september dungeon.

[citta]

SEPTEMBER DUNGEON

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→ 9/3 Lockdown

With the heat wave having calmed down, the nights are cool despite the warm summer days, quiet, save for the buzzing of insects and the murmurs of those wandering the streets late into the night. After a month of festivities, the town has gone into a peaceful respite— one that's broken at the stroke of midnight, the wind picking up and drowning out all other sound with howls that pierce the air as if the town itself were screaming. The sliver of moon in the sky offers barely enough light to act as a guide, but the winds are frigid and strong, drawing all that gets caught in the gust towards the heart of the town: the lake.

Some time after Lockdown begins, the Shadows start to emerge from the lake, the same blobs of inky black dragging themselves out onto the surface. These Shadows do not show their true form, intent on entering the town and scouring homes for... whatever they're searching for... Over the course of the month until the dungeon is cleared, a sickness seems to settle back over the town, complaints of chills and bouts of sleepiness culminating into lethargy so severe that people stop responding and cannot care for themselves, a familiar pattern of zombies and disappearances until the boss is dealt with.

Despite the winds, the surface of the lake remains eerily still, a perfect mirror reflecting your face until touched, reflection warped by ripples. Around the perimeter of the lake are the occasional posts staked into the ground with the written warning to stay away from the water, but during Lockdown, there are no townspeople to come rushing forward to shoo you away, so... will you take the risk and plunge into the depths, or turn around and leave?

→ 1st Floor

The lake is chilly when you first step into it, showing nothing past the surface but inky darkness during the night. But once your entire body is submerged, your vision suddenly clears up to reveal a brightly lit lake, the water lukewarm as if it were daytime and the sun is shining directly overhead.

The lake is as wide as ever, sides cut out with Minecraft-level blockiness, and at the bottom, a mere fifty feet below the surface, a dark hole has been cut out from the rest of the stone floor, just large enough for a single person to fit through. Sunken and scattered across the floor lie rusted excavators, drills, a bulldozer with its door shining a bright Velvet Room blue, shovels and pickaxes, swords and shields and battered pieces of armor, and the occasional skeleton that falls apart at the touch, flesh and ligament long since picked clean.

And then there are the Shadows.

IKU-TURSO
Type Shadow	Resists Physical, Dark	Weak Light
As if the poisonous waters weren't bad enough, these rotting Shadows carry a vile and toxic cloud of water wherever they go. Staying too close to them will result in swimmers becoming immediately posioned, causing them to feel severely nauseous and sick to their stomach. These Shadows reach out with their slimy webbed hands and drag any poisoned victims to the depths of the lake with the intent on burying them in the murky sands. If you don't die first from the poison, you'll suffocate from the sand instead. As a result, it's advised to attack these Shadows from afar or to avoid them outright, if you can. Poisonous slime and ragged horns can be collected as loot.

AMEMASU
Type Shadow	Resists Ice	Weak Light
Once you come across an Amemasu, your only option is to either defeat them or run away. These giantic creatures take up entire invisible hallways of the maze and can unhinge its jaw to swallow humans alive. In fact, that's mostly how it attacks; by eating whatever that gets in its path. Unfortunately for it and luckily for everyone else, this creature's sight is not very strong and can only detect moving objects. If you stay perfectly still in these waters, it may completely ignore you. Of course, you'd still have to figure out how to get around this hulking Shadow through the tight corridors of the maze, but surprise attacks will be easier to land, so long as it doesn't catch you moving first. Large scales that shine in the light can be collected as loot.

The Shadows glide through the water as if it were nothing more than air, but for everybody else, swimming in the lake is as slow and cumbersome as ever. Despite the unnatural stillness and clarity of the water, unseen currents flow all throughout the lake and can easily drag you off course if you're caught in them, and invisible walls are set up throughout the area like the most annoying maze in existence where you can't see anything. The walls and the currents confine the Shadows in predetermined routes, but the same goes for you if you try to navigate the maze, crossed paths unavoidable. The walls can be shattered, at the risk of the glass shards getting caught in the currents and slicing you and all your friends up in the process, but seem to be what redirects the currents in the first place.

