Fantasy The Heavens Need New Gods [Main]

[GumGumChomp]

Nothingness. Endless nothingness. No color, no sound, no feeling. Not dark, nor silent, nor cold. Simple, unending void. Has it been months? Years? Decades? It's impossible to tell the time, if it even exists. Not that it matters anymore, death finally caught up to you. Falling in glorious battle, an accident, ritual sacrifice, unexpected kindness, a crash after a life well spent, a nefarious plot, a plan gone awry, or simple karma. Whatever the reason, the inevitable has happened. Awareness nearly fades, but you are startled back into consciousness in an instant as if shaken in the brief moment where the border where dreams and reality blur.

An overwhelming light blinded you, and chilly air burned at your nostrils as you took the first breath in your new body. The hum of machinery buzzed in your ears, and when your eyes adjusted after the flash, you saw an endless city of yellows and whites stretching into infinity. There were numerous others around you, some human, some not. You were only given a few seconds to take in the steadily turning gears and impossibly tall buildings before you heard a sudden noise from behind.

"Ahem!" coughed the creature floating a foot off the ground. Its form switched several times in the blink of an eye before settling on something different for each of you, comforting and familiar. They held a clipboard in one hand, and a pencil in the other, already writing. "What are you all doing here? This space is reserved for the True Gods, and they're off at a ceremony in Universe MAG-724963. Please state your names and the goal of your 'visit' for the record so I can properly cite you for trespassing."

 

[Gravitational Force]

Isaac blinks as he looks at the weird creature, then considers himself. He'd apparently gone from a human to a giant skeleton. He knew he was giant because he felt the same size but a skeleton would be smaller since it wouldn't have the organs and muscles and skin and all that.

Also he was wearing robes and jewellery. Which wasn't what he'd been wearing. Before he'd accidentally gotten pushed onto the train tracks by the crowd at the station. He hoped they were sorry about that as opposed to upset the train would be delayed. But knowing commuters...oh well.

Honestly it was weird how well he was taking this. Maybe this was a dream? Isaac tried to pinch himself, then realized he had no skin. Because he was a giant skeleton in robes.

Darn. Well, that didn't mean he wasn't dreaming. Might as well act like this is real and see what happens. He was NOT interested in seeing if dying in a dream would kill him IRL.

He looked at the vast landscape around him. This place was huge! And full of lots of things and people and things that might be people.

Well, he had no idea what to do, so he'd have to fake it until he made it. And if he was going to do that he might as well have a bit of fun.

Isaac points at the creature.

"Doesn't the fact I'm here mean that I'm allowed to be here? What are your qualifications to judge? I think you should check with your supervisor before doing anything."

At the very least that should give him time to run away if he needed to.

 

[Crimson Baron]

"Remember Lily, you are supposed to be the strongest person in this school... No, in this world! No matter what you do, always act confident! The school board and I will make sure everything turns out right!"

Thinking of her beloved brother's promise, Liliana simply stood still as her opponent readied that deadly weapon in her hand.

"You are not doing anything!?"
"For someone of your level, I suppose taking some hit won't make a difference"
"Hah! So you have a defensive artifact that's always active! Then I won't hold back, Russian Princess!!"

Cheers rang through the arena. The girl who was nicknamed Lily may looked absolutely calm and indifferent, but in her mind she was actually screaming frantically and crying her eyes out as countless magic circles appeared in the sky. Without any delay, they all fired crimson balls of energy at her.

The next thing she knew, Lily opened her eyes to an unfamiliar scenario, an endless city of yellow and white stretching into infinity. What happened? Did that attack confine their victim in some otherworldly space? No, that's not it. She was told beforehand that the Chinese's Mythical Artifact had nothing but massive raw energy of destruction.

So what exactly was going on...?

Lily also noticed something odd. Currently, her appearance was exactly identical to how it was before she came here. But... how would she explain this... she had a strange feeling that she can sort of "transform" into something else. And it wasn't just her own imagination. For some reason, she knew she could definitely do it, as if she was doing it naturally for a long time. But was that really possible? An artifact that let its user transform was a thing, but she certainly didn't have one—

"Ahem"

That sudden voice pulled Lily back to reality. She looked around and for the first time noticed a lot of people not so far away. As she was staring at the owner of that voice, the appearance of that floating creature suddenly changed.

