[IC] ANKL Chapter I: As if a Dream

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Emberly

Drake mostly just stared at the ceiling. She wasn't still wasn't really sure how to take all this in. It was strange that she even ended up in this situation. It wasn't usually in her character. Or, so she thought. Always she was one who went out of the way to avoid others or at least a great majority of them. She was a free spirit. Being tied to others only made it hard to be more free. So, she wasn't fond of the getting tangled in the affairs of others. Though there was times she knew she had to, or at least that she needed to. Perhaps this was a time she felt that. A gut feeling that she should do something. It was strange.

She didn't now either of these girls. Not before this encounter. So... why did she have that gut feeling, that reaction... Drake really couldn't put her finger on it. She didn't really know. Intuition was a horrible beast. It didn't really offer many answers or explanations. Intuitive Leaps, her curse. It always left her in a place she wasn't sure where the hell she was or how she got here.

But, she was here now. It took everything she had to not just run out the door. She really didn't want to be here still. She wanted to drop them off more or less and leave them here with a teacher not be stuck here while the two worked out their issues. Drake wanted to get back to what she was doing... what was she even doing? She had forgotten in the rush of emotions that this whole process was. She looked back into her journal for today for any clues. None. She had only written about this encounter. Apparently... whatever it was was very unremarkable. Drake was actually happy she was here now. At least this wasn't boring. She still didn't want to be here really, but it beat whatever she was supposed to be doing.

"Miss Katherine... are you sure ten minutes is enough? I dunno really know what the whole fight they had was about but it was probably something decently big seeing as it ended in a gut punch." she asked trying to keep her voice low enough that the two girls didn't overhear her. "Or, are you planning on that and stalling for time? Sounds like what I'd do... cause I'm not good at thinking on the fly all really... Well. that depends on one's definition of good I suppose. Cause I can improvise well but I don't think things through all that much so, in the long run it can go badly. Sometimes I just need that extra time to thiiiink, to prevent that as much, you know?"

[Stalkerkain]

Esyllt

"'That's a rather preposterous theory' -is what I'd like to say, Arya, but you do make valid points," she said, in mild disbelief. It was still hard to take everything in at once, as all of this happened rather spontaneously. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't just dreaming. "Can we at least agree that Lilith isn't our enemy for now? You can single her out all you want, but that still won't solve anything. She may hold more answers that may explain, well, whatever it is that is happening. And I, for one, would like to know what's going on."

The orbs that were still rising from Esyllt's feet tremored a little, as if her agitation were reflected in the tiny balls of light. She had so many questions, but she wasn't even sure Lilith had answers for herself. If Arya's hypothesis was right, then they could be walking in something dangerous. Lilith's power was not only a threat to them, but everyone else around them. It was hard to imagine having a normal school life when you could be struck down by lightning at any given moment. That would kind of suck. She let out a small sigh. With her every day life shattered, she may as well accept what was to come. At least she got a new outfit that she was slowly getting accustomed to. With everyone more or less calmed down, they could at least have some form of meaningful discussion.

"You said earlier that there was a 'second soul' within you, and that it wasn't completely awake, correct?" Esyllt said in a soft tone. The last thing she wanted to was to startle the girl and trigger another panic attacks. "If Arya is right, and that second soul is actually the Goddess Layla, then we may have a huge problem on our hands. Lilith, is there any way to prevent your second soul from waking up?"

[K_H]

Anna

Anna shook her head, and spoke to the others.

"Before we go trying to prevent a Goddess from waking up, we should make sure that it's a good idea to do so first. If one Goddess has taken on Human Form, then who's to say whether or not the other three have done the same? Logic based on uninformed decisions is flawed, as one of you two should very well know, being a Nayrist."

She was clearly frustrated. She then inhaled and exhaled before starting to sing to herself, trying to calm herself down before she blew up at her Roommates. As she did so, she subconsciously sat down next to Lilith on the opposite side of Esyllt, her frustration ebbing as she sang to herself.

[Sutoratosu]

Arya

"If she were still my enemy, I would've answered with something a whole lot nastier than that..." Again though, she suppressed the urge to fire back, knowing full well the comment was directed more at her than anyone else. Rather than a quip she muttered beneath her breath "Just let it go, Arya... another time, another place..."

Anna started singing. It seemed her and Esyllt shared a talent then. The girl had a point though. "She's right," Arya began as the singing carried on, brows raised curiously at Essy. "Can't you feel it too, like Anna and I? That foul tension hanging in the air right now, leaking in more and more, bit by bit? We shouldn't rush into such a course of action with as few details as we have right now, at least not while there's a potentially bigger threat lurking somewhere; because anything that can generate this type of feeling... can't be pleasant."

She leaned back against the bed post, arms crossed while her lips pursed. "Besides, if it's already started or is about to start, who's to say we can prevent it anyway? This isn't like just exercising some common poltergeist, this is potentially the soul of a Goddess we may be trying to hold back here. What, is she going to fight it back into slumber with sheer force of will?" Yeah, right... force of will that Arya doubted the girl even had considering her previous state. But of course, she left that part unsaid "How can we be so certain that fighting it is actually the best course? Hell, for all we know, we might actually need that second soul to be awake in order to survive whatever this 'Eden's Curse' thing she mentioned earlier is..."

