[F10 | PP] Parasitical Psyche <<Scents of the Wild: Leeching Nightmare>>

[Katoka 0]

The deep darkness of Floor 10 was something that Kat still wasn't used to. Despite the glowing lichen and radiant crystals that lined the cavernous walls, it was still dark and very very damp. Despite the darkness the small samurai pushed forward, pure determination radiating off her in almost visible waves. She was not about to let Freyd leave her in the way that he did without an explanation. She was mad, and she was going to give him a piece of her mind.

The way to the Stygian River was not easy to get to, that was sure. With no real was to travel quickly around the floor, Katoka had to travel the whole way by foot. Normally she would have complained and gripped about the inconvenience, but with her current objective of chewing the shadow loving man out she had very little to complain about. Aside from him of course. His actions had been jarring of course, but she wasn't exactly any better. She had let her own rage consume her and she had gone nearly feral as she had chipped away at the last glitched boss.

She was going to get to the bottom of what his deal was, if she had to throttle him to get him to talk about it then so be it.

"Where is that son of a bitch." she said out loud, referring to both her friend and the river.

----

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 106/106 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 5 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Katoka, The Cerulean Storm
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 14
HP: 720/720
EN: 106/106

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 78
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 5
Battle Healing: 31
AA
BLGT: 32
P.V.O
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Raijin's Corruption | T4/Demonic/Katana | Abs.Acc, Blight, Para.Ven (off), Static
Armor: Oni Haori | T4/Demonic/Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 2
Misc: Aquamarine | T4 Demonic Trinket | ACC III, EVA I

Combat Mastery: Damage R3
Combat Shift: ST
Familiar Skill: Rending Familiar
Custom Skill:


Skills:
Battle Healing R4
Katana R5
Light Armor R5
Energist

Active Mods:
Meticulous
Vengeful Riposte

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Stamina
Resolve
Precision

Active Extra Skills:
Survival
Concentration
Parry
Forgotten King’s Authority

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal x5
Starter Healing Potion x2

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Basic Training: +5% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Freyd 0]

Freyd sat on a dusky outcropping of rock, charcoal in colour and texture, his own clothing blending in perfectly with the local decor and his demeanor a matching blend of terrible.  Legs contorted into some semi-meditative lotus pose, he looked more like he'd tried to untangle a particularly pesky knot, failed miserably and given up.  On the black river's edge, below, in water so still that it failed to ripple in the wake of its passage, the Leeching Lich prowled in search of souls upon which to feed.  Spider fingers splayed against each other, very little of the Whisper was left to see save a pair of tired azure eyes watching the hungry creature trudging repeatedly back and forth.  It would never see the feast it so desired.  Katoka could easily defeat the beast, but he had promised his assistance.  Once given, Freyd never broke his word, though it was occasionally useful to let people think he did.

'Everything I am is a lie,' he'd told Mina.  The irony nearly forced a smile, but didn't.  The mood just wasn't there.  There was no mood.  Like his surroundings, everything around and about him was still and dead, exactly like he needed it to be, at least in this moment.  He felt like he'd tried to swallow an entire rainbow and nearly drowned in the aftermath.  Nothing could be so consoling as the stillness of the Stygian.  Nothing could more poignantly contrast so much.

Watching their prey, below, Freyd allowed the calculator within to dissect and analyze - to do what it did so well.  Every part of the creature had already been mentally deconstructed and pieced back together.  There weren't even any extra parts.  Weren't those always supposed to mysterious appear?  Montjoy was, strangely, nowhere to be found.  Freyd had lost his shadow somewhere and forget where he'd put it.  Or, it had taken its own mental health break.  Could he really blame his conscience for needing a rest?   The struggles hadn't been easy, of late, even with all the help.

A small flask of light sat quietly in the ashes at his side, its contents purchased long ago as part of a broader bulk order. Now, sitting on offer, it waited for its destiny.  Maybe they both did?  Will it be today?

In the dreary landscape, the only sound was of cloth pulling tight as he wrapped the aptly named creation around his long and slender digits.  Violet miasma churned in silence about the cloth as it bound itself to battered hands, the price of Pride ever healing in the aftermath of wielding.  Footsteps ground against the ebon sands, pacing familiar and huffing breath stained with indignation.  Best to just push the agenda.

"Are you ready?"

It was a question with many contexts.

***

Vanity Tag: @tricolor_mina @Elora @Freya

Freyd consumes:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (6/6) - takes 1 portion 
Liquor of Light (Potion) | Damage 3 | 183087-1
Red Velvet Meringue (Snack) | Evasion 2 | 197247
Jackpot Pretzel (Snack) | Loot Die 3 | 195128
Divinity's Wait (Meal)| T4 Mitigation 3 | 188377
Breakfast Fry | Protein 2 | 177723-1 [filled]

Freyd offers the following to Katoka:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) 
Liquor of Light (Potion) | Damage 3 | 183087-2

Freyd | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 150/150 | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 6+AA | BH: 63 | LD: 8 | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40 

Spoiler

A Freyd
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 120
HP: 1160/1160
EN: 150/150

Stats:
Damage: 24+3+3
Mitigation: 78+60-60
Evasion: 2+2
Accuracy: 4+2
Battle Healing: 63
Loot Dice: 5+3
AA
BLGT: 32
P.V.O
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 Demonic MA, AA, Blight, Static, Para.Ven (Off))
Armor: Fallen Angel Garb | T4 LA | MIT 2 | REC 2
Misc: Fight O'er Flight (ACC 2, EVA 2)

Combat Mastery: Damage R3
Combat Shift: AOE
Familiar Skill: Grappling Familiar
Custom Skill:


Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Battle Healing R5
Light Armor R5
Searching R4
Charge
Energist
Quick Change
Extended Mod Limit
Extended Weight Limit
Fighting Spirit
Howl

Active Mods:
Night Vision
Tracking
Meticulous
Emergency Recovery
Untraceable

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Precision
Resolve
Reveal
Stamina
Focused Howl

Active Extra Skills:
Disguise
Survival
Forgotten King’s Authority
Hiding R2

Inactive Extra Skills:
Meditation
Frozen Hide
Brawler
Photosynthesize

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable) x1
Rhino's Horn (Reusable) x1
Hmr.Pk: Samael's Pride | T4 MA | FLN 2 | HLY 2 x1
EWL: Hope's Covenant - Resolve +4 (T4 Demonic Weapon (MA) - AA, Phase, Frostbite, VO) x1
EWL: The Shadowed Rose| T3 Trinket | ACC 3 | Para.Imm x1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +2 Fishing EXP per attempt
Practiced Angler: +2 Fishing EXP per attempt, addition +1 LD/CD to fishing attempts
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring: n/a

Fishing: Level 4 | 461XP

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

 

"Are you ready?"

Katoka stopped in her tracks. She whipped around to see her friend casually sitting on an outcropping of rocks, waiting for her like the quiet wraith that he resembled now. She shot him a look that could kill as she placed her hands on her hips, if she could see herself now she would have realized in horror that she was emulating her own mother. After a few moments of silence she finally spoke, "That's all you have to say to me? You fly into a rage and beat that boss thing to a pulp and then just leave me with a cryptic message on a tree."

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she felt a twinge of pain, the coming of a headache caused by her rising anger. "I don't even know if you're ok. We both let ourselves... do that. Let ourselves get consumed by our anger. And then when I wanted to talk to you, you just dip out!" Her breathing was getting faster and her voice was getting louder, her brow furrowed as she started to pace back and forth. "What even happened?! What sent you over the edge like that?!"

