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distortionist_s_utopia [2021/10/19 13:39] – bluedistortionist_s_utopia [2021/10/20 09:42] (current) – blue
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 And there was Koro, kneeling on the ground, a victim of that softness she indulged in. The spikes were coming for him. Or were they? No, not this time. She wouldn't let them. She could feel the blueprint of the possibility there, and yet she denied it. Rather than pierce her brother, she would tug those marionette strings at her fingertips and make fate dance for her. How convenient it would be if those spikes simply appeared elsewhere. If the commander of the army wished to go down in some blaze of honor, killing themself in repentence of war crimes perpetrated against her people. They were just kneeling there, ready to accept the attack as well. And there was Koro, kneeling on the ground, a victim of that softness she indulged in. The spikes were coming for him. Or were they? No, not this time. She wouldn't let them. She could feel the blueprint of the possibility there, and yet she denied it. Rather than pierce her brother, she would tug those marionette strings at her fingertips and make fate dance for her. How convenient it would be if those spikes simply appeared elsewhere. If the commander of the army wished to go down in some blaze of honor, killing themself in repentence of war crimes perpetrated against her people. They were just kneeling there, ready to accept the attack as well.
 +
 <fc #cd5c5c>''[Koro]''</fc> <fc #cd5c5c>''[Koro]''</fc>
  
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 "Yeah, probably." She stretches a bit as she kind of kicks at the ground as she walks, beginning the journey back, as if trying to send little pieces of stone flying with each step she made to entertain herself. "He's probably got a good reason for keeping to himself though. Maybe us not knowing keeps us safer." "Yeah, probably." She stretches a bit as she kind of kicks at the ground as she walks, beginning the journey back, as if trying to send little pieces of stone flying with each step she made to entertain herself. "He's probably got a good reason for keeping to himself though. Maybe us not knowing keeps us safer."
 +----
 +=====Dinner Party=====
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +The journey back was uneventful, with some still smoking villages being cleared out, and with some murmurs about Alia's appearance on the battlefield having not been a disaster. Upon return the castle was....strangely, unharmed. It might have been the mishap with the distortion earlier, but seeing as Koro was equally unsurprised by the Castle being back in one piece, it is likely something else was at work. Koro led them both through the lower levels of the castle that seemed somehow more fortified inside than out, and up into the second floor of the structure. A few salutes here, some knowing nods there, and eventually through the winding hallways the pair were suddenly in a rather large dining room that seemed far more ornate and palace-like than just about everywhere else in the building so far. Jewels glittering along the walls and ceiling, floating magical blue-light candles, and even what appeared to be a small band lying in wait, that was in fact a group of statues that suddenly came to life as the two made their way to the center of the room, where a large dining room table adorned with golden goblets and silver plates shined polished and clean on a table that was quite literally encrusted with topaz  and some unknown clear crystals.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine walked and her ever-watchful and observant gaze was caught by every nuance and detail. One moment it was the tile pattern of the floor, the next it was the way the accents in the hallway complimented some other ornate artistry. She was enraptured by the newness, the freshness, the fact that all of this seemed to be at her disposal. She found herself getting a bit distracted here and there, stopping or slowing down to a crawl before finding the need to jog to catch back up to Koro.
 +
 +She was grinning as she practically skipped through the ornate room, turning as she walked to take it all in as she removed her armored gloves to presumably wash her hands, if not to just handle dining implements well, the girl trained with Eligor's fastidious pre-meal cleaning habits by now. She felt that hollow, rumbling discomfort in the pit of her stomach, the one that aether could not sate anymore. How strange it was to find the idea of eating anything remotely appealing.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia appeared some time later, not looking at anyone and quickly finding her seat at the corner of the table. She did not seem interested in removing her armor, or even the blood spatter that had so wonderfully decorated her cheek. She seemed lost in thought, thinking over something so intensely yet quietly that one might swear smoke were coming from her ears. Koro on the other hand seemed to mostly follow Alia's lead, arguably going a step further what with his breastplate having been destroyed in the battle earlier. He sat down at one end of the table and began inspecting his utensils carefully, raising a brow here and there as he went.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine eyed the two of them, not exactly sure how structured this whole thing was, where she should sit, if one should sit yet at all. Judging from Ilia's complete lack of hygiene, Novine looked to Koro to lead as an example for those sorts of things. As she stood there in a moment of uncertainty, she looked to Ilia. 
 +
 +
 +"How'd your thing go? Whatever it was you were checking on."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia narrowed her eyes. 
 +
 +"Don't know what you mean." 
 +
 +She looked to Koro before scoffing. 
 +
 +"So just what exactly beat you into a flat little shape eh? Or did you forget to wear your godsdamned armor to battle?" 
 +
 +He did not answer, still inspecting utensils even as his face stiffened. He certainly heard the comment.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine - "Well what did you do? You can play dumb or whatever, but you just kinda up and left and told me to take care of everything. At least he was fighting the whole time." Her tone was a bit protective in nature.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Is that what he calls it? No wonder father is ashamed of him. If he needs his sisters to appear—nevermind one who can barely remember how to use her abilities—to help him take care of anything perhaps he’s better off hiding away where he can’t embarrass us.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"He didn't even need me," She points out, building him up a bit. "He got the whole enemy army to put their weapons down and surrender on his own. He's got presence! Besides, it's your fault in the first place I can't remember anything. Maybe you shouldn't've hit me so hard, huh?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"SURRENDER!?"
 +
 +Immediately, the heat in the room began to rise, along with a familiar creeping dread as she rose from her seat, eyes glowing and fire spouting from her mouth as she began to shout. 
 +
 +"THEY KILLED OUR PEOPLE! INVADED OUR LANDS! ATTACKED OUR FAMILY! THEIR HEADS SHOULD BE MOUNTED ON SPIKES AND MELTED ON PYRES, AND YOU DARE ALLOW THEM TO SURRENDER!? EVEN WORSE, YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO STROLL IN HERE LIKE ALL IS WELL!?" 
 +
 +Koro continues to quietly observe the cutlery, a light blush coming to his cheeks as he puts a great amount of effort into concentrating on his distraction. Eliciting no response even as a golden goblet was flung at his head, Ilia turns her fury towards Alia. 
 +
 +"AND YOU! APPARENTLY I DID NOT STRIKE YOU HARD ENOUGH IF THIS IS HOW THE SO-CALLED GLUTTON PRINCESS DEALS WITH HER ENEMIES! A NIGH ENDLESS FEAST BEFORE YOU, AND YOU LET THIS LITTLE WORM SPARE INVADERS! The both of you are a disgra--"
 +
 +Her words are suddenly cut short as a knife flies past her cheek, drawing blood. Apparently including Alia in her rant was a step to far, as Koro was already standing from his seat, eyes coming to a glow on their own. Ilia seemed shocked for but a moment, but quickly surprise gave way to a crazed smile. The temperature in the room began to rise further.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"What, so just because a bunch of people decided to call me that, that means I've gotta do what they want tme to do? Fuck that! I gave you the chance to fill me in on whatever I needed to know, and you decided you were too busy to tell me anything about what's happening. Funny how things don't go your way when you don't give people the information, isn't it?" 
 +
 +She was annoyed above all, plopping down in a chair with a huff.
 +
 +"If I'm the glutton princess, what does that make you? The tantrum one? You go kill 'em I'd you want 'em dead and stop making everyone do everything for you." She stubbornly crossed her arms.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Now now children...”
 +
 +A voice cuts across the room, all but freezing the very air with it’s presence.
 +
 +“There is no need to fight amongst yourselves.”
 +
 +From the doorway, clad in blackened armor and a tattered cape and sporting a brittle looking charred-black crown, Eligor entered the room. Ilia and Koro quickly found their seats again despite holding a glare at each other, all the while Eligor slowly made his way to the head of the table, sitting with something of a smirk on his face. He did not look terribly different from usual. His hair was short and slicked back, he did not have earrings in his left ear, and he sported a well-groomed beard but other than these details he largely looked the same. The true difference were his eyes and the crystal in his forehead. Both were a chalky white, as if the color had been drained from them, and thick black veins trailed from the edges of his eyes and onto the sides of his face, going out of view as they reached his hairline.