"B... Big brother!?"

Upon seeing the most comforting person possible for her at that moment. Lily couldn't help but get a bit teary and let out a weak voice that reflected her true self. However, what seemed to be her brother continued speaking.

"What are you all doing here? This space is reserved for the True Gods, and they're off at a ceremony in Universe MAG-724963. Please state your names and the goal of your 'visit' for the record so I can properly cite you for trespassing.

This man was not her brother. That fact was clear enough and it helped Lily get back in her shape. Listening to what the giant skeleton had said, she started to get the idea that people around her were probably in the same kind of situation. With the air of pride and confident, Lily looked at her brother in front of her with a cold, indifferent glare.

"What do you mean "trespassing"? No matter how I see it, I was forcefully taken here. Behave yourself, shapeshifter. If you don't want to face my wrath you better bring us your superior right at this moment!!"

GumGumChomp

 

[Lily_G]

The man who was once called legendary assassin Erebus opened his eyes. What's going on? He was certain his life ended the moment those UCP agents barged in that magically sealed room with various weapons ready. Quite a shame, he already finished his job too. All he needed to do was escaping and all that left in his way was that young princess. If Dietrich were to do something, that girl would probably being too busy crying to even notice his attack anyway. Instead, all he did was calmly waiting for his own demise. Quite a shame indeed.

But what's this? Quite an otherworldly scene even to someone who had visited more than hundreds of planets like him. Dietrich looked around and took note of several individuals around him. Before he could start a conversation, a sudden voice came from behind him

"Ahem"

Dietrich turned back to see something turning into... his boss? The man standing in front of him right now was the man that helped him a lot in his early career. The man whom he respected and would do everything he ordered... maybe except a task involving killing a girl. There was no mistaken it, he was the de facto leader of Central Assassination Organization.

Was that a Delavoid, Mismernia or perhaps Umbrenoxia? Dietrich was quick-witted enough to come up with possibilities of all shapeshifting species he knew. However, he was skilled enough to discern their unique characteristics even under perfect disguise. And as far as he could tell, there was none of those traits in whatever he was facing.

"What are you all doing here? This space is reserved for the True Gods, and they're off at a ceremony in Universe MAG-724963. Please state your names and the goal of your 'visit' for the record so I can properly cite you for trespassing.

Universe MAG-724963? What he said was "universe" and not "planet"? As it stood, Dietrich had no choice but to admit that he knew nothing about this place. As he was pondering that, a skeleton man spoke up, following by a blonde girl. Hearing them gave a lot of insight to the assassin and should help him grasp the situation, if he wasn't too focused on something else; a teary eyes of that blonde-haired girl.

Apparently this thing in front of them showed different appearances toward each person. Perhaps taking a form that has emotional impact or just someone easy for them to talk to. Regardless, it almost made that girl cry and no one can do that unpunished in front of a man named Dietrich Valdez! Looking at that thing with the face of his boss, the assassin didn't hesitate and prepared himself. It was at this moment that he realized something terrifying.

He couldn't use his shadow abilities. Normally, Dietrich could dive into shadow, store items within it, shape and manipulate it to some degree as well as some other trivial things. But currently he couldn't do any of that. Instead, he felt something different inside himself. A different form, different powers. As he was wondering whether to try them out, he heard a cold voice.

"What do you mean "trespassing"? No matter how I see it, I was forcefully taken here. Behave yourself, shapeshifter. If you don't want to face my wrath you better bring us your superior right at this moment!!"
"Interesting."

Dietrich muttered to himself. The arrogance and confidence that girl exuded was something only found in those with unrivaled might and power. Or so any other people would have thought. However, the experienced assassin was able to see deeper than that. To him, the weaker persona she showed earlier seemed more genuine. Not to mention the man himself was also the type that holds absolute trust and confidence in his own power, and so he could tell something was slightly different.

"You shouldn't do that, young lady."

With an amicable and friendly smile, Dietrich walked up until he was right next to the girl, facing the figure resembling his boss.