She turned once more to attempt to look him in the eyes and he could see the tears beginning to form, her face changing from anger to hurt and sadness. "Freyd I'm mad at you, but not because you went freak mode on that golem thing. I'm angry and hurt and afraid because I was worried about you. You left me when I wanted to check on you. To talk with you. To tell you that whatever happened it was ok and that I was there to comfort you. But you ran, and you can't do that. You're like a brother to me and I car about you."

The tears were pouring now, flowing freely as Kat unloaded everything to the Whisper. She was always concerned about him, worried that one day even he would meet something that would put even him in his place.

----

Katoka Consumes:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) 
Liquor of Light (Potion) | Damage 3 | 183087-2

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 106/106 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Katoka, The Cerulean Storm
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 14
HP: 720/720
EN: 106/106

Stats:
Damage: 23+3=26
Mitigation: 78
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 5+3=8
Battle Healing: 31
AA
BLGT: 32
P.V.O
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Raijin's Corruption | T4/Demonic/Katana | Abs.Acc, Blight, Para.Ven (off), Static
Armor: Oni Haori | T4/Demonic/Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 2
Misc: Aquamarine | T4 Demonic Trinket | ACC III, EVA I

Combat Mastery: Damage R3
Combat Shift: ST
Familiar Skill: Rending Familiar
Custom Skill:


Skills:
Battle Healing R4
Katana R5
Light Armor R5
Energist

Active Mods:
Meticulous
Vengeful Riposte

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Stamina
Resolve
Precision

Active Extra Skills:
Survival
Concentration
Parry
Forgotten King’s Authority

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal x5
Starter Healing Potion x2

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Basic Training: +5% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Freyd 0]

Watching his friend approach, Freyd instantly read the tension in her shoulder and set of her jaw.  He knew what was coming, yet couldn't decide how he should react to it.  What was expected?  Should his ire rise in return?  Apologize?  For what?  The threat had been ended, at least from the mob.  If his conclusions were correct, his presence would place her in greater danger than remaining.  Was this another of those 'feeling' things?  They were proving to be quite bothersome, and therein lay the rub.

"That's all you have to say to me? You fly into a rage and beat that boss thing to a pulp and then just leave me with a cryptic message on a tree."

He let her rant.  She needed to vent and the few self-help books he'd been forced to read in therapy all said that it was a good thing.  Unmoving, Freyd merely watched and listened.  Any action might provoke Kat further.  Inaction could do the same.  It was always the same, with emotion.  Whichever path you chose was proven to be the wrong one because you failed to choose its opposite.  Maybe it was a female thing?  He'd tried to be one for a while, as an experiment, but gleaned no useful insights. Whatever brain chemistry governed such things must reside in the host's real world body.  Faking it wasn't all that hard.  Faking anything did feel that hard these days.  Authenticity and control were the problems.

Watching her pinch the bridge of her nose, he knew the expression well and usually sought to provoke it.  People were most easily manipulated when off balance.  It seemed to be his nature to keep them there as long and as often as possible. 

"I don't even know if you're ok. We both let ourselves... do that. Let ourselves get consumed by our anger. And then when I wanted to talk to you, you just dip out! What even happened?! What sent you over the edge like that?! Freyd I'm mad at you, but not because you went freak mode on that golem thing. I'm angry and hurt and afraid because I was worried about you. You left me when I wanted to check on you. To talk with you. To tell you that whatever happened it was ok and that I was there to comfort you. But you ran, and you can't do that. You're like a brother to me and I care about you."

The tip of his cowl dipped slightly as she finished, possibly out of shame, worry or disappointment in himself.  Most likely out of confusion.  How do I explain?

"I'm... probably not okay.  It's tough to gauge without a frame of reference."  Lanky fingers fidgeted in a snake-ball beneath his chin, lowering enough for her to see the lower half of his face and reveal his consternation.  "It's not just anger, Kat.  It's everything - *everything* I feel is out of balance.  There's not middle ground.  It's either full blown passion, anger, even... fear.  I closed myself to feeling a long time ago.  So, so, very long ago, to keep from hurting.  I'm a cold fish by design and by necessity, but I've come to realize the price that carries.  It's too high."

She could hear the creaking of the cloth strips in his hands as he wound and unwound them around his hands, surely cutting off circulation if he'd truly had any to lose.

"You were safe when I left the dungeon.  The markers had all cleared and it was better that I put distance between us to avoid risking another episode.  We're not the only ones to have encountered these strange mobs, Kat.  I've seen very similar things with Mina recently, and some time back alongside others.  There's only one common element to each engagement."  Paired indexes rose to point towards his own chest.

"I'm worried, Kat.  And that alone is telling.  You know me: I weigh odds and calculate.  I take risks and action based on reason and probability, even if it means taking chances.  Freyd acts with purpose."  As weird as the words were, it felt right to speak about himself in the third person for this conversation.

"I care about you, Elora, Freya, Mina... all the others.  It was a choice to let that happen, but I may have cracked the egg in the process and scrambled the contents."  His hand subconsciously rubbed his chest over his heart, completely unaware.  "I'm afraid of what might happen to you... of losing each of you, and it's chewing me up so bad I can't keep it under wraps."

Pulling with such adrenaline-driven force, the seams of the wraps winding his hands - the Thing Behind All Lies - creaked and snapped, as if to make a point.  Despite this, one line had definitely managed to penetrate:

"...Brother?"

Edited September 16, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

She crossed her arms and let him talk. She wanted to hear what he had to say. Her cheeks were still wet with tears but her brows began to furrow again as he went on. She ground her teeth as she kept her mouth shut, she would wait for him to finish since he gave her the same consideration. All she could think was that he must be stupid. For as smart a man as he was her really was dense.

"I'm not a fool Freyd." she finally managed. "I may not have as much battle sense as you, but I can recognize a pattern easy enough. I know that you've been the common denominator in these glitched dungeons." she stepped up to him and looked up to meet his eyes under his cowl. "I. Don't. Care." and she flicked him between the eyes. Not as hard as she could manage, but enough that he could feel it. "You could cause a hundred glitches in this damn world and I would be by your side to fight each one. My sword is yours you fucking dumbass."

She knew that it took a lot for him to tell her everything. It was hard to tell someone how you actually feel, and Freyd was never one to shift the weight of his own burdens unto anyone else's shoulders. "I'm not like you, I can't just push everything down and pretend it's not there. But what I can tell you is that it's not good for you. It sucks to hurt, it sucks to be mad, and to feel everything. I'm sure that you've kept it all inside for so long that it's overwhelming to let it all out, but it's ok. You can do it in small amounts, that way it doesn't burst like a dam. And you can share with me, and Elora, and whoever else is close to you. It's ok to share the burden sometimes, we are here to help you."

She punched him in the arm as she always does, though this time it had a bit more force behind it, "And yes, brother. I'm not calling you daddy that's for sure." she gave him a stupid grin, "Found family in this world is just as real as anything out there."

[Freyd 0]

"I'm not a fool Freyd."

You've never struck me as one.  'Courageous' far more often came to mind as her defining quality, but he stayed silent.  Katoka had long since earned the right to scold him and speak her mind, not that she'd ever really been shy about it.  He'd born the brunt of her barrage of elbow ribbings to prove it, but also had too much respect for her to interfere.