 +
 +"You should love each other. Cherish and celebrate your differences. No need to let them rip you apart."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine immediately calmed a bit as he entered. She seemed to be intrigued by him, her eyes following his progress as if trying to hunt for all the differences between subtle mannerisms and appearance. Finding she had been staring at him a bit, she breaks her gaze reluctantly and sits up a bit straighter in her chair. She looks between Koro and Ilia, not wanting to say too much. Ilia's previous warnings about not acting too out of line around him spiraled in her mind.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +He snaps his fingers and a line of butlers enter the room, shining silver containers in hand. They carefully and quietly set food about the table. Roasts and chickens and salads. Vegetables steamed and chopped and seasoned. There were even muffins and bread rolls. Just as quietly as they came, the servers vacated to room with remarkable speed, leaving behind only the excessive feast of food in their wake.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine regarded the food carefully, looking around the table as to some kind of order or ettiquette. She barely ate as it was, and when she did, it was often just sitting on couches and eating a couple chunks of vegetables from a stew, not sitting at some grand table with gleaming finery and a dizzying amount of food. Yet the smell of it was so appealing. She found she actually wanted it for once, her body leaning forward, fingertips grabbing at the edge of the table in an expectant sort of way.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +||She would not have found any such clues from her family. While Koro carefully went about inspecting and eating his food, Ilia dug into it like a barbarian desperate to survive severe starving. Eligor himself simply watched his children eerily, a toothy grin present on his features.||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine's appetite would fall somewhere in the middle of the two, serving herself reasonable, but smaller portions of things. She realized that eating itself would be its own Herculean task with her new set of teeth, the sharp, pointed tips a threat with every bite and subsequent chewing motion. She carefully ate and tried her best to disguise any of her clumsiness. She was amazed at how her senses were so strong compared to the ones she had developed for herself, the taste of the morsels entertaining and satisfying in equal measure. She didn't mind the process for once as it seemed vital.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +Eligor continued to stare, the smile on his face growing wider. Eventually, he leaned back grinning.
 +
 +“So I heard that a certain princess went out on her own today to repel the enemy. Has your interest in people finally been rekindled?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked over to the simultaneously familiar yet strange father figure as the question sounded out. She swallowed, finding the function much easier in a body that was built for the function. 
 +
 +"I was just having fun, really. Dunno if I was that interested in the people."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“And yet, if your sisters screaming is anything to go by....you did not eradicate the enemy. Why?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Cause it was Koro's fight, and it should end the way he wanted it to. I'd get all annoyed if he stuck his nose in my fight."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia slammed her fist on the table, glaring at Alia with increasing frustration painted on her face.
 +
 +“The boy has no spine so you decided to let him snatch yours as well!?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine gave Ilia a rather nasty look. "They're just gonna send 'em out again, so they'll die next time. 'Sides, I was full. Like I said before, if you wanted 'em dead so badly, you should've gone. Too bad you weren't anywhere to be seen!"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“You keep saying that like it’s a good point. I was verifying the movements of the enemy in another province because I thought YOU TWO would be able to do what needs to be done. Clearly my fault lies in even entertaining that thought.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Well glad you think I'm the mind reader Princess too," she spits back. "If you want something done just say it, cause yeah, it's your logic that failed you. Stop pinning your failures on other people." She looks at her sternly. "You don't get to tell me what to do. I'm not your little pet to order around. And neither is Koro."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Do you know what bloody common sense is!?”
 +
 +“Enemy shows up. Enemy attacks. You kill enemy. What part of that is complicated in your tiny mind!?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine tilts her head. "What's the point of having power if you run out of people to use it on? If we kill all of 'em, who's gonna be left when I need 'em later? I mean, I killed a lot of other people today, you'd think that'd count for something."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +She seems ready to lunge across the table, but Eligor picks up a slice of roast and bites into it. This was clearly unnatural, as both Koro and Ilia freeze up at the action, staring at him in disbelief.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked slightly confused, but she shifted her attention to Eligor all the same, but perhaps with less of that disbelieving wonder.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“I’m more interested in this new plot before me than I am the lives of a few soldiers.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"What d'you mean?" she asks simply, looking back to her plate and poking at the food on it to have something else to focus on.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +He continues eating, still holding his smile.
 +
 +“You’ve changed. I can see it.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +She spares him a little look before looking back down, feeling a bit like she was being interrogated.
 +
 +"...So? Everything changes."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“Is that how you see it?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Pretty much. Everything's always changed! Nothing's ever stayed put. Even if you don't do anything or shake things up, everything changes around you. You can try and enforce routine, but even the steadiest streams erode at the soil surrounding it."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“Hmm....very well then. Alia, what do you propose happens next then? Are you trying to make a farm out of the enemy?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Make 'em do stuff our people don't like doing. Enslave 'em, get information out of 'em, ransom 'em for higher order officials, I dunno! I'm not trying to do anything. I just didn't feel like killing 'em all right then."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“But you clearly disagree with your sisters course of action with your brother. If you’ve a better course of action surely you can convince us?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"I dunno if it's -better- but people don't seem to be scared of him for one. Maybe his way would help our people not feel like they're victims of whatever my whims are. Hell, walking back with 'em they even seemed surprised and relieved that I didn't go all crazy for once. He's consistent and stable and not willing to harm 'em. Can't fix stuff or rebuild stuff when your toolbox is only full of hammers. Hammers are just as important as the other things."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“So you’re saying fear is flawed?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"It's got its place, and is even more compelling when you've just had some hope to contrast it with."(edited)
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +His smile grows wider and he stands, chuckling to himself. After one more glance at Ilia and Koro, he departs the room without another word. Despite the tension in the room mostly leaving with him, Ilia and Koro seem frozen in their seats, their faces having gone quite pale.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks between them both. "What?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Ruling through fear was your proposal,” Ilia snapped, clicking his sharp teeth in irritation, “and after proving it can work, it was adopted as our internal policy here. The idea also serves to maintain order. With overwhelming strength—that was your plan. To openly go against it when you are normally so obstinate proves there is something wrong with you.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine groans and leans back in her chair, making a frustrated noise. "Fucking hells... Ilia, this is stuff you tell me when I ask you to tell me stuff I should know!" She looks to Koro. "And you too! I keep asking you guys for help and you just stay all mysterious. You're just as bad as he is," she grumbles. 
 +
 +"So what? What d'you think happens now?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“How should we know?” Ilia rips into another chunk of meat while Koro fiddles around with some of the steamed vegetables quietly.*
 +
 +“At the very least, he knows something is up. But if it were too far you’d already....we’d be fighting, not eating.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +She folds her arms and sighs. "Well... he seemed to find it amusing anyway. But why'd everyone think that was the best idea anyway? Why bother listening to me in the first place? What, did I threaten to kill everyone or something if I didn't get my way?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Koro]''</fc>
 +
 +Koro - “How hard did you hit her?”
 +
 +Koro finally spoke. He seemed genuinely concerned and confused all at once.
 +
 +“She remembers nothing!”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine offered no help, letting Ilia handle it. After all, Ilia decided to let her flounder around all day.
 +
 +She stared at Ilia with raised eyebrows, expectant.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia sighs
 +
 +“You had a tendency to throw tantrums, and father agreed to let you try. Then you succeeded. Is that enough information for why your brother would be so confused?”
 +
 +“You’ve seen what you can do. Apply that with a tantrum.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"How'd things go before?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“What does that even mean?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Before I suggested it? How were things going in this war or whatever?"
 +
 +"For something to work, something else had to not work."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Koro]''</fc>
 +
 +"Before..." Koro spoke up, but his expression was once again tense. "Before, we did not attack, we only defended. But more people came here for refuge, and only father and Ilia were fighting. This led to revolts. People wanted us to attack, but when you gave them what they wanted, they were horrified by our....abilities. Then you got angry. Decided they needed to be put in line."
 +
 +"It was around the same time father became...stranger. He encouraged you, but started having Ilia bring people back. People to do the very thing you suggested. Slave work. Labor. Spies and information."
 +
 +"Then he suddenly had you two work together and...well, this is the result."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine listened carefully, a grumpy look in her face. Finally, she closed her mismatched eyes and let out another sigh. 
 +
 +"I mean... I'd probably feel the same way if the circumstances were right. I'd probably suggest doing the same thing eventually. It can work and, well, if that's what you all wanna keep doing, I can do it. I'm used to being a bit of a monster." 
 +
 +She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to rest against the back of the chair. She needed advice, information, and context. Not exactly sure what would trigger being able to talk with Alia again, Novine called out to her in her mind, tapping into that power she had to speak with her other self.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +||The world slows to a crawl, slowly but surely melting into the same darkness that once encroached upon the world as before. It was not a pleasant process; the world was robbed of color and warmth and the presence of life. Slowly but surely, the dark shadow of Alia formed along the outlines in the distance, remaining silent for now, but clearly staring.||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine closes her eyes and takes a steadying breath as she gathers her bearings again, that dead world feeling oppressive in its emptiness. 
