Den of the Watchers (MK)

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#21
The Zelvoid hardly seemed to react, as the Astranagant singled it out, only . Should he have been afraid? After all, it was the very same machine that possessed the dreaded Ain Souf, the God-slaying sword that even the likes of Zivon seemed to have only the most tenous of understanding on. The black boxes across the machine's frame were numerous, and the blend of arcane and technological might unmatched across the Earth Sphere-

And yet...

Ze'ev gave a wry smile to Derrick.

"To die here, for you? Would be a mercy."

His eyes flicked up, as if sharing a furtive glance with the Astranagant's own, one that said "Isn't that right?". Strangely, his voice was absent the vicious edge from before. It sounded almost... sympathetic. Yet, before he could continue, Gail spoke up - even as the forms on the edges of their vision were slowly beginning their advance.

"Care to elaborate?"
"Does it matter?"
"Because what you're claiming is impossible."

Gail seemed calm and collected as ever... Yet, there was an undeniable sense of tension in his voice, as though he didn't believe what he was seeing.

"There is no Reactor of the Pisces Sphere."
"Oh?"
"It's sealed away, somewhere far from where any mortal hand could reach it."

Ze'ev once again, only gave a dry chuckle in response to Gail's assertion. Was it true? Was he claiming to possess a power that could not be so? Whatever the case, he seemed to find the claim merely something amusing, rather than any kind of grand revelation. Gail, for his part, seemed equally stoic. At that moment, the Zelvoid's form seemed to... waver, almost, as if it were merely static. Its form began to fade, dispersing into the black, as Ze'ev called out one last time, the Masouki reaching up to wriggle its fingers in a quaint little wave.

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here.
While these visions did appear, and this weak and idle theme.

No more yielding but a dream."
And with that, he was gone, leaving them to their fate. Gail glared after him, staring at the spot where it had been, as though trying to will it back into existence - but quickly seemed to find himself once more, turning to look back at Derrick, saying as he did:

"Hey, Derrick?"

There was a pause, as the sea of red orbs began to close even further. Now the forms were becoming more distinct - and suggestive of certain shapes, such as bones and lengths or ropy vine, all assembled around those glowing cores.

"Can you keep a secret?"
 
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MKR

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Aug 19, 2018
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#22
Frankly, Ze'ev might be right. That a death here would save him from a much worse fate. On the other side, Derrick was far from willing to die. Let alone accept his fate. Not for Zivon's sake no, but because he had only begun to taste life. He wasn't going to let anyone, be it Ze'ev or whatever other beasts contemplated the destruction of L'isolda deny him that.

Even his own fate, no matter how grim it may be, would not stop him. This he gloated in his mind because if anything Zivon complained about was true that free will of his would allow him to do that much.
Besides, despite his direct involvement in the occult Derrick had little faith in soothsayers and mystics. There was a science to alchemy and magic but he had yet to see one make successfully seeing into the future a subject of a research paper.

It seemed Gail had his own doubts about the man, namely his possession of the Sphere he claimed to have and once again Gail revealed to possess knowledge he shouldn't causing the Lunarian to wonder if they received their information the same way or perhaps Gail had a more direct source.
When the Zelvoid had finally departed he simply sighed, he was glad he no longer needed to listen to the man but they were still in their predicament and the dots on the horizon were steadily approaching. Their forms clearer, bordering on eldrich.

And then Gail asked him a question. The grim phrase 'dead men tell no tales' came to mind. Considering their situation, that may not be too far off unless they can fix this and fix it quickly.
"Yeah, I can." he simply answered, it was no lie either. Being in debt with Gizos Gragios was nearly a death sentence if someone found out, or in the best case simply being told to take a one time trip to earth with no hope of returning home.
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#23
"Great, That's really great. You're a good guy, Derrick."

The onslaught began. Hundreds of beams suddenly lanced inwards at the two - if nothing else, the Watchers were efficient. They would crush the intruders with all the force they could muster for their sin. Gail, however, seemed strangely... aloof, his response sounding distant, yet cheerful.

"That's why..." - Yet, the traveler's tone steeled itself;

"No matter what...
We can't afford to die here!
"


Gail's voice became calm, and quiet, as the Asclepius grew still. Beams smashed all about the two, pulverizing apart the remains of the Stone Circle, yet none seemed to even graze its frame, as the young man closed his eyes.