Of course, it occurred to her that asking Esylt these questions was absolutely pointless. The girl was just about as ignorant to this whole thing as her and Anna were. She turned her sights on Lillith instead "What did you even mean by that anyway, when you were mumbling about it earlier? Who the hell is this Eden?"

[Chim]

Lana

The brunette had trouble trying to keep up with Arturia. In her hurry to not be left behind, her kneecap came into contact with the edges of the table’s leg she was sitting at. Pain surged through her entire knee with every step she took and slowed her down considerably.

When she finally caught up with the two girls, her eyes widened in shock at the scene in front of her. Haley was stabbed through the heart by the rude girl from before and suddenly Arturia changed. Or whatever the hell it was.

“W-what’s going on?” Lana finally managed to stutter.

[Hiss13]

Sion

In the end, this was the goddess's own nightmare. If anyone knew best how to get through it, it would definitely be the goddess, herself. Without a word, Sion followed the goddess and the others.

Of course, silence changed with Riv's compliment on her outfit. She was not used to praise. She was not even sure how to react. "T-thank you?" She truly was confused. Even if it was something worth praising, Sion was honestly not sure why it was so. She had just ended up following the flow of everything around her. Even this transformed outfit was just something she had formed together in a mental process much like floating lazily on a stream in an inner tube.

"We should definitely ask." Sion spoke in response to Riv. "So, Lady Alexus, what exactly are we able to do with our powers…and how do we use them? Is it just as simple as thinking and pointing your finger?"

She then turned to Sharp who seemed to be shooting looks of disgust. "Oh, and Sharp? If you have something you're displeased with us about, please do tell. It's not like I'm not used to being called inferior for something." Sion could only hope that she did not end up starting an argument.

[Shamitako]

(OOC: Other posts later, limited on time RN. Also the elements don't seem that well explained if you're not me now that I look again, so Ima try to clarify that shortly)

Sharp

"No, I don't have any issue with you." Sharp said to Sion, "I'm just frustrated by frivolity and femininity."

He tried to clear his face of the distaste he felt for the outfits. It seemed necessary to wear them if they wished to access their powers. And supernatural powers seemed a lot more important than worrying about the practicality and comfort given by their outfits. Perhaps this would be like one of those children's cartoons where pointless outfits turned out to actually be useful.

"Anyways, I think I can answer you about the powers." He continued, trying to switch to less distasteful subject, "They seem to function simply by thought trigger. I don't really know what they mean, although I can gather that being a 'Fire Adept' means I have some semblance of control over fire."

"Being a Fire Adept actually means you have total control over Fire." Lexi chimed in, "The first word is the element, what you control. The second is the modifier, how you control it. It's supposed to be pretty intuitive, so you should pretty easily figure out how to work it if you just try using it. Don't worry too much, there's a tutorial battle coming up."

"A... tutorial battle?" Sharp inquired.

"Well duh. What you think I'm going to make your first fight the nightmare's boss? I went and dreamed up an easier fight first so you can get used to things. Oh, by the way, that's happening now."

Accompanying this sentence was a sudden rumbling from under the sands. Sharp stared at the ground in surprise.

"Well thanks for the warning." He grumbled.

The creature that emerged was... A toad. A giant, sandy colored toad. It immediately lashed out with its tongue, or rather one of its tongues, and snatched up Lexi.

"Oh noooo!" She said very unconvincingly, "Save me or I will be eaten."

Sharp's jaw dropped in shock, how could a goddess possibly be this much of an idiot?

"Uh, actually, please do save me quickly. Now that I think about it, this is nasty."

"I'm starting to regret helping you." Sharp muttered under her breath.

Still, she had no intent to lose to such an idiotic creation from an equally idiotic goddess. Her hand flared up with a fireball. Perfect control, that's what Lexi had said, she thought about it for a moment an an idea came to her. The fireball warped in shape; elongating, stretching, and bending. When it settled into form it looked vaguely like a rifle. Sharp held the flaming construct to her face, aiming for the tongue that held Lexi prisoner. The gun had no trigger, but instead fired when Sharp wished it to. The toad moved one of its tongues to block the flame, the slimy appendage finding itself burned and partially incinerated where the flame struck. Creating a tool seemed more efficient than generating an entirely new fireball each time he needed to attack, and Sharp could think of plenty more applications of this ability.

[Jory]

Riv

The girl frowned. "I feel... floaty," she said plaintively, flexing her hands and her mind, thinking of ways to take on the toad without hurting Lexi. "I guess Light doesn't have too much weight behind it," she guessed. "Still, I'm an Adept, so let's see what I can do!" she said, feeling much more excited as her hands can glow. "I love your rifle, Sharp, but I'm a little more old-school!" she exclaimed. With that said the light began to take form between her hands, extending and joining to become a recurve bow nearly the same height as its wielder.