 +
 +"Alia... I had a conversation with Father just now. One in which I proposed that ruling with fear isn't the best solution, and that fear is more effective when contrasted against hope. Father laughed and seemed highly amused but... I dunno his motivations here, what drives him forward, and I dunno if I should let it stand. I was trying to protect Koro in all this and I guess I stepped in it a bit."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“So what do you want to hear from your other self? Reprimands? Advices? Grievances?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"No, that'd be pointless. I was hoping for some kind of idea of how this version of our father behaves. Like will he do something rash, will he just sit back and watch. Will he reject me now that I owe something is different about me? That sorta thing."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“I’d imagine if he were going to do something he would have already. I don’t know about your version of our father but this one is very much empowered. After Ilia arrived he went from a cowardly farmer to a cowardly farmer that happens to be able to life castles with his mind.”
 +
 +“You’ve changed but you haven’t attacked. Perhaps it just warrants mutual caution? Besides, all of the power is in your hands now either way. How they feel is largely irrelevant. The moment they betray you, we will crush them.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"And why are we crushing them? Ilia maybe because she's pretty obnoxious but, your Father? Think he's too far gone or something? Or I dunno, maybe you never were close."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Are you close with father?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +She takes a moment to think of a way to describe the relationship. "He's the one I allow the closest. There's still a lot I don't know or understand about him, but, kinda like Koro for you... I mean, for us, I... We? We have a lot connected to him."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Then tell us what you would like to do. I gave you the one request for Koro, you should know I thought it through many times. Crushing is only the easiest option, if they vex you so.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"I mean, I don't have a long-term goal here. I dunno enough about the past to be invested in the future but... I dunno, would be nice if there were people left to have power over by the end, as fun as it is to just take all their aether. What'll happen when there's nothing left to crush, y'know? I can keep doing what we're doing just... I guess I think just killing everything and making everyone afraid will get boring someday and we'll end up just alone with nothing to do. I've reached a limit like that before, and it sucked."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Do you think the limits of our power is to destroy? We are so much more that that. Use that brain of yours. Surely you’ll come to understand it.”(edited)
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Of course I don't, but if you go around talking about crushing everything..." 
 +
 +She paused. 
 +
 +"Just... What led you to pick strictly fear? I feel like I can't trust Ilia, and Koro is hiding stuff from me and I'm not sure why. I don't like making decisions based on stuff I can't know to be the truth.  I'll do whatever I have to if I know it's based on facts and evidence."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +Finally, Alia emerges forty from the darkness, smiling widely.
 +
 +“Fear makes everything easier. Even the unpredictable bits have a predictable element to them. Think of father, and how he spoke to everyone. All our power, yet he still commanded the room with fear alone. For all the inconsistency in the nature of our siblings, fear is the one thing that keeps everything from going too far. Why wouldn’t I want to see what it’s like to BE the one causing the fear? To have the control? It also helps to conceal any plans to seize power. No one will question the glutton princess being the horror the rumors paint her to be.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine nods, considering the point. "Yeah, I mean that makes sense. Just don't see why Koro's gotta buy in. Sure, I can be feared, people can be afraid of me, but people should then respect Koro more for his diplomacy, and respect it more knowing that if something happens to him, they'd have me to deal with close behind. I just don't get why there's so little room for alternatives. We're powerful, we can handle some variation."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Buy in—“
 +
 +She cut herself off, looking up.
 +
 +“You need to go back.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks up, following her gaze as if she would notice something herself. "....Why? What's happening?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“An interruption.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Any parting advice?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Be on guard—especially around father.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +She sighed and nodded. "Well, I guess that's as good as I can expect from someone in my family. Cryptic to the last, all of you. Thanks though."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +“I’m in here, not out there you ass!”
 +
 +She gave one final rude gesture with her finger before fading away, the world slowly coming back into color.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine opened her eyes rather suddenly, immediately looking a bit more alert than she had previously as she looked back and forth between her siblings. 
 +
 +"Look, I don't wanna rock the boat too much, so to speak. If you all think the fear works well, that it keeps things from going too far, I'll lean into it. You two just might have to help me get my bearings straight is all I'm saying."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +No one was looking at her. Eligor had reappeared in the room with his arms opened wide and his smile quite happy.
 +
 +“It’s finally time again my children,” he declared as Ilia immediately moved into a defensive stance, “how I’ve waited for this moment!”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine focused her gaze on her Father, posture straight, the girl poised and watching his every moment. It wasn't quite as pronounced as Ilia's.
 +
 +"The suspense is killing us," she says simply and a bit wryly, but carefully, not wanting to sound too sassy.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +He places his hands together and claps, still holding his smile and chuckling even as Koro also seemed to prepare for something awful.
 +
 +“I don’t mind what you three decide, as long as you decide it together, you know. Remember to always love one another, no matter how you feel about me.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Do we have a reason not to love you as well?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and that usual tilt of the head.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“I’m stronger,” He said simply, smirking condescendingly as Ilia visibly bristled.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine hummed in consideration. "I see... So, what do you plan to do now that you've come so far?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“You’ll understand someday.”
 +
 +||As soon as he spoke the words the world seemed to freeze for but a moment. The next, the room was filled with a blinding golden light as a tear formed behind Eligor in the very space itself. Ilia said something, but it was lost in the ear splitting cracking of what was once space being torn asunder, and a radiating heat rushing into the room after.||
 +
 +||When the episode was over, half of the room was suddenly turned into solid gold. Eligor turned around to face the new arrival: a black-ice skinned Lalafell wearing an impossibly bright white robe. A small golden sun burned in her forehead, and her glowing eyes shine gold and pale blue.  Radiating from her was more than simply aether—it was some otherworldly authority that nearly commanded worship and reverence.||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine stood her ground as the room was altered around her, bringing an arm up to shield her face from the radiating warmth and wincing at the loud sound. The gold was both beautiful and terrible, but she quelled any surprise she felt. She narrowed her eyes slightly at the both of them, familiar eye colors and the rift registering in her mind as both familiar and alien in the same instance. The feeling radiating from the being was unsettling in its power, and Novine found herself most cowed by that alone, her narrowed eyes forming one of concern as that feeling of invincible control seemed threatened.
 +----
 +
 +=====The Savior Appears=====
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Woman]''</fc>
 +
 +There is no voice, but the intent is felt clearly like a voice.
 +
 +<Give them back.>
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks to the strange Lalafell with a furrowed brow, the voice washing over her  in an eerie way, felt rather than heard exactly.
 +
 +<Give what back?> she thought to herself, wondering if the newcomer would hear it in a similar way.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +Eligor smiled and leaned on the bow golden half of the table.
 +
 +Ilia did not seem interested in talking. Drawing her rapier, she rushed forward, a strange black and green aura of aether swirling about her blade....but it was no use. She did not even do much as reach the woman before being repelled by some otherworldly force and propelled through the castle walls like a sharp rock through wet paper. Eligor still did not flinch, and remained still.
 +
 +“If you want them back, you know what you’ll have to do. I’ll accept no less than a proper trade.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine wanted Ilia here. She needed people who were aware of the dancers around her, to go off the cues they displayed. She exercises her power, attempting to alter the effect of their clash, intending to distort their reality to  have Ilia only rebuffed safely away and not ejected from the room with such force.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +||The world distorted, and Ilia found herself painfully indented into the wall instead of out of the picture entirely.||
 +
 +Hearing Eligor’s words, the new arrival seemed conflicted. She seemed to notice that Ilia was not ejected from the room, but after a Moments of silence backhanded the air. Soon after Eligor’s head fell from his shoulders and slumped onto the floor, still smiling.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine stepped back at Eligor's sudden decapitation. She felt a chill go down her spine, her heart drop, this frustrating annoying attachment to a complete stranger as this man was nothing like her father as far as she could tell. But... To dispose of him so easily after he had claimed to be more powerful... To be struck so simply by suck a small thing... It wouldn't do. She couldn't be here.
 +
 +Novine would halt the rift, the one that thundered into existence so suddenly. It would simply fail to appear. Novine imagined it never opening, trapping that being in some between-place. As a result of the distortion, the rift would hopefully dissipate in their room before it could fully grow. That girl would never arrive to decapitate him, and he would never get the satisfaction of having summoned her.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Woman]''</fc>
 +
 +||The woman did indeed not appear through the rift this time....at least not physically. Her aether very clearly still broke through however. Without a physical presence, Ilia could not attack her directly, which eliminated that outcome entirely. Eligor, however....still found himself headless on the table.||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine's eyes flickered as she watched her alterations still end in an undesirable outcome. She let out an annoyed growl as she attempted to siphon some of that aether, to see if she even could. Provided it didn't affect her negatively, she would keep going.