The longer you stay in the water contemplating how to get down to the hole at the bottom of the lake, the sicker you start to feel; the townspeople were serious about their warnings, and the poison lingers even after you leave the water. Also, most of you can't breathe underwater and have a minute or however long your lung capacity allows. Haha. Good luck.

With a bit of patience, good luck is what comes on the morning of 9/4, when a passing crow swoops down and sets a polished aquamarine charm directly on each character's head. The charm is in the shape of a feather, thin and easily broken if you're not careful, but having it on your person allows you to breathe underwater so long as the charm is intact. Unfortunately, it comes with the downside of having a song stuck in your head, the same way you can't get rid of the music in the Velvet Room, until you're out of the water again. Maybe this is incentive enough to get to that hole as quickly as possible.

As of 10/28: The glass maze inside the lake has been shattered, although shards of glass still float within the water, and the currents have also stopped. During Lockdown, the first floor appears twice as large as the lake normally is, and outside of Lockdown, there is a huge rift spanning the floor of the lake.
As of 10/31: The lake has been purified, and swimming in the water no longer makes people feel sick.

→ 2nd Floor

After reaching the hole at the bottom of the lake and passing through a series of twists and turns, you're spat out onto solid ground and crisp fresh air, refreshing after the pressure of the water and the lingering poison. The ground is solid ice, and whether you kept your clothes on or stripped for the swim, you're in for a miserable time in these sub-zero temperatures unless you dry off quickly, bundle up, and find a way to warm yourself up. This floor doesn't offer much: every direction you look is an expanse of white, almost blinding in the way the sky and the ice share the same lack of color, a complete whiteout with no visible horizon, no borders or end to the world.

With the lack of traction on the smooth and slick ice, it's easy to fall and difficult to brake, unless the terrain is altered to make travel possible. The ice is thick, difficult but not impossible to break, but the temperature is so cold that attempts to melt the ice has the water quickly refreezing. You'll need to find a reliable way to get around, though, seeing as the emptiness is broken up by the Shadows that roam the area, congregated together at the center of this world.

ONIKUMA
Type Shadow	Resists Ice, Physical	Weak None
When you feel the ice shaking underneath your feet, an Onikuma is nearby. These Shadows walk upright on their hind legs and are the very defintion of tanks. They're incredibly strong and a single swipe from their enormous paws is enough to knock an average human out. With their thick fur and skin, they can take an insane amount of damage before they even fall. Without any apparent weaknesses, they are a force to be reckoned with. Luckily, they're solidtary creatures so groups will only have to fight them one at a time. When it's close to dying, it will let out an ear-piercing roar. All those who don't immediately cover their ears will fall under a debilitating rage spell and begin to lash out wildly at both friends and foes. Unlike normal rage ailments that eventually fade away, the only way to recover from this particular affliction is to use a status-healing spell/item (if you're lucky) or to simply knock out the affected person (if you're unlucky). Indescrutible claws can be collected as loot.

ARCTOS
Type Shadow	Resists Ice	Weak Fire
Unless you come across one that wears an Obon lantern around its neck, these wolf-like Shadows are difficult to spot without a keen eye. Their pure snow-white fur easily blends in with the white expanse of their surroundings and they move silently across the ice. If you don't pay close attention, you may find yourself surrounded by a pack. These creatures employ a series of ice-related attacks to freeze their prey in place and to single out the weakest links in a team. They never attack individually, choosing to group together on a single enemy with the hopes of overpowering them. Furthermore, their protruding fangs hold a powerful charm spell that can cause their victims to confuse these Shadows as their allies while perceiving their actual team members as the enemies. A single nick from their fangs is enough to do the trick and when they realize they're up against an opponent that they cannot defeat head-on, they resort to turning their enemies into their allies and attacking them when their backs are turned. Fangs with the ability cause charm and small round gems that heal any status ailment one time each can be collected as loot.

A closer look reveals them to be fighting one another, limbs and heads torn off to splatter black gunk onto the icy ground, only to reform as another Shadow to throw themselves into the fray all over again. Some of the Shadows are carrying lanterns— the same ones hung around town during Obon, with family names etched into the sides and in danger of being dashed into the ground or swallowed whole by the Shadows as they fight. For those who had hung their own lanterns, you might recognize the one for the friend or family of the departed, sent off to rest in this very lake— only to get no rest as they're fought over by the Shadows.