Riv giggled lightly, testing its weight. "It doesn't feel like anything, but I know it's there! This is so cool!" As she looked at the bow, her glasses began to darken. It became apparent that unlike the other girl with glasses who had had them disappear when she transformed, Riv's had remained because they had a purpose. She grinned, looking at the toad. "Hey Bug-Eyes!" she shouted. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to stare at the sun?" She then pulled back on the string, firing it into the air. The arrow, which had a slender, curved tip and curved fletching, flew up above the toad. Once it reached its zenith, it burst into six rays of light that arced down in a circle toward the Toad's eyes.

[Shamitako]

(OOC: Oh BTW, screw locations, too much work. From now on I'll only be using them when a character first enters a scene)

Riley

Arturia's reaction told Riley everything she needed to know. It was so perfect that a girl like this was given the ability to be a Light Fury. It was unfortunate that the pain Riley felt was not the kind that Light could cleanse. But at the very least she now knew for certain that Arturia would save Haley, that was the first step to ending this pain.

"Lovely, now just hug her." Riley told Arturia, "Hug her and imagine a vicious storm of white hot light tearing its way through her body. If you consider her to be your ally, then she will live."

Riley left out the guarantee of Haley's survival, only in uncertainty could Arturia find her path. Or at least the path Riley wanted her to find.

That done, Riley moved to the other girl, her long dress making her seem to almost float over the ground.

"What is happening is not important, all that matters is what will happen." She said, "And what will happen is that you will stop Natalie before she causes any more harm. This power is within you, and if you wish to unlock it you need no more than to speak these words:

In the frightening dark
With sheer force of will
Through the furious storm
And the might to overcome any obstacle
Lend me your power
That I may free myself"

This girl was different from Arturia, she needed no testing for Riley to know what to do with her. There was no way she wouldn't defend Haley and Arturia, it simply wasn't in her nature not to fight Natalie right here. And that was exactly what Riley needed to destroy the last bit of the fallen goddess's self-confidence.

Layla

Arya's speech, what would be in any other situation the speech of a madwoman, was the last straw. Lilith simply couldn't keep herself bound any longer. A strange feeling washed into her. It was a soft feeling, like drinking warm milk. She didn't scream or cry as she did when she fought it, she felt only relief and freedom. The feeling washed outward, pushing back against the pressure, clearing the entire room of its oppressive force. Cautiously moving herself from between Anna and Esyllt, she stood. She looked directly at Arya, their eyes meeting. Lilith's, however, were not the eyes of a human. The whites had gone completely black, making the hideous yellow stand out all the more. Except it was no longer a fearful, hungry yellow, but a bright one that felt like it carried pure energy along it.

"And as strange as it sounds, Miss Arya, you are quite right." Layla said, as calmly as she could muster, "Lilith Perditia and the Goddess Layla are identical beings. The only noticeable difference between them is the memories they hold. The less noticeable difference, is that both have separate souls. But someone with a little too much power tried to change that, resulting in the being standing before you. I'm both Lilith and Layla at once, a single mind and body with two separate souls. Up until a moment ago the soul that naturally belonged, the one born as Lilith, was suppressing the one that came from the goddess. But thanks to you, and I promise I really am grateful, I'm finally free from the pain of fighting myself."

It was a lot to take in, Layla partially wished she had Alexus's powers. It was almost guaranteed that Alexus had both of her souls fused perfectly.

"I'm really no different now than I was a moment ago, at l-least in terms of personality." She could already feel her forced calm slipping, "S-so feel free to keep treating m-me as if I were a normal 13-year-old gi-girl."

It was really embarrassing to be a goddess who stuttered, and Layla felt her face reddening quite a bit. She wished she could say that was simply a product of being incarnated as human, but the truth was that she'd always struggled to speak clearly.

"I th-think the most accurate w-way to think of me is as 'La-L-Lay-Layla Perditia.' But, w-without the stammering."

Her gaze flit about nervously, she felt a lot calmer now that she was able to hold back the pressure exerted by Eden's Curse, but she was still very anxious.

"Let me s-see if I can answer your questions b-before you make more." She said, "There was not a way to keep Lilith as purely Lilith. The G-goddess soul was equally attached to the mind as the h-human one. And in fact, it would have been far cr-crueler to me to try to put half of me to sleep or t-tear me apart. It's actually re-really likely that at least Alexus is a human. If I had to guess, Na-Nayru's soul is gone. She'd rather die than steal a mind. I don't kn-know about Kalli, but I hope she's alright. And then there's al-always Ethan to worry about."

She twitched uncomfortably at the mention of Ethan's name. Partially because it would spawn more questions, but mostly because she felt bad for what she did to him.

"Eden isn't, isn't a person. Eden is the b-birthplace of the gods." She continued, "I'm actually su-surprised you don't know that, even if you are the type to i-ignore Kallistle sermons. Eden's Curse is the b-best name for what's usually called the O-Other, which in the modern version of Kallistle teachings is s-said to be a force that wishes to t-tear apart the world of Alex. But r-really he just wants his home back. I-it's my fault, for messing it up in the first place. I just h-hope Alexus didn't find out..."

