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Post by Executus Gira on May 30, 2018 22:25:52 GMT
Asphagel didn't know what time it was as he pushed through tall blades of grass and through the ferns in his way, and technically, he didn't care. However long he would be gone would be mitigated by the way time flowed in this forest, a trait he had noticed the first time he had entered. What had been several days for him, had only been several hours for Serene. But that was far from the only thing in this jungle...
For starters, there was the sheer scope of the forest, one far greater than any he had ever seen.
Strange, alien cries rang out through the dense mist that surrounded Asphagel. Through it, he could barely make out the large frames of twisting branches and vines, some of them more than five times as thick as he was tall. Even the ferns were monstrous in size, with a single frond eclipsing him in size, and shining a deep emerald green. It was dark as well, and despite Asphagel's keen night sight, the lack of sunlight coming through the distant canopy above and the almost suffocating mist made seeing any farther than a few feet in front of him a challenge. The mossy earth flickered and wrapped around his legs, as if trying to ensnare him, but the demon was able to pull himself free with relative ease. Yet, no matter how many times he entered this strange forest for one reason or another, it never stopped rubbing him the wrong way, and it wasn't just because of the plant life or whatever creatures called this jungle home...
“Aspha, you're back!” A familiar voice reached his ears. The demon stopped, and almost let a snarl form on his lips, before he controlled it back into a neutral form before he turned around. There, seated on a log twice as tall as he, was a woman a third of his size, She wore a white gown and hood over her face, and though her eyes were hidden, her smile was not. “I missed you so much, my love. You, and Ibana and Voti and the others... I missed you so much.”
“Sas, not now, please. Let me be."
The woman placed a sleeved hand over her mouth. "W-what? Aspha, I thought I was the most important thing in your world. Don't you remember the Resistance? Your old friends, your old life you built against Belphor? Don't you remember any of that?"
"I do, and I know it was all a lie." Asphagel hissed. "As are you. You're not really there, nor were you ever really there. You were a fake, a monster and a murderer. Rova told me what happened that day, what really occured."
"Rovagug? He's here as well?" Sas asked. "And why so venemous to me? Why are you hurting me, hurting yourself?"
"Because you're an illusion, a fabrication of my mind caused by this wilderness! You're my own mind, trying to deceive me like the real you and Pera did back then! I wish the you that I knew back then, and the you that is here were real... but you're both lies and deception."
The hooded woman's smile faded, the sleeve over her mouth dropped. Then, a sneer formed on the woman's face. "Oh, so now slow man Aspha finally knows what's up. I see how it is. So slow to start, but quick on the perception. You really are no fun, Asphagel. You were once, like Ibana was beautiful to me once. But now, you're both ugly and boring."
The woman faded away into the mist, and Asphagel shook his head. The hole in his heart, even after so long, it still hurt, and this forest, this damned forest, was so eager to prey on it. Or was it really even the forest. No, it had to be the forest. It was only when he was here, and never elsewhere. Every single time, she would show up, taunting and tormenting him.
He marched on, pushing the oversized undergrowth out of his way. While his eyes and ears were useless here, his sense of smell wasn't, and that was how he could guide himself through this labyrinth of deception and confusion toward the herbs needed, herbs that lay in the heart of this land of the damned...
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Post by KayKay on Jun 8, 2018 4:02:27 GMT
Dark eyes were watching Asphagel's progress from far away. In the distance a figure darted across one of the countless roots that twisted and knotted themselves into the dark soil of the forest floor. He had little need for balance – the root was as wide as a highway, and the bark was rough and easy to climb as the great root arched up over another even wider than itself. Once the man reached the peak of the arch he dropped to his knees, spear in one hand, pressed his chest against the bark as the humanoid beast in the distance passed by.
What was this strange creature? It walked and spoke like a man (in one of the languages of the outsiders, no less) but had the claws and scales and size of a beast. Certainly it was no terataur, and despite its size and scales it did not seem to be related to the strange feathered reptile that often wandered nearby its human companion.