 +
 +"What is it you want?" she asked with a growl.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Woman]''</fc>
 +
 +||The attempt backfires, and she instead finds herself knocked back and through the wall much like Ilia was earlier. Flying through the air she would notice a golden spiral of aether enveloping her body.||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +As soon as the aether began to overtake her, she reacted. She would change this outcome. Rather than have it backfire and cause herself to experience the violent recoil, she would reverse the interaction. She would stay put and the energy of the interaction would play out as such that this aetherial presence would find itself repelled instead, the force maintained, but the velocity and intertia changing parties.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Woman]''</fc>
 +
 +||The feat works, but the entity was not physically there. Instead of Novine, a golden chair suddenly burst through the wall instead. The entity focused on Novine now, glowing eyes coming to a squint.||
 +
 +<It’s you>
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine grins widely, her toothy smile unable to be contained.
 +
 +"I haven't a clue what you're talking about." she says, her voice sounding a bit playful despite her knowing the severity of the situation. She takes a moment to extend a hand and summon a barrier between her siblings and the entity.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Woman]''</fc>
 +
 +The entity takes one look at Alia's reactionary barrier and looks back to her, no mouth visible on her face but a frown fairly apparent there.
 + 
 +||The entity looks at Alia, and reality warps and bends, distorting the world around them into an all encompassing white. When the brightness cleared, the entity was gone--as was Alia's features over Novine's. Replacing them were Raziel and Novine in a field of candy and flowers, with bubble-gum clouds and what appeared to be a smiling sun far in the distance.||
 +
 +Raziel crossed her arms, her cheeks puffed out angrily. 
 +
 +"Why are you in there!?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked around, her grin fading as she was alarmed at having yet again been pulled somewhere else without her knowledge or consent. She appeared to be a bit disoriented, examining herself and the area around her, confusion and slight frustration on her features.
 +
 +"I...I don't..." She looked to Raziel, her features relaxing into an expression of relieved surprise as she moved toward her. "Raziel! Are you okay? You were all weird and stuff earlier and... and then I ended up there somehow. I came back once, but then they brought be back in so.... I didn't know how to get back. I thought maybe if I just... played their game, it'd end eventually."
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +"That can't work. I'm rearranging them."
 +
 +||**THIS WOMAN IS AN ENEMY! ATTACK HER!**||
 +
 +"This isn't something you can do by asking them to understand. I've tried."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine blinks in confusion and looks off to the side a bit as if she had heard a voice over her shoulder. She settles her gaze on Raziel and tilts her head.
 +
 +"Well... what... what are you doing messing with them n' stuff? Why are you messing with them?"
 +
 +She thinks the words, unsure if that voice within could hear them.
 +
 +<But... she's my sister.>
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +“I have to save them.”
 +
 +||Rage would begin to well up in Novine’s chest in response like a blazing pure.||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine balled up her fists and grew increasingly angry, her body language increasingly tense. The rage swelling up within her caused her to snap at her in a rather vicious way.
 +
 +"Why!? You should just leave them alone!"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +"You don't understand because you cannot see it. These worlds are being linked but they are being used as food. All of you were, until I pulled you out."
 +
 +||**LIES! DESTROY HER!**||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine crouches down on the ground, holding her head as she lets out a scream of anger and rage, the two sides of her logic and her body actively fighting against each other. It was taking everything she could to try and drown out the messaging she was receiving. The familiar heat that would that appear around her body when she was losing her control showed itself, the air around her rippling like satin, crackles of lightning sparking here and there on her body as she curled into her little protective angry ball.
 +
 +"But Father's dead! And I have to protect Koro! I have to put it back! I have to change it!"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +Raziel grabs Novine's shoulders and starts shaking her.
 +
 +"No! You can't save them! Just listen to me, and we can do it!"
 +
 +||**POISONOUS RESISTANCE! HOW DARE YOU BETRAY US!?`**||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine reflexively channels that built-up aether into Raziel's hands, the lightning sparking like a high-voltage shock, clearly not in a focused enough state to control herself well. She immediately looked to Raziel with a pained expression, hating that she might have hurt her, but still poised and on edge. 
 +
 +"I want to save them! I'm her! I promised her! He's all we have! I'm powerful there! I can do it!"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +Raziel jerked back as the jolt ran into her, a glow coming to one of her eyes before going out.
 +
 +"You're too small to stop it. It's just going to keep growing until it eats all of them. We have to move them and buy time. But that will force us to go further back, and that will require us to go to one of the older worlds."
 +
 +"But all of the older worlds are engulfed in chaos--we will lose some at this rate either way."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"How do I know I can trust what you're saying!?" *she asked, clearly a bit disoriented.* "Alia says you're an enemy! How do I know it's really you!? That this isn't just some other world where everyone wants something different from me!?"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +She looks hurt, but puffs out her cheeks.
 +
 +“I’m the big sister, so you have to listen to me! You don’t get what’s going on—you’ll make everything worse.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine stares up at her, swallowing down the rage that was clawing and gnawing at her, her gaze and physiology filled with signs of her resisting a lot of impulses she is being fed. Her clawed fingers move to her upper arms, digging into her own skin as if to prevent them from acting out, the pain helping her focus a bit.
 +
 +"Fine!" she says a bit petulantly. "What do I do?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +||**Traitor**||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine digs her nails a bit deeper as she hears those words, wincing with the pain of it, resisting the voice for now.
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +"Well...I've been trying to move the souls, but there is a monster that is locking them there."
 +
 +She opens her palm, and several tiny planets aligned vertically appear one after the other. She flicks one second from the top of the line-up with her free hand and presents it, showing it covered in some kind of red aura. 
 +
 +"I got rid of the monster, but...its still there somehow. It's strange..."
 +
 +"Everytime I stop it, it moves!"
 +
 +She lets out a frustrated squeak before puffing smoke out of her nostrils.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +She looks up at the display of little planets and relaxes her fingers, pulling her nails from her arms, little crescent shaped lacerations appearing in her flesh, not bleeding.*
 +
 +"So where is it now then? Where I was?"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +"It's in all of the newer worlds. The older worlds havent been touched, but they are consumed by chaos. We cannot protect all of the souls if we move them there."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"So... what, you move all the people with your rifts and stuff? What do you need me for?" In her bad-tempered mood, she adds a little dig in. "I'm too small, apparently."
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +"I don't, you shouldn't be here. I was going to send you back so you could tell father."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Well... what's gonna happen to them all?"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +"I'll save them."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"....You're sure I can't help? I'm really powerful there. I get to have a crystal like you, and I can do all kinds of stuff!"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +||She freezes up,  a look of horror spreading across her face. Before she can say anything however, the fairytale world is bent and pushed inward before a rapier busts through the tapestry of reality like popping a bubble and Ilia comes tumbling through, falling face first but managing to roll over in front of Novine before realigning herself and pointing it towards Raziel, seemingly positioning herself to act as a shield of sorts.||
 +
 +Ilia's hair is far more disheveled here, and her hair seems to be far longer. It was done up in a heavy ponytail, but it was thick enough to almost completely obscure the back of her head and most of her upper back entirely.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine lunges for Ilia, grabbing her rapier arm to make sure she didn't attack Raziel. "Don't, Ilia! She's my sister! N' why are you here now?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +From the front, Ilia looked mostly the same aside from one crucial detail: The right side of her face was scarred, around her cheek. Upon closer inspection, one would be able to see underneath the bangs grown over that side of her face to hide the truth. She was missing an eye. She did not spare a glance towards Novine at all, keeping her stance like a statue even as Novine tried to hold her.
 +
 +"This is the fucking thing I told you about before. The rule breaker."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine maintains her hold. "Yeah but... she's trying to save people." She looks at her a little more carefully. "What happened...?"
 +
 +<fc #E54262>''[Raziel]''</fc>
 +
 +Raziel looks her over for a while before bristling angrily, pointing at Ilia.
 +
 +"You! The big sister! Get away from her, she's trying to help it!"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks between them and lets go of Ilia's arm, backing away a few steps. She remains silent, looking a bit uncomfortable with her position: lacking evidence, lacking truth, or seeing truth but from so many angles that the truths conflicted.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia turns her head towards Novine, doing a bit of a double-take at her appearance but remains in place, poised to strike.
 +
 +"I'm not helping it, but trying to fight it just makes it spread. I distinctly told you that before when you tried to force a migration of everyone, not even thinking about how much that would stress the destination."