She bit her lip in an attempt hold back tears. She knew Kallisto and Nayru both blamed themselves for what happened, even if they did try to blame each other. But if she had been braver, if she'd simply told the truth, then perhaps her greatest love would never have been lost. And if she had been able to control herself she might have been able to bring him back without hurting the other three. Now, some four thousand years later, she had lost him for real.

"The Other, Eden's Curse, whatever you want to call it, it's come to k-kill the goddesses. It hates us, it hates me. He hates me..."

Unable to keep them at bay any longer, her tears spewed forth. She missed having someone to look up to, someone she could feel safe around, someone she could truly trust

(OOC: It is not fun trying to write exposition with a stuttering goddess)

[Shadow Sketches]

Lee

Lee sat down at one of the table, her arms crossed while one leg was crossed over the other. Her face showed almost no emotion, as she did all she could to mask the annoyance at being in this situation. "What's there to work out? She hit me in the stomach, end of story. Either give her a punishment or don't make us waste our time" The girl said bluntly, her eyes only showed boredom as she looked straight ahead at "Rein".

Suddenly, the room started to feel strangely stuffy to her. It felt as if some sort of invisible weight was pressing against her chest, making each breath more uncomfortable than the last. Her mask broke for a second as it caught her off guard and pure discomfort and frustrated annoyance could be seen in her expression. After a couple moments, she was able to get control of her emotions her face returned to normal, though hints of the previous discomfort still remained in her expression.

[Sutoratosu]

Arya

"Well that explains it, I guess..." of course something like that would be included in foreign lore... not like she could actually fault herself for not knowing it. Sermons had never exactly been the biggest... concern back home, especially sermons from the matron faith of a country that was technically a sworn foe of her homeland even now, and up until a certain time ago, a sworn foe of her by extension as well. Sure, they were fighting a defensive war and the crazy bitches running this damn nation were the ones who had struck first, but It was hard to feel patriotic for her home after seeing how perfectly content the system was to just cast aside someone who risked life and limb to defend it, hard to feel patriotic after her own mother spent years dutifully serving her country regardless of the personal or mental sacrifice, only to be cast aside once she finally broke. As if her service had meant nothing. As if her sacrifice had meant nothing. As if she was just another pawn on the chessboard, not a human being, just a tool, just another collective means to the same end... victory.

But even as much as she despised the land she once thought so highly of, as much of the mere thought of such ugly injustice, such blatant and flaunted actus reus...as she wanted nothing more than to tear it all down like some Laylite facade and watch it's remains and the remains of those who had been so willing to permit such wretched grievance to persist burn with the splendid light of a thousand hellish sun... her mind drifted towards something as the girl-goddess began to weep. It was strange, how similar it was... how similar it felt. That vile, repugnant feeling that had permeated the air up until a few minutes ago, and that sensation of utter loathing and horrid disgust she had felt back then as she watched that fiasco slowly unfold one stage at a time, a mere bystander to the destruction, powerless to actually stop it...

It was too damn familiar. So what now? Just stand aside again like she'd always been forced to? Run away like a coward, disgrace and besmirch her mother and her family name even more than they'd already been?

No... a thousand times no. Fuck that. Fuck all of it.

"No one... is dying today." She whispered, pulling her in close before the other girl could react, voice steadier and stronger than the hardest-wrought steel, just as her hold was. "Not you....not anyone in this room, or any of the others who're like this as well. There's far more than enough pointless death and destruction and sacrifice in the world as it is. I'm tired of just being a witness, tired of standing aside and criticizing it all from afar while I let the cycle repeat itself. I don't care who the hell is after you, I'm not about to let them get to you, kid. I promise that."

[K_H]

Anna

Anna's eyes widened when she heard Layla say that the Other had come to kill the Goddesses, and stood up, highly alarmed at what the Goddess had just said. She was about to speak when Arya interrupted her, the other girl beating her to the punch with what was said while they were at it. Anna calmed down, expression returning to a neutral one as she did so. After a short while, she spoke.

"Hey, Arya, that sentiment of yours is good and all, but if there's nothing to back it up with, then it's not ve-"

Anna stopped herself mid-sentence as she was struck with a sudden idea.

Wait a second... The three of us might actually have something to back it up with.

She then turned to Esyllt.

"Esyllt, there are probably some additional perks to that new look of yours, since there was such a spectacular change. Why don't you try doing some things and see if I'm right?"

[Chevaleresse]

Arturia ran forward, her outfit offering up the faint sounds of clanking with each quick step she took. Her heart hammered at her ribcage with a fury, or so it felt like, anyway. She briefly wondered to herself how she found the courage to charge forward like this at all. It almost feels like this is a dream, or something, like I'm not really here. It was crazy, really, having no clue what was about to happen but running headlong into it anyway.