"I'm afraid for what would happen to our imposter friend here if a powerful lady like you were to get violent. After all, this person in front of us is the only one that might be able to explain what's going on here. And I don't want to make unnecessary enemy before we even learn that."

He paused a bit before turning to the group of people scattered nearby.

"Don't you think so?"

If that girl was going the act the way he anticipated, then it may seemed unnecessary to ask them. But by doing so, Dietrich could get those unfamiliar people to speak up. And to someone as observant as him, just seeing a person speak up a line or voice a single opinion revealed a lot about their personalities and characteristics.

Interaction: All

 

[GrieveWriter]

Bishop Bloodstrider

All who took part in the Sovereigns' War knew the inevitability of Death. Even the Lowliest of Pawns knew their likelihood of survival straight off of the Assembly Line. Its why they never took prisoners or bothered torturing enemies, as everyone was eager to be ripped apart for their Sovereign. Knights strode through oceans of blood cutting down whoever stepped in their path, and Pawns celebrated their dead and dying comrades even whilst still maintaining endless barrages.

But Bishops were different.

They couldn't be mass produced like Pawns or promoted regularly like the Knights, they were a rarity. For every few billion Pawns there was one Bishop. For every million Knights there was one Bishop. A bishop was meant to control the war from the supply line instead of the frontline, to coordinate with Knights and other Bishops to make sure attacks and supplies arrived at the perfect moment. For all intents and Purposes, they were the orchestrators of the Sovereigns' War, and they couldn't be replaced as easily as any other piece on the board.

It was why they were the only ones known to Prioritize their own survival: to flee, and sacrifice and scheme by any metric just to keep themselves alive.

It was why death hit Bloodstrider so hard, as she never even had a chance to do any of that.

Someone had robbed her, had heard of her ascension during one of the previous campaigns. That was the only way any of the White Queen's Children could've known of her. She cursed everyone, her comrades and enemies, for the glory she would no longer be able to attain. She had failed without her even getting the chance to fail, and would be denied the Black King's Pride.

Which is why she found her confusion at persisting overruled by unyielding rage.

Instead of lying a broken and battered husk amidst the ruins of her fleet, Strider found herself standing upright in the midst of a sprawling metropolis. She went still only momentarily before the waves of anger returned and she gripped her cane tightly in both hands. That only went to confuse her even more, she hadn't been holding her cane when the blasts had finished with her, neither did she have her arms or most of her upper body.

By all intents and purposes, she was in perfect condition, completely juxtaposed with the ruined mess that had bled out moments ago.

A trick, a trick of the Queen's design no doubt. Only her structures are lathered in such overbearing bright colors. But Strider couldn't hear any of the Queen's creations whatsoever. All Pawns and their subsequent forms had an unshakeable telepathic link with one another. On the frontline it was the quickest way to reveal yourself and get killed, but on the supply line it was the most useful means of communication with one another.

A metropolis of such size could only be found supplying the front, so the fact that not one enemy voice could be heard in her head immediately crushed such suppositions.

Besides that, there were the mortals all around her.

They were easy to differentiate from those of the Sovereigns' War, skin and flesh instead of animated shells pulsing with divine blood. The lack of identifying colors and uniformity among their numbers, Strider had to be amongst mortals.

Which was against the Rules of Play.

Strider cursed the Queen's toys and whatever force had summoned her, there was a rule that those of the Sovereign War knew very well, limit all contact with mortals as much as physically possible. The longer she was amongst them the lower their chances of keeping below the threshold. She had to leave, figuring out what had transpired could come later. But the voice reached her before she could investigate methods of escape.

It was a familiar voice, yet one she hadn't heard in a number of turns.

Going still, her anger forgotten momentarily, Bloodstrider turned to look upon the titanic form of Knight Captain Shellsplitter. Easily twice her height, he towered over her and much of the assembled beings wearing a suit of Blackstone Plate so thick and dark that he practically drained the light from around him. A helm dotted with numerous eye holes looked down upon Strider as he spoke, but she ignored his words plain and simple.