<"Mother,>" the man spoke in a language not heard outside the none-existant borders of the forest. He pressed an aging, dark hand against the bark of the root he crouched on, and closed his eyes. <"A stranger approaches our home. I ask for your guidance; be he friend, or foe?">
In truth, the man didn't fully expect an answer. He was far from the forest's seed, and he could not imagine The Great Mother would have reason to speak to him. His dark wrinkled face tightened as he concentrated...
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Post by Executus Gira on Jun 14, 2018 4:11:13 GMT
Asphagel paused. While this forest was full of strange and unique scents he was unfamiliar with, there was usually a sort of consistency with the strange smells he picked up. Yet, he was picking up a somewhat familiar scent...
The scent of a human.. or something very close to it.
He whirled around, trying to spot where this scent could be coming from. The issue was, in this labyrinth of a jungle, it seemed to be coming from everywhere, equally strong no matter where he looked.
He hated going into this forest. He hated the tricks it played on his mind, the strange sense of time that seemed to flow here. The sooner he retrieved what he needed, the better...
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 22, 2018 18:56:35 GMT
How long Asphagel had been scouring through the twisting labyrinth of the jungle, he had no idea. Had it only been days since he had first entered the paradoxical undergrowth in search of the remedy, or had the endeavor taken weeks, months, even years for him? He had no way of truly knowing, not now at least. That was how this forest worked, its strange alterations of time and space. He could travel in a straight line as far as he wanted, and be no closer to his goal. No, he needed visual cues he could remember, remnants of his first time in this forsaken maze...
He pushed aside a wall of moss that towered over him, and let it crumple in a heap. On a large tree root before him, was a worn out gouge in the shape of a two headed snake. He grinned. He was on the right track. and actually, closer than he expected. In fact....
"Almost there, are we?"
Aspahagel gritted his teeth. "Why must you torment me, witch?" He snapped at the spectre of Sas. The woman was once again perched on the root, and smirked down at him. "Leave me be! My heart aches enough as is!"
Sas chuckled. "No, it does not. You, a creature of nether, can never know enough suffering. It was your kind which polluted and ruined Heaven. The suffering you endured, that you and Ibana endured... It ws not enough, you boring creature, not enough to satisfy me. I won't ever leave you, not until you kiss my feet and proclaim me as your lord and god. Maybe, even Iba-"
"I said begone, infernal witch!" Asphagel roared. He grabbed a nearby boulder, one as large as he was, and hurled it at the woman. The rock flew right through the spectre, and crashed deeper into the jungle.
"Asphagel, you silly beast.... first of all, I am the firstborn of Heaven, not some witch." the imaginary woman shook her head while waggling her finger. "and secondly, you need to watch where you throw things."
No sooner did she finish, than a bolt of white plasms tear through her form and fly at Asphagel. The demon leaped to the side, and the area he had been standing at erupted into flames. Another bolt sliced through the undergrowth, and exploded at his feet. Asphagel was flung through the air, and coughed up blood as he was embedded into the trunk of a tree. He could feel the wood shards rip into his back, and his wings ached from the impact.
Smoke filled the air, and a large form materialized from the foliage. It charged forward, and planted a fist into the demon's stomach. Asphagel's stomach erupted into pain, and he doubled over, and fell onto the ground. All he could see of his assailant were the molten veins running down their body, and the blackened claws which reached for his face.
He lashed out with his tail, and swept it against the attacker's legs. With a surprised grunt of pain, the attacker was knocked onto their back, and Asphagel saw it was a red haired woman... or something that resembled a human woman. She sprung back up, and swiped at Asphagel but this time he was ready. He grabbed her outreached arm, and lifted it up high, carrying her off her feet. She hissed and thrashed about, but she was stuck in place.
