MAIN STORY The Evrensel Conflict: Act I, Chapter 1.2 -- Le fogne della civiltà

[Wade Von Doom]

You are in your home world, doing something of great importance to it. Or, you're minding your own business, keeping to yourself amid your surroundings. Or perhaps you're relaxing in a place you find comfort in, easing away the stress of the day. Then, before you could blink, something blinded you with a white flash, like a camera bulb suddenly went off in front of your eyes. Suddenly, you're in a free-fall. Gravity pulls you left, right and center, as you tumble through the air like a person falling from the clouds down to Earth.

With the speed of the fall pressing against your body, what little you can see is a barrage of bright lights passing you by. It looks like the passing of stars in the night sky at breakneck speed, with your body glowing white hot like you have suddenly caught fire. Yet you can also see a faint tint of blue around your body, protecting you from it. But the g-force is so much to take, you begin to pass out. The sound of everything begins to fade from your ears, and the white takes hold of your vision, until finally you black out.

When you awaken once again, the world is darker. Colder too. Everything feels damp, like laying on top of moss in a swamp. You look around, and the pitch darkness is barely illuminated by the faint lights off in the distance. The smell is horrendous.

You stand up, and the ground is covered in foul water from a sewer system. And the walls are made of uneven stone, eroding from whatever flows down here. When you approach the light, the place you're in becomes more clear, but even more confusing as to how you arrived here.

 

[Valkan]

X Alter

Alter's memories were a jumbled mess. Scattered thoughts of places she was in, all blurry and melding into each other. She barely remembered her name. "Mysterious Heroine X Alter", somehow that strange name did resonate with her somehow. But that was the least of her concerns at the moment. From the moment she realized of her own existence, she had been falling, in a rather strange manner. She would suddenly tumble in other directions while still airborne. Alter would see as she accelerated more and more as she fell, her body not being charred to a crisp due to some type of barrier. At some point, the light engulfed her vision, and everything went dark.

Once she came to, a horrid smell invaded her nostrils. She could barely see a thing, save from a distant light that barely reached her. Having nothing else to move towards, she followed the light, trying to tread as little as possible on the awful smelling water. It didn't take her long to arrive at the source of the light. Looking around, this place gave off the impression of a sewer system. That said, she still had no clue as to why she ended up down here. So before getting even more lost, she inspected her surroundings for clues.

 

[Otomos]

Sevestre

When the Sharlayan scholar found himself blinded by light and yanked about by unseen hands, he had originally assumed he had earned the ire of another scholar similar to himself. He had a list of possible people who would go through with such an act if given the chance, but none of them came to mind for the situation. Sevestre had been assaulted by these magicks in broud daylight as he making his way towards a new shipment of knowledge attained outside the the island. His intent was to do what he had always done, record, immortalize, and prevent the release and abuse of said knowledge. No one on his list would attack him before stuch a task was done, and certainly not in broad daylight.

He did, however, have an idea of this light's arrival. A reading he had done recently had shown nothing but that light. Confusion, Danger, and Mystery were within his destiny this day. He did not expect how it would play out. Soon enough he found himself descending rapidly into the Void...or perhaps not THE Void that he was familiar with, but an actual Void that held nothing aside from himself and the mysterious barrier that shielded him. Regardless of any theory that could have formed in his scholar's mind, he would find his consciousness fading with every passing moment.

When he finally awoke again on solid footing, he found his senses momentarily overwhelmed with putrid scents and vile sights. Of all places, he found himself in a sewer system. Not only that, it was poorly maintained sewer system. Knowing how foolish it would be to have his clothes further dirtied by the excrament and filth between himself and the exit off in the distance, he simply made it so that his clothes had become shorter in length. A simple spell for practicality in the field. With a sigh, he looked around, and found another who was nearby. A woman, by the look of it. One that was similarly confused by the surroundings as well. He shook his head and thought aloud,

"Most likely, I will find myself near a civilization of barbarians yet again..."