She almost felt like she was watching herself do it, the disconnected feeling providing an odd contrast to the fear, confusion, and anger rampaging about in her head, as she knelt downward to wrap her arms around the dying girl, forcing herself to think of the storm Riley told her to - but that sounds like killing her, not saving her - a furious vortex of power tearing at Haley, though what she really wanted was for the storm to sear away the one that had caused the wound in the first place.

[Chim]

Lana

She was going to stop Nathalie? How? And who the hell was this strange new girl? So many questions fluttered around Lana’s mind but none of them mattered right now. None of them had the answer how to help Haley and Arturia. The only action she could take was to trust a stranger’s words. Normally Lana would second guess her decision and ask for more information but she had no time to lose. Without putting up any resistance she repeated the girl’s words.

“In the frightening dark
With sheer force of will
Through the furious storm
And the might to overcome any obstacle
Lend me your power
That I may free myself"

Immediately after she said the last word a dark shadow formed on the ground beneath her feet. The shadow climbed up from her feet like a twin-headed snake, covering her legs and climbing straight to her neck before moving on to her shoulders and from there they disappeared in Lana’s fingernails. Along the way the shadow snakes changed her outfit completely and left black tattoos on her arms and legs in the pattern of a fury.

Her entire outfit had become much darker. She wore now a sleeveless black dress that reached her ankles with slits at both sides that start right above her knees. The edges around her shoulders, slits and the bottom were all dark blue with slight hints of white in between. Even her black leather boots had the same blue markings. Unlike the rest of her outfit, her belt had silver edges. The only other place were that color was represent was at both her shoulders where two silver fury line patterns ran down till her waist. Her fingernails, where the shadow snakes disappeared into, were now colored in a deep black.

However Lana had no time to admire her new dress. She had no idea what she was supposed to do but already found herself moving towards Nathalie, like she was being dragged into the confrontation.

[Shamitako]

Natalie

Natalie moved to stop Arturia from reaching Haley, but was intercepted by Lana. Frustrated by the interruption, she drew up her frozen blade to strike the girl down. But before she could, a storm of blackness rose up around her. Natalie jumped back, just barely avoiding being caught in the swirling black death.

"Hmmph, you're quite the natural." She spat, "Although you should really be less trusting. The one who initiated this entire situation is the Eye of Hope. She is as much you enemy as I am, if not more so. I simply wish to end you, she would tear you apart from the inside. It is she, not I, that makes this world unlivable."

Natalie raised her blade once more, pointing its infinitely sharp tip directly at Lana.

"You will see Reason, and then you will die."

Haley

Arturia's arms latched themselves around Haley, embracing her tightly. A golden storm of Light erupted from her, weaving its way in and out of Haley's body. The trust she had shown in following Haley and the caring necessary to save her life, the two emotions combined into one and swept through Haley. Her eye flickered once, then twice, and then held themselves open. The precise hole through her chest slowly closed, although her shirt and bra did not mend and blood still stained the floor. She gasped for breath and stared up at her rescuer.

"You..." She said between ragged breaths, "You don't love me... Thank you."

Laying there on the floor, still held in Arturia's arms, Haley began to whisper a prayer.

"By the light of your heart
By the strength of my trust
To see the truth of belief
And for the salvation of all humanity
Bestow upon me your strength
That I may bring light to the world"

Her transformation was not like the others, it was instantaneous; a useful trick her sister had taught her. Her outfit was a simple mimicry of the sister she adored, a gold ribbon circled her body, thickening into a short skirt at her waist. Her normally blue hair shifted drastically to blonde, tying itself back into a long ponytail which formed a loop with itself, the bottom edge reaching just barely to the small of her back. Her arms had golden eyes in the wrists, and her legs had four lines of them traveling along their entire length. Her shoes were now soft golden slippers and her fingernails painted in bright gold. A slight shimmer of golden glitter attached itself to the outer edges of her eyes, running back until it reached her temples

"Thank you for saving me, Miss Arturia, although I'm not quite sure how you unlocked your powers." Haley said, "But you can fill me in on that later, right now we have to do everything in our power to calm... Natalie... down..."

Haley's eyes fell onto the spot where Natalie and Lana were, Lana was emitting a storm of the element Darkness. The element infused with fear and insecurity was being unleashed on Natalie.

[Chevaleresse]

Arturia looked at Haley with a mixture of confusion and relief before helping the girl to her feet, looking at Natalie the whole time. She took a step or two toward her, before glancing back at Haley. "Uh, how are you planning on doing that, exactly? She seems pretty hell-bent on murdering everyone she sees." She noted Lana's new outfit as she began moving toward the goddess again. What, everyone's got one of these now? This would actually be really cool if there wasn't someone trying to cut us to bits.