"I would suggest you put her down,and explain yourself." A new voice droned. Asphagel saw another bolt of white hot plasma charged up and aimed at him, and the owner of the energy lumber out of the foliage. "Though in hindsight, this outcome was both improbable and expected."
Asphagel stared over at the newcomer, but all that filled his mind was confusion. He snorted, and his eyes narrowed at the mechanical suit before him. "I guess... I guess it was. Not in a thousand years would I have expected to see you again, Laeptus."
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 0:38:06 GMT
As the two giants stood in standoff, the only sound that broke the silence of the waiting jungle was the thrashing of the strange woman.
That is, until the distinctive sound of a twig cracking in two echoed through the nearby undergrowth.
"Shoot!" a tiny, female voice followed.
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 1:39:34 GMT
All three seta of eyes snapped in the direction of the voice. Before Asphagel could respond, a sharp pain dig into his arm. The woman had dug her nails into his flesh, and the pain was enough to force him to let go. She dropped to her feet, and quickly stepped back, toward the towering metallic figure that was Laeptus.
"Quite the friend you've gotten yourself there. Did you ditch Persephone for her?" Asphagel hissed. He rubbed the wounded arm. Blood was dripping from the claw marks.
"The truth is more complex than you could imagine." Laeptus retorted. He stepped forward, moisture rising from the ground beneath his frame. "But that can wait, as well as explanations."
The woman was locked into where the sound had come from. "Hider, reveal yourself." She snapped. Her voice was low and gravely...
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 1:51:29 GMT
A twinkle of metal appeared in the shade of the giant forest's understory: the sheen of silvery glasses on the face of a large teenage girl.
"H- Hello," she murmured as she stumbled out of the jungle, hands raised as if she was held at gunpoint.
The girl, dressed in a hoodie and well-worn jeans, was likely tall among her peers, but she was dwarfed by even the smallest among the trio she revealed herself to. Red hair spilled over her face and pale blue eyes shined from behind her glasses.
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 3:54:34 GMT
"A human girl... an actual one." Asphagel mused while keeping an eye on the one who had backed off to Laeptus's side. "Don't be afraid, we mean you no harm... At least, I don't. I cannot say the same for them."
"A logical conclusion, given the circumstances that arose after we last met." Laeptus shifted back over to the newcomer. " But we as well mean you no harm. Sya, stand down. All aggression was caused by unknown identities."
The molten woman, Sya, hissed, but closed her eyes. " Yes. No harm meant." She lowly rumbled. "Merely trapped here, for a while."
"Yeah, this place does that to you. Time is weird here, and unless you know where you are going, getting lost forever is very easy." Asphagel looked over at the blue eyed woman. " The name's Asphagel, and the walking machine over there is Laeptus. We... sorta know each other from a long ways back. I take it you aren't from around here?"
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 4:00:08 GMT
".. no," the girl shook her head quietly.
Her blue eyes were still scared, but she lowered her hands. "Um... I'm Maria. I don't know how I got here. I was just walking with my friend when it got really, really bright and... and... a- and now I'm looking for her. Have you seen anyone else?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 4:08:49 GMT
"I have not." Laeptus shook his head. The crimson lights flickered within the metallic hull. "Me and Sya have not encountered any humans in this forest in the time we've been here, until now. How long that has been, even I have lost track of."
"I, on the other hand, thought I picked up a human scent a ways back." Asphagel spoke up. "And I do know the way out... but I have to get something in here before I can leave. What is your friend like, by any means?"
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 4:15:23 GMT
"Um, she's short," Maria answered, holding a hand slightly above her chest, "and has a lot of curly hair, and she's... not very friendly. She's actually really nice though! I... um... I'd feel a lot safer with her around..."
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 4:31:47 GMT
Asphagel raised an eyebrow at the description. He closed his eyes, and tried to think of anyone he had met which fit. After a few moments, he shook his head. "Sorry. I haven't seen anyone like that... but we can help you find your friend. I doubt she's in this forest, specifically. This entire continent is one big dumping ground for all sorts of places."
