[F06 - SP] The Hardest Battles... <<Calming the Soul>>

[Koga 0]

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: none Koga Lvl 32/49 | HP: 860 | EN: 120 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REC: 4 | B.HEALING: 47/94 equipped battle-ready inventory T4 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [ CRSED // BRN I // BLT I // FALN I ] T4 Perfect Light Armor <<Twilight Coat>> [ EVA II // REC I ] T1 Perfect Trinket <<Kashira Cable - Wolf>> [ ACC III ] Off-Brand Energy Drink [Tier*3 Energy Restoration] (1) Spider Ciders [90 HP Restoration] (2) skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 0/49 EXP  Searching III | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP EN Cost: 10 Energist | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +5 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP Cooldown: 3 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.

Floor 06, Waterfall of the Sage, 7:42am

Inhale softly.

Exhale slowly.

Pausing along the long-forgotten path towards the Waterfall, Koga looked around at his surrounding. Listened to the them. The warm morning light pierced the thick canopy of countless trees, casting long shadows across the brush-covered ground. The morning birds had long since begun to sing sweet songs, filling the air with light chirps and chitters. Sounds of peace that not even Okami dared to interrupt.

Inhale slowly.

Exhale softly.

Koga began to move on, taking slow steps as Okami padded along patiently beside him. A picture of calm serenity on the surface as each measured step carried him forward, through the trees, around the brush and down the path towards the Waterfall of the Sage. As the man neared his destination, the presence of polished stones began to increase, each easily the size of his head. They were stacked two or three high, and atop them sat a little lit candle, they're lights drowned out by the brilliance of the sun. Soon enough, these candles became proper stone lanterns, which were also lit. Koga did not bother to stop and wonder who was lighting all these candle and lanterns, being that shit sacred site was supposedly abandoned. Logic and reason only mattered so much within the realm of a game. Perhaps less so in this one.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Soon enough, small stone canines began to join the ranks of the stone lanterns, sitting neatly between the lanterns. Around their necks, small scraps of red fabric, all worn and faded to varying degrees. What their purpose was, or what they symbolized, Koga couldn't even begin to guess. All he knew was that as the stone canines grew a hundred fold, his eyes fall upon the Sage's Fall. His ears filled with the calming sound of the burbling stream beneath the falling torii gate spilled over into the fall itself as it filled a small pool, crystal clear. So clear, in fact, he could see small replicas of the gate tossed into the water as well. Again, whatever symbolism this may have held to the old practitioners, it was lost on Koga. He'd reached his destination, and that was enough.

Taking his boots off and setting them to the side, Koga began to wade into the water, shivering a moment as a chill crawled across his skin. Accompanying him, Okami did the same, following beside Koga as the two made their way to the Fall itself. Koga stared up it's height for a moment, felt the stray spray splash across his face, wet his hair. Any other time, he might have smiled.

Instead, Koga removed his katana, his Tsuki no Hikari, from his side, and sat down beneath the waterfall. Sitting lotus beneath the torrent of water, and with Tsuki no Hikari laid across his lap, the waterfall struck Koga's back, filling his ears with it's roar as it soaked his clothing. But Koga didn't move. The man closed his eyes. Moved his hands to his lap. And breathed.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Softly.

[Koga 0]

Time lost all meaning for a moment. Or was it many moments? And during that vast expanse of time, the sensation of the water striking his back slowly faded away. From a relentless hammering, to a gentle pattering, until it was nothing at all.

What did not fade, however, was the sound of the waterfall. It roared continuously, perhaps quieter over time, but it never left, filling his ears as some constant of the worlds. Not even when Koga slowly opened his eyes did the crash of the waterfall disappear.

Koga found himself no longer sitting in the pool beneath the Waterfall of the Sage. The black darkness of closed eyelids was replace by...well, nothingness. A huge, white, infinite nothingness if Koga was going to be exact. His eyes slowly panned around his immediate vicinity, as if hoping to catch sight of something, anything, but found nothing.

"okay..." the man muttered quietly to himself as he looked down at his lap. It appeared that his clothing and weapon made the trip with him. His boots too, despite having taken them off before entering the pool, but upon standing and looking down at his feet, Koga found that they had reappeared. Strange.

But, where was Okami?

Koga made a slow circle in place (or at least, he thought he made a full circle, it was hard when one didn't have some sort of point of reference to anchor themselves to), but the wolf was nowhere to be found.