[Stalkerkain]

Esyllt

Esyllt rolled her eyes innocently at the mention of sermons. She usually played hooky instead of attending them, and often times received an earful from her mother. Being too restless as a child, it was simply too much for her to sit still for extended periods of time. If she had known how dangerous this curse was, perhaps she would've paid more attention back then. Esyllt smirked, as Arya embraced Lilith- no, as she embraced Layla now. Given her initial reception towards Layla, let alone Esyllt's hug, she had a rather quick change of heart. No matter, so long as they were getting along now, all was well. More importantly, there was a bonafide goddess in front of them. There were no words Esyllt could summon that could explain how dumbstruck she was. She had thought that the awakening of Lilith's other soul was going to be something catastrophically terrible, given how terrified she was before. However, she seems to have come to terms with the situation. They still didn't know what form this Eden's curse was going to come in, and why it was going to kill the goddesses. Again. While Arya was comforting the weeping goddess, Esyllt decided to address Anna's question.

"Try doing something like what?" said Esyllt, as she raised an eyebrow at Anna's suggestion. "Shoot lightning bolts out of my hand? How would I even go about doing that?"

Esyllt closed her eyes in thought. What if she did have such a power, and that she couldn't control it? She would end up hurting her roommates, and then there would be no going back. Pondering these questions, Esyllt shook her head. She wasn't afraid of power. She had promised herself that she wouldn't just stand idle, and be afraid of those with higher authority, or shun those who held none. Provided she had gained an ability, she was going to use it to her advantage. A tingling sensation began to build inside her body. She had no idea what was going on, but before she knew it, she began to tremble.

Was it from fear? The fear that she was going to lose control?

Or was it because she was actually excited? That she was actually enjoying the moment?

No matter what was going to happen, she was going to own the moment. She was the one in control. Esyllt raised her hand in front of her, palm facing forward. The tingling sensation began to spread throughout her body, from her fingertips to her toes. She opened her eyes, no longer trembling. Her eyes only showed her confidence that she was going to succeed. The radiance of Esyllt's orbs grew brighter, and larger. The orbs grew large enough to shape themselves into ephemeral lances, which launched themselves into Layla, Anna, and Arya. The lances passed through each of her roommates, leaving their bodies before dissipating. At first, Esyllt was worried that she had unintentionally attacked the other three girls. But other than the fact that the three girls began to softly glow, one would think that nothing happened. They didn't seem harmed in the least, and the glow was barely visible. Esyllt blinked in confusion, as she hadn't even intended to target her roommates to begin with.

Whoops. So much for having control.

"So, um, feel any different?" Esyllt asked nervously.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Stalkerkain

[Shamitako]

Layla

Layla was shocked by Arya's sudden embrace. The girl who had been most suspicious of her was now comforting her just as the others had. She sobbed her thanks into Arya's chest, and between sobs she could hear the beat of the girl's broken heart. She already knew far more about Arya than she should, things that belonged to neither of her soul's memories. She only knew them because of Eden's Curse traveling along the conduit of Power. But she was glad to know them, to know what kind of person Arya was, and to know that when she said she wouldn't let Layla die, she meant it. Layla felt a feeling well up inside her that she hadn't felt since the last time she and Alexus had a meal together. Four thousand years of being gone, and another twenty of the four sisters being torn apart. All of it miserable loneliness. Even the sister that he had made purely to comfort Layla in his absence had become distant from Layla once he was truly gone. She had needed the security he gave and it felt so wonderful to feel that security again. Wait, what was she thinking? Was she going to try to replace the person she cared for and trusted most with a girl she had just met? ...Yes, she was. At least if she didn't stop herself before they became closer. She couldn't let that happen. Nobody was supposed to be close to her, nobody except Ethan

Then Esyllt's display of power gave her an excuse to push away. She broke free of Arya's grasp, a little more forcefully than she intended, and dried her eyes as best she could.

"Oh, r-right, I guess I sh-should explain that." She said, "You're a Hope Vine, Miss Esyllt, w-which means you can shoot streams of w-wild Hope energy out of your body. P-plus if you power goes through a l-lover or anyone you can't -love but still care about and trust, then it will strengthen their wi-will to fight."

She picked at her left thumbnail nervously, "I, um, I can tell the rest of you how to unlock your p-powers if you want. They're already a part of you and it isn't hard."

[Hiss13]

Sion

With the advent of a tutorial battle came a plethora of questions. Many of them connected to the fact that Lexi seemed to know where the tutorial battle would start. Others involved the insinuation of the nightmare having a boss battle. All of this was worth delivering some snarky remarks and questions. However, that kind of thing seemed like it should wait.

"Now's not the time for one-liners, dammit!" Sion shouted towards Riv before raising her hands in front of her and aiming her palms at the large animal's underbelly, or at least what was visible of it. The green rings lit up in succession from elbow to wrist, followed by a spear of ice quickly forming and being shot from each hand.

[K_H]

Anna

After she heard Layla's offer, Anna looked like she was thinking, and then spoke.

"It would be the most effective way for us to help protect you and the other goddesses. I'm up for it."