"So we've noticed." Sya hissed.
"You claim to know a way out, Asphagel." Laeptus raised up a metallic clawed hand. The sharpened ends groaned and sparked, and each step he took was uneven. "What exactly is it that you seek in this forest?"
"Herbs... There is a man who is on death's doorstep, and needs their medical properties. They are small, but glow with a blue hue. They should only be a little ways ahead. I've been through here before, and I marked the tree roots and trunks to show me the way. Even with the passage of time in here, they are still identifiable. I can take us out of here, and you can see what the rest of this strange world is like."
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 4:40:00 GMT
Maria moved closer to the trio, shying away from a man-sized shoot of glowing fungus and nearly tripping over a gargantuan leaf as she did. She ended up walking unsteadily over the leaf, afraid it would break. It did not.
"What else is there?" she asked Asphagel softly, looking up at him with wide eyes. "It... it's so big. Is everything else like this too?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 4:51:04 GMT
"Outside of this jumbo sized jungle, everything is more to scale with us." Asphagel replied. "There's grasslands, lakes, a frozen tundra, a desert right outside this forest, and a city to the north of here, and a city to the southwest of here. Chances are, your friend may have landed in one of those cities."
"Intriguing." Laeptus mused. As Sya wandered off onto a large root and crawled her way up, he didn't seem to notice. "Then this forest, then... even it is a foreigner to this world, if nothing else is like it. If I still had my lab and my computers, further research would be required.. or if my body did not require maintenance."
"You really have been here a long time, if you're in this bad of shape." Asphagel said. Sure enough, he noticed greenery was growing between the segments of Laeptus's mechanical hide, and numerous cracks and splits had formed through the metal. The eye lights flickering only added to the derelict state the scientist of Sheol was in. "We'll see what we can do, in that case. Serene is with me, and her magic-"
"I'm well familiar with what the whisper demon can do." Laeptus lowly growled.
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 5:13:20 GMT
Maria tilted her head at the cyborg. “W- Whisper demon?”
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 15:58:37 GMT
"It is a long story..."
"Hardly. She is a demon with the power to cause dementia in others." Laeptus cut off Asphagel."Originally a human corrupted by the netheral atmosphere of Sheol. Name changed to-"
"That is no longer relevant!" Asphagel snapped. Serene is no longer that entity. All she wants now is peace and tranquility. She's nice again, really..."
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 16:15:40 GMT
"And... um..."
Maria shuffled her feet, gouging a circle in the bare soil of the forest floor.
"What are you all?"
She seemed embarrassed to ask, as if afraid she would offend the three.
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 16:27:02 GMT
"I am a demon of the abyss." Asphagel stated. He spread his leathery wings to their full extent, which dwarfed the girl. "Not a mutated human, but a creature born of nether, from the essence of the progenitor of the abyss, the ancient dragon Zuldes."
Laeptus picked up a giant fallen twig, and analyzed it closely. He rotated the stick in both hands."For now, you can think of me as just a machine, though the truth is more complex, and better explained in a more secure location. Sya is-"
Once again, he was cut off, but by the woman in question. She crawled down the root she had ascended before, but in her right hand were several mushrooms amd small bulbs, which glowed with a gentle blue hue. "These what you want?" She asked Asphagel.
Asphagel stared at the herbs. "Y-yes. Those are them. How did you..."
"Smell. Unique scent. Heat signature as well."
"Sya..." Laeptus began again, "is a unique specimen. Again, I will gladly tell you once we are out of this forest."
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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 16:31:17 GMT
Large, blue orbs looked curiously at Sya. "You... can smell like a dog does?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 23, 2018 16:50:47 GMT
"Yes. Also see with heat, and sound. Actual eyes nonfunctional. Cosmetic. Vestigal."
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