 +
 +"You can't just...save people like its a flick of the wrist trick. It will never be as easy as you think, and it'll always be harder than you imagine."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Well, what do we do?" she asks, a little agitated that the story was turning again. "Why'd you bring me and not tell me what was happening?" she asks of Ilia. "If you knew, why hide it?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"Me!? What about you? You lied to me when you were working with HER all along!"
 +
 +"Or are you just mad I found out about your tricks?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"I didn't lie about anything! You weren't even around for me to tell you anything after she started talking to me! She told me not to tell Father, so I couldn't just bring it up!"
 +
 +"And no, I'm not mad you found out. It's a nice trick that saved Koro!"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +She lowered her blade after a time.
 +
 +"...Fine. Neither of you can stop me anyway. Doesn't matter how many of you appear." 
 +
 +Raziel on the other hand did not seem as enthused to see the tension end so simply. Moving her finger an a strange arc, Ilia is suddenly punted backward by some unseen force, flying into the distance and disappearing into a torrent of flower petals and candy.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine follows her trajectory with her eyes and looks back to Raziel when it seems she has disappeared. "...Are you sure you can do it? Save them?" Her voice held doubt within it.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +||**Oh no you don't! Traitors must be repaid in kind!**||
 +
 +
 +**A̷̓̈́l̸̂͗i̵̅̎a̵͂̀ ̷̃̂D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +||Alia attempts to intervene with a distortion, but something goes wrong. Rather than Ilia being blown away, a portal opens upon impact, much like Raziel's rifts. It sucks them all into it, absorbing everything into darkness.||
 +
 +**M̶͑̔À̶̈́D̷͂͐N̴͆͌È̶̈S̷̛̃S̴̿͌ ̵̎̌Ì̸̌N̶͆́C̶̓̽R̸̉̀E̵͂̀A̸͗̒S̸̈̚É̴̍D̵̂̐**
 +
 +||The world reformed in gust of hot air, as Ilia and Novine were spat out onto hot and hard earth, cracked from who knows how long in the sun, with the sounds of cannon fire booming off in the distance with a near constant bombardment. Raziel was nowhere to be seen, but Novine would find herself in Alia's skin once more.||
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +=====All in Jest=====
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine lets out a frustrated cry as Alia interferes and the world goes dark. She lands unceremoniously in the dust and quickly examines herself to determine who she was in the moment. She reached up to touch her forehead, ascertaining if a crystal was indeed there and found herself surprisingly relieved to find it.
 +
 +As she pushes herself to her feet, she looks to Ilia, then looks around for Raziel, appearing to be a bit concerned by her absence.
 +
 +"Where are we? You recognize this place?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia stands up, looking around for a while before starting to shake violently.
 +
 +"We can't be here. It's gone."
 +
 +She turned towards Novine, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her from the ground. 
 +
 +"WHAT DID YOU DO!? TRYING TO TORTURE ME!?" 
 +
 +Ilia appeared looked as she did earlier, but appeared to be younger now, but her right eye was blood red and covered in old cuts.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine grabs at Ilia's wrist and channels some aether into her arm, her hand turning to a flash of a flame to escape the choke-hold. She found the fact that she couldn't breathe in this body terribly alarming and thrashed rather violently to free herself.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia was forced to release her thanks to the flames, but she kept her good eye trained on her. She seemed even more powerful than she was before now, like some ominous predator that was looking for any opening to lunge in for the kill, but as the explosions continued in the distance she sank to her knees, shutting her eyes and clawing at the ground.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"It's me, not her! I didn't do anything! I dunno where we are even, and I don't even know enough about you to torture you. I dunno what happened but don't you pin it on me," she told her in an annoyed way. "...So what's this all about? Or you are just gonna leave me hanging and yell at me later when I do something wrong again."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"It's home."
 +
 +"I destroyed it already, so it can't be here."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"She must've brought it back then. Distorted reality to change what you did. Maybe not intentionally though, sometimes it's a bit weird but... Why destroy it in the first place?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"It wasn't on purpose!"
 +
 +She stood up, gripping her rapier tightly enough to make her armor creak.
 +
 +"I tried to save everyone. Kept going back over and over again, to do things differently. To change the past, and make a better future."
 +
 +"Eventually, it all just fell apart."
 +
 +She rubs her right eye absentmindedly.
 +
 +"The world can't take too many changes to what has been or what will be before it starts to fall apart."
 +
 +"The only way was to erase this future entirely. And myself with it."
 +
 +She turns towards Novine, pointing.
 +
 +"That's when you began to exist. A new world, where my mother never had me and you came instead. Apparently, it went much further than I thought."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Well, it's a different world. Why would you expect it to be the same? So much else about 'em is different, why not the people? I mean, to me, comparing things to my world, you're not there either, but there's a bunch of people that are there that aren't here."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"THERE ARE RULES!"
 +
 +"I'm not there because the possibility for me was erased, and in it's place yours was created."
 +
 +"But that other girl does not follow the rules. She has no other anywhere. There is no reason she can be here."
 +
 +"It's like she exists beyond the rules we are bound by. It doesn't make any sense."
 +
 +She pointed towards Novine. 
 +
 +"Even you. In this world, you should not BE, because the me that exists is me. How then, does your flesh persist in a world where the 'you' that is necessary is missing?"
 +
 +"The answer is simple yet complicated. The rules were rewritten to allow you to exist here, BECAUSE you exist elsewhere. Understand?"
 +
 +"Your existence is supported by that possibility being present elsewhere."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Yeah... I mean, I guess I get it... but then how are you here if you can't exist anywhere? If the possibility got erased?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"....I also broke the rules."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Here there is a me, but that possibility was erased. I had to keep moving through worlds to persist, but I had to...nevermind."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"What matters is we are here now. I can fix things."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"This has been interesting, but I think I've heard enough. Now I know why everything felt off."
 +
 +A man appeared behind the sisters, sitting on a nearby rock. His features were covered head to toe, with a helmet that appeared like that of a jesters mask and a goofy suit that seemed like a mix between that of a happy clown and a ninja.
 +
 +Ilia turned around, raising her hand. "Fath--" But it was too late, he snapped his fingers, and Novine was swallowed into a black void with him. He relaxed after this, pulling several knives from his suit and beginning to juggle them, staring at Novine with a hum and a chuckle. 
 +
 +"So what can you do girl? Are you going to entertain me?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine bristled at being yet again yanked from her position, her expression seething as she stared at him as a result, too many people pushing her around. 
 +
 +"I dunno, are you that bored?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +He continued juggling before speaking in a mocking tone.
 +
 +"Afraid so. Terribly little to do these days!"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Sounds like you should take up a hobby or something. But anyway, what, are you just wanting to fight, or do you wanna know to accomplish something?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"Both!"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Why?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"I do believe I said I was bored, did I not? Clearly listening is not your strong suit!"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Nah, it just seemed a bit sad so I thought it was a joke. But, well, wouldn't it be more fun to see what I can do instead of telling you then?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"Guess so! I mean, it is a bit mean, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like watching worms wriggle about helplessly. Give it your best shot worm-girl!" 
 +
 +He leans back and laughs, now juggling by kicking the knives in sequence with his feet.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine grins. "Alright then, sure." 
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +She exercised that power of hers. She didn't want to pulled around by other people's whims anymore. She would be in control. She would decide what wanted to do and where she wanted to me. And so she attempted to distort the reality around her. Rather than her be pulled in this room with him, assuming she had been teleported here, or pulled into some rift like Raziel might do, she attempted to neutralize the effect, to change the location where they would teleport to be just adjacent to the place they had been before, where Ilia hopefully still was.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +||The effect happens anyway, leading the masked man to stare with a chuckle before pulling a bunch of knives from his suit, beginning to juggle them one after another.||
 +
 +"So what can you do girl? Are you going to entertain me?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine grumbles, finding herself in the same place, the same circumstance. Rather than listen to the man go on, she decides to distort things again.
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +She could see the aether swirling around them, vibrant and structured. She would attempt to compress the aether closer, compressing it so that only Eligor would be alone within its confines. Perhaps then she could see the truth of where she was.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +||The attempt finds success, somewhat, as the masked man found himself alone on his rock, with a black orb twisting in his open palm.||
 +
 +“Father wait!” Ilia cried, “I know who you are, see? We don’t have time for this! You need to stop this war and flee before it’s too late. Even if you stop, they will just keep coming. We need to run!”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked to Ilia and smiled slightly at the success, feeling as if she had figured something out.
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +Staring back at Eligor, seeing him sitting smugly atop the rock he was perched atop, she would distort its nature. The rock would no long be a hard substance, but rather a extremely viscous one. If she had her way, Eligor would find himself sinking within it, the nature of the rock more acidic than it would appear. It would be difficult to pry oneself from it, like an extremely tacky, acidic glue or tar.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +The man sinks into the rock slowly, seemingly surprised by the sudden turn of events.