Meanwhile, the machine turning the wheels behind the Whisper's eyes kept chugging along, doing its thing. Patterned, predictable responses repeated in each and every occurrence.  He'd tried to tell them all so many times, but certain blocks remained in place.  Maybe it was just his nature?  Maybe this place held too much sway over who he'd since become?  Freyd looked mildly sheepish as she scolded him because it was expected and required.  The comparisons were uneven, if not wholly unbalanced, but it mattered not.  Katoka was a committed friend - another little sister, so to speak.  

"My sword is yours you fucking dumbass."

"I know, Katoka.  You've always been there, and I appreciate it more than I can ever find words to say." Pulling back his cowl revealed the unexpected: Katoka staring at a mirror of herself.  "Maybe I should put on a brave face? It's also adorable how you tell me you don't care and care in the same breath," the familiar wry grin returning to his features.  He was teasing, of course, but humour had always been their bond; the reference to sibling status befitting that which linked them intangibly.  "Please understand: I'm being as open and honest as I can express."  Freyd spotted his shadow standing in for hers, glaring back at him with accusing eyes. 

You can do it in small amounts, 

"No," he blurted out bluntly.  "That's exactly the problem.  Everything is flooding out at the moment, every time the tide hits.  That's what I am trying to tell you: I'm not in control.  And this is me we're talking about!  Part of Freyd desperately needs to be, or he can't exist.  That discipline has literally kept me and others alive.  It's the very reason I am who I am and do the job I do for Firm Anima.  But it's not compatible with decency and humanity.  It's not compatible with love, Katoka.  Not without placing you all in terrible danger.  Now that I've unlocked the door, I don't want to ever close it again.  I also can't be who I am while it remains open.  The only option is for me to change, but I don't know into what or who."  Something washed over him with those words, causing his shoulder to shudder even as his features flexed and wavered.  The math wouldn't seem to add up, he knew.  There were pieces missing in the equation that could not be declared.  Never.  Cardinal itself would see to that, to the fullness of its power.  "Change carries cost.  It always does, and also risk to those whom I care most about in this world.  Elora scolded me like you did just now, when I tried to tell her - because you're both good and caring people, and innocent in your own different ways.  Please don't ever lose that."

His features faded back towards his default, eyes turning and training upon the Leech Lich that had heard all the yelling and wandered over.  It might have been a mutated glitch itself, given its many limbs sprouted at awkward angles.  The thing looked hungry.  Freyd sympathized.  It was never easy to be in such a state, especially for a mob. 

"Hey!  Asshole," he called out to the boss.  "Stop looking at my little sister that way!"

A black gloved hand pressed gently on the Cerulean Storm's shoulder, delivering a gentle squeeze in thanks and hoping that this would suffice as explanation.  The rest was beyond his power to share.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

"I'm going to live to regret saying that aren't I?"

Katoka sighed and drew her katana. She wasn't as angry as she was, but she still felt the remnants of her animosity flickering deep inside. Taking that she turned and began advancing towards the coming creature, it's many arms twitching and grasping in various directions. It was not a pretty sight, that was for sure. This was there intended target however, and it need to be dispatched as quickly as possible. With that in mind Kat let her sword begin drawing it's power from the system as she charged her sword art, the light from her blade pushing back the darkness that hung heavy around this floor.

The last few feet between Kat and the Lich were closed quickly. She began to pick up the pace and swung her weapon, the sword almost signing as it cut through the air in front of them. Her strike however didn't hit it's mark. Instead in the instant between her swing and the weapon connecting a hooded figure rose from the floor, her katana cutting it down as if it was made from just cloth. Shock ran though her and she leapt back, getting distance between herself and the now four opponents before her. She hadn't been expecting this turn of events.

"Shit, he uh, brought friends I guess." she turned to Freyd and gave him an awkward smile, "Now would be a good time for one of your signature AOE smashes."

----

Post Action | ST-I [x15] (12 EN+2 Shift): 14 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 11 EN
Free Action | N/A

ID:218225 | BD:4+5-=10, CD: 10, HIT Using [x15] ST-I vs. Stygian Warrior #1 | 15*26=390-75=315 DMG

(0,0) Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 95/106 (-11) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
(0,0) Freyd | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 150/150 | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 6+AA | BH: 63 | LD: 8 | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40

The Leech Lich | HP: 450/450 | DMG: 175 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2
Stygian Warrior #1 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 (100-315)
Stygian Warrior #2 | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
Stygian Warrior #3 | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
Stygian Warrior #4 | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1

Abilities:

• Leech | Four <<Stygian Warriors>> spawn with the boss when it is engaged in combat. <<The Leech Lich>> will consume up to two creatures per turn as a Free Action and will do so whenever it can. If it consumes the creature, it gains +25 Mitigation, +50 Base Health, +25 Damage for the rest of the battle, and restores +100 HP after the other effects have taken place. If it lands a hit on the player, <<The Leech Lich>> will heal a third of the final damage it dealt to the player (rounded up). At the start of every other turn (starting on the second turn), two more <<Stygian Warriors>> will spawn, but there will always be a maximum of four <<Stygian Warriors>> at any given time.
• Protected | <<The Leech Lich>> cannot be attacked until the all active <<Stygian Warriors>> are defeated or devoured by <<The Leech Lich>>. After the original 4 die, <<The Leech Lich>> is no longer protected.
• Undead | Fallen damage has no effect on <<The Leech Lich>>, but Holy damage deals +25 final damage when the enhancement procs.

Edited September 20, 2023 by Katoka

[Freyd 0]

"I'm going to live to regret saying that aren't I?"

Freyd shrugged noncommittally, which for him was tantamount to absolute agreement.  Notably, his usual grin was missing.  Whatever all this was had truly managed to get under his skin and continued to fester.  Like pinning Jell-o to a wall, the curse of feeling had done the impossible and touched the untouchable nerve.  Speaking of untouchable, Katoka's ever-impressive technique spontaneously fell prey to SAO's equivalent of plot armor as the system interfered and veered her katana into some poor already-dead mob instead.  The mook, barely spawned, instantly crumpled to dust under the overwhelming force of the blow scattered across the pudding-like flow behind it.  Empty, forlorn eyes silently caught Freyd's as if calling out with blasé: here we go again.

"Now would be a good time for one of your signature AOE smashes."

Let her see...

Nodding mechanically, Freyd sidestepped a lunge from the next nearest assailant, grasping the blackened rags around its skeletal wrist and twisting until a crisp snap broke through the thickness of the riverbank's oppressive air.  Whirling with momentum, the Whisper backhanded the mob with its own appendage scattering its bones high into the air.  Twin fingers poked the next one, snaring empty eye sockets for purchase and snapping its head down to meet his rising knee to produce the most sickening of crunches.  Its skull lasted long enough to shoot upward like a cannonball and catch the last protector in the chest, caving in the bone cage instantly.  Grabbing and spinning low, Freyd whipped and bowled with the things disintegrating remains crashing them into the strange platform carting the lich around and ditching the boss unceremoniously face-first onto the blackened beach.  

As the last guardian fell, the similarity between Freyd and these Stygian wretches became ever more apparent.  His features grew more gaunt with each felled foe, the angular shape of bone protruding awkwardly beneath clothing as sinew faded after every touch.  It was like watching him become one of them, but in a way that might cause you to shit your pants, like if one of your dinner guests suddenly turned into Arny as the Terminator with twin shotguns in hand.  Coming up out of his turn, Freyd stepped high to drive his foot into the back of the lich's head, effectively curb-stomping it into the edge of its own metallic skiff.  Through it all, his actions were smooth mechanically precise, meticulously destroying every aspect of their opposition with a disturbing and pervasive cold.  Even the lich was too stunned to do anything, its eyes wide with terror.  This was what ruthless resolve produced.  This was what he looked like when he gave in to the machine.  It was the very thing he'd fought so hard against and what utterly terrified him.  When Freyd finally spoke, the words felt oddly hollow and simulated.  They were neither burdened nor restrained by... anything.  