"Okami?!" Koga called into the void, only to immediately realize the folly of it all. This quest. It took place in his own mind...or at least, that's what he had been told. Of course Okami hadn't made the journey with him.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Nothing responded to Koga's call. Not a bark or howl or whine. Nothing. Not even an echo. Koga sighed and chewed on the inside of his cheek absently as he thought for a moment. He truly was well and alone in here. Wherever 'here' was. Which also begot the question of, what exactly was he supposed to do now?

A sudden chill ran up Koga's spine. Like the tiny cold fingertips crawling up his back, making him freeze, then shiver, then freeze again as the hairs on his arms, the back of his neck stood on end. Then the sensation of someone watching him. Like eyes following him, a tingling in the back of his head like someone's eyes were boring into him.

Slowly, Koga turned around, and what he saw...well, it didn't make him jump out of his skin, the internet had populated his feed with too many undesired creepypastas for the figure who had indeed been watching him to trigger any kind of fight or flight response in Koga. But it was unsettling.

[Koga 0]

There stood the shadowed silhouette of a man, a long coat of some sort wrapped around his body, and what appeared to be a katana at his hip, no more than a couple meters away from Koga. Just staring. Though his body was completely black, leaving individual features impossible to distinguish...those eyes...they glowed with a pure white light, far too large on the figure's face, and all too perfectly round. They could've been mistaken for glasses, or perhaps glass eyes, just maybe, were it not for the distinct sensation that they were following Koga's every movement.

It didn't move. It didn't do anything in fact. It didn't even appear to breathe. It just stared. Until it appeared to fragment. Like a glitch. Fizzled out, then back in, its outline breaking up, reforming. Again it broke up and disappeared. When it reappeared this time, a smile was plastered across it's featureless face. A mouth too wide, too tall, stretching from ear to ear, or at least where the ears should have been, impossible for any creature with a hinged jaw. And then it glitched back out.

[Koga 0]

"What the f-" Koga gasped in surprise as the being flickered in and out before disappearing all together. Where did it go? Was it an an enemy? It was armed, at the very least. Koga's left hand went to Tsuki no Hikari's saya, gripping it as Koga whipped around, head on a swivel as he searched for the shade.

Except it was gone. Without a trace. Like it never even existed.

Knock, knock!

Koga quickly turned towards the source of the noise, drawing Tsuki no Hikari part way before his eyes settled on a particular site. The shade. And with it, a door. Well, a door and a door frame, standing there in the vast, white emptiness where it most certainly had not been standing before. The shade was just standing there, leaning against the door frame, hands hidden away in it's pockets, staring at Koga, it's disturbingly wide grin still stretched too far across it's face.

Knock, knock!

It rapped it's knuckles on the wood door twice, all whilst staring at Koga, before gesturing towards the door with its head.

"Go in?"

The shade did not respond. Just stared.

"O-okay...sure..."

Though still cautious, Koga approached the door, careful to not allow his eyes to leave the shadow figure, even for a second. But the shade never made a move, beside turning it's neck to follow Koga, it's own eyes never leaving him. Not even when Koga reached out to grasp the brass door knob.

One last look at the strange shadow figure, close enough that Koga should have been able to feel it's breath. But it had none. Just those glowing white orbs, that elongated smile.

Koga took a deep breath. Exhaled. Then pushed the door open.

Edited March 26, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Light and sound flooded back into existence as Koga stepped through the doorway. The sounds of drunken laughter, cheer, flagons clinking together, pounding fists on tables. Warm lights, accompanied by the warmth of fires. The heat of bodies packed in tightly together. The scents of food, roasted pheasant, fresh loaves of bread, hot soup, roasted vegetables, ale, beer.

The tavern door swung closed behind Koga, sealing him in the empty room. The source of the sounds, the scents, the merriment, not a single one of them were present. And yet the sounds and smells all persisted. More laughter, more cheering.

"Masato," an all too familiar voice called to him by his real name. Only two people in Aincrad knew it. His sister and...

"Christelle?" Where had the woman come from? She sat, legs crossed at the round table in the center of the room. A kind smile played at her lips atop her pretty face, framed by her long brown hair. Bright blue eyes stared into his full of determination. Life.

"What are you doing here?" Masato asked, looking around the room again. She hadn't been there moments ago. Where had she come from.

"Come on, just sit down," she said. "We haven't talked in ages."