 +
 +“My my my~ this is quite the new treat! Which of you little samples managed this?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked to Ilia, ignoring him. "Do you want the possibility back? To exist?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“What’s that supposed to mean?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +“Rather, I’ll rephrase it.”
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Would you not want to exist?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Oh... that big, then," she says in an irritated voice flexing her fingers, that aether itching away at them. "Well, fine, what do you think will stop stuff? Or at least protect people the most? Raziel wants to move everything around, what are you trying to do exactly?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Can’t save everyone. Pick what you can then save it.”
 +
 +“The rest aren’t real anyway. Let them—“
 +
 +||Her sentence was cut short as the masked man had appeared behind Novine, steam rising from his suit.||
 +
 +“So it was you then? Very interesting, yes~”
 +
 +He seemed quite tickled, but by Ilia’s reaction he might be anything but playful.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked over her shoulder, surprised by the fact he was able to escape his little prison so quickly. She turned to face him, looking up at at the taller figure and crossing her arms.
 +
 +"So what if it was?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“Tell me how you did it. I’m interested.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Why should I?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia interjects, placing an arm between the two.
 +
 +“Neither of you want to do this. We have more important things to focus on.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine keeps her gaze locked with some version of her father, she supposes, having heard it from Ilia. 
 +
 +"Then let's focus on it," she states with an eyebrow raised toward the masked man, as if challenging him to focus on the task at hand as well.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +“And why should I listen to either of you? Looks like intruders in the dead land to me.”
 +
 +He snaps his fingers, and a violin appears out of the aether, dropping into his hand.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine turns away from him, stepping back a step, noting the violin but otherwise not engaging with him. "Well, seems he doesn't wanna focus," she says to Ilia with a shrug in an exasperated tone. "So how about we do what we can and he can just... be him."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +“Because he’s the focus. We need to get him out.”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Doesn't seem he wants to get out though."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +He starts playing the violin, hopping around to himself while the two talked.
 +
 +“Would you believe two monsters that just appeared out of nowhere?”
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine ignores him again. "Alright, well, how do we get him out?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia takes a deep breath, clearly not looking forward to what needed to be done. She drew her rapier and stabbed it into the ground, carving some sort of symbols as continued on, addressing him.
 +
 +"I know what you're hiding in the castle up there. I know that she's sick. You can't save her." 
 +
 +The violin playin stopped quite abruptly. When he spoke again, it was not the playful jester he'd dressed himself up as, but a tired man suddenly put on the defensive.
 +
 +"Well then. That changes things doesn't it?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks between them, stepping away a bit to give Ilia room for whatever symbols she needed to make.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +The two stared each other down for a while in silence, and then they both seemed to disappear. Or rather one might assume that from how quickly they began moving around the area, causing a series of wind bursts with each change in momentum and apparent clash. Just as soon as it started however, it ended. Ilia had pinned the man down on the carved glyph, and with a burst of aether a series of glowing purple chains burst outward, covering him and lifting him into the air.
 +
 +Ilia turned to Novine, seemingly no worse for wear. 
 +
 +"Can you fly?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Probably," she says cryptically, not having tried it herself, but fairly certain she could manage it. She watches the spectacle of chains, distracted and interested in the show.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"Then we need to get to the castle." 
 +
 +||In response to this, a massive amount of aether could clearly be felt gathering in the chains covering the man, even exuding a familiar pressure over the area as the eyeholes of his mask began to flicker threateningly. Ilia...simply cut the chains, waited for the man to fall to the ground in confusion.....then proceeded to beat him over the head with the butt of her rapier. ||
 +
 +"LISTEN. TO. ME."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine watched on as Ilia tried to subdue him, before she approached and attempted to siphon some of his aether away, to perhaps weaken him somewhat and make the job easier.
 +
 +"Where is it?" she asked, focusing her attention on him, but asking Ilia.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"It moves, but assuming we are in the right year it shouldn't be too far from here."
 +
 +She continues to beat the man without missing a beat, eventually throwing him to the ground again and raising the bangs to reveal the crystal in her forehead.
 +
 +"I don't have time to keep convincing you over and over again! We need to move and you aren't going to get answers the way you want them! I know you already can feel my aether, so just stop being stubborn and listen! I've done this hundreds of times...HUNDREDS! You'll never beat me again, and if I want you dead you will be!" 
 +
 +She takes a deep breath, but this does nothing to calm her down. Her eyes come to a searing glow and her aether bursts from her body.
 +
 +"Either you believe in your daughter or I break all of your bones and force you along anyway. You choose."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks between them and looks down at the man, who simultaneously was someone she knew but also a stranger. He probably didn't know her though, especially if he knew Ilia.* 
 +
 +"You should listen. It's true what she's saying. She's trying to help. I'll help her do the stuff she says too if you don't cooperate."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +Eventually he stands up, removing his strange helmet. Underneath was not the smiling and smug face of a man ready to laugh at the world burning, but the tired and sleepless face of Eligor. His eyes were baggy and black from days of obvious unrest, his skin was pale and splotchy from little to no care or exposure to sunlight, and his hair was peppered with black and white streaks of hair appearing throughout a scraggly red mane. He did not say anything in response, but pulled Ilia into a tight hug, staring at the ground.
 +
 +He pulled away after a while, before pointing at Ilia's right eye.
 +
 +"Did I do that?" 
 +
 +At the lack of a response,  he turned towards Novine now, closing the distance almost alarmingly fast for how tired he looked and pulling her into a hug as well.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine tensed, not expecting him to recognize her as anything or anyone meaningful, deserving of such a gesture. She allows herself to be embraced, the feeling a bit unfamiliar, a rarity she wasn't really afforded much.
 +
 +"I... you know me?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"Not exactly, but I can more or less guess what's going on, and I can feel how familiar your aether is. Moreover..." 
 +
 +He flicked Novine's forehead.
 +
 +"Not like that's hard to miss."
 +
 +[Novine[
 +
 +Novine screwed up her face a bit as he flicked her, the feeling a bit strange. She expected it to hurt, but when it didn't, she relaxed. 
 +
 +"Oh... Right. So... Um...," she said, a bit taken aback by the tenderness all of a sudden. "You're... You're gonna listen, right? You're gonna trust her?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"I recognize my blade work when I see it. She knew everything I was going to do before I did it and had me beat enough to even set up a trap beforehand in my face."
 +
 +"There is no need for a spy stronger than the target when the world is ending. You'd just call them an assassin."
 +
 +"You both also seem serious. I'm not so stupid I can't recognize there's more going on than I can understand right now."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine lets out a little laugh of triumph, as if she had anything to do with the success. She even gives him a little squeeze of a hug back, unable to resist the opportunity. If she was Alia, then surely this counted for him as well, yes?
 +
 +She pulls back and looks to Ilia. "So... We go the castle now, yeah?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"That would be ideal, yes."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +Eligor spoke up, adjusting his collar. 
 +
 +"Actually, I can take us there directly. Flying would waste time, which we are apparently quite low on. Hands?" 
 +
 +He holds out his palm for the two to take it.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine takes his hand, seemingly without hesitation, her barrier of distrust easily breached.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia grabs it as well, and without much further preparation the three are surrounded by a tendril-like shadow and swallowed into the darkness.
 +
 +**TO BE CONCLUDED**
 +
 +----
 +
 +=====Mother=====
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +||The three reappear sometime later in a dimly lit room. It was not terribly unlike the dining room that the previous Eligor died in scale wise, but was devoid of any of the gallant and extravagant decorations. The entirety of the room seemed to be made entirely of some black metal, and aether could be felt flowing and filtering through the very floor and walls to an almost overwhelming degree.||
 +
 +Ilia moved away from the group quickly, clearly already familiar with the layout of the building.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine takes in her surroundings, the newness of the room, but faint familiarity. Like her shadow, Novine makes her way after Ilia. "So now what?" she asks in her curious way.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +She does not answer for some time, walking through the wide hallways and making her way to what appeared to be some hallway while Eligor followed in silence. The bulk of the aether running through the largely featureless castle was being focused into this room, and into a large pod nestled at the back of the room. Ilia made her way to the pod without a word and placed her hand on it's smooth black surface before resting her head on it. 
 +
 +"I'm back mom..." 
 +
 +With that brief moment over, she turned around, addressing Eligor now. 
 +
 +"We need to move this castle somewhere no one else can get to. We cannot simply go higher, they will find ways to get there. Do either of you have suggestions?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine watches the display quietly, her features softening only slightly, not able to empathize as much with the actions as she didn't have anyone she personally identified as much of a mother, but she folds her arms and thinks on Ilia's question.