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

Katunich's eyes fluttered, darkness fading from his vision as he tried to move his body, to little avail. Water rushed with him, though it was putrid and thick. He was reminded of the European Dead Zone, the place known as the Marsh, with the smell of decay and loss thick in the air, the stench of Earth reclaimed by the wilderness clashing with the failing ruins of Old Mankind. His hands finally moved, sliding across the structure beneath him and the water. It was brick, human-fashioned. He was on Earth, at least, though where he couldn't guess. Not yet, anyhow.

He lifted himself upwards slowly, water dripping from his lightly armored coat and helmet. "Guardian?" the floating, orange and blue pattern of Cally's ghost shell spoke. Her light shimmered, exposing more of Katunich's surroundings. Curved tunnels, disgusting water, no natural light sources save the one ahead - "Sewer system," Katunich told Cally aloud. "Old. Couldn't be Tower-era, too simple. Definitely not Golden Age. Could be Dark Age, or the pre-Traveler days, though I didn't think much of that survived."
"I cannot connect with the Shadow Trespass," Cally revealed. "Transmat system is offline, whatever guns and materials you have will be it for now."
Katunich reached into his coat, drawing the beautiful silver detailing, the maroon red paint atop matte black of his revolver, Better Devils. It had enough punch to rip through the front armor of a spider tank, and though the amount of shots it had before firing was limited compared to his Boudica-C sidearm, the range available to him would allow him to take on any surprises with it in hand.

Katunich emerged from the darkness, revolver in hand, to see a pale woman in ominous robes and a weapon with twin laser blades, almost Elinski-like in fabrication, though the garment felt like the appearance of a Risen hunter. The other person, the man seemed straight out of the City's once powerful faction, New Monarchy. "Looking for an answer as to why I am here, if any of you are equipped with one."

 

[Valkan]

X Alter

As she inspected the illuminated area, X would hear footsteps approaching over the noise of the filthy waters flowing. X summoned Necro-calibur in twin blade mode pre-emptively, in case whatever was approaching was hostile. A man stepped into the light, making a comment about barbarians. Still immensely confused, X stated I am no barbarian. I just appeared here. in a surprisingly monotone voice given the situation.

More footsteps echoed into the area where X and the man were standing, which put X on edge again. This one was armed, which made X get into a battle stance, some crackling could be heard from her free hand. The crackling stopped, but Necro-calibur remained ready to be used when this newer man asked if they knew where he was there. "I don't remember much, I just appeared here. So no" she repeated, still using the same tone.

 

[Foxes81_of_Anime]

Kota Mizuhara [#ff8a8a]​

---

Honestly, he just wanted to have a nice relaxing day for once. But when he felt someone-or something, really, yanking on his favorite pink hoodie and pulling him backward, he thought that maybe it was Chika or one of the other club members coming to get him since he was late for practice. He turned around, an apology on the tip of his tongue before noticing he was someone free-falling through the sky. He yelped in surprise, curling up instinctually before he began feeling lightheaded and dizzy, passing out midair.

Upon waking up, the first thing he noticed was the smell. He sat bolt upright, covering his mouth with his sleeve to ease the stench as much as possible.
Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he saw a tiny sliver of light in the distance.
He stood up slowly, looking around to see puddles of water, which confused him even more. Where was this place? He stepped forward, careful to avoid the puddles as he slowly made his way to the beam of light.

Looking around, he could see he was in some kind of sewer. But how did he get there? Why was he here?
Questions flooded his mind until he realized that he might not be alone. Feeling around in his hoodie pockets, he found the knife that he had always kept on him since the...incident, unsheathing it, keeping the blade pointing downwards to the stone floor.

 

[Otomos]

Sevestre

Mere moments had passed since he muttered to himself, and not only did the stranger respond, but two new ones also appeared, one of whom wished to know why he was there. Would that Sevestre had any answer to give. He didn't know why they teleported there, but he would be a terrible excuse for a Sharlayan scholar if he were to not understand how they were brought there. A simple concept in terms of magic, and one that's still being researched to this day. First things first, he must needs see who these strangers were and develop an impression.