[Koga 0]

Masato looked around the room for a moment, eyes searching for any reason he should decline Christelle's invitation. Any reason to say, 'no'. But what reason could there even be? The tavern was empty, aside from them. Yes, the disembodied voices of tavern patrons and workers was disconcerting, but even those had begun to slowly fade since Christelle had made her appearance. So, warily, Masato reached out and pulled a seat back before lowering himself into it.

"Chris..." Masato's fist's curled into tightly clenched fists on the table before he willed them to relax. The last time they'd spoken...it hadn't been pleasant for either of them. It wasn't until now though, that Christelle was sitting across from him, that he realized he was still bothered by how'd they'd left things. How they'd never really apologized for anything that had happened. It wasn't raw, but it still hurt. And yet, here she was, sitting across from him, smiling like none of it ever happened.

"So, how have you been Mas?" she asked sweetly. "It's been, what? A year? I've been keeping track this time," she added with a cheeky, troublesome grin.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

The look on Koga's face soured as the words reach his ear, venomous only to him. "Didn't know you were a comedian now, Chris," Masato replied dryly as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "What are we doing here?" The man's eyes drifted around the room, all vaguely familiar. Though, what tavern didn't use these same exact textures and models? Usually it was layout that differed between them all, but this one had nothing of particular note about it for it to stick out in Masato's mind. "Wherever here is..."

"Oh c'mon, can't we just catch up? Isn't that what old friends are supposed to do?"

Masato's teeth ground back and forth, the sound almost audible as they gnashed together. "Friends? Is that what we are now? Last I recall, we decided it was best not to speak anymore."

There was no retort. No explanation, or response. Just a smile. A smile that grew more and more unsettling as time went on. The way her eyes creased. Or maybe the way the corners of her lips were permanently upturned, hardly moving even when she talked. Not even when she said: "How's Tala? I heard she and Yukiro finally got married, right? Are they living with you now?"

The man's eyes narrowed as he leaned forwards, hands clasped together as he rested his elbows on the table. Something was very, very off here. "She's fine. But since when did you start caring about her?"

"I don't." The answer came back sharp, decisive, and with no hesitation. But even then the lips did not move. "As far as I'm concerned, she's still just the bitchy little brat who came between us."

"Hey!" Masato slammed his hands down on the table as he stood up, the chair behind him clattering onto the ground. "Don't you fucking talk about my sister that way."

"Well, am I wrong?"

He seethed. But she wasn't wrong. It had been Akiara who had forced herself into his and Christelle's relationship. Akiara who had carefully crafted lies to draw them apart, break their bonds. And for what? Because she was jealous that her time with her older brother had diminished? Didn't seem to matter now that she had Yuki.

The man sank back into his seat, unable to do anymore than cast the woman across from him an angry glare as she grinned, frozen smile, back at him.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

"I thought so." Was there a hint of smugness there, behind those grinning eyes?

"It doesn't seem fair though that she get's to be happy while all we get is-" the brunette woman gestured between them, "this." The smile never faded, not even when there should have been a look of disgust in place of the a that twisted smiling mask.

'A mask,' Masato thought to himself. 'Yeah, that's what it's gotta be, there's just no way someone can smile that long without faltering.' That of course meant, that whoever was sitting across from him was not Christelle.

"Who are you?" Masato questioned. "Where's Christelle?"

"Pain, anger, loss. That's all we're left with, isn't it?" the woman across from him went on, ignoring him. "Do you think that's fair, Mas?"

"You don't get to call me that," Koga said, vitriolic words in response to hearing his own name. "Only those closest to me get to call me that."

"Hmm, I suppose we're not that close, are we? After all, you betrayed me, listening to that bitch you call a sister instead of me."

"I told you not to talk about her like that." Seething words barely escaped through gritted teeth as Koga dug his finger nails into the palm of his hand.

"Hmm, I guess you do deserve all that after all. The pain and loss and, you know."

"Oh, and like you weren't at fault too?" The age old argument surfaced. "You ran, remember? You didn't even try to fix things."

Edited March 27, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

A mirthful laugh bounced across the table as the person across the table covered their mouth, utter glee echoing around them. For a second, the ghostly voices of tavern appeared to laugh alongside her. "Why would I have done that? You'd already showed me who was more important."

"What, were you really going to try and make me choose between me and my sister?"

"Why not? It's not like she hadn't made you do the same."

"That's not the fucking same."

"It isn't? Destroying your relationships so you'd only be left with her? That doesn't sound any better."

"Would you fucking shut up already?"