Because besides the fact he was dead, Shellsplitter's massive hands were also holding tiny little tools that looked comical in his grasp. Obviously, more trickery was afoot, no servant of the King used tools or weaponry not made of his blood.

Utilizing his visage was insult enough, but making him hold what had to be mortal record-keeping equipment was downright aggravating. So she ignored the speech of universes and trespassing, instead striding forward as she raised her cane.

Strider proceeded to start literally poking and prodding at the fake Shellsplitter, tapping her cane against his armor in several places to ascertain the authenticity of the replication. Behind her, the mortals were speaking, most in a similar state of confusion. One tried to alleviate the fury of another by claiming the being before them was their only source of an explanation.

When he sought confirmation from the others, Strider could only scoff.

"There's no need for an explanation, we've been stolen." her voice echoed in her helmet as she resumed her invasive poking of the Shifter "What this thing needs to do is return us to our prior locales with haste.

 

[Probably George]

"Blade Barrier!" Tuʘaln called out, summoning a 100 foot wall of whirling, razor sharp blades. He had resorted to going on the defensive, expecting his team to have been finished by now. His spell slots were running thin, and he had to keep one for Teleport if he expected to survive. Unfortunately, some of the chain devils managed to get past the wall and Tuʘaln was critically injured.

Before going down Tuʘaln made the sudden decision to give up his 7th level spell slot to utter a power word of pain, crippling the fiends around him as he too collapsed. Luck was not on Tuʘaln's side, as he fought on to live, his life slowly faded away. Not before seeing the meteorite phase out of the plane. He wasn't exactly sure what happened to them, but he was confident they made it.


Like awaking from a long deep slumber, Tuʘaln struggled to open his eyes once again. His eyelids cracked and loose bits of sand fell from them as they slowly spread apart. He was quick to realize he'd reincarnated. After all, it wasn't the first time he had. Except oddly enough he kept his previous form, though lacked the feeling of power. Tuʘaln suspected his power was for the most part gone, or at least altered to a way he cannot feel like before. And like the last time, he had not clue where he was.

There were others with him as well. Was this his party? It was the right body count plus a cat but Tuʘaln didn't mind the addition. No that doesn't seem right, it didn't make sense that Tuʘaln would be the only on in his previous form. His thoughts on the matter were interrupted by the voice of one of his kenku servants from Tuʘaln's first life. He immediately caught on to the trickery because no kenku was this articulate. Focusing on the imposter, Tuʘaln felt as if his mind was playing tricks on him. He saw the being in two different forms at the same time, that of his favorite servant and something he'd never even heard description of before. Not like a chimera or flickering image, but Tuʘaln sensed what the being was hiding.

Again his focus was moved as the others suddenly began speaking over one another, one even poking above the false kenku with a cane. The whole situation left Tuʘaln utterly confused, so he resorted to what he always does when in bewildering circumstances: pretend he knew what he was talking about and hoping to not get caught in the lie.

"Actually-" Tuʘaln rose his hand just above his head "I'm a deity."
It wasn't the most absurd lie he's said.

 

[Crimson Baron]

"What do you mean "trespassing"? No matter how I see it, I was forcefully taken here. Behave yourself, shapeshifter. If you don't want to face my wrath you better bring us your superior right at this moment!!"

She nailed it! She said all that without biting her tongue and stuttering!

Lily may appeared indifferent throughout the speech, but it was actually her first time delivering a line with such direct threat. After all, violence was never her thing, and threatening someone was the fastest route to it. She might had been trained to do it, but responding to such threats was still easier than making one herself. As she was looking at not-her-brother and waiting for his reaction, she heard a voice.

"You shouldn't do that, young lady."

Turning to the voice, Lily met a rather good looking man with a pitch black hair and red eyes. His kind and friendly vibe resembled her sociable brother, so did his soft and gentle voice earlier.

The man walked to her side and perhaps was a bit too close for comfort. Oddly enough, she wasn't disturbed by it like she should be. It seemed like Lily had subconsciously viewed him as totally harmless and already trusted him like they were friends for a long time. She had no time to think more about it as the man continued.

"I'm afraid for what would happen to our imposter friend here if a powerful lady like you were to get violent. After all, this person in front of us is the only one that might be able to explain what's going on here. And I don't want to make unnecessary enemy before we even learn that."