First would be the woman. She seemed like young Hyur, but weaponry and the way she held herself implied that she is experienced, well-equipped, and well-trained. Next would be the man with the firearms. The helmet covered his face, but his voice and body matched that of an older man's. Not an aged one, mind you, but in the middle point some Hyurs call the prime of their lives. Presumably. Finally, the third stranger was Hyur teenager. There was no doubt about it, that is a teenager of the Hyur race, and he was just as confused about this as everyone else was, perhaps even more considering the lad was not wearing any armor or enchanted clothing whatsoever, which made him stand out in this group.

With that out of the way, Sevestre would finally go about voicing his response.

"Likely, we were brought here by a sort of teleportation magic. As for why, there any number of reasons. It could be an accident, but it would require a large amount of aether that would legally require a failsafe. There does not appear to be one. It could have been on purpose, but if the one who implemented this spell chose us specifically, they should have revealed themselves right now. Perhaps it was just some random happenstance that involved teleportation. Another important piece of information we are missing is our current whereabouts. This could be any nation's sewer system, and though i have dabbled in the history of architecture between cultures, I do not make it a point to keep up with the recent history of maintenance."

Sevestre took a moment to observe the clothing of these three other individuals. There were some similarities of known clothes and armors, but they were very much different from that which he knew of.

"The teleportation magic may yet even be more powerful than I thought. Perhaps introductions may yet yield more data from which we can derive its nature. I am Sevestre Albright, member of the Sharlayan Forum."

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

"I figured there'd be no other way for our arrival despite magical or technological teleportation. I can safely say I didn't land my ship in a sewer," Katunich replied, keeping his weapon out due to the woman's hostile pose. "Though I don't know what barbarity has to do with our situation. Far as I can tell, there are two warlocks in this group."

He waited a moment, before lowering his weapon to his side, dropping some of his guard as a gesture of cautious trust in addition to stating his name. "I am Katunich Parker, from the Warlock order of the Voidwalkers. Guardians of Humanity is the official blanket title, but that rings a bit of pretentiousness. This is Cally, my Ghost...of sorts. She is a brilliant machine, among other things." The Warlock figured this Albright man trustworthy enough. Katunich believed him when he said he didn't know exactly what was going on, and his quickness to theories told Katunich he was a fellow seeker of knowledge.
The woman warrior, he was less certain of. Simple speech pattern, almost primal response to his revolver, the mental haze was palpable - something was wrong with her, like a patient entering or exiting a state of nonlucid consciousness. He didn't want to get whacked by any sort of laser sword, though, and much preferred to be the one swinging. Best to not agitate her purposely.

The one in the pink jacket, however, was quite the outlier. When he approached from the shadows, hand in pocket, he gently turned his head to acknowledge the boy, making a small show of the gun in his hand. "We can all see that knife, by the way. At least be confident in shanking me, if you're going to try it."

 

[Foxes81_of_Anime]

Kota Mizuhara [#ff8a8a]​

---

Kota stepped back as the trio of mysterious people appeared, seemingly from the shadows. He thought he was the only one there. Once he heard one of the men speak, he tensed up, listening as one of them introduced themselves. Sharlayan Forum...he'd never heard that one before. Were they some weird band of crooks trying to do something to him?

While thinking, he heard Parker introduce himself, turning to Kota, saying something, and snapping the younger male out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" he said, tightening his grip on the knife before sheathing it reluctantly with a nod to the other, and slipping it into his pocket before introducing himself, although nervously. "Ah...I don't have any fancy titles...I'm Mizuhara Kota. Kota is my first name," he added hurriedly before continuing. "I'm part of Tokise High School's koto club..." he trailed off, looking around at the others more clearly now.
They didn't seem like they were from Japan...and this sewer definitely didn't feel like one of Japan's. Swallowing, he decided to trust them...for the time being.

"Where are we...? This definitely isn't Japan. Plus..." he trailed off, the words getting quieter as he looked away.