"Ran out of ways to defend your sister?"

"I don't need to defend her, I know what she did is wrong. But that doesn't excuse your actions, just like it doesn't excuse mine."

Silence passed between them for a moment, and Koga settled back into his chair. He hadn't realized he had begun to lean across the table. A part of him almost wanted to lunge at her, wrap his fingers around her neck and squeeze. What stopped him? It wasn't as if anyone was around to see. Though, there was Cardinal, who most certainly would throw an orange cursor at his head if he'd done so. Maybe that was what had stopped him.

"So, who would you choose?"

Edited March 27, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

"What?" The question had caught Koga off-guard. Was...that something she was really asking?

"It's an easy question. Who would you choose, me or Tala?"

"I'm not answering that," the man replied crossing his arms again staring daggers.

"If I were you, I know who I'd choose."

Koga rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you?" he said, eliciting a girlish, and entirely not like Noct giggle from the person sitting across from him.

"Nope," she chirped back. "Guess again."

"I dunno, who?" he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"C'mon, guess."

"I'm not playing this fucking game with you," the man growled back, irritation joining the crowd of negative emotions that had been occupying Koga's chest.

"You're no fun," the woman replied, dour whilst smiling. "I'd pick neither."

Koga's eyes narrowed for a moment. "Why's that."

"Because why would either of us want you?"

The response felt more like slamming into a brick wall than a gut punch. Painful, disorienting still. But it didn't make you wanna vomit.

"What's there for you to offer us anyways? Tala has Yukiro now anyways. A wonderful replacement for you. Just as kind and caring. Stupid just like you are. He even has the same self-righteous anger that you do!"

Koga's expression morphed into a sneer as he listened to the woman, biting his tongue back. Why he was doing so, he didn't know. Perhaps habit.

"And why would I want you?" She laughed as she said the words. "You're so caught up in the past, that you can't even see the present, let alone the future! What, you think remembering people is a good way to honor them? That you're fulfilling some duty by locking yourself in yesterday?" Another laugh. "Give me a break. You're so caught up in yourself and things that are better left forgotten, I can't even begin to imagine what a life with you would be like. I doubt you could. I doubt Tsukiko could."

[Koga 0]

That name.

"Don't say that name."

"I bet that's why she chose Hikaru over you. Tsukiko just couldn't imagine having a real life with you, could she," the woman said in a lilting, sing-song voice. "Getting passed up for by your best friend for your other best friend. Wow, sounds like a team drama. That must've hurt."

"Stop talking."

"Must've hurt more when you couldn't protect them. You couldn't protect either of them."

"I said stop talking."

"You even promised her."

The chair didn't just fall over and clatter on the ground this time. It flew backwards, toppling over with a loud racket. The sounds of the non-existent tavern-goers ceased, as if listening attentively to whatever may happen next. To the sound of a blade being drawn.

Koga's blade. Only part way out of the black saya, the silver edge gleaming in the candle light as Koga's crimson eyes bore into this imposter with an intense fury. His chest rose and fell, knuckles white around his katana's grip.

He forced himself to breathe.

Inhale slowly. Slower.

Exhale, softly.

"Tsk, I thought that would've worked for sure..."

Koga's eyes grew wide. "Thought what would've worked?"

The unsettling smile had left the woman's face now as she examined her long manicured nails with a bored expression on her face. "Gotten you to try and kill me out of anger. It would've been such fun."

"You wanted me to...what, why?" Koga asked, confused as his katan clicked back into it's scabbard.

"It would have made you feel better, wouldn't it? To strike down one of the people that hurt you so badly? Even though you claimed to have loved them so much? I think it would've. Would've been fun for me at least."

"That's not the kind of person I am." Koga glowered at the woman.

"It would appear so," she'd respond with a heavy sigh. "Oh well. I guess I'll settle for killing you instead."

[Koga 0]

The woman lunged at Koga quicker than he could have anticipated. Somehow, her rapier, no, Noct's rapier, was in her hand, it's point tearing through the air almost faster than he could react. Instinct was the only thing that saved Koga from being stabbed in the heart. The sudden movement, the table suddenly rocketing to the side to explode into thousands of wooden splinters before they too exploded into blue shards, Koga's body reacted before he registered it all, shirking itself to the side, just enough that the rapier's speedy point buried itself below his collarbone.

The man let out a surprised cry of pain as the woman pulled the tip of her blade free, and Koga scrambled backwards. "What the fuck?"

