me what I have to do this time."

Goonfire

 

[Dmitri Tolenka]

The angel looked oddly similar to her. It was such an odd little detail, yet Sarah fixated on it. It might have been the absolutely ruinous amount of drugs that just about finished it’s cycle through her body. Imminent, important threats came into crystal clear focus, but anything else only vaguely registered. She still didn’t feel anywhere near in control of herself. Just to stand still demanded a lot of her focus. As long as she kept cataloguing what she saw, she could force the combat drug induced mania into something approaching a circular loop. Something approaching stability. So, she focused on the Angel's red hair first, then her words, and then slowly allowed her attention to wander, while the whole time she kept her body in check. At peace, and mostly motionless other than the odd fidgeting.

Maybe this gathering, the castle, the whole thing, all of it, maybe it was a drug induced delusion, but the whole thing felt too real to her hyper alert senses.

She gripped the sides of her white hooded cloak tightly and drew it over her head as the chattering intensified around her.

Maybe she was dead?

She rolled the term Thanatos over in her head. Ancient greek deity of death, roughly analogue to the Grim Reaper in popular culture. Son of Nyx, the goddess of night, brother of Hypnos, the god of sleep, duties included bringing the dead to the river Styx where Charon would ferry the souls across of those who could pay. Plentiful other connotations grew over time, see also- her breath hitched once. The christian angelic choir in certain iterations.

She stifled a giggle.

By the Motive Force, she was dead.

It would explain neatly why she now wore the monastic white robe of the Order rather than the pilot suit she remembered from the day before. It might have been more. Her internal clock could be off.

Oddly enough the revelation calmed her, enough that she finally let go of her cloak and truly took a look at her… new companions?

The term worked, for now.

A blonde woman in a short skirt and frankly revealing outfit. She carried herself with the air of a fighter, all hard muscles and tense violence, ready to do what was needed.

Someone in odd biological power armour. Light armour, not the hulking brute of the Battle Armour Sarah remembered. Plucked fresh from a combat zone perhaps?

"You! Where am I?! Speak now!"

“It appears. They were about to get to that.” she said softly, almost on automatic. Odd that she needed to pause for breath there.

There’s also an office lady. Sarah cannot help but note how the lady appears utterly unphased by their current events, content to simply stand at attention. A small part of Sarah admires her strength and confidence, even as the acolyte herself shies away inside of her cloak.

A handsome man floated a few feet off the ground, next to… next to some thing in a tattered cloak. Her eyes couldn’t truly tell her what it was she looked at.

The black thing did ask the utterly normal question, the one that hung at the forefront of their minds, or so Sarah assumed.

"What parameters were measured to make us candidates for this selection?"

Indeed. Why were they here?

What happened?"

Okay, maybe the more rugged, second handsome man asked the real question. That they were all dead was merely an assumption on her part after all.

“I think we were given another chance?” Sarah put forward. “We will be told what to expect, I would hope.”

"Furthermore, what is the nature of this 'task' you spoke of? Are you to be the arbiters of our life's wrongdoings?"​

"Just tell me what I have to do this time."

Subconsiously, Sarah stepped away from the non-believers. It was nothing personal, but it seemed a poor idea to stand close what she mentally dubbed 'the smiting zone'.

 

[Goonfire]

The bombardment of questions was to be expected, even the flash of a blade. The woman lowered her sunglasses to peer over them, not flinching or even batting an eye at Agito. "If you’d behave yourselves..." she started, giving a pause and not finishing the statement.

Prolonging the pause was Sabjorn, who was lamenting quite loudly. While the three women were more difficult to read, the armored boy shook his head. “Hey, it’s everyone’s problem now—yours included,” he interjected.

“Soranus,” the redhead hissed before continuing. “My associate is blunt, but yes. We wouldn’t summon you if we didn’t need you, Nord. Specifically, we need you all alive; none of you are currently dead.” She furrowed her brow after her eyes passed over a few of the summoned people. “... although some of you are supposed to be,” she added under her breath. “I am Alexia Scrimm, a witch tasked with repairing damage to the multiverse. Each of you comes from a unique universe within the whole, and now they are all being destroyed by an outside force, an interloper born of the light.”

