Type: Field
The Wailing Capital Wald Uberlisterin, an upside-down castle in the midst of the Forest of Everlasting Darkness, which is home to a tribe of giants whose role is to provide guidance to the Shadowed Ones. Wald Uberlisterin is the underworld that exists below Indieglut Lugh. Cernunnos, the god of death, is said to reside here.
A strange force ebbed and wanned upon approaching the vicinity of the upturned castle. It caused a slight distortion in the air which made the castle appear blurrier the closer you became instead of clearer. And then, right before coming in contact with this film-like distortion, all users would be repelled.
Warning. Nearing out of bounds. Please turn back.
A system noticed came upon them suddenly and then just as quietly went away.
At this proximity, you couldn't read any details of the castle anymore, but it was all still pleasantly still and peaceful, the sound of waterfalls filling in the absence of silence.
"What is it this time?"
A voice rose suddenly from the depths of Ornery's mind and a pair of mischievous, blue eyes unceremoniously took possession of his vision to observe their surroundings. The voice could only be heard by Ornery, but his eyes turning blue could not be hidden.
"Why do you waste your time on so many things -- why even have a life? Are you fucking stalling for time," Sid's voice grew barbed after realizing they were, yet again, nowhere near Orochi's chambers. "You trying to break our deal?"
"Is that you, Sid?" A lifeless, monotone voice echoed in the vicinity, seeming to echo from everywhere at once, and could be heard by everyone present. It yawned. "Why are you just hovering over there?"
Do you wish to warp to Wald Uberlisterin? [y/n]
A new system notice popped open after whoever spoke just now became quiet.
The screen sputtered with white static, as if caught in some seizure, right after choosing to warp. A distorted version of the chaos gate teleport visual effect surrounded both players before their shadows disappeared from the area.
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A singular room in Wald Uberlisterin Castle stood out from the decadent styling and intricate geometry that makes up the rest of this dungeon area. Warm embers crackled inside a fireplace, breathing a cozy, orange glow upon the otherwise shadowed furnishing and floorboards. There wasn't much to see: several bookshelves full of stiff, aging spines lined the walls, some tables with a scattering of ancient scrolls and memoirs, an ornate central carpet, and a lone, finely carved wooden chair basking in the glow of the fireplace.
Ornery and Noblesse warped here, their backs to the entrance of the room, which was shut by a door made of unpolished wood. Their entrance created a soft, warbled sound that stole away the room's silence.
Keeper blearily opened his eyes a slit at the unusually tame sound. His colorless body lied sprawled on the ground, partially buried in a heap of books under one of the tables. He had to lift a hand to move one of the reading materials off his face. Before even registering how unusually quiet they'd entered, he'd opened his mouth full of grievances and complaints.
"I'm sick. Could you not stab me today--" he paused when the two strangers in the room came into focus.
They appeared upside down in his vision, because he was on his back on the ground, but that didn't impair his ability to recognize these two bullies. He groaned.
"How could you possibly end up here from that one hint I gave you," he said, his face scrounging up with pity for himself. "I don't have any more hints."
Keeper wasn't kidding though. His avatar was still damaged in the places you could see through the books. Soft, starry light seeped into these wounds and healed them slowly, though it was unknown if the speed was due to the severity of the wounds or simply because Keeper didn't care enough about it to speed up the process.
"Ahahaha," Sid guffawed and stole the use of Ornery's mouth to speak with Keeper. "Who did you in, Gomi? You finally got some excitement from that useless ass of yours?"
Keeper looked nonpuzzled at Ornery's face, confused about the fact that he sounded like Sid.
"A bunch of humans came looking for Folset and then Cernunnos showed up...Is that my name?" said Keeper.
"Yes. Little Gomi. That's you." said Sid.
Gomi didn't argue against his new name. He just nodded as if it were a mater of course.
"Welcome." he said finally, toward Ornery and Noblesse.
Following Ornery and Noblesse taking the liberty to move around the place, Gomi finally decided to sit up from the mess on the floor and dusted some of the papers off him.
"This isn't hell. It's my room. Hell is where Cernunnos is trapped...And similarly, in Sid's room" he said.
All along the shelves, the spines of the books displayed were seemingly blank but, if you just took a step closer, close enough that your breath fell upon the book's surface, the hidden titles of the books would reveal themselves in glowing, silvery characters. Upon taking a closer look, three titles stood out from the rest:
- Banquet of Conspiracy
- Path of Evil
- Goddess Aurora
Gomi wasn't paying any particular attention to Noblesse, instead preoccupied with Ornery's comments.
"These aren't books," he picked up one of the "books", the one that had been splayed open on his face, turned it over to show the surface cover at Ornery. It read: "Record of Sid's Origin".
"This many records were created by that Aurora girl while you were gone. Look," A rare smile appeared faintly on Gomi's face. It was strangely derisive. "She made one for you just now. Did you come in contact with her recently? Do you want to see what she wrote about you?"
The silver-white lettering of the book flashed enticingly toward Ornery. System prompts surfaced right after at both players.
Flag triggered: Only one book may be read at a time. Please decide OOCly which one to read.
- Read Record of Sid's Origin
- Read Banquet of Conspiracy
- Read Path of Evil
- Read Goddess Aurora
The chosen book glowed with a black light, which quickly spread out to swallow Ornery and Noblesse, turning their screens pitch dark.
Rattle...Clank!
Darkness reigned in this new reality conjured by the book.
Krraaarg!
Unholy screams of pain clawed at the air, desperate to breath. It did not sound human. Ornery "awoke" amidst these screams, as rays of light pierced through the black veil of the area and the shadows scattered like slithering serpents.
"Your Holiness, that was the last sacrifice. The Shadow...doesn't look any weaker than before." a young Harvest Cleric spoke somewhere far above.
It seems he was speaking to someone, but no answer came back.
Tall spires rose all around Ornery like vicious fangs. A few things would immediately become apparent to him along with the return of his sight; the fact that he was on his back, on the ground, surrounded by a large magic circle that pulsated with blue light, as well as a burning sensation on all four of his limbs. Upon close inspection, he'd realize that both arms and legs had been nailed to the ground through onyx manacles riddled with complex magic spells. And that the only thing covering his body up seemed to be some sort of leathery cloth made of shadows that was mostly torn everywhere. The shadowy cloth seemed to respond to his thoughts...Was it a apart of him?
The system then kindly finished warning Ornery of the status of his body.
You've been inflicted with cripple!
You've been inflicted with confusion!
You've been inflicted with seal!
"Sigh. At this rate, it will take another decade before we're able to seal its power completely and exert control over it." said the Harvest Cleric. He started trembling upon noticing how Ornery was regaining consciousness.
"I-i-it's waking up. Strike swiftly, Your Holiness." he tightened his grip on his staff and turned around. "Quick, bring another sacrifice!"
It seems there was a whole group of Harvest Clerics in this place, judging by the flurry of steps now leaving the vicinity to complete the assigned task.
"Your Holiness?"
Why was their most sacred Harvest Saint not responding? The Shadow was almost awake!
Indeed, Noblesse would be able to open his eyes now and observe his surroundings as well. Behind him stood the Harvest Cleric, looking at him full of doubt. Down bellow, over the precipice of the stone bridge where all the humans stood, was the ritual platform where Ornery was chained.
In his hands was a large javelin imbued with so much godly light that little rivulets would spill out occasionally.
The Harvest Cleric was sweating bullets as it waited for some sort of response from Noblesse.
Ornery can no longer hear Sid's voice!