"Don't be surprised," the woman said wickedly as she strode forward. "I did warn you that I was going to kill you."

Another slash, but one that Koga was more prepared for. The man skipped backwards, the sharp end only narrowly missing his abdomen.

"C'mon, why don't you draw that pretty blade of yours. Get angry, kill me. It'll make you feel better, I promise." Another slash, forcing Koga to back up some more, right into another table. A clattering sound as the man fell over and onto his back, knocking over a couple of chairs in the promise. "Because if you don't, I'll just kill you instead."

---

Spoiler

Koga | HP: 727/860 (860 -133) | EN: 120/120 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REC: 4 | B.HEALING: 47/94

 

First Inner Demon | HP: 215/215 | DMG: 133 | MIT: 6

---

Koga takes no action

First Inner Demon attacks Koga
  | 207477, MD nat8 -2, DMG 133
Koga takes 133 damage

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Blindingly fast, the gleaming edge of the rapier was little more than a bright flash as it cut the air, always missing Koga by a hair's breadth. The man rolled away on his side, trying to find the space to get back to his feet. It wasn't until the man tossed a chair into his attacker's path that he finally managed to scramble to his feet.

"I can't do that," Koga said as he circled a table, trying to the woman on the other side of it. "Why's that?" the entity replied. "It's not like you mean anything to her now anyways, so what's the harm?"

'to her-' Well, at least that confirmed what Koga already knew. This wasn't the real Noct. Not that was any kind of comfort.

"Why do you insist on being so difficult?" the creature groaned. "Holding onto to some notion of sentimentality maybe? There's nothing wrong with giving in to your desires, you know. Your emotions. You can't pretend they don't exist, you know how that always ends."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Ahh, maybe we are getting somewhere," the entity laughed. "You implode. Isn't that right? Everyone around you suffers because you pretend to be in control. You suffer, just marinating in all that pain. Just let loose. Wreak a little havoc. Stab someone. It's better than waiting around for it to go off like a powder keg."

---

Spoiler

Koga | HP: 774/860 (727 +47) | EN: 120/120 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REC: 4 | B.HEALING: 47/94

 

First Inner Demon | HP: 215/215 | DMG: 133 | MIT: 6

---

Koga takes no action

First Inner Demon attacks Koga
  | 207485, MD nat7 -2
Koga dodges

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga took hold of the table between them and lifted, throwing it up into the air. The entity let out a startled cry as it toppled toward her, the sound of the rapier clattering onto the ground as Koga took off towards the door he came through.

The wooden door rattled, the purple hexagon indicating that it was an immortal object briefly appearing before Koga tried the handle. Nothing. It wouldn't budge.

A heaving sound of exertion came from behind Koga, followed by the sound of splintering wood. "Do you recognize this place?" the entity asked with a chuckle, now considerably more disheveled than before. "This was the tavern you and Christelle had your big argument. I thought it fitting that it should end here."

The door rattled again as Koga pulled on it desperately, willing it to open. "That won't work, you know," the creature cackled. "Only one of us is allowed to leave here. Not my decision mind you." Koga turned and watched as the woman knelt down and gingerly picked up her rapier, before pointing it at Koga. She lunged forward the woman moved quickly, Koga had almost no time to react. The man jumped to the side, rolled, but not before he felt a white hot searing pain tear across his back.

"I'd draw that blade if I were you. Or you won't be leaving here at all."

---

Spoiler

Koga | HP: 686/860 (774 +47 -135) | EN: 120/120 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REC: 4 | B.HEALING: 47/94

 

First Inner Demon | HP: 215/215 | DMG: 133 | MIT: 6

---

Koga takes no action

First Inner Demon attacks Koga
  | 207507, MD nat9, DMG 133 +2
Koga takes 135 CRIT damage!

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Staggering on his hands in knees away from his assailant, Koga somehow stumbled to his feet, wincing as the burning sensation gnawed at his nerves. There was no warm trickle of blood, like one might've expected. Just searing pain across his flesh.

Koga turned, unwilling to expose his back to his opponent any longer. His eyes burned with frustration. Anger. "Good," the creature cooed, "I like that look in your eyes." The soft clicking sound of metal and wood as Koga gripped his katana. "I want to see more of that." A sneer crossed the man's face as he began to draw his weapon.

"you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. you are responsible for your rose."

Those words. Why was it now that they made their way into his thoughts? Now that he could hear them?