Alexia gestured to the unusual scales on the altar, which were tilting to one side, as though the silver platform on the left outweighed the ebony one on the right. “The Scales call for you to balance them, by fighting on behalf of the dark. We need to gather a handful of witches to establish a coven and stabilize the path to the growing Melded Realm, made from the scraps of the worlds already consumed.

Many seemed eager to mobilize, even before the briefing. The pale woman with the book rose gracefully from her pew, then approached the pool of water in the center of the chapel. “It will take just over one hour to establish a connection to your first destination,” she stated. “You should rest for the moment. You may not feel as strong as you should, due to the unusual state of the veil you crossed to reach this place. In the meantime, I can help retrieve any items you left behind, or re-establish contact with any patrons you may have.”

“Yes. Thank you, Margaret,” Alexia replied. “Feel free to explore; the Conflux is perfectly safe and there are other people in town who may help you.“

(You may now roam the Conflux if you wish! Currently, shopkeepers are setting up their stores in the marketplace, while this castle’s observatory is open. Ask me about a collab, if you like; now is an excellent time for it.)

 

[SilverFlight]

Thirteen took it all in: the explanations, the reactions of those who had been...saved. They sifted through the volume of information that had just been fed to them.
"We have been called to correct an imbalance; this I do not fully understand. You wish us to fight; this I do. I am an artificial being, created to fight. Without the masters here to decide my actions I must...decide myself. If you will permit, I will require some time for thought."

They paused, and considered the option of going into a town.
"It would be the first time I was invited to a town, more often, my masters sent me to destroy them...I wish to explore it."
Wanting was the first step to making a decision, perhaps this would be easier than Thirteen thought.
"I have made my first decision: I will go into the town. I wish to find books. Ah, perhaps this was my first decision. I decided to like books."
Then, as an added reassurance: "I will not destroy the town."

Thirteen started for the door, then paused when they found it had been shut. The black mage examined the door, going over it in fine detail. They seemed unsure of what to do. Thirteen raised their staff for a moment as if to cast a spell, before thinking better of that and lowering it again. The handle sat there plain as day, but it didn't seem like Thirteen had ever encountered a door they had not blasted off its hinges...

 

[Hahli Nuva]

Sophitia looked around the area, noticing the other warriors starting to stir and choosing to go their own ways. She had never been part of a group before, much less one fighting against what appeared to be the Forces of Light. The scale tipped in the silver weight's balance stood out to her. Was the old woman's words true? Why was Light being above the dark a bad thing? She had seen what effects Darkness had on the world, namely how it infected innocents and drove them to madness. Why they needed to keep said balance was alien to her, something she just couldn't understand.

Maybe Thanatos knew something she didn't? He didn't seem to be around, but maybe the old woman had more information. Would she be able to answer Sophitia's questions?

"Excuse me, Miss Scrimm. I have some questions. Firstly, why are we fighting in the name of Darkness? I have seen what evils it has wrought on the minds of innocents and how it poisons one's soul. How can you ask us to stand against the Light of truth and justice? You see, Darkness cannot bring balance even if it were equal to Light. All it gives is pain. I have seen and experienced it far too many times."

Her voice was calm but laced with a steely firmness that matched her unique appearance. Her sky blue eyes were alight with a burning ember of curiosity. She was clearly looking for something, and hopefully, Scrimm or her allies could help Sophitia find it.

 

[Xen6n]

While others were trying to grasp what information they got, Stephen Strange took the chance to take a look around the place or he would say the dimension he's in. You might be assuming that since he's a hero, he would decline from fighting against the forces of light, but Stephen knew and understood the fundamental concept of cosmic balance that transcends mortal morality, he has seen occurrences when the good and order of things becomes dominant in the cosmic scale causing great consequences to unveil and "heroes" or the good guys become too lawful and controlling that the universe wants to break free, leading thee universe to manifests primal chaos. Working with the forces of evil wasn't all too new to Dr. Strange, he had on some occurrences had to work with his Arch-nemesis, Dormammu, and other malevolent beings to maintain the stability of things. But Stephen did have some minor questions like what is exactly these Forces of Light they must fight against and what are they doing that's tipping the Gray Scale into instability.