"As you wish."

***

Spoiler

Post Action | TECH-F (x8, 8 EN, +2/hit): 16 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 13 EN.  
Free Action | None

ID #218241 | BD: 9 (Crit +1).  DMG (8*31=248-35=213) to Stygian Warrior #2 PVO, BLGT and STK trigger (ignored)
ID #218242 | BD: 1+7=8 (hit [AA]).  DMG (8*30=240-35=205) to Stygian Warrior #3
ID #218243 | BD: 9 (Crit +1).  DMG (8*31=248-35=213) to Stygian Warrior #4 PVO, BLGT and STK trigger (ignored)
ID #218244 | BD: 8+7=15 (hit).  DMG (8*30=240-75=165) to The Leech Lich.  Mob immune to STK splash due to 'Protected'.  PVO triggers and overrides Stun.  

The Leech Lich is paralyzed.  Paralyze fades.

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 95/106 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 137/150 (150-13) | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 6+AA | BH: 63 | LD: 8 | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40

(0,2) The Leech Lich | HP: 285/450 | DMG: 175 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2 | PARALYZED (450-165)
(0,3) Stygian Warrior #2 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 (100-213)
(0,2) Stygian Warrior #3 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 (100-205)
(0,3) Stygian Warrior #4 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 (100-213)

Abilities:

• Leech | Four <<Stygian Warriors>> spawn with the boss when it is engaged in combat. <<The Leech Lich>> will consume up to two creatures per turn as a Free Action and will do so whenever it can. If it consumes the creature, it gains +25 Mitigation, +50 Base Health, +25 Damage for the rest of the battle, and restores +100 HP after the other effects have taken place. If it lands a hit on the player, <<The Leech Lich>> will heal a third of the final damage it dealt to the player (rounded up). At the start of every other turn (starting on the second turn), two more <<Stygian Warriors>> will spawn, but there will always be a maximum of four <<Stygian Warriors>> at any given time.
• Protected | <<The Leech Lich>> cannot be attacked until the all active <<Stygian Warriors>> are defeated or devoured by <<The Leech Lich>>. After the original 4 die, <<The Leech Lich>> is no longer protected.
• Undead | Fallen damage has no effect on <<The Leech Lich>>, but Holy damage deals +25 final damage when the enhancement procs.

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

Katoka waisted no time after Freyd stomped the Lich into the ground. She raced forward, her sword trailing low behind her, catching the ground at various points and sending sparks flashing into the darkness. Leaping over the monster in a front flip she slashed at it's neck, separating the head from it's shoulders with ease. Freyd could feel the passing of her blade a few centimeters from his own foot, as well as the burst of wind that followed after the initial attack. The Lich shattered into the all too familiar motes of light and particles shortly there after.

Kat turned to Freyd and stared at him. "You're not off the hook just yet big bro." she poked him in the arm with the last two words while glaring, "Now let's see if you attract anymore weird and freaky things again." She was hiding her concern with jokes. Freyd had shifted into his nearly robotic voice once again, but she wasn't going to let him push her away. She wasn't going anywhere.

----

Katoka regains +4 EN

Post Action | [x18] ST-II (15 EN + 2 Shift EN) = 17 EN - (Rested 1/2; Stamina) = 15 EN
Free Action | 

ID:218245 | BD:1+5+1=7, CD: 4, HIT Using [x18] ST-II vs. The Leech Lich | 18*26=468-75=393 DMG

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 84/106 (+4) (-15) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 137/150 (150-13) | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 6+AA | BH: 63 | LD: 8 | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40

(0,2) The Leech Lich | HP: 0/450 | DMG: 175 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2 | PARALYZED (285-393)

Edited September 21, 2023 by Katoka

[Freyd 0]

"Uurk!"

Freyd's back suddenly bulged, folding him awkwardly in half like his insides were threatening to become his outsides.  Inky black ooze spewed forth from his mouth, eyes and ears, spraying and staining the dingy grey sand with a slick, oily finish.  Montjoy stood separately off to the side, tilting his head in silence while watching in morbid curiosity.  Somehow, he didn't seem surprised by any of it, but who knew the expectations of shadows?  Even as he wretched, the glossy clumps of sodden soil around him started to writhe and undulate, as if something was prodding them from behind or within.  Fingers pressed against slimy cauls, pushing, pushing, pushing for rebirth.  These were the threats of memory defeated once before, only to be reborn: Freyd's fears and nemeses given form.  They were the ghosts of this past and present, possibly even his future, made resurgent by his growing doubts.

The first was a lean man, tall and broad, fiercely imposing and looking like an older figure by its features.  It was tough to tell since its appearance was cast is nasty, black oil, like some sort of digital rendering without its finished skin.  Next came a younger lad, likely about a dozen years of age.  His features marred by the flopping head unable to be supported by a scrawny neck that looked wrung out like some sort of sopping tea towel, but also bearing the imprint of a pair of choking hands.  Looking the part of the victim, he was very much the opposite: a bully who'd pushed his luck to far and suffered for it.  Third came an impish child, short in stature but bearing bleary red eyes and tiny devil's horns poking out beyond the confines of his baseball cap.  Reams of red code flickered across the surface of his blackened flesh, eerily similar in their manner to the system prompts of SAO itself.  All three circled Freyd, waiting for the forth: Montjoy himself.  The shadow inverted itself, as if turning itself inside out, changing from shade to figure of flesh in an instant.  A young man with pale skin and steel-grey eyes bore thin wire frame glasses perched beneath thin and arching brows.  Hair like Freyd's but also kin to the first manifestation's form.  They were related, after a fashion.

"Ever the disappointment," spoke the tall man in black, scolding and demeaning in tone.

"Ever the monster inside," wheezed the teen with the scrawny neck, barely able to eek out an audible sound.

"Ever the persistent error," boomed the voice from the somber devil-child, with the resounding echo of a figure that should be far more vast and threatening, akin to frustrations spoken by the world itself.

"Ever the pretender," came the final and most familiar voice - that of Freyd himself, but from the lips of his human gemini.  "What made you think you could assume this guise indefinitely?  Who are you to mock his memory?  You're not even..."

"NO!"  Freyd slammed his fist into the ground with such force that the crack of impact reverberated off the distant cliffs before coming back to them.  Cast in the same oily grit mixed with sand that had spawned these creatures in the first place, he grasped at the source of that darkness and squeezed.  The father figure roared and lunged, only to face Freyd instant ire.  Opening his mouth, Katoka watched as the same screeching void she'd come to expects from his weapon came from there instead.  But, instead of disintegrating by touch, the very sound of his spoken word passed through his attacker and denied it the cohesion required for existence.  Shadow fell into fractured fractal shards and instantly ceased to be.  

"ENOUGH GUILT!"  Freyd roared, a pulse of white flowing from his fist amidst the sands and passing through the scrawny-necked boy to ring and wring itself around the vestigial trunk.  His head suddenly inflated like some sort of parade float, the rest of his body following moments later and then popping with a gruesome 'splorch', spraying motes of clingy black ooze in all directions.