The flames of rage in Koga's eyes slowly flickered and died out, lips once curled back in a snarl relaxed. The grip on his weapon, no longer white-knuckled.

It was NIGHT who'd said those words to him. A quote, he'd always suspected. And not one he'd really understood. He probably still didn't now, not knowing where the quote was from. But one could guess.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," Koga repeated, soft but firm. A bloom of flames, crimson, not black as always, ignited as his feet. A calm look fell upon his face as his gaze fell through his opponent. "You were right."

"You're the one who left me first. The one who believed a complete stranger over me. The one who believed Tala over me!"

"I should have known better, trusted you. For that, I apologize." A soft click as his thumb pressed on the katana's tsuba. "I can't hate you for that anymore. I have to accept responsibility. So, please, forgive me Noct."

A blink.

In the space that it took for one to blink, Koga had left the spot he'd been standing, and reappearing behind the phantom, a trail of fire behind him. His weapon held loosely at his side, it was difficult to discern what had occurred. Until the phantom fell apart, into little blue shards.

---

Spoiler

Koga | HP: 733/860 (686 +47) | EN: 108/120 (120 -12) | DMG: 23 28 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 4 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REC: 4 | B.HEALING: 47/94
[CHARGE, CD 0/3]

 

First Inner Demon | HP: 215/215 (215 -348) | DMG: 133 | MIT: 6

---

Koga uses Charge, DMG +5, ACC -1
Koga uses ST-I
  | 207521, BD nat9, DMG (28 +1) * 12
First Inner Demon takes 348 CRIT damage!
First Inner Demon dies!

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga exhaled quietly as the blue fragments of deleted code settled in the air around him. Silently, his katana slide back into it's scabbard. Another shuddering breath as the man's chest began to constrict, suffocating him, making it difficult to breath. "I'm sorry," he repeated, though the specter had already disappeared. "I...never wanted us to end up like this."

Not that it mattered what he said now. That wasn't the real Noct to begin with. That much was obvious. Even still, he'd meant every word he said. If he ever got out of this place, he would have to go find her and say those words to her in person.

If only he had that kind of courage.

"Fuck," the man swore quietly, under his breath before turning around to head towards the door he hoped was now unlocked.

Before he could take a step towards the door though, a peculiar, but familiar sight drew his attention. "You again." The shade sitting there in a chair, one leg swung over the other, his katana laid carefully across his lap, grinning as always. "So, you gonna tell me what the hell is going on here, or are you just gonna keep giving me that creepy smile." No response. Koga crossed his arms. "Creepy smile it is."

[Koga 0]

The man could only scoff at the shade. The damned thing made no move, of course, but to watch, and yet, for some reason Koga got the sensation that it was amused with him. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up." Koga scowled at it before looking at the door adjacent to them. This time, Koga was the one to tilt his head at the portal. "I suppose you want me to go through it again, huh?" he asked it. More staring. Koga looked at the door again as he sighed. "Any chance you can tell me what to expect?" More ominous silence.

"Hmph. Thanks. I guess," the man sighed before stepping towards the door. He didn't reach out and grab the handle right away, instead simply staring at the tarnished pewter. What was waiting for him on the other side? He looked over his shoulder at his silent observer once more, wishing that it would say something, anything. It would've been better than than the nothing he received.

A deep breath. "Alright." With a firm grip, Koga reached out and took the handle in hand, pushing open the door.

[Koga 0]

The first thing to strike Koga's senses was the sensation of warm desert air. The sun above so hot that even the light breeze gently scalded the exposed skin of his face and hands. The second was the alarming sound of a horn blaring as a truck sped at his face towards him. The man leapt to the side out of pure instinct, his body moving on its on, desperate to get out of the way of what would have been certain death.

"Watch where you're going!" a voice called out from the truck as it sped by the bewildered man.

"What in the hell..." Koga muttered to himself, as he looked around. "This is..." Home. The one in the real world. Koga looked around himself. Everything was there. The beige buildings, the mountains in the distance, a small thin peak standing in the valley between it's neighbors. The tall palm trees, not native to this place, merely taken up and transplanted. Even the faint smell of desert dust in the hot air.

Every blood vessel in Koga's boody seemed to constrict, every muscle tensing, a weight sinking into his chest as anxiety began to seep into his mind. He should have been happy, right? Relieved? Everything, the last however many years, had he just conjured them up so convincingly in his mind? No, that thought only provided more food for the gnawing sense that everything here was wrong. Everything was wrong.