But he knew those questions would be answered later, so he walked over to the town quietly taking note of the different landmarks present. The area somewhat reminded him of the 15th-century era, with a lot of medieval architecture with some sitting close-knitted to each other and others dispersed. But as he was walking down, Strange noticed the same mage-like entity he saw earlier and it appeared they were having a bit of trouble with a door to a library he assumed. He took a few steps behind and near the cloaked figure, cocking out his head a bit to see what was the problem but after a while, he decided to speak up and not stand there like a creep.

"Are you having difficulties with the door in front of you, I can help if you'd like?"

Stephen asked in a sonorous but deferential tone, he didn't want to stagger the individual and give a first wrong impression, which Strange normally doesn't care much of but others have pointed out his frequent callousness towards others. Which he doesn't intentionally be, it's just he finds that "normal" earthly affairs to be unimportant to him. And also the fact that the cloaked entity was also a magic-user, just like himself, would be a great start to get along...if they were willing to talk to him, that is.

Mentioned: SilverFlight

 

[Goonfire]

Sophitia looked around the area, noticing the other warriors starting to stir and choosing to go their own ways. She had never been part of a group before, much less one fighting against what appeared to be the Forces of Light. The scale tipped in the silver weight's balance stood out to her. Was the old woman's words true? Why was Light being above the dark a bad thing? She had seen what effects Darkness had on the world, namely how it infected innocents and drove them to madness. Why they needed to keep said balance was alien to her, something she just couldn't understand.

Maybe Thanatos knew something she didn't? He didn't seem to be around, but maybe the old woman had more information. Would she be able to answer Sophitia's questions?

"Excuse me, Miss Scrimm. I have some questions. Firstly, why are we fighting in the name of Darkness? I have seen what evils it has wrought on the minds of innocents and how it poisons one's soul. How can you ask us to stand against the Light of truth and justice? You see, Darkness cannot bring balance even if it were equal to Light. All it gives is pain. I have seen and experienced it far too many times."

Her voice was calm but laced with a steely firmness that matched her unique appearance. Her sky blue eyes were alight with a burning ember of curiosity. She was clearly looking for something, and hopefully, Scrimm or her allies could help Sophitia find it.

“Oh, but I’m not asking that,” Alexia affirmed softly. “I should rephrase and explain. Neither light nor dark are inherently bad, but evil can seep into those of either side. In many universes, people of the light grew tainted. Their campaigns resulted in wholesale slaughter of guilty and innocent alike. This sacrifice paired with the deep-rooted belief of such people birthed something truly terrible.”

Alexia took a seat at the edge of the pool, legs folded. “Come and see,” she beckoned. Closer inspection would reveal a glowing nebula cloud in the pool’s reflection. Smaller swirls that appeared to be galaxies were drifting into it. The substance of the nebula itself seemed to briefly manifest faces—all twisted with agony or madness—as well as the fleeting image of a demonic-looking skull. “This is not the light you know and trust, the light that brings comfort and life, truth and justice. It simply seeks to consume. If you fight for nothing else, Miss Alexandra, fight to save the universes threatened by a growing realm of primal chaos and evil.”
——————
Outside the castle, people displaced by the destruction of their universes worked hard to set up shop. They were moving furniture, decorations, and products into empty stores and homes. Some returned from the outskirts of this demiplane, carrying items from other worlds. The shops under construction included:

• An armory,
• A tailor’s shop,
• An antiques store,
• An alchemist’s lab,
• A tavern,
• A library.

 

[BnemonicDevice]

Upon first hearing the task that they were undertaking, Angelica couldn't help but internally scoff at the premonition of bringing balance and "order" to a world, let alone a multiverse. From where she hailed, none of that mattered. Those on both sides had their tragedies, their wishes and aspirations, yet none of them were kind or brave enough to bridge the gaps. People of the City clung to whatever they could to survive, whether it be to seek the protection of The Fingers, to join Associations, or to simply fall into deep lethargy. Yet-- even as she herself complains, all she knows that she can do is smile in the face of it. To let the machinations of others be and to work around them.