"I'M NO LONGER YOUR PUPPET!"  The reaper child growled with a menacing rumble the shook the entire landscape all around them, reaching for Freyd with a baleful, code-laden hand that seemed intent to end his very existence, yet failed.  Looking down, he roared in fury as his feet sunk into the sands, dragged down by chords of intertwined shadow and light that sloughed the skin from his very avatar.  Try as it might, the mob could not escape and was slowly swallowed by the very surface upon which it stood, until nothing remained.

Freyd gasped, like a drowning man taking a breath for life after surfacing from the deepest depths of the abyss.  His form rippled and changed while struggling to settle on a single identity.  Too much trauma had marred its formation.  Too many memories borrowed or infused has caused him to lose himself along the way.

"AND. I. AM. NOT. YOU!"  Each word was flung at Monjoy like a dagger and an accusation.  Each syllable caused the receiving figure to flinch and take a half-step back before both stood facing off against each other with Katoka at the midpoint, on the side.

"No," Montjoy finally admitted, matter-of-factly.  "You never were, were you? I wonder what your love will think when she realizes he is gone?"  Without any injury beyond that delivered by truth in words, Takeshi's form simply fell apart, its motes turning to ash and carried out on the Stygian river.  At least the Leeching Lich was no longer there to claim them.

Shaking like a child Freyd fell to his knees and cried out in anguish like Katoka had never heard.  It was catharsis; a combination of agony, freedom and the very sacrifice of self.  The Thing Behind All Lies finally and truly lay exposed.  Stripped of all illusions and laid bare, his features drifting to amorphous shadow held together only by the will to be, and choose.  But at least he could still feel something.

"Fuck you, Takeshi,"  Freyd mumbled between shuddering breaths, his shoulders struggling to decide whether to be taut or limp and trying to do both at the same time.  Katoka could see tears in black streaming down his face.  "Fuck everything."

Slowly, the silence of their surroundings re-asserted itself and Freyd's form drifted back to 'himself'.  Through it all, he could not bear to face his friend or the anger she'd lashed out with only moments early.  Freyd himself was fractured, broken by the torments in his own soul, assuming he even had one, and what toll it would take to struggle though it all.  How could he possibly explain any of it?

Spoiler

***

Freyd uses Random Dungeon Map [199172b]

Spoiler

Freyd regains +4 EN
CD 4 (No REC proc) ID #218252

Free Action [Skill] | Quick Change (CD 0/3, Replace The Thing Behind All Lies with Samael's Pride) - stats adjusted below.
Post Action | AoE-I (x15, 11 EN, +2 shift, +2/hit): 21 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 18 EN.  

ID #218248 | BD: 6+7-1=12 (hit, Fallen +16).  DMG (15*46=690-60=630) to The Father
ID #218249 | BD: 9 (Crit +1, Holy +16).  DMG (15*47=720-60=660) to The Bully
ID #218250 | BD: 10 (Crit +2, Holy +16).  DMG (15*48=750-60=690) to Cardinal "Billy"
ID #218251 | BD: 10 (Crit +2, Holy +16).  DMG (15*48=750-60=690) to False Freyd

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 84/106 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 123/150 (137+4-18) | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

The Father - Fear of Failure | HP: 0/400 | DMG: 180 | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 (400-630)
The Bully - Unbridled Rage Within | HP: 0/400 | DMG: 180 | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 (400-660)
Cardinal "Billy" - The False Embodiment | HP: 0/400 | DMG: 180 | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 (400-690)
False Freyd - Broken Truth Revealed | HP: 0/400 | DMG: 180 | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 (400-690)

Loot The Father - Fear of Failure: ID #218279 | LD: 17+9=26 | CD: 10
+2 materials (+2 LD odd)
2000 col (HP[400]*5 - incl. +2 CD even)
+1 Demonic Shard
Random Dungeom Map 218279

Loot The Bully - Unbridled Rage Within: ID #218280 | LD: 7+9=16 | CD: 5
+4 materials (+4 CD/LD odd)
1200 col (HP[400]*3)
T4 Rare Consumable 218280a
T4 Rare Armor/Shield 218280b

Loot Cardinal "Billy" - The False Embodiment: ID #218281 | LD: 14+9=23 | CD: 9
+2 materials (+2 CD odd)
4400 col (HP[400]*11 - incl. +2 LD even, +6 from roll)
T4 Perfect Consumable 218281

Loot False Freyd - Broken Truth Revealed: ID #218282 | LD: 7+9=16 | CD: 1
+4 materials (+4 CD/LD odd)
1200 col (HP[400]*3)
T4 Rare Consumable 218282a
T4 Rare Weapon 218282b

Edited October 10, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

Taking several steps back, Katoka realized quickly that Freyd was fighting with himself on more than an emotional level now. She watched as the now physical embodiments of his trauma took shape and began their verbal assault on him. She didn't know how to react. What do you do to help your friend when they are hurting? How do you help pull them back onto their feet when they're been tripped by their own past?

While the samurai was looking back and forth between Freyd and his demons, unsure of how to act, her friend acted first. With every punch, every strike, every impact, Katoka flinched ever so slightly. It wasn't at the rage, or his screaming, her reaction was all from the pure emotion that each blow held behind it. With each opponent that was felled she could feel a wave of force roll over her, like the difference in temperature when you step outside after being in a cool building.

When he had finished she watched as the tears streamed down his face, a broken man that was fighting his literal past. Katoka took a step forward. Then another. After a few short moments she was by his side again, her hand instinctively reaching up and out to touch his shoulder. "It's going to be okay Freyd. You're going to be ok." she wanted to hug him, but she wasn't sure how he would react just yet. As she stared up at him she noticed that she same black shadows that emanate from him seamed to be once again be pouring out of him, like a heavy black fog rolling across the ground.

Kat tilted her head, watching as the strange mist seemed to move quickly around them both. "Um, Freyd. Something is-" she was cut off as the haze began to gather and swirl into two shapes just before a blast of air exploded form them and crashed into the two players. When Katoka managed to regain her balance she looked up to see two familiar, yet very different shapes. Now standing not far from them both was her best friend Elora and the spiting image of Katoka herself.

"Did you really think that I could look at you like a human being after what you did? Big. Brother." the shade said in her voice.

"Wait, that-- I wouldn't say that!" she thought as she took a step back.

"Who could ever love a pathetic and broken thing like you." a disgusted look spread across the not Elora's face, "Honestly, it's a wonder either of us stuck around this long."

"No... No Elora would never--"

The two things wearing the faces of two of the closest people in his life began to advance. The not Kat drew her sword and the other Elora unclasped the spear from her back. Their faces had grins that sent a shiver down the real Katoka's spine. "No." her mouth spoke this single word softly, yet it held a weight that could be felt by everyone in earshot.

The two stopped and turned their gaze to her. "What was that?" the thing that wore Elora's face asked, "Has the quivering little samurai finally decided to speak up?"

"I said," her voice now booming with authority and quivering with fury, "NO!"

Before the two creatures could even blink the real Kat had drawn her sword again. The two shadow beings took a slight step back with wide eyes. They weren't prepared for this sort of resistance from a second party. They were there for Freyd and Freyd alone. In an instant Kat had closed the distance between them, her katana flashing as she knocked her double's weapon aside and cutting into her upper thigh with extreme prejudice. Next she twirled around and in another fluid motion she knocked Elora's doppelganger's weapon into the air before cutting her across the chest. It took everything that the two shadow women had to keep their grips tight around their only means of offense.

With a bounding leap the blonde absconded back to Freyd's side where she clicked her tongue in frustration. "Damnit, I'm not good at multiple targets Freyd. I need your help here." she looked to her friend, the man that was the closest thing to a brother that she had in this world. "Don't listen to them. They aren't the real us."