P-Powerful? Did he just call her a powerful lady? That's right. With how Lily was acting it was totally expected that he would view her so. The girl who was filled with joy and pleasure did her best to not show any of those on her face. She then looked up at the man who had average male height but was still almost a feet higher than her and smiled confidently.

"Hmph, of course you should be. If I'm serious it won't take a single second to deal with lowly imposter like this. Very well, I shall do as you wish and spare him from my might."

It was but a blatant lie. Lily's ability at using artifacts was horrible and she could not even master offensive ones with low output. All usable artifacts she was carrying are defensive ones and even then most of them are basic level. Therefore, a perfect chance to back off like this was a godsend. Lily inserted both her hands into her pockets, indicating that she wouldn't do anything even if her demand hadn't been met. It was at this moment that the attack was made, not by herself but another person(?) who was using a cane.

"Now what, mister? Looked like someone else is already getting violent, a pitiful attempt at that."

That was absolutely unnecessary, yet Lily nonchalantly said it to the man whom she didn't even know the name, and loud enough to be heard by the owner of that pitiful attack. It couldn't be helped since she was drilled into her head tips and tricks that would make her look like an undefeated champion, and randomly looking down on others seemed to be one of such twisted teachings, even though it directly contrasted her true nature. In addition, Lily herself didn't seem to notice it, but the moment that the poking spree started, long before her arrogant scoffing, the girl had already positioned herself with the black haired man between her and whatever that feminine lifeform was.

"Actually— I'm a deity."

Another voice had drawn Lily's attention. She looked at the speaker, another one who seemed unlikely to be a human based on not only what he just said but also his appearance. Speaking of which, was Lily herself still human? In her world, human had no mean to use supernatural abilities outside of artifacts, but whatever she was feeling inside her body seemed to be saying otherwise. While she had no problem maintaining her fake confidence and indifferent facade even until now, her heart couldn't take this bizarre situation any longer...

Lily_G GrieveWriter
Probably George (mention only)

 

[GumGumChomp]

Avery’s day has been very long. With the True Gods off at an anniversary, their duties have increased tenfold, taking on some of their tasks. In addition to their usual secretarial job, they’ve had to do intake for the Underworld, mail delivery, maintenance, and even some janitorial work. Some were physically draining, some mentally, but all exhausting in one way or another. Why wouldn’t some hooligans try to break in and steal something or just cause a ruckus on their lunch break? That’s just the kind of luck Avery had.

Immediately assaulted by a slew of questions and accusations, as well as a cane for some reason, they stood there stunned for a little bit longer than they should have. Eventually coming to their senses, Avery took a deep breath, preparing themself for the oncoming shit show. “This is going to be my entire break, isn’t it?” they sighed, still being hit by a cane. “Stop that!” they batted it away, visibly annoyed. “Learn some manners. Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to do stuff like that?”

Something one of them said caught their eye, and it took them a few seconds to figure it out. “Big brother… Oh, for fuck’s sake.” they muttered, reaching above their head and fiddling with something. The illusion faded soon after, revealing an angel with heavy bags under their eyes. Their brown hair is done up in a bun, and their halo is slightly crooked. All in all, they looked completely average, like someone who was plucked off the street with wings haphazardly slapped onto their back. “I thought I turned that off when I finished with intake… Michael probably thought it was so funny, the dickhead.”

“Deep breaths Avery, deep breaths. You’ve trained for this, just go one by one.” First, the skeleton who doesn’t seem to be accustomed to that fact. “No, just because I don’t know how you broke in doesn’t mean that you didn’t. And don’t worry, we’re all going to see my supervisor, he’ll need to be present for processing.”

Next, the girl who was much too confident for her own good. “Yeah, sure, you don’t mean to be here. You just managed to turn up at the most secure area in the multiverse while it’s not being guarded by the True Gods by no fault of your own. Very believable.” they said, returning her glare with a deadpan stare of their own. “Besides, I wouldn’t try and fight me if I were you. I might be weak, but you’d be inviting the whole of the heavens to use you as target practice.”