Yet-- she has also already found others to cherish and care for, to toss aside the rules and norms of the world she grew up in to support them. Wasn't it hypocrtical of her to claim such a deranged detachment with those around her when she's. . . She shook her head, if she could confide in Roland she could-

You should rest for the moment. You may not feel as strong as you should, due to the unusual state of the veil you crossed to reach this place. In the meantime, I can help retrieve any items you left behind, or re-establish contact with any patrons you may have.

Compelled to act, she made a brisk stride towards the pale librarian Goonfire , eager to take the opportunity presented in front of her. It could have been mere moments since she last saw him, or perhaps days or years. She couldn't tell how long she was out-- or even when she was summoned to this place. The details of it all was so foggy-- yet she had the chance to clear one doubt from her mind.

"Excuse me miss. . . Margaret was it? I was wondering if you could aid in re-establishing contact with someone from where I'm from. They're not exactly a patron per-se, but I was wondering to know how that would work. . ." she trailed off, her ignorance on the matter reeling her back from making any unnecessary remarks.

Her voice was gentle and tender, and even during a situation which should cause grave distress, she maintained the soft and quiet intonations that were a part of her namesake. However, her crystal blue eyes vacant of any concern, a clear sign of her tiredness after being brought into the Conflux.

 

[Hahli Nuva]

“Oh, but I’m not asking that,” Alexia affirmed softly. “I should rephrase and explain. Neither light nor dark are inherently bad, but evil can seep into those of either side. In many universes, people of the light grew tainted. Their campaigns resulted in wholesale slaughter of guilty and innocent alike. This sacrifice paired with the deep-rooted belief of such people birthed something truly terrible.”

Alexia took a seat at the edge of the pool, legs folded. “Come and see,” she beckoned. Closer inspection would reveal a glowing nebula cloud in the pool’s reflection. Smaller swirls that appeared to be galaxies were drifting into it. The substance of the nebula itself seemed to briefly manifest faces—all twisted with agony or madness—as well as the fleeting image of a demonic-looking skull. “This is not the light you know and trust, the light that brings comfort and life, truth and justice. It simply seeks to consume. If you fight for nothing else, Miss Alexandra, fight to save the universes threatened by a growing realm of primal chaos and evil.”
——————
Outside the castle, people displaced by the destruction of their universes worked hard to set up shop. They were moving furniture, decorations, and products into empty stores and homes. Some returned from the outskirts of this demiplane, carrying items from other worlds. The shops under construction included:

• An armory,
• A tailor’s shop,
• An antiques store,
• An alchemist’s lab,
• A tavern,
• A library.

The blonde maiden let out a soft sigh, a mix of frustration and shock. From what this woman told her, the Forces of Light had somehow been corrupted by their own arrogance and lust for power. That was more understandable to her, seeing as she had dealt with Soul Edge in her own world, but still something was biting at her that she couldn't help but notice.

"It's going to take more than an illusion to convince me, I'm afraid. I have little reason to trust you or anyone here aside from a mission granted to me by Thanatos himself."

Indeed, the illusion only caused the beauty to doubt herself and why she was here to begin with. Is that was this was? Just some sick test by Thanatos to lure her away? What if Soul Edge was running rampant back home? Her family was defenseless! And where was Hephaestus? It was he who had granted Sophitia and her family their sacred mission and weapons. He had yet to make an appearance or even call out to her to give guidance.

 

[Dmitri Tolenka]

Sarah lowered her hood, cowering in her cowl.

So. Not dead yet. She vaguely remembered a theory from her old physics classes, something called False Vacuum Decay that just nearly, very roughly matched with what she was told here. Yet the fantastical nature of utterly everything that happened gave her too much of a headache to properly formulate even a feasible theory that matched what she knew.

She took a shuddering breath and rubbed the rim of her hood.

Focus on what’s real, focus on what’s material, focus on what her senses could agree on.