Spoiler

----

Katoka regains +4 EN
CD 5 (No REC proc ID# 218275)

Post Action | AoE-I [x11] (11 EN, +2/hit): 15 EN - (Rested 1/2; Stamina) = 12 EN
Free Action | N/A

ID:218277 | BD:2+5-1=7, CD: 1, HIT Using [x11] AOE-I vs. Katoka - the Squall of Disgust | 11*26=286-120=166 DMG
ID:218278 | BD:4+5-1=9, HIT Using [x11] AOE-I vs. Elora - the Thorn of Malice | 11*26=286-120=166 DMG

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 76/106 (+4) (-12) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 123/150 (137+4-18) | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

Katoka - the Squall of Disgust | HP: 534/700 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 (700-166)
Elora - the Thorn of Malice | HP: 534/700 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 (700-166)

Edited September 25, 2023 by Katoka

[Freyd 0]

"Cardinal..."

Katoka had never before heard him speak a word with such utter vitriol and contempt.  The hatred was visceral and came from Freyd's very core, as if speaking to the very antithesis of his own being.  Regaining his footing while true Katoka held the newcomers at bay, her frantic calls cut through the haze and din ringing like a fog over his senses.  'System static,' he told himself, not really knowing why.  Where is Takeshi when I need him?  Oh.  Right.  I killed him... again.

Fingers pressed against wetness on his face.  Blood?  Stained tips drew back black with some sort of inky blemish, instead of red.  What was I expecting?  

"Did you really think that I could look at you like a human being after what you did? Big. Brother." 

"Who could ever love a pathetic and broken thing like you."

Angry stings from hurtful words, delivered by the silhouette of a friend.  When did Kat become my guardian?  Maybe she always has been, and I just never realized it.  Maybe... they all have?

"Damnit, I'm not good at multiple targets Freyd. I need your help here. Don't listen to them. They aren't the real us."

"I know, little sister."  The words were hoarse, but gave her what she needed to hear. A glove skimmed over her forearm with the touch of the slightest breeze to comfort and acknowledge.  "I am with you."

Twisting contortion dodged beneath the false storm's cut, enabling him to lunge and launch himself with full force.  Tackling the squall, he tumbled over top of her crumpled figure, deliberately ripping and tearing her precious haori even as he jersey-ed her with it.  Roaring with outrage, the mob whirled and swung wildly, clipping the Whisper for his trouble before a swift kick to her backside sent her sprawling once more.  Slender fingers suddenly found and gripped his cowl yanking it back with a choke that turned his balance against him.

"Keep your foul cowl to yourself, you slovenly, corrupted FILTH!  And sit still a second so I can skewer your scrawny ass to the sands."  Freyd knew well how Cardinal goaded through the most personal of avenues, confronting its target through its most cherished bonds - those anchors slowing the otherwise inevitable descent to oblivion that Aincrad imposed upon its prisoners.  But the guise of its agency was fatally flawed.  Freyd knew Elora too well to fall for such a superficial ruse.  They'd suffered together, feared for each other, found fleeting peace and solace in each other's company.  Common struggle had forged their bond and grown to something more, which each of them were only just beginning to understand.  Such a pale shadow failed to reflect the genuine inner or outer beauty of the person he'd since come to care for so deeply.  This thing was not her.  It was just another layered lie cast upon them for whatever dark and sinister master guided its purpose; be it Kayaba or otherwise.

There was no retort nor witty banter to be had.  Nothing could compel him to validate the barb laid bare.  Freyd would simply remove it from existence with callous disinterest.  No such illusion would merit any more.  Sidestepping her thrust, his gaze scoured the weapon's surface noting all of the imitation's flaws.  Personal effort had gone into Verdigris' very formation.  He knew its every part and nuance, noting how this version likewise failed to pass muster.

"Don't listen to them. They aren't the real us."

Grabbing the haft as it passed harmless by, Freyd yanked and pulled its wielder forward to teeter her off balance herself, drawing her throat into his angry waiting grasp.  And then he squeezed.  Red eyes bulged with fear and sudden desperation, pleading in panic at their dramatic turn of fortune.  From behind, her cerulean counterpart slashed her blade deeply into the Whisper's back, but failed to deter him from imposing fate.  Screeching terror split the air as Samael's Pride unleashed its unquenchable hunger upon the thorns of this hateful Rose.  Something flinched in his eye in the final moments as her form fell to fractals showering about his feet.  Mercy.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers to the mobs inscrutable confusion and surprise.

"Find peace," he offered sadly with whispered words, as the last of her motes faded into dust.  "None of us deserve such sordid endings."

***

Vanity Tag: @Elora

Spoiler

Freyd regains +4 EN
CD 4 (No REC proc) ID #218285
Quick Change (CD 1/3)

Post Action | AoE-II (x18, 15 EN, +2 shift, +2/hit): 21 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 18 EN.  
Free Action | None

ID:218283 | BD: 2+6-1=7 (hit); DMG (18*30=540-120=420) to Katoka - the Squall of Disgust (CD: 9 | ST-B unlocked)
ID:218284 | BD: 6+6-1=11 (hit, Fallen +16); DMG (18*46=828-120=708) to Elora - the Thorn of Malice

ID: 218286 | MD: 7+2-3=6 (Hit)  DMG (280-78=202)

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 76/106 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 958/1160 (1160-202) | EN: 109/150 (123+4-18) | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 (3) | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

Katoka - the Squall of Disgust | HP: 114/700 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 (534-420)
Elora - the Thorn of Malice | HP: 0/700 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 (534-708)

Loot Elora - the Thorn of Malice: ID #218287 | LD: 9+9=18 | CD: 7
+4 materials (+4 CD/LD odd)
2100 col (HP[700]*3)
T4 Rare Consumable 218287a
T4 Rare Armor/Shield 218287b

Edited September 28, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

Katoka turned her attention to her own doppelganger. A sense of deja vu washed over her, reminding her of the fight she had with her Gemini many many months ago. Her opponent mirrored her movements as the both of them settled into the same stance. A small grin pulled at the corner of the young woman's lips, "I guess it's just you and me now?"

The system made copy of her gave her a similar grin, "It will be just me once we're through. Then I can go and play with that little toy of yours that you've been neglecting."

Kat frowned and the two of them vanished in a flicker of movement, both of their afterimages fading after a few seconds. Thunder seemed to rumble somehow even underground as the sound of sword clashing against sword resonated back to back in the darkness. Sparks and flashes of light seemed to burst in random intervals along the river, never in the same place twice. Occasionally the two of them would flicker into view, their swords locked as they tried to push one another back in order to gain the advantage.

Kat was moving on pure instinct now. Her body moving almost on it's own as she parried and slashed and ran to keep up with herself. When she would look back on this moment she would realize that this was a fight that she would strive to replicate.

With a final thunderous crash Katoka and her evil twin locked katanas once again, however this time she managed to side step and allowed her double stumble forward past her. It was then that she struck, an explosion of electricity and black blight erupting from her copy's back before she shattered into fractals and motes.

"Shouldn't have brought Sam into it other me, but I know you were doing it so i would take this fight seriously." Kat nodded and turned back around to Freyd.

