Eighth.

[azumods]

ENCOUNTER. It's been days since you were brought here. Or, at least, you think it's been days; even if it's not something you're necessarily unfamiliar with, the stagnation of time and space are likely taking a toll, as is the fact that it's impossible to become spatially oriented in this place. The rotation of the walls to become ground beneath your feet, the floating patches of land with their bizarre floral biology, the pools of water flowing silently and horizontally directly above your heads... It's all a bit much to take in, a bit much to acquaint yourselves with. Perhaps it isn't meant for you to become acquainted with at all. The massive creature here with you has been becoming bolder over the last few hours; it's difficult to tell what's gotten into it, but its path through the shadows has been bringing it closer. Once in a while a sleek, sharply-spiked body can be seen twisting its way through the darkness; sometimes long, black tendrils with wicked-looking red tips are seen cutting through the shadows, each of them far larger than you are, before disappearing again into nothingness. It seems to fade in and out with the contours of the abyss; sometimes it disappears entirely, only to reappear so close to the patches of land you've taken to standing on that it feels liable to collide with them, that it seems almost like you can reach out and touch it if you wanted to. Whatever it is, your Pokémon don't like it. You can tell just by being in its presence that it's one of the old ones, one of those whose memories span far longer than most of you can comprehend - one that's always been, since the creation of the world. An ancient and powerful entity, and there comes a point on one of those passes that's too close for comfort that it doesn't pull away and disappear again. Instead it stays, and its head breaches the darkness, and it finally lets you see it. It's massive, alarmingly so, in the same way that Dialga and Palkia were massive - not just in physical size, but in the way that something about being in its presence makes you feel very, very small. Its body is long and graceful in a way that's almost repulsive; it doesn't set down anywhere near you, or anywhere at all; instead, it simply is, hovering before you in a way that commands the stagnant, empty space before you, floating over the abyss like it was meant to be in it, like it's been here for longer than you likely care to imagine. Those long black tendrils ripple a little as they stream out behind it; its body seems to glimmer in the darkness as it watches you from behind bright, red eyes. For the time being, it doesn't seem about to attack; just the same, it's watching you very, very closely. What happens from here is, evidently, your call.

Comments

[azumods]

[...Okay, so. This is a shitshow all around, isn't it, good lord. She's still petting Giratina a little, the motion pensive.]

I suppose the question now is where you're going from here. I understand your determination to leave, but where were you? Was there a concrete plan, or were you planning on doing...well, what you're good at, I suppose?

[She doesn't sound like she thinks "what you're good at" is a bad thing or an insult or anything, it just kind of...is what it is, you guys are kind of the Yolo Brigade.]

[takestheblame]

Do you have a suggestion?

[That isn't not intervening, he figures. But yeah, Kiryu's willing to listen if she has an idea or two]

[azumods]

I suppose that depends on where you were trying to go.

[...She promises she is better at this than Saturn is, not that that's hard.]

[anythingforyou]

...We were given an 'invitation' [airquotes] to Spear Pillar, by someone we can only assume was Cyrus, but truly can't confirm; we've spent about half of the past week climbing Mount Coronet, to go to that location, and then to the Hall of Origin.

[...she's sure this isn't gonna exactly be pleasant news, but she's honest, at least.]

[azumods]

[...She looks vaguely amused by that, albeit in an odd sort of way.]

You're going to be climbing that mountain for a while. The magnetic fields make flying up difficult, and...well, you've seen the size of it.

It's worth it, though. When you see Spear Pillar for yourself... It's beautiful. The birthplace of the region itself.

[So at least she's not deterring you.]

[anythingforyou]

My, really? It certainly explains why Melady has been having such a hard time there...

[...said hot air balloon just kind of puffs up indignantly at that. Shut uuuuup.]

It truly hasn't been too arduous a climb, really, though that is just me. I suppose the hard part is...well, really going to be getting into that Hall.

[we. we may not have thought that far.]

[azumods]

None of you know exactly how to get there, I'm assuming.

[...Okay. That's. She can work with that.]

I'll see if I can do something for you. No promises, but I'll try. I owe you all at least that much.

[anythingforyou]

[...That gets a shake of the head, honestly, and Camilla winds up looking away at that. She looks back at the second bit, however.]

...Thank you. It's appreciated, Cynthia.

[azumods]

Of course.

[She smiles a bit at that, though the expression is a little strained.]

...I'm...sorry. For not telling you about Dawn.

[anythingforyou]

[...Oh, that's...

Camilla actively pauses a bit at that, her arms going crossed--Melady gives a small noise over at Camilla that prompts her look to go from a bit of a blunted one to a bit more of a...calm one.]

...What angers me is that something like that happened to a child. The withholding of information is one thing, but that... [...Camilla considers her words and shakes her head. As much as she'd love to be petty, and she knows the feeling is there, it's...not going to help anyone, is it? And it sure as hell won't bring the child back.

Camilla starts again, calmer.] No, never mind. Thank you for apologizing.

[That's. A bit blunt, but it's. Something?

...Let's just never speak of this again?]

[greydients]

[...they'd all be pretty concerned if she wasn't better than Saturn, however...]

At some point we need to get to the Hall of Origin.

[azumods]

Do you have the means to get up there, or...?

[...Are...Are you just winging it, are you hoping Cyrus will let you up if you ask politely, what are you doing here.]

[greydients]

[I mean it would have been great if Cyrus had picked a better meeting place, tbh? Like what was wrong with a cafe in Veilstone or something-]

Other than the obvious - climbing, which is what we're doing - not really. If there's an easier way, we'd certainly love to hear it.

[azumods]

[.............................um

how does she tell you this gently]

The Hall of Origin is only accessed through Spear Pillar. But it's not someplace that you just walk into.

[greydients]

Oh.

[Huh.]

So how do we get in, then?

[....look, Rey is nothing if not practical-]

[azumods]

...I'll see if I can find something for you. I can't promise anything, but just keep going for the time being.

1/2

[greydients]

Ah, alright! Thanks!

[Gosh, that was easy! She was thinking they'd need to break the door down, or something.

...

...she'll understand when they...get there.]

[takestheblame]

We should have guessed a shrine to the creator of the entire region wasn't a place you just walked into.

[Says the man who had commented someone should have made a road easier than climbing through the entire mountain]

[azumods]

I've never been there myself. I know it's where Cyrus has supposedly been all this time, but...

[Well. Things are Complicated as far as Cyrus goes.]

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Michael wants to throw a ball at Cyrus' head.

[what.]

[azumods]

...Does he...

[what.]

[eudaimonikos]

What.

[Does he?]

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

[Behind him, Portus demonstrates.

as in, launching a football psychically with such devastating speeds it resembles a bullet and buries itself into a tree.

yeah. that.]

[eudaimonikos]

Aaaah!

[Michael laughs delightedly; thanks for cheering him up a bit.]

I wasn't serious, Sena, that's definitely lethal.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

[Sena blinks owlishly, then looks vaguely sheepish.]

You know, I still can't tell when it comes to you...

[Honestly, this is probably still a fair assumption.]