The real, the material, is the purest manifestation of truth. Cold, hard, physical truth, but also solid and dependable truth, the basis for the great symphony of reality. So, she was here, and she was told to balance the scales in the face of a metaphysical threat, one born of the light?

She could see it, as she tilted her head to the side. She might not be a psychologist, but she knew some basics.

“I am Alexia Scrimm, a witch tasked with repairing damage to the multiverse. Each of you comes from a unique universe within the whole, and now they are all being destroyed by an outside force, an interloper born of the light.”

“Well met, Lady Scrimm. If I understand you correctly, the problem is somewhat like this: An excess of order in a person would lead to psychological damage, someone would get set in their ways, unable to adapt to changing circumstances. Because the tolerance for external shock gets lower, the tolerance for new insights also grows lower, until eventually someone’s mind is so set in it’s ways that all they are capable of is repetition of trusted sources and doctrinal mantras. Like their soul withered and died, leaving a breathing husk only capable of a fixed set of responses. Except now we should apply that theory to a universal scale, to entire planets and populations…?” she asked, her head tilted to the side. If that were correct, she could scarcely imagine the horror. An entire universe, devoid of free will, merely acting out ‘what was right’ without an ounce of understanding, compassion, or even choice. Hordes of once free people that could only blindly follow rote without the guiding spark of soul. Legions of plastic smiles and hollow eyes. She shuddered. Praise Blake she was nothing like that.

The mention of items caught her attention.

“Miss Margaret? You can? May I see the ritual? I do have a certain wishlist.” she asked, curious to see how this would even work. What sort of machinery would they have for that? The last she could remember, she sat weeping in the cockpit of Redeemer, clad in a coolant vest.

Obviously this was no longer the case, and before she even thought about going on any adventures, she’d like to get properly prepared. The interesting holographic display caught her attention briefly, and she followed the exchange between the blonde warrior woman and the one known as Alexia.

"It's going to take more than an illusion to convince me, I'm afraid. I have little reason to trust you or anyone here aside from a mission granted to me by Thanatos himself."

“Mayhaps we should simply see where we are sent to, and render judgement ourselves?” she said in a soothing tone. Sarah sympathised, she truly did. Perhaps these entities were out to use them for their own end. Sarah certainly planned to first ask questions and only then start shooting, once they were clear of the castle. Challenging anyone on grounds they prepared was difficult. She literally had been part of such a set up not even a month ago. For now, the only intelligent course forward she could see was to play along.

 

[SilverFlight]

Xen6n

Thirteen heard the voice behind them and stepped back, considering the stranger with interest.
"Yes. I would like help." Then, after a prolonged pause they added: "Please. This is the term used to relay courtesy."
After another short pause, and when Thirteen had gotten a good chance at observing how these obstacles were removed without the use of extreme force, they spoke again.
"You are...like me." The mage said slowly. "Yet I sense, you are not entirely like me. You can use magic."
Thirteen's glowing eyes darted to the staff in their hand, then to the man (Thirteen guessed it was a man).
"You do not carry a staff." They observed.
Then they seemed to remember something, and, as if the movement had been much practiced, Thirteen placed the fingers of one leather glove on the wide brim of their pointed hat.
"I am called 'black mage soldier number 13'. I would like your name, so that I may use it to address you with good manner. Do you like books?"

 

[Xen6n]

When the individual turned around and observed Stephen Strange for a time, he thought he probably said something wrong but he dismissed it for curiosity, these people were from another world. So when the cloaked figure replied, Strange became intrigued at their use of communication, it was as if they were robotic or aren't used to socializing. Nodding with a smile he went aside from the being, across the door.

"Sure, so using your hand of your choosing, you grab onto the handle like this and turn downwards in a kind of clockwise direction"

Turning the door handle slowly so that they would be able to see how he did it, the door creaked open ajar.

"You can try again if you'd like, to get accustomed to the action"

After looking at the obscure entity, he noticed again that they were observing him. He wasn't offended nor uncomfortable at all and allowed them actually, he thought this must be a norm for someone like him back in their world, getting to know someone was something Stephen never had to opportunity to do because of his "job" but cherished greatly, so Strange was open to any customs and habits other people had. So when the being remarked at the similarity of both of them being able to use magic he nodded with a wide smile.