Edited April 30, 2016 by K_H

[Sutoratosu]

Arya

"Wow ok, really? Like, really? A bit rough there... considering you were literally sobbing your eyes out just moments ago" She couldn't help but gripe inwardly as Layla practically shoved her away in that moment. Hell, if she didn't know any better, the girl had almost seemed outright eager to break away, almost afraid, even...that said though, the embrace from Esyllt earlier flashed through her mind "Well... I guess I'm not really one to talk, am I? Still, compared to her, at least I have the decency to not go practically glomping unsuspecting people like a freaking maniac." Regardless, none of that was important now...

"I, um, I can tell the rest of you how to unlock your p-powers if you want. They're already a part of you and it isn't hard."

"We'll need all the help we can get" Arya answered with a simple nod "there's no point in letting any resource go to waste. Besides, it's too late to run away now...best hurry it up though, no telling how little time we might have..."

[Chim]

Lana

Some things Natalie said were certainly true. Lana did not know the Eye of Hope and wasn’t sure she could be trusted. But right now that didn’t matter. Natalie was the one trying to kill Haley, Arturia and her. She had no choice but to fight. “You’re the one that’s trying to kill us with that sword. You gave me no choice but to stop you,” she said, a little louder then she normally would.

The darkness surrounding her intensified, powered up by Lana’s own fears. She was afraid of this girl and afraid she would get killed. After all she had no idea what she was doing. Or how to stop the ice sword from impaling her own heart. Her only option was to rely on the help of the two girls behind her. If they could outnumber Natalie, chances were they would survive this. And for that purpose alone Lana refrained from making the first attack. Not until she was absolutely sure she had backup that was ready to fight.

[Shamitako]

Layla

"A-alright. I, I'm not very good at this sort of thing. But, um, Miss Anna, I think you're a Water Shield." Layla said, "You can activate your powers with a chant. Later on I can try to teach you to skip the chant and the transformation, but you need to get more used to it first. And then maybe I can even try to adapt your powers to a more stable level so your prefrontal cortex doesn't melt if you try to us them wrong."

Layla realized she was rambling and quickly shut her mouth. She had a bad habit of going on and on whenever her personal creation, the system of Divine Inheritance, came up.
"S-sorry, as I was s-saying, the chant:

"In the raging light of hope
With the flow of chance
To save myself from nightmares
And the unwillingness to surrender
Lend me your power
That I may free myself"

Layla then turned to face Arya, her face turned a slight tinge redder than normal and she refused to make eye contact.

"M-mi-miss A-a-arya, you're a Fi-" She stopped, her jaw dropping in surprise and any sense of her timid nature vanishing, "That's impossible. Just a moment ago you were a Fire Eye, I swear you were a Fire Eye. But, you're not one now."

Layla felt her throat go dry, her eyes were surely wide with shock and fear. She unconsciously took a step back from Arya, trying to distance herself from this anomaly in her otherwise stable world.

"Miss Arya, how are you a Time Eye?" She asked, "Eth- I mean, um, Eden's Curse only gives the power over time to males, it hates everything connected to the goddesses, even our gender. The fact that it would trust you... Do you hate this society that much?"

Natalie

"So you'd rather live to face a hopeless world than die to the blade of reason? There is no in-between, either you accept her fate or you accept mine." Natalie spat, "It's pointless to go on, the world I've been shown is far worse than death. A world where everyone lives in constant agony, desperately begging to die but never being able to. That is why I must kill you now, to prevent that fate from occurring. I must end every living being, and then misery will end as well. But if you really wish to accept her world, then I will give it to you."

Without any warning, Natalie charged forwardly blindly. She made no attempt to strike, in fact she embraced Lana. She clasped her arms tightly around her, locking them together. A single tear rolled down her cheek and onto Lana's shoulder. A tear of regret and loss that carried with it the last grasps of her self-confidence.

With her final human breath, she whispered into Lana's ear, "Just remember, you chose this."

Haley

Haley graciously accepted Arturia's assistance. She quickly scanned her surroundings, Natalie and Lana were just beyond them, no more than a few meters away. Haley was surprised Lana had been able to back Natalie up that far, perhaps some part of Natalie still retained true Reason and knew that touching that Darkness would doom them all. But that hope was quickly dashed as Natalie spouted off something about the future and then charged into Lana's arms.

"NO!" Haley yelled, reaching out her hand as though she could stop it.

Lana's power surged up, flowing in and out of Natalie, piercing every inch of the poor girl's body, and filling her with Fear.

And then Natalie was gone. A slow clapping began to reverberate through the hall, a clap powered by mocking and scorn.

"Thank you two lovely Furies for assisting me." Came a voice from behind Haley.

She turned to see a girl clad in a blue ball gown, her eyes like the night sky.

"Oh no." Haley said, "Are you what I think you are?"

"If you think I'm the Eye of Hope, you would have been right a moment ago." She said menacingly, "But you see, Nayru just lost herself to fear and her body and soul switched places for a brief while, attempting to escape. However, I happen to have known exactly where she would shift back, and positioned myself so that her soul would instead fall into me. Now, I am more than the Eye of Hope, I am also the Goddess of Reason and The Mind."

To demonstrate, her hand flared up with the sword Natalie had just been brandishing against Lana. She walked over to Haley and caressed the girl's cheek, her expression on of pity.