"Soli... Deo... Gloria."​

At those words, a crack ran up the side of the crimson mask the Asclepius wore upon its face, growing and spreading - until it crumbled away, leaving little more than dust. The wing binders of the machine raised, and then spread out, as six long, particle wings burst into being, spreading from its form - the light that these emitted was so forceful, so intense, that it caused the ring surrounding the two to pause, uncertain, as massive amounts of Dimensional Energy - or rather, Origin Law, poured into the surroundings, threatening even the constitution of the Watcher's space. Two burning yellow eyes flickered into being where the mask had once been, as a glowing, halo-like ring, surged into being between the now lit wings.

"The caress of Sol..."​

The transformed Asclepius raised its palm - and a beam of light punched up, up into the stars. The advancing horde of monstrosities... paused, glancing upward as one, the alien star that shed light on the strange domain... Suddenly growing dark.



A dark wave surged over the alien sun, capturing only the faintest gleams of light about its edges.

The heat... It was like grasping a white hot iron in his bare hands. He could feel it. The long restrained power surging through his form, screaming for release. There would be retribution soon - punishment. Even now, he could already feel Zivon's shackles closing about his heart, preparing to strike him down for his defiance - yet there was no choice. For Derrick to live, he would burn. Gail O'Brennan's eyes flickered briefly, to a similar hue that Derrick may have seen only once before, a curious gold that reflected all the colors of the rainbow, as he let out a pained, solemn whisper:

"My radiance...!"​

There was sudden, terrible psychic screech that resounded through space. A spear of brilliance stabbed down from the heavens, incinerating a broad swathe of the creatures. Disarray and panic began to spread, as more and more beams shot down from the captive star, whatever monstrosities that were caught in their rays catching aflame - and then, in seconds, disintegrating, turning to nothing but burning ash. It grew without end, stretching out from the two of them in every direction - yet, even as Derrick watched, the Asclepius itself seemed to be aflame, its body licked by incandescent fire, explosions tearing across its frame as it shuddered... and fell still.

There was a great tinkling, as though a thousand glass panes were being trod upon, and then, as the white light intensified, becoming blinding, a terrible shattering noise-

And in that moment, the Astranagant... vanished.​
 
Jun 14, 2018
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#24
Yet, even as the twinned presences of Derrick and Gail suddenly vacated the stone circle...a far greater number of beings - if they could be called that - took their places.​

The passage of the Asclepius was a thing of sheer brute force; it had smashed a gaping hole in the space between dimensions, a yawning maw through which it dragged the Astranagant and her pilot in addition to itself. But this chasm, this wound in the fabric of space and time, was left open, raw and untreated, even after it had departed. And it bled not ichor, but a scourge far worse...

The way they glittered was almost...pretty, after a fashion. Crystalline hides and glossy fangs reflected the lingering aftermath of Gail's retribution as DAMON poured through the dimensional tear. Beasts of all shapes and sizes, insatiable and innumerable, flowed forth in a great deluge. They fell upon those few orbs which remained, crippled and helpless, ravenous jaws and shining claws striking deep into the spheres' bizarrely soft surfaces...


Without warning, there was a strange flash...an infinitesimally thin line of pure and brightest white. It seemed - impossibly - to sweep through each and every individual of the vast horde simultaneously. A moment's pause...before, with animalistic screams and bellows of panic and dismay inaudible in the void, the DAMON began to simply fall apart. Each bisected by the cleanest cut, a single strike through their most vulnerable points, one which had parted even the toughest among their hides as though it provided no more resistance than paper. The perfect deathblow, inflicted many thousands of times in the span of a fraction of a fraction of a second.

Even as their monstrous forms disintegrated, a solitary figure appeared in their midst. Garbed in crimson and white, it stood resolute, unflinching, unaffected by the chaos around it. Its form was lithe, coiled and organic, and crowned with many thorns. Almost as though to mock the duality of the departed Derrick and Gail, a pair of great horned faces, rife with fangs and possessing glowing gemstones of many colors set into their visages, flanked it in space. In its fist was clutched a long sword, curved and keen, of a shape that would not be unfamiliar to a purveyor of Japanese blades.

Flourishing the weapon - a sharp angular movement, as though to sling off the non-existent blood of the DAMON - it slid the blade home to rest between the spiked jaws of the leering face that adorned its forearm.

This trespass would not be forgotten.