"Yes, I can use magic and I also noticed that you to can use magic earlier....but your different"

Noting the oddity of the being, Strange used an Egocentric ability he hasn't used for a very long while, called Soul Perception (Basically allows someone to read and perceive another's soul). As his vision changed, Strange was intrigued at what he saw, it was very well something he haven't seen before. The individual's soul was an amalgamation of different processes that concluded in the soul's formation, it was of purely natural energies and tainted with Black Magic, Strange came to the conclusion that the figure in front of him was not born naturally, but an artificial creation. Strange saw enough and heard the being respond to him.

"Oh, yes, I do not need staves to use magic, I utilize magic through my hands through the use of hand gestures or mudras if you will. While staves and wands in my world are useful in focusing one's magical capabilities, I've gained mastery of the Mystic Arts to be independent of them."

As if thinking of something, he saw them place their fingers on their pointed hat.

"It's nice to meet you Thirteen, the name's Doctor Stephen Strange, and yes I do like books, reading books is basically how I learned magic"

Thirteen's name clarified Strange's suspicions about them, they were artificially made, and from the soldier part, they were meant to be a creation of warfare but they weren't hostile at all after and are quite friendly too.

SilverFlight

 

[Sir Fungus]

As Agito had seemed lost in his trance, he was taken a back by the sudden arrival of the new strangers along with him. He looked to the beings as they had begun to assign each person a task. He was confused, still, what had happened to him, and for some unknown reason, he could not access any feature's to the Guyver's arsenal Except for his Sonic blades and his Head Sensor's. Stopping for a moment to recuperate as he heard one of them speak about their universes being destroyed "That's..Impossible, My Universe...or..at least My world..Was destroyed by..." He paused, even he couldn't remember the events before falling into unconciousness.

Upon hearing that they were dismissed to explore the conflux, Agito decided to keep his Bio Armor on, remaining anonymous for now until he at least became acquainted with the strange new people he had found himself besides, however, he kept on looking for his own companions, denying the fact that they were dead, and he came out as the lone survivor from his universe. Upon seeing a woman in what seemed to be Ancient Greek attire, Agito approached her, cautiously, but also curious. "Excuse me, Ma'am..Do you have any Idea what these...Hmm, I'm not even sure people is the right word--Were talking about? I can't make heads or tails out of it." Hahli Nuva

Of course, this was to be expected from a normal human's mind, The man even believed that he might've been stuck in some sort of nightmare, and that he would wake up, for this was not normal to him, even with everything that had transpired prior to finding himself here, this was totally out of the question, and it even had him doubting the fabric of reality itself.

 

[Hahli Nuva]

View attachment 939164 As Agito had seemed lost in his trance, he was taken a back by the sudden arrival of the new strangers along with him. He looked to the beings as they had begun to assign each person a task. He was confused, still, what had happened to him, and for some unknown reason, he could not access any feature's to the Guyver's arsenal Except for his Sonic blades and his Head Sensor's. Stopping for a moment to recuperate as he heard one of them speak about their universes being destroyed "That's..Impossible, My Universe...or..at least My world..Was destroyed by..." He paused, even he couldn't remember the events before falling into unconciousness.

Upon hearing that they were dismissed to explore the conflux, Agito decided to keep his Bio Armor on, remaining anonymous for now until he at least became acquainted with the strange new people he had found himself besides, however, he kept on looking for his own companions, denying the fact that they were dead, and he came out as the lone survivor from his universe. Upon seeing a woman in what seemed to be Ancient Greek attire, Agito approached her, cautiously, but also curious. "Excuse me, Ma'am, Do you have any Idea what these...Hmm, I'm not even sure people is the right word--Were talking about? I can't make heads or tails out of it." Hahli Nuva

Of course, this was to be expected from a normal human's mind, The man even believed that he might've been stuck in some sort of nightmare, and that he would wake up, for this was not normal to him, even with everything that had transpired prior to finding himself here, this was totally out of the question, and it even had him doubting the fabric of reality itself.