Third, a shadowy figure who was demanding an explanation. “Really? You want me to explain myself? You show up in the quarters of the True Gods while they’re celebrating and you want me to explain what’s going on to you?” they retorted, any kind of professionalism remaining completely gone.

Then, the rude automaton poking them repeatedly. “As much as I’d love to just banish you, there’s procedures for a reason. Before anything, imprisonment or exile or punishment, we need to know how you got here. If you’d stop playing dumb and let me know, that’d be much appreciated.”

Finally, the masked one. It’s just four simple words, but they managed to infuriate them more than anything else they could’ve said. “You, you’re a deity, huh? Really? I have to admit, you’ve got balls. Y’know what, let’s just hurry this up. We can get names later.” glowered Avery as they snap.

Nothing. They snap again, then wait a few seconds. Still nothing. Snap snap snap snap snap snap snap. Zilch. “That, uh, usually works.” Other hand, snap. Nope. Up high, down low, side to side, both hands at once, absolutely nothing happens.

They fuss with their halo again, and say, “Hey, uh, Gabriel. It’s Avery. We’ve got a bit of a problem. There’s some intruders in the living quarters and my teleporter isn’t working on them. Could you send some guards my way to escort them? Thanks.” they report before toying with the halo once more. “So, uh, just wait here I guess. Again, names for the report would be nice. Would speed things up.” states Avery awkwardly, unsure what to do at this point.

 

[Gravitational Force]

Isaac's brain is panicking. Or whatever is doing his thinking since his head is a skull now.

He's surrounded by lots of weird people and it looks like he's in trouble for something that's not even his fault. Who are all these creatures? Is this some kind of anime thing?

GAH! Why couldn't somebody else get isekai'd, he had things going on in his life. Okay, it was mostly TV and video games, but still!

And the angel looked upset, CRAP!

Trying to stall for time or bluffing isn't working. Um, what to do?

Give a fake name? GIVE A FAKE NAME!

"Er, I'm G-"

NOT 'GREG!' Nobody will believe a giant skeleton is named Greg, that's more of a werewolf name or something!

"Er...on. G-er-on My name is Geron. And I'm totally allowed to be here. The fact you don't know that means it's above your station to know why."

Better than nothing, better hope this works.

"So you should apologize."

BLUFF MORE!

"And since this is obviously above your station I must insist you leave before your supervisor arrives, assuming they're in a position worthy of dealing with it."

Maybe that was too much of a bluff.

Luckily none of this shows up on his face because his face is a skull.

Maybe he has skeleton powers or something? What would skeleton powers be? Skull-lasers or something?

Crap, he'd try anything.

Isaac/Geron tries to use skull-lasers or whatever power he has now to demonstrate his power to the angel.

 

[GrieveWriter]

Bishop Bloodstrider

The constant claims about deities and whatnot were wearing down Bloodstrider's patience. She knew it shouldn't have been too unsettling, as most mortals had a habit of mislabeling what could truly be considered gods, but the implication that any of them could've come close to the unyielding cosmic power of the Black King or even his pale imitation was insulting. Godhood wasn't even something that truly needed to be explained, beings should've been able to tell just by being in one's presence.

Hell, if any of them were true gods the rest should've been bowing down out of instinct, not confusedly chattering like a gaggle of lost children.

Well, except for the clearly lost child, she got a pass in Bloodstrider's book. Unlike the robe covered human, she at least had an excuse for spouting nonsense. At least the dark mortal had the decency to keep her distracted with excess flattery.

When her cane was batted away, she tilted her head and waited for a satisfying response to her demands. What she got instead was the insane insinuation that she had some some kind of progenitors. She stopped herself before she could burst out laughing in the shapeshifter's face, trying to assume that maybe all the automations he knew had some kind of parents. She failed, miserably, bringing her free hand up to where her mouth would be as she shook her head in amused dissatisfaction.

She'd get nothing at this rate, the being before her was convinced he was involved in some sort of divine practices, while the beings behind her just seemed lost in general. Even the initially impressive giant skeleton began spouting nonsense similar to the robed one, claiming that he belonged in the place he clearly couldn't recognize. Between those two and the frightened child being comforted nearby, Strider found herself writing the entire group off fairly quickly. It didn't seem like any of them would be able to help her return to her war.