 +
 +"Well.... I dunno about what this place is like really, but can they go underwater? Or underground? Or can the castle do those things?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"...Is that the only idea you have?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"No," she says with brat-like defensiveness and annoyance. "Apparently you don't have any better ones though if you're just asking other people. Give a girl a minute to think. Who's 'they' anyway? You've got too many weird wars and stuff happening here, I can't keep it all straight."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia seems reluctant to explain, but Eligor cuts in.
 +
 +"I'm pretty sure she isn't saying your idea is bad, she just knows what moving underwater would mean for this place."
 +
 +"It's a long story, but they refers to the people after me. Rurumi was abducted when she was young, and out of spite her kidnapper raised her to believe I'd taken her parents from her. He sent her to kill me. But even without her, I more or less declared war on....everyone, so finding allies is not really an option."
 +
 +"The facility can go underwater, but that would require...rerouting the power. Currently, seventy percent of the power is being supplied to this room."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks to the pod, her grumpy expression trying to hang on, faltering a bit. She makes to chew on her lip for a moment as she mulls over the problem, only letting out a little his as she, again, forgets that these ones are sharp. She puts a hand to her little cut.
 +
 +"Well... That's my idea. But... maybe..." she says, tilting her head as she gazes at it. "What happened to her?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"I created a grimoire to make up for my shortcomings, but I kept the core in her body on her request. It was meant to help curb some....impulsive side effects. When our child was taken however...I could not stop myself. During the rampage she tried to seize control through the core but could not handle the recoil. It left her comatose, and the core cannot be retrieved. It constantly consumes aether in increasing amounts, but has fused to her heart, replacing it in a sense."
 +
 +"It keeps her alive but it is also killing her. And due to the coma, we cannot even hope to gain control of the problem either."
 +
 +Eligor looks the pod over, clearly still trying to think over solutions even as he tells the story.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"What if she could handle the recoil? Would anything bad have happened?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"She likely would still be conscious, but the fusion still would have occurred."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Would she be at all anything like the person you'd still want around? Like... would that way of living be something you'd want for her over this?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"I...what? Why does this matter?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +She looks a little sheepish as she looks back to him. "Well, I could make it be that way instead. Well, probably. It sometimes ends out weird but... I could change it, n' then the castle could go underwater and she'd be okay."
 +
 +"I just don't know her so... I don't wanna decide it for you two."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"That won't work," Ilia chimed in, sighing. "I already tried that. Something else kills her if you stop the core from fusing with her. So many times...no matter what you do, death finds her like it was meant for her."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"No, I wasn't gonna stop the core from fusing, 'cause then Father wouldn't stop but... and if something else happens, I can change that too! Koro died, but then I changed it, and then he didn't!" she seemed adamant, that spirit of wanting to help, of wanting to keep her family safe and whole, it was coming out more and more. When did she start seeing these strangers as family anyway? It hadn't even been that long...
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"....Well you won't listen unless you fail. By all means, prove me wrong."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks back to Eligor, tilting her head, eyes wider with that eager confidence, wanting to try. "Do you want me to try?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"The alternative is we watch her die anyway. She's not a guinea pig, but it's not like we have room to properly test."
 +
 +"If you think it will work, I'll at least bet on you."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine uncrosses her arms and nods. "I... I can only guess. I wish I knew more about the way things were here with you all 'cause... 'cause then I might do better but, I dunno, I'll try my best." 
 +
 +She looks at the pod, and that power that itched and hummed underneath her skin is called forth.
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +She attempts to do as she says, to change the effect of the recoil - to allow the fusion, but to give Ilia's mother the ability to withstand it, to remain with them.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +||Time begins to unravel and unfold itself, and the moment in question is righted. The woman in the pod never falls comatose to the recoil, but as time began to resolidify something began to go wrong. At some point life was replaced with death, and like a glitch in the distortion itself, the death seemed to play out multiple times over and over, each time with Ilia present. The woman looked very much like her--almost identical in fact save for hair of a far less intense hue, and a crystal in her forehead that seemed much smaller. Each time the woman died, a new scene and a new death played out--over and over again in sequence seemingly hundreds of times. Each time Ilia's eyes seemed more and more crazed and desperate to stop the coming doom. Eventually, with the final death Ilia seemed to have lost hope entirely, looking on at the scene with a cold indifference before turning away. Time continued forward as normal again until the group found themselves in the room once again from the moment they entered, with Ilia moving to the back of the room and placing her hands on the tube that had quite suddenly turned into an elaborate coffin. ||
 +
 +||The aether was no longer filtering through the castle into this one room, but instead seemed to be focusing on some room above it. Eligor was no longer dressed as some strange jester either, but was clad in black armor now, his eyes even more devoid of life than they were previously.||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked at the coffin, shaking her head, her expression screwing up into one of confusion. She took a chance to glance at the both of them, trying to gauge what they understood of the moment.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia turned around after having placed her hand on the grave, her face tightened up.
 +
 +"We need to get the castle away from them, and flying higher won't help. I think our best bet would be to go underwater for now, but even then we will need some kind of way to cloak this place. Failing that....we need a barrier. Soon enough the heaven piercer will be ready to fire, and if that thing hits us directly everything within a hundred malms will be dust."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks into their eyes and sees how much worse off they were, how dead they seemed. It wasn't right. This wasn't right. She told them she could change it. She would try her best. This wasn't her best.
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +She would change the cause. If her dying was related to the core, perhaps.... perhaps the nature of the core needed to change. What if it didn't need to fuse? Eligor said it did, but she decided things now. She was in control. She would make it so that the core didn't need to do that. She would harbor it inside herself, but it would not consume her in the way it needed to.
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +||Once again time unraveled, but somewhere along the way something went ever so slightly wrong. The core did not fuse with Ilia's mother, but instead she ripped the grimoire straight from Eligor during that incident years ago. The resulting accident caused her to go mad, and she began to terrorize the populace in far more brutal fashion. After much trial and error, Eligor finally managed to imprison her within this room, where a series of red nails kept her pinned to the wall. During Ilia's visit, the woman began to snap wildly at her with her teeth but her simply being alive seemed to have changed things considerably. Ilia's right eye was no longer red and damaged, and Eligor no longer had a tired and depleted visage about his person.||
 +
 +"Alright," she said finally, taking a deep breath, "We need to get this place away from them. Very soon, the heaven piercer will be ready to fire. We don't have any chance of blocking the thing if it goes off, but perhaps if we disappear somehow we can make it out the weapon's range. I'm....thinking I'll act as the distraction as you three get away. Thoughts?"
 +
 +**M̵̐̓a̴͒͆d̵̾̊n̴͑͠ê̷̕s̷͌̽s̴̋̀ ̴̛̾i̵̯͠n̶͗́c̸͒̉r̴͋͐e̶̓̀a̸̐̔s̷̉͠e̴̿̎d̵̽͆**
 +
 +**T̶͓͌h̷̽̾e̸͂̏ ̸̐͊w̸̚͠ȍ̴̈́r̶̈͐ĺ̷̓d̷̅͂ ̴͒͝h̵̆̒ä̶́́s̸͆͝ ̴̆͠b̶͍̓e̸͗̌c̶͆̾ò̴̃m̵͋͗é̴̄ ̶̍͋s̷͆͗o̷͆̆ ̴̿̈́m̴̈́̓ù̸̿c̵̈́͝h̴̒̄ ̸̔͝l̶̾͒e̸̊͑s̶̎̉s̵̐͆ ̷̂͐ẗ̵̐ḧ̴́̌a̵̐̊n̶͛͠ ̵͑͒i̸͑̊t̸̍̅ ̵͆͗o̸̊̚n̵͌͗c̶̛̈ë̶͙ ̷̄̔w̵͋̕á̸͋s̶͘**
 +
 +**C̶̀̿a̸̾͘ǹ̷̚ ̶̛̑y̸̆͊o̸͆͊ư̸̆ ̶͆̄f̶̏̕e̶͋͒é̶̾ĺ̵̈́ ̵͋̊m̸͌́ẻ̵͘?̸̛̑**
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine freezes as she experiences the hitch in her distortion, the feeling of it different. She blinks and shakes her head running a hand through her messed up hair as she takes in the new reality she had wrought. Ilia's mother is alive, and everyone seemed... not necessarily happier, but certainly less tortured. After everything Ilia had said, this seemed preferable.
 +
 +"I... No, wait, what? Why would you do that? That's stupid. Just go underwater? Can that thing get us there?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"It can," Eligor said, "but they can still find us."