 

[Valkan]

X Alter

The man who arrived first proposed some theories on how they ended up here. That said, plenty of what he said about them arriving here went X Alter's head. It was a far cry from the magecraft, or even magic she has some hazy knowledge about. He suggested introductions are in order to help each other out figuring out what was going on here. Sevestre took the initiative being the first one to do so. Which was followed by Katunich commenting on not landing his ship on a sewer. And Katunich, much like Sevestre, had titles that didn't give X Alter something to work on. Though her memory was hazy, it sounded way too foreign based on what little she remembers.

Seeing as the three were on the same page, X Alter desummoned Necro-calibur and took a more relaxed stance. She remained silent, however, since Katunich called out the boy with the knife. The boy complied and introduced himself as well, Kota. The young one didn't have much to add other than his name by the looks of it. With that in mind, it was about time she did her own introduction. "You can call me X Alter, or just X. My Saint Graph was altered somehow, so my memories are mostly gone." she then sighed and mumbled "What a drag..."

 

[Otomos]

Sevestre

The information gained from the introductions alone was enough to render many possible motives and effects invalid. Unknown terms and words made it so that Sevestre could immediately recognize they were not from the Star he calls home. If they were, then they were in isolated or undiscovered places, which was nearly impossible, given the Forum's mission. His impressions have changed accordingly, allowing him refine his pondering.

Katunich Parker. Seemingly a marksman, if his weapon was anything to go by, but also a spellcaster according to his own given word. Likewise, his words imply that he merely look the part of a mercenary, and that his Order works for the protection of his people. The term Voidwalker does not inspire anything good, but perhaps the term is different from what Sevestre himself thought. Whatever machine Cally was, it bore a striking resemblance to some designs of the Sage armaments. The big difference at the moment is that it is a single piece of machinery rather than four. Something to ask about later, perhaps.

Mizuhara Kota. A mere boy in the middle of pursuing a higher education. The information gleaned from him was abundant. Shy, confused, and slightly panicking. The words he mentioned sound Doman, but Sevestre could not tell if those truly existed in the Far Eastern nation's language. As for the place he mentioned, Japan was not marked on any map of Hydaelyn that the Forum member knew of. The knife was also a bit curious. It wasn't impressive, but its of aether-infusion implies that it wasn't crafted by a proper blacksmith.

X Alter. With her supposedly having amnesia, there was not much to glean from her words. Nevertheless, the little that was there told all he needed to know. Her name was simply not an actual name, at least it isn't as far as Sevestre knew. Perhaps it was one where she came from. The more important bit was the Saint Graph that she mentioned. There were no records of something like that exisiting at any point in the history of any civilization on Hydaelyn. If it was connected to the memory of an individual, it certainly would have been made known to Sharlayan scholars as well. Which makes things a little easier.

All three had vague, little, or no connection to anything Sevestre knew of. Their clothes only barely resemble some specialty pieces that are more fashion than practical. Their weapons don't exude even a hint of Aether. Their very words are foreign to Sevestre's mind. The most likely cause is...

"Hm... Almost everything you all have spoken about it is foreign to my ears. If I am to believe the current most-likely theory, then my title is likewise foreign to yours. Unless any of you hail from Hydaelyn, then it can only be assumed that we are from different worlds. Granted, this is but a theory that fits the current information. There is currently no solid evidence."

Finally, with all that thinking done, his eyes turned to Koto. THe only one of the group that had little protection.

"It seems the youngest among us may need some help adjusting to his current circumstances."

 

[Wade Von Doom]

As everyone continued talking amongst each other, introducing themselves and trying to understand the situation they had found themselves in, the room began to dim. The large hole in the ceiling that allowed in natural sunlight from above was being closed off, with only the candles along the walls being their light source. Then, the howling started.

"Hawooooooooooooooooooooooo!~"
"Hawooooooooooooooo!~"​

One by one, the candles blew out. Yet, there was no strong enough wind from any of the passages to blow them out. The group would notice faint figures dancing through the darkness, yet if they tried to shine a light of their own on them, they would vanish with only a millisecond of a body part seen by the naked eye. Even heat signatures showed nothing, yet movement tracking had multiple signatures circling around them all. A dozen at least.