----

Spoiler

 

Katoka regains +4 EN
CD 12 (REC Proc ID# 218288) +8 EN

Post Action | ST-I [x15] (12 EN+2 Shift): 14 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 11 EN
Free Action | None

ID:218290 | BD:9, CD: 10, CRIT+1 Using [x15] ST-I vs. Katoka - the Squall of Disgust | 27*15=405-120=285 DMG, [BLGT: 32/2] [Paralyzed] [STK: 40/2] applied

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 77/106 (+12) (-11) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 958/1160 | EN: 109/150 | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 (3) | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

Katoka - the Squall of Disgust | HP: 0/700 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 (285-120)
Elora - the Thorn of Malice | HP: 0/700 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1

 

Looting Katoka - The Squall of Disgust: ID# 218291 | LD: 3 | CD: 1

2310*Col
4*Materials

Edited September 27, 2023 by Katoka

[Freyd 0]

He was grateful to Katoka for ending 'herself.'  The toll of taking out another friend might have proven too much.  So many familiar faces cut down out of necessity.  When was it going to be enough?  Memories drifted to his mind's eye of a manhunt in the woods: he hunting down his own dark essence that had literally clawed out of his mouth to wreak havoc on the world.  The effigy had spawned dozens of copies of itself, each in the shape of a friend.  Each had been felled in turn, without mercy.  They were not real.  But what was real anymore?  Trapped in a digital world where your own face was a falsehood, and could even be changed on a whim, what did that make you?  Freyd instantly realized where this would end: the same place it had before, and with the same person.

"Have you figured it out yet, chatterbox?"

Emerging from the darkness of the still Stygian waters rose an armored figure of purest, unblemished night.  A giant sword trailed behind it trenching the riverbed and then the shore with sheer weight.  Only a pair of accusing red eyes within its closed helm gave any sign of awareness, towering near eight feet off the ground.

"Marv.  Of course, it had to be you."  Freyd's cowl dipped forward a little, falling fully back into place after false Elora's tug.  A silent sigh passed through his shoulders to foreshadow more regret.

"Hrm... you forgot the coffee this time.  Are we skipping straight to unburdening your guilty soul?"

"Guilty?  Yes, I suppose that's true.  Guilty of so many things.  Why not add one more?"

Springing without warning, Freyd lauched upward to strike the armor now looming over him and clocking him hard in the chin.  A bubble-like pulse of white light burst forth from the impact, momentarily illuminating the infernal shores in holy splendor and causing soil and water alike to hiss and sputter in failed efforts to recoil.  Marv went flying a half dozen feet in the air, crashing onto his back and sliding a distance further to end up with his head submerged in the water.

"Stun him, Kat, quickly!"

***

Spoiler

Freyd regains +4 EN
Freyd regains 63 HP from BH
CD 9 (REC proc +8) ID #218292
Quick Change (CD 2/3)

Post Action | ST-B (x20, 20 EN): 20 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 17 EN.  
Free Action | Activate Crystal of Divine Light

ID #218293 | BD: 10 (Crit +2, Holy +24).  DMG (26*52=1352-160=1192) to Marv

Freyd takes double damage until his next turn.

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 77/106 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1021/1160 (958+63) | EN: 104/150 (109+4+8-17) | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 (3) | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

(0,3) Marv - The Silent Judge | HP: 808/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 (2000-1192)

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (Tier * 100) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 60) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (Tier * 110) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 85) DMG to every other player.

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

Marv?

MARV?!

"WE'RE FIGHTING MARV?!" Katoka roared in shock. The flash of light from Freyd's strike knocked her out of her stupor enough for her to rush to the enemy that had his head submerged in the river. As he flailed about trying to pull himself from the water, Kat almost felt sad for him. She knew Marv as the friendly and quiet NPC that yawned and never did much else. Seeing him struggle in the nasty waters before her almost caused her to reach out and grasp his struggling hand.

Instead the looming figure managed to grasp onto the rocky shore and pull himself up, gasping for breath. Just to be hit by Katoka's blade as her sword art connected with his plate armor with a clang. The force of the hit sent him skipping across the water's surface and colliding spectacularly with the rock face just opposite of them. For a moment the samurai had wondered if she had managed to take him out in a single hit, until the dust settled and she saw the reflection of armor just barely in the almost looney toons shaped hole in the wall.

"Of all the people that you're having a mental battle with and Cardinal chooses Marv to send at us. Honestly."

----

Katoka regains +4 EN
CD 7 (REC Proc ID# 218362) +8 EN

Post Action | [x12] TECH-A (13 EN): 13 - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 10
Free Action | None

ID:218363 | BD:3+5+1-3=6, CD: 1, HIT Using [x12] TECH-A vs. Marv - The Silent Judge | 26*12=312-160=152 DMG, [Stunned] applied

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 79/106 (+12) (-10) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1021/1160 | EN: 104/150 | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 (3) | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

(1,3) Marv - The Silent Judge | HP: 656/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 (808-152)

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (Tier * 100) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 60) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (Tier * 110) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 85) DMG to every other player.

(Note: Roll ID# 218364 invalid, forgot the enemy was stunned. Thank the gods cause he had rolled a crit.)

Edited September 30, 2023 by Katoka

[Freyd 0]

"WE'RE FIGHTING MARV?!"

Freyd never managed to get in a response before Katoka tagged the mob so hard that it was sent careening along the shore, even through solid stone. 

"Wow... you really have come into your own.  Nice hit."  

Watching the battered form of his first friend in Aincrad laying beaten and shattered amidst a pile of dregs and flotsam on the shore, a pang of something caught in his throat.  He'd plowed through Marv before under such circumstances.  Last time it had been a quartet of Marvs splintered and spawned from his own escaped gemini, hunting it through the Forest of Memories.  Marv had been its final guardian, of course.  So here he stood again.  Well... layed, really.  It was almost embarrassing.  

As tempting as it would be to chalk this all up to nostalgic torture, the thing wearing Marv's 'face' was still very much a threat.  Already, the armored colossus was pulling itself up from the debris.  Slowly, relentlessly, Cardinal's spawn drew itself up to its full height, dents and rents pock-marking the gaudy ceremonial style of its plate mail. Twin hateful orbs still shone brightly through its visor as it set its gaze once more upon its target.

"You never learn, do you?  Always making things so diffi--"

*BAM!*

Like a missile made of pure midnight, Persi struck Marv straight in the face, impacting with such force that he pivoted upon the axis of his shoulders and flipping upside down in mid-air.  His helm crashed first and awkwardly into the ground, pounded downward by his own massive bulk and weight.  Persi's piercing azure eyes with their telltale slotted pupils sneered haughtily at him from atop the nearby stony outcropping.  Nobody beat up her lummox.

"Nope.  I sure don't," Freyd added, never having been more proud.

***

Spoiler

Freyd regains +4 EN
Freyd regains 63 HP from BH
CD 1 (No REC proc) ID #218366
Quick Change (CD 3/3)

Post Action | AoE-I (x15, 11 EN +2 shift, +2/hit): 15 EN - (Rested 1/2; Stamina) = 13 EN.  (CD 1 | ST-B still locked)
Free Action [skill] | Activate Grappling Familiar (CD 0/5)
Free Action [item] | Rhino Horn

ID:218365 | BD: 10 (Crit +2, Holy +16)  DMG (15*45=675-160=515) damage to Marv.  Familiar Stun applied.

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 79/106 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1084/1160 (1021+63) | EN: 95/150 (104+4-13) | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 (3) | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

(1,6) Marv - The Silent Judge | HP: 141/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 (0) | Stun.Imm (1/3) (656-515)

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (Tier * 100) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 60) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (Tier * 110) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 85) DMG to every other player.