That being said, it wasn't as though the shapeshifting winged one was much better. He was clearly convinced they were foul actors and was unconvinced with any of their words, so Bloodstrider turned away from him and towards something more useful.

Their surroundings.

With their shapeshifter out as an option, Strider began tapping her cane on the ground while guessing which tier the civilization around her was. It was clearly advanced enough with mass translocation technology, so surely they would have space-faring vessels as well.

Strider shrugged and just began walking off into the massive city, figuring she could just kidnap a local and force them to ferry her back to the war.

 

[argotNaut]

Nayla wasn't one to get lost in her dreams and, so as not to dwell in the confusion, held the clarity of that which existed about in high regard. If something didn't feel right to her, then it was a mere figment. Were the visions around her deformed or silent, then they were to be enjoyed and discarded the moment they subsided. To think that the world she fell asleep in was suddenly a different one was preposterous to Nayla, given that she could always tell truth from lies; if not for the whispers of her fellow spirits, then for her connection with nature. However, this vision was clearly a strong one, for it didn't morph away when she focused her gaze and threw in the weight of her curiosity. The spirits were silent on this end, even though she would rather hear their faint voices than of the folk around her.

In spite of it being the easiest option, she didn't waste time on conversing with the being that stood in front of her. Even though it had the face of her mother, something inside of her easily exploded the unveiled deception. It wouldn't be that much of a surprise if Nayla decided to ignore others. There wasn't a feeling of deceptiveness to the crowd, however, and so she quickly brushed her worries aside, a smile on her lips.

"Greetings! Though our assembly falls on an unsightly occasion, I hope that we find enough of a common ground to get through this."

Though anyone capable of peering into the inner workings of her mind would think that it was a lie, there was genuine worry in her silvery voice, one that was quickly overshadowed by the hope she exuded. Her confidence, built on absolute trust, bore no cracks. It was in the very expression of her face, in the very pose she took, in the way she spoke; everything but her confidence almost antagonistic to the fact that she was a child.

Before speaking up again, Nayla readied the lyre in her arms, her fingers tracing the strings with natural precision. Of course, the situation before her wasn't an ordinary one, which she would solve with a prayer to the spirits, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Even the newfound feelings, similar to how she felt the world around her a sleep ago yet completely different all the more, didn't scare her. In fact, they opened up new facets of the reality she was born to, of the gravity to her role. Playing a chord, the heiress felt that she could and would sing, remaining uncertainty dissolving in the familiar movement of spirit.

Only the spirit themselves was no acquaintance of hers.

Instantly, the world beside Nayla would vanish, making way to a light as bright as tens of thousands of divinities. It was as if the celestial sphere collapsed under one's strike, drawing the sun far too close to her; she could be aflame and wouldn't notice it. If there was air, then it surely thinned out and fell in opalescent leaves, for she couldn't breathe. Why, she didn't even need a breath. All foolishness seemed to have found its way into the scene, and the heiress was only able to remark how strange it was when the vision came to a halt.

She couldn't help but giggle when it was all over. For those observing, she was indeed like a person who visited the sun; her searing silhouette, her glowing eyes, the sound of the chord striking something deeper than just air. It wasn't a fun giggle, mind you. What is going on?

It wouldn't end there, unfortunately, as she found her vision lighting up in a flash. A concord of twelve people, one of them a beautiful woman in the centre of attention, her white dress decorated with a sash. An official, perhaps? Nayla had no time to think, as the vision sped up. Man walking up to her, laughing, his hand on her shoulder. Her body falling, screaming and blood afoot. It ended just as quickly, yet felt even stronger. Overwhelming. Nauseating. Grotesque.

The girl fell to her knees right as her eyes lost their searing glow, a sob escaping her. It was too much to take even for her; too much to think about and too little in the way of time. Though the heiress didn't break down crying, tears fell not far from where she pushed her arms against the ground, which helped her not fall over completely. Should she say something? Anything? The vision wasn't an illusion, yet why did she feel like it could be one?