When the last candle went out, They had nothing to see what exactly was stalking them. The howling echoed so much, even the footsteps of the creatures howling were muffled under them, making it even harder to track.

 

[Valkan]

X Alter

Sevestre theorized from all of their varying ways to introduce themselves that they were all from different worlds. The theory seemed solid in X's head. They were all too mismatched from each other in their introductions. The young boy seemed the most out of place, being pretty unprepared for danger in comparison to the rest of the group... Or so it seemed to X.

Unfortunately, the group didn't have much of a chance to discuss the situation further. Their main source of light quickly faded away, leaving them only with the light some candles emitted, though not for long. The candles were somehow snuffed out one by one. As darkness became more and more predominant, X walked to the more open area of the sewers, feeling the ill intent behind the howls that begun when light started to be taken away from them. "Someone take care of shielding the boy. They are coming to take us out." X pinched the bridge of her nose, disliking the fact that she had her work cut out for her, yet she felt like this was something she could not back out of.

She could make out figures moving around in the dark, wearing some sort of pelt and wielding swords. X summoned Necro-calibur in its longsword form, lighting the otherwise pitch black darkness with a bright crimson a couple of meters around it.

X took a deep breath, ignoring to the best of her ability the unpleasant aroma that came with it, and got to work. Using her supernatural skills, she got ahold of one of the figures stalking in the dark, and violently pulled it towards her, ending its life with a single searing slash of her sword. She then dashed forward, bringing her blade down on her next target. As the second target crumpled to the waste-filled floor, a third and fourth one tried attacking her from behind, which she countered by stabbing one of them in the gut with a backwards thrust from her side and vaulting over him with her free hand, avoiding the other attack. As she vaulted backwards, she sliced the arms of the man as they tried to keep up with her, and she finished the man by driving Necro-calibur into his chest. Feeling the presence of yet another person attempting to strike her from behind, X froze it in place, and slashed diagonally and upwards as she spun to face him, burning through one of the assailant's blades. X then took a step back and turned Necro-calibur into its twin-blade form, and threw it forward while making it spin using her telekinesis. And as the twin-blade made a round trip across the tunnel she threw it, catching one of the pelt wearers off guard and bisecting it and beheading another as he tried to dodge the spinning searing weapon on its way back to X, she turned towards the nearest target and evaded the preemptive strike he made and hooked his arm, locking him and throwing him over her shoulder. She finished the ninth pelt wearer off with a stab of her twin-blade to the chest while he was trying to recover from the throw.

Stepping off the body, X Alter took a defensive stance with the twin-blade behind her, illuminating her silhouette. She braced herself in case these people wanted to continue, but she believed she had delivered the message well enough already.

 

[Otomos]

Sevestre

"Hawooooooooooooooooooooooo!~"
"Hawooooooooooooooo!~"​

Sevestre did not appreciate the sudden dramatic change in the surroundings. The lights went out and strange noises echoed through the sewer, but perhaps the most annoying part was the lack of information. Was this an ambush? Were they panicked victims such as themselves? Were they monsters that were native to this sewer? He did not know, but it seems as if he did not need to. One of the others, X Alter, had deemed the source of the noise a threat. Before she proceeded to assault anything, she said.

"Someone take care of shielding the boy. They are coming to take us out."

The Sharlayan scholar did not care for fighting, despite his past and capabilities. Given the situation, it seemed that he would have been forced to do it anyway. Well if he was going to fight, then he will stick to simple support. It wasn't that he wasn't willing to march up close, but between himself, Mizuhara, Katunich, and X Alter, the latter two were more combat-oriented. While X Alter showed her dazzling display of close-combat and slight amounts of some sort of magic, Sevestre moved to Mizuhara.

"For your own safety, stay within the barrier."

Sevestre reached his arms out, and put a small amount of concentration. In a flash, a bright barrier of protective aether surrounded the two of them, shielding them from any potential projectiles or flying bodies and whatnot. It would not last forever, but Sevestre did not expect this to take long.