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Freyd

[Katoka 0]

The opportunity could not have been more perfect. With fake Marv preoccupied with Persi, Kat decided to try something a little different. Instead of attempting to cross the raging death river before her she instead returned her katana to it's saya. Holding her stance she charged a different sword art, one she didn't use as often. With a bright flash of white light the samurai drew her blade, slashing the air in front of her and sending a visible projectile of light towards her target.

Marv managed to turn just in time to see the attack coming his way. Another audible clang of metal sounded as the attack hit it's mark, smashing the guard once again into the rocks behind him. This time however there was the reassuring sound of cracking and breaking of polygons that the players were all too familiar with. Satisfied with the outcome Katoka turned to Freyd once more, walking towards him as she slid her blade back into it's home.

"Well, anymore spook'ems or ghasts on the docket or can we get out of this gloomy cave.. thing? Cavern? Ravine? What even is this?"

----

Spoiler

 

Katoka regains +4 EN
CD 9 (REC proc ID# 218378) +8 EN

Post Action | ST-I [x15] (12 EN+2 Shift): 14 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 11 EN
Free Action | None

ID:218379 | BD:7+5-0=13, CD: 10, HIT Using [x15] ST-I vs. Marv - The Silent Judge | 15*26=390-160=230 DMG

Katoka | HP: 720/720 | EN: 80/106 (+12) (-11) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 8 | BH: 31 | AA | BLGT: 32 | P.V.O | REC: 8 | STK: 40
Freyd | HP: 1084/1160 | EN: 95/150 | DMG: 30 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 4 (3) | ACC: 6| BH: 63 | LD: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8 

(2,6) Marv - The Silent Judge | HP: 0/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 (0) | Stun.Imm (1/3) (141-230)

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (Tier * 100) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 60) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (Tier * 110) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 85) DMG to every other player.

 

 

Looting Marv - The Silent Judge: ID# 218380 | LD: 1 | CD: 2

11000*Col
2*Materials

Edited October 1, 2023 by Katoka

[Freyd 0]

"It's a shoreline, or a river bank if you prefer."  Freyd added sarcastically while pointing at the soupy stillness the Stygian, that might as well have been made of pudding for all the flow the thing ever demonstrated.  "Can't you tell?"  His grin tried but failed to materialize.

"Ugh... this sucks," he added, wiping the edges of his lips with the few parts of his right sleeve that weren't otherwise covered in collateral gunk from the battle.  "Turning everything off just feels so much easier by comparison.  How do people actually deal with all of this?"  Coming from anyone else, it might have been more sarcasm, but Freyd had shut himself off from feelings for so long that it was as if he'd never had them.  Now they were hitting him from all sides all at once, including wild swings from extreme to extreme.  No wonder he'd been so moody of late.  "People keep saying that it's normal, but it doesn't feel... right?  What does that even mean?  Where's the equilibrium balance betwee all of this shit?  I don't see it, Kat, and it's starting to drive me crazy."  Looking around at the damage done to their surroundings, the mobs were long since gone, but the effects of the battles lingered.  "And why the heck is it causing all of this nonsense in the system?  It's not like..."

Dreams came as memories, interrupting flow and sense of self in the moment.  Visions flooded to the forefront, the same as before. Freyd clenched his jaw with eyes closed and brow furrowed, as if that might keep them out. To Katoka, it would look like a migraine at best or a seizure at worst.  Pressing a hand to each temple, part of him tempted to assist with a sword art and barely holding off, he breathed as shallowly as he could.  "The demons, Freyd.  Remember the lesson from the demons."  What could it hurt to call on some system-backed assistance in the form of the Meditation skill.  Calming the Soul was its source, and his seemed like it needed some serious soothing.

[Katoka 0]

"I can't say I've ever pushed down my emotions to the extent that you do Freyd." the smaller woman placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to provide some comfort. "But if I had to guess, it's something that gets easier with time. Since I don't push much down I've adapted to being able to put up with whatever it is that my brain decides to throw my way. For the most part at least."

The blonde looked off over the shore of the river as she rubbed the back of her neck, her mind attempting to gather her thoughts in a way that she could explain. "I guess it's more finding a way to cope with the raging river that is emotion. Don't let it knock you down, adjust your footing so that you can let the water run past you instead of washing you away. If that makes sense?"

Katoka knew she wasn't a therapist, or someone that knew how to deal with what her friend was going through. The best that she could do was to offer a bit of advice, and some reassurance that she would be there when he needed her. "Just remember, found family or not, you can rely on others when shit gets tough." she flashed him a grin, "I'll do what I can for you whenever you ask. Within reason of course, I do need my beauty sleep every so often."

[Freyd 0]

She could feel the tension in his shoulder as her hand landed upon on.  The dude was wound up way too tight, but relaxed slightly after the initial landing.  "That sounds like good advice, therapist or not.  Just hearing your perspective helps.  It's like I don't really have a solid frame of reference, you know?  It all hits at 110%, and the levy can never be high enough because I just don't know the river.  Everything floods, over and over again."  He sighed, bleeding away a little more of that built up pressure in the process.  "Thanks for putting up with it," he offered with sheepish gratitude.  "It's embarrassing to be this bad at something that most people can take for granted.  You know me.  I've always always preferred to do things for myself or on my own.  In retrospect, I wonder how much of that was just a dodge at having to deal with the complexities of being around people."

Watching him as he spoke, Kat would quickly notice how much Freyd was ill at ease.  Usually relaxed and very much at ease even in the most dire circumstance, this version of him couldn't even figure out what to do with his hands.  One moment they were in his pockets, the next fidgeting fingers or else compulsively pulling at the edges of his cowl to cover his problems.  It wasn't something anyone had seen from him, at least no one he still knew here and not for a very, very long time.  

A certain frothing began to stir on the surface of the Stygian.

"Come on, let's get out of here.  That lich may be getting ready to respawn and neither one of us wants to go through this same ordeal right now, I'm sure."

***

Thread Closing:

T4 Dungeon completion rewards | ID 218395 | LD 8

Each player receives:

2x T4 Perfect Weapons
2x T4 Perfect Armors

Wave rewards:

20 materials each
28,000 col each 
50,000 col each (100,000 split by two)

Katoka receives:

5,297 EXP (Word Count [8,421/10*5*0.7] + Quest [1,000] + Dungeon [1,350])
94,704 col (1 page [400] + Dungeon [78,000] + Loot [13,010] + Quest [2,500] + 15% P5 Reward [794])
26 Materials (Loot [6] + Dungeon [20])
Yamata no Orochi key

T4 Perfect Weapon 218395a
T4 Perfect Weapon 218395b
T4 Perfect Armor 218395c
T4 Perfect Armor 218395d

Freyd receives:

19,030 EXP (Word Count [8,421/10*16*0.7] + Quest [0] + Dungeon [9,600])
91,754 col (1 page [0] +Dungeon [78,000] + Loot [10,900] + Quest [0] + 15% P5 Reward [2,854])
36 Materials (Loot [16] + Dungeon [20])

+1 Demonic Shard
Random Dungeon Map 218279

T4 Perfect Weapon 218395e
T4 Perfect Weapon 218395f
T4 Perfect Armor 218395g
T4 Perfect Armor 218395h

T4 Rare Consumable 218280a
T4 Rare Armor/Shield 218280b
T4 Perfect Consumable 218281
T4 Rare Consumable 218282a
T4 Rare Weapon 218282b
T4 Rare Consumable 218287a
T4 Rare Armor/Shield 218287b

Edited October 10, 2023 by Freyd