"Poor Haley, she was so excited to help her big sister that she let Nayru get caught by someone else." Her expression shifted to cheerful, "Now then, I'll be off, I have to find someone with the power to destroy Nayru's mind before she comes up with a way to escape. Bye-bye!"

She spun about and quickly strode away, disappearing around the corner before Haley could react.

"This is very bad." Haley said once she was gone.

She turned to face Arturia, and was surprised to see a frozen blade shoved through the girl's abdomen.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Came a call from around the corner, "I stabbed Arturia while I was holding your face."

A childish giggle followed, slowly fading away. Haley was at a loss for words and actions. Not only had she let Nayru fall into her failsafe mode, she had even let the Eye of Hope capture her out of it. She had no idea what she would tell Katherine. She had failed, she had failed miserably. If only her power was more solid, a Light Eye simply wasn't suited to stopping someone, especially not someone with the innate ability to see through illusions. She should have just talked to Natalie in the first place, then things never would have gotten this far.

[Chevaleresse]

Arturia's face turned white. It would have been funny, really, the fact that her pale skin managed to turn even lighter, if it wasn't for the combination of factors that caused it. She had been too shocked to even process that Riley was a threat now, at least in the physical sense, her mind occupied with simply trying to understand what had just happened. She didn't scream; the blade sliding into her gut prompted a ragged, stuttering intake of breath as she stumbled back three paces.

In her mind, Arturia knew that she should be writhing in agony on the floor right now, but she felt a strange disconnect from herself. Shock. I'm going into shock. That's lovely. She looked down at her abdomen, seeing the handle of the icy weapon protruding forward from it. Slowly, deliberately, she placed both hands on the grip, and took a deep breath - though this sent another surge of pain shooting through her body that registered dully with her brain. The numbness is wearing off. I'm going to pass out if I don't - She started to pull on the sword, and as she did so a storm of light appeared around her once again, turning in on itself and weaving through her body again.

A hissing exhalation quickly began a scream of pain as she committed fully, jerking at the weapon with all the force she could muster. The blood that the blade had previously blocked the flow of poured out in a flood before the wound closed itself, staining the floor with even more scarlet. It was a bizarre set of sensations -and a set that she'd rather not have to experience again- having the weapon slide out of her as her body knitted itself together behind it. When the icy sword had finally been removed after what felt like hours, she dropped it to the ground and immediately crumpled to her knees, heedless of the fact that she fell into a pool of her own blood, and clutched her arms around her own abdomen, whimpering pathetically in residual and remembered pain.

[Sutoratosu]

Arya

She stood there, silent. The center of attention yet again, but this time for a far different reason than merely having the apparent answers. It felt strange. Now that she thought about it... in all her life, not once had a single living person ever stopped and asked her such a question, the inquiry hadn't ever even crossed the foreground of her mind. And yet the response she found herself giving flowed as if she had been contemplating the exact answer since the day she'd first drawn breath.

"Half the world's population is virtually condemned at birth." She stated deadpan. "The other half lords over and abuses them as if there's some inherent genetic superiority on either side. Hell in this country alone, especially this damn country, not a day goes by where a man whose only real sin in life was being born into the socially rejected gender is treated like absolute shit, made to feel as if he is worthless and less than human. Countless men. They're used as Cannon fodder, breeding stock, expendables in nigh every sense of the word, and If a female were capable of impregnating another female, I've no doubt whatsoever that they wouldn't even be held to that regard... they'd be slaughtered, like barnyard filth raised for food. The seas would run red with their blood, and when the heavens weep to replenish the earth, all that would fall from the sky would be the world's recompense for such mass murder. And as the very planet itself lies drenched in the evidence of it's own mortal sins, all the pretty little bimbos and all the arrogant little bitches would sit there and pray and wonder, why, because they wouldn't even think of their crime as murder in the first place, because the men would be beneath even the vermin and the serpents of the earth to them."

She turned from them, all of them, shut them out and fixed her eyes on the door, the burning she felt welling within and growing greater with each blink bedamned. Judge her all they like, she did not care. Emotions surge all they like, she did not care. She would not break, not here, and not now. Mom had lasted far longer, mom had endured far more terrible things, and even then it still took that one last push to finally destroy her. She would not dishonor that woman with such weakness as bending where she hadn't even bowed.

"So yeah, now that I think about it... I guess I really do hate this ass-backwards, chauvinistic society that devalues half of all humanity to utterly nothing. This society that wastes so much potential on so very trifle justification.... this society that in the same breath as it would proclaim justice for all, just as quickly oppress its own less fortunate members without remorse."

One glance. One single, lingering, over the shoulder glance, directly at Layla, as if neither of the other two even existed at all in that moment, "But... just what does any of this have to do with the promise I made you? I don't care if Eden's Curse trust me, I don't care what type of power it's all of a sudden given me over whatever I originally had...from the moment I said I'd protect you, it became a sworn enemy to me... and no Wraith ever rests until her enemies have either yielded or died."