Sophitia turned to see the man in armor, and after she got past her initial suspicions, gave him a shake of her head to signify that she too was just as lost as he himself was. The rest of the group seemed to have dispersed throughout the dark realm, leaving only a few others left who wished to ask questions and seek answers. Sophitia assumed this man was one of them, but she herself could not answer his question fully.

"From what I understand, corruption has taken place in the hearts of once good men. I believe we are the ones meant to destroy said corruption and bring the balance of Light and Dark to equal measure. That's what I can gather from what they've shared with us so far at least. I intend to find out just how far we have fallen. You are welcome to join me, sir."

Maybe together they could come to an understanding. Sophitia knew she couldn't have all the perspectives in a situation, so maybe this armored man could see something she missed? She took note of his infernal attire. Was he some kind of demon?

 

[SilverFlight]

Once the door had been opened, Thirteen stepped through it, then closed and opened in themself two times, to memorize the action. The eyes that floated in the void narrowed, and it may have taken a moment to realize that this was as much a smile as the strange being could reproduce.
Thirteen held the door open for the other caster with this expression.

When Strange used the spell Thirteen tensed visibly, but remained still. Their hat tilted as Thirteen inclined the dark matter that served as a head in curiosity.
"Using magic without a focus is...a feat of good competence," the mage acknowledged. "Your skill seems...complex."

Thirteen held out a hand to demonstrate his own: "Soldiers of my class are capable of manipulating physical elements, very little else." As they spoke, a small flame bloomed in the center of the gnarled glove, which twisted and sparked into little arcs of electricity dancing between their fingers, finally the energy condensed, forming frost on the leather, little diamond particles dancing in the air just above.

The demonstration over they turned to take in the halls of the library. Wall to wall and floor to ceiling, seven levels absolutely filled with books. Each volume was unique, and the covers seemed to demonstrate every time and reality. The room seemed to stretch on infinitely. Thirteen was sure there was some magic to this place too.
"I wish to know your conclusions about the "Conflux". Your tone and demeanor suggest that this occurrence is not as new to you as it is to me."

Xen6n

 

[Xen6n]

When he saw that Thirteen held the door open for him he nodded in gratitude and stepped into the library, taking a good look around the scenery and architecture of the place, he heard Thirteen note about his skill.

"It really is, it sometimes bombards me as to how I became so skilled in magic in the first place."

When Thirteen demonstrated his usage of magic and told him about it, he was impressed actually, transitioning to other elements on the fly is not an easy task, well it was for him, mostly because he's a human. He brought his attention to the vast features of the library, seeing the wide array of mystical tomes and other literary information stacked within these walls brought a smile to his face. Ever since the day he started studying magic, he developed a fondness and keenness towards books and libraries. The place had books about magic, he could sense it. His focus was delayed when he heard Thirteen ask him a thought-provoking question.

"Yes, you are correct on that part, it's mostly because of what I do. In my world, I am known as my universe's Sorcerer Supreme, a title granted to those whose skill in the mystic arts is greater than those of any other beings in the multiverse. And with that came the responsibility of defending my universe and multiverse from all mystical and otherworldly threats. Occurrences such as these aren't new to me, maintaining cosmic balance and how it must be maintained transcends mortal morality and understanding, chaos cannot exist without order and life is meaningless without death, every action in the universe had an equal and opposite reaction elsewhere. If someone had good luck, at the same time, someone would have an equal amount of bad luck. There’s a harmony, a balance, in the Universe. Light needs dark. Dark needs light. If you blow one of them away, then, I mean...It wouldn't be a good thing. It’d be really not a good thing. Like ‘end of reality’ not good, everything would cease to exist. And as such, to preserve that balance I might even have to join the forces of evil to do that, which is quite similar to the situation at the moment.

You may be wondering how a human of all beings would understand that, well I possess Hyper-Cosmic Awareness, I can understand things others might find difficult to comprehend, capable of sensing things beyond time and space, peering into distant worlds beyond my own through meditation, as well as the dangers of which they present to their own world. This is limited though, i cannot be aware of events that take place in worlds such as yours"