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

As the others leapt into action, Katunich remained still. Clearly whatever group was trying to attack the group didn't know who they were dealing with. With the other consideration for ammo conservation - who knew if they made Tower-grade high caliber hand cannon rounds here? - in mind, the warlock decided not to engage with the usual fervor. He raised his hand. "Let's try to brighten this place up a little." A ball of light, wispy and glowing, formed in his palm, and he tossed it upwards. With a surprisingly bright burst, a new source of light emerged near the center of the ceiling, showering their shadow-clad opponents with illumination, and likewise, the sewer complex.

"Ah, better," he commented, pleased with his minor spell. Walking from his previous spot to stand near X Alter, Katunich holstered his revolver and drew his swords, Half-Truths. Like everyone else in the room, it wasn't native to his universe - pulled out of some alternate dimension in a partially functioning state, repaired with Last City-sourced parts and even a phaseglass needle placed at its core to repair the alien plasma flow conductors. Its brilliant blue blade emerged from the weapon's empty space, and he held it close to the ground, not about to strike but fully willing to.
"I am impressed, swordbearer. Afterwards, may I get a look at that sword of yours? I might be useful to you, given your predicament."

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

Katunich wouldn't have to wait long, as X's impressive swordswoman skills would scare away whoever remained. With his light spell, the element of darkness as an advantage was no longer theirs. His illumination would show three different ways to exit the room: two tunnels to their left and right, and one straight ahead.

But when their enemies scattered, they ran off into each of the three tunnels. And with how quickly they fell back, there was sure to be more they retreated to.

 

[Valkan]

X Alter

Just as she finished the last of the potential cultists who were near her, X surroundings lit up. She observed around, looking for more threats to the group. But the moment there was light, they were quick to scatter away from X and company. She looked back at the other two, "I feel that won't be the last we see of them. We should get moving" X pointed out.

"What a drag..." X complained once she saw the three tunnels out of this spot. "I can feel people's intent, but I can't see what lies ahead any of these tunnels". She once again turned to her group "Ideas?".

While she was at it, she answered Katunich's question "Sure, but I don't see how that would help..." she thought about it for a few more moments, then added "Thank you" trying to be polite with the mage from another world. As much of a drag this was, he didn't want any more enemies in such a situation. At some point during her answer, she switched back to Necro-calibur's longsword form, much easier to be held safely than with the twin-blades.

 

[Otomos]

Sevestre

The Sharlayan scholar dismissed the barrier and observed the relit surroundings. Though he was somewhat accomplished in the field, his forte was in secrecy and politics. Sevestre was not one to figure out a sewer maze. Even with his magic, it only reveals and manipulates fate. It does not conjure up solutions. As far as he could tell, they would need to figure it out themselves.

"Regardless of which we choose, we are bound to find more of them. I suppose the only way to proceed is to pick one at random. Or perhaps interrogate one of those miscreants if we meet them again."

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

"Hello?!" A voice echoed from the tunnel directly in front of them. It sounded like that of a little girl's voice. All their attackers were males in their late 20s and 30s. "HELLO!?!? SOMEONE?!?!" The voice echoed louder, the panic in her tone easy to identify.

"I need help! Please!"

 

[Foxes81_of_Anime]

Kota Mizuhara [#ff8a8a]​

---

He froze up when the howling started and the candles blew out, swallowing nervously and jumping when a magical barrier was cast around him, stepping backward for a second before finally registering what was happening, watching one of the others cast some sort of magic spell with a ball of light which lit up the whole tunnel, and finally, the odd attackers scattering into a trio of tunnels in front of them. After the barrier was dismissed, he stood there still, thinking. "Well...is it really safe to be with them? Or am I just going to get myself ki-" he was snapped out of his thoughts by the scream, jumping a little bit from the little girl's voice. He was still a little bit nervous, of course.

He looked towards the others, tilting his head a little bit as he watched to see what they would do. It could be a trap...but it also could be real.