 +
 +Ilia nodded. 
 +
 +"I'm the only one strong enough to fight them off long enough for everyone to get away."
 +
 +"They'll have no choice but to pay attention to me."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine - "....Okay. If you're so sure, I guess we'll do that. But where're we gonna go to?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +"Well--" 
 +
 +||Suddenly, a white light burst through the walls, quickly melting everything in a torrent of white. In that moment, the true consequence of Novine's distortion came to light. Her rampaging mother caused the heaven piercer to be developed even faster than before, and having arrived too late in this new timeline, the group ran out of time and were fired upon. Ilia's words seemingly echoed throughout the melting surface as the beam quickly closed in on Novine. " Something else kills her if you stop the core from fusing with her. So many times...no matter what you do, death finds her like it was meant for her."||
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine widened her eyes and activated the power yet again. This wasn't good enough. Nothing was. Ilia was right, she couldn't do it. She should have listened. She panicked as she distorted things yet again, undoing it all. She would take what she had and go from there again.
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +**I̷̍͆s̵͂̏ ̷̄̒s̵̆̂å̵̛v̴̓͘i̷̿̚ǹ̸̉g̵͋̈́ ̶̌͂ḧ̷́͠ě̸̑r̵̈́̉ ̴̙͌t̴̿͛ḧ̷́̌e̷̓̇ ̸͛͝r̷̍̽e̴͂̽ȁ̶̚l̸̃̍ ̶̛͌ä̵̏n̴̽̋s̸̋͂ẁ̴̈́ê̸̿r̴̊͗?̶͂̒**
 +
 +||The world unravels again, reforming into what it once was, replacing Novine again into herself moments before starting her first distortion in this new world. Eligor stared at her, nodding for her to continue.||
 +
 +"Do you...need help?"
 +
 +**T̸̈͘ḧ̷́͗ě̷̈́r̵̈̽e̶͐̂ ̸̏͛a̷̽̎r̵̀̄e̷̒̇ ̸̋́b̴͗͠ű̷̕g̷͂̌s̵̆̚ ̷̛̽ĩ̸̔n̵͊̓ ̶̃͐m̵͋̇y̵̓̋ ̴̔̚ḧ̷́̊à̸̄i̷͛͘r̸̃̃**
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"I... tried." She shook her head again as the thoughts came to her unbidden, trying to focus through them. "I tried twice and... it was like Ilia said..."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"...I see."
 +
 +"How did you try? I do not understand how you do what you do."
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looked to him, a little cautious, greedy of her power, remembering Alia's prior warning not to tell him. But... she called her a traitor and sent her here with the same power. And this version of her Father seemed reasonable. The Father she knew was an intelligent man. Surely this one might be able to help her direct it toward a use she had not thought of.
 +
 +"....I can change stuff. Distort moments so that they happen differently. Cause or effect of anything, I can change it. I haven't had it very long, so like I said, it's weird sometimes."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"....Anything?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Yeah, anything. At least, I haven't found anything I can't change. Sometimes the events lead to inevitabilities, but the conditions  at least change."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Ilia]''</fc>
 +
 +Ilia turned around, while Eligor continued his questioning.
 +
 +"So, what exactly did you do?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"I just... there's this extra kinda... power. I just use it," she explains pointlessly. "It's a feeling thing. I've always been bad at explaining how I do things, I just do it. Time stopped and then there was this light, and then Alia came and talked to me - not me, Alia, but a different one but... kinda the same and after we talked, I could do it. My brother died before it happened, and then she told me I could use it to save him, so I did."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"Not what I mean."
 +
 +"You said you tried and failed already."
 +
 +"But you are here, and I have no memory of this. So what exactly did you try to do with your power? How did you try to save her?"
 +
 +"Actually...no."
 +
 +"This would be better understood with a test."
 +
 +He raises a hand and promptly jabs it knifehand style directly into his abdomen, causing blood to immediately spurt from the large wound.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine looks at him with irritation as he maims himself, but she concentrates, changing the nature of his blow from the start. It wouldn't have the force behind it to pierce him.
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +He stares down at himself as his hand fails to pierce his body, confused but clearly comprehending. After a moment, he begins to rub at his chin thoughtfully before finally speaking up again.
 +
 +"If this power truly works as you say it does, then the problem is solved."
 +
 +**S̸̈̀h̷̐͠ơ̸͒ư̶͝l̶̇̿d̴̓̚ ̵͋̓h̶͂͐ả̶͑v̶̆͌e̴͛̇ ̶̾͛m̶̛̒ǎ̶͐d̵́̒ê̵͘ ̷̈̏i̵̛̊t̶̎̓ ̴͌̂f̸̃͗o̵̚͝ŕ̶̆c̷͂̃e̷̓͌ ̵͐͋h̶͌̌i̶̽͝ḿ̵͛ ̴́͑ṫ̴̔ö̷́̔ ̶̛͝c̸͊̽r̸̽͘y̵̛̑**
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine takes a deep breath and releases it as the thought comes to her unbidden again. 
 +
 +"There's lots I could do just... with it being unpredictable... I could just make it so that the materials of the castle are transparent or... or are enchanted with something that acts like a cloak, or... I dunno, I could make it so that the core doesn't need so much aether maybe and we can go underwater anyway. There's so many options that I get a bit stuck trying to decide. Do any of those sound good?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"They are not bad, but they are....overly complicated in a sense. Especially if we account for failure."
 +
 +"Normally I'd say that you should simply make it so that the weapon does not affect the facility at all. But if we take the potential for error into account....we need to make it even more simplified."
 +
 +"Perhaps you can simply make the weapon malfunction when fired? Perhaps self destruct?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"...Oh!" She manages to laugh a little. "I get so caught up in the one thing... I guess I thought it wasn't just a weapon though. That maybe the people would try different ways of coming after us if the weapon didn't work. Is the weapon all we're worried about then?"
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"I would assume so." He turned towards Ilia. "Is there anything else to worry about Rurumi?" 
 +
 +Ilia was eerily silent throughout this exchange of ideas, but upon Eligor's questioning, she perked up a bit, seemingly more than a little upset about something. "My former comrades. They cannot really stop us but they can certainly mess everything up if we do not flee after. But we could probably just move the castle out of range entirely. If she can change whatever she wants, facing the enemy is not necessary at all. Just have her change the effect of the movement of this building."
 +
 +Eligor turned back to Novine, a hint of confusion on his features. 
 +
 +"Can you do that....wait, did you tell me your name?"
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +"Oh, it's..." she looks at Ilia, who she remembers knocking her out for saying she was Novine. "...it's Novine. And yeah, I can do all that stuff."
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Eligor]''</fc>
 +
 +"Then let's try that." 
 +
 +||Without any ceremony, a tendril pops out of his sleeve and digs into the black metallic floor. With a groan, the entire begins to shake and after a moment more begins to slowly move. ||
 +
 +"We should head south east," Ilia noted.
 +
 +<fc #9400d3>''[Novine]''</fc>
 +
 +Novine would change the the way the building moved through space, increasing the distance that the building's current efficiency was able to produce. She tapped into that distortion, bracing herself for the thoughts that might come. 
 +
 +**D̴̓̈́i̸̾̕s̷͋͛t̷̽͊o̶͒͠r̷̉̓t̶̏̂i̶̿̀o̷͒̚n̷̽̾**
 +
 +<fc #cd5c5c>''[Alia]''</fc>
 +
 +**Ü̶͝H̴̑͘ ̶͆͐Ǒ̷͗H̴͗̂**
 +
 +**M̶͐̈́Ä̷́͂D̴́͘N̷̎̎E̴͋̀S̶̈́S̴̊͝ ̷̄̍Ỉ̸̍N̷̓̚C̶͂͑R̷͗̊E̷̋̈́Ä̸́͘S̶͛̕Ê̷͛D̶͂̚**
 +
 +||The world suddenly goes still, and all color drains from it. From the crystal in Novine's forehead, a yellow entity slowly and with great effort squeezes its way out, birthing onto the ground in a wet and slimy mess before struggling to turn it's glowing head towards Novine's time-frozen body, seemingly quite exhausted.||
 +
 +||**`Ẇ̶̕i̴̓͝l̸͌̆l̷͋̉ ̸́̆y̴͐̄ȯ̶̀ǔ̶̈́ ̸̄͑ä̷́̐n̶͌̐s̵̀̑w̸̍̆e̴͑̚r̶̔̿ ̵̄͝ẗ̵́͊h̴̽͝e̴̓͒ ̸̔̔c̶̽͌a̴͋͊l̴̀̍l̴̊̿?̶̀̒`**||
  
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