At the center of all things is another hole carved into the ground, where the mass of Shadows is the densest, the most violent, and the most prone to hit you with stray spells that mess with your mind and your vision, turning friend to foe with the illusion that those teammates standing beside you are now Shadows about to rip out your throat. Keep an eye on your friends, along with your enemies.

As of 10/28: Sleet rains constantly on this floor.

→ 3rd Floor

Jumping down through the ice pit, you fall into the darkness and eventually spat out again, this time onto dirt and fallen leaves. The air is blessedly warm and dry again, spots of sunlight filtering through the thick canopy above your head and illuminating the dirt path at your feet. A quick look around reveals the area to be the middle of a forest, with you standing on a wide path surrounded by trees packed together to form a loose wall. One end of the path has been overrun with bramble, the other direction clear.

Visible over the treetops above the blocked end are spires of a castle, and nothing is stopping you from stepping off the path and pushing your way through the bramble and the trees. Except for the razor-sharp leaves and blades of grass that can slice through fabric and skin at the lightest touch, and the thorns hidden in the undergrowth that make you itch like hell when you're pricked, causing your vision and your mind to go hazy in a matter of minutes. Setting the forest on fire will also release these toxins into the air, making you and everybody in the immediate area lethargic, mind numb and difficult to concentrate.

If you choose to continue along the open path instead, you'll get to enjoy a nice stroll for a couple of minutes before the peace is interrupted by a rumble in the background, the mountains behind you falling apart with a landslide racing towards the castle. If it reaches the castle before you do, the rocks are impossible to move or destroy, and you'll have to come back another night for the dungeon to reset and get a second chance. But you'll make it if you stick to the main path and ignore the handful of off-shoots temping people astray; either way, you'll have to make quick work of the Shadows, or find a way to contend with the forest itself to create your own path.

WARAJI
Type Shadow	Resists None	Weak Physical
These tiny creatures, standing only a few inches high, are more of a nusiance than anything else. They're less interested in fighting you and more interested in just making life really annoying. They come out from the bushes and run around wildly with their arms over their heads, hoping to trip anyone that gets in their path. They also reach out with their sharp chicken-like hands and claw at unsuspecting ankles before they retreat back into the bushes with glee in their single eyes. Unfortunately, trying to traverse through these bushes to get your revenge on these despicable minions will be near impossible as these bushes take on the same dangerous properties as the other living green life on this floor. However, if you're really that determined to get proper retribution, you can just wait until they come back, silently screeching like little demons, and simply step on them. They're incredibly weak and once you're not taken by surprise anymore, you can easily just kick them away. Loose pieces of straw rope can be collected as loot.

USHI-ONI
Type Shadow	Resists Dark, Light	Weak Fire
Similarly to the Onmoraki Shadows from the previous dungeon, these rotting Shadows can be smelled miles away before you even see them. Fortunately, they like to keep their distance so their smell is mitigated, but unfortunately, this exact same distance allows it to avoid being easily killed. It uses a wide range of magic-based attacks but primarily focuses on bless and curse skills. It uses one of the many talismans hanging off its body to throw at their enemies and to keep a wide space between itself and others. With its sharp claws, it easily climbs up the side of trees, resting just underneath the razor-sharp leaves, to further increase this distance. Fortunately, it can be easily killed by using a simple fire spell, but be careful not to burn down the tree as well. The fire will spread quickly and release those terrible toxins into the air. A tattered black cape and talismans that cause light bless or curse damage can be collected as loot.

At the end of the winding path stands the castle, a mirror image of Castle Ouma complete with a large black bear(?) snoozing in the middle of the room, the corner of a door cut into the stone floor and visible beneath its front paws. This bear(?) is a light sleeper, lifting its head the moment anybody crosses the threshold into the room and staring down the intruders with glowing, golden eyes. It seems uninterested in fighting, let alone moving, and any attacks on the bear are reflected and returned double, as the bear(?) turns into stone, immovable and indestructible no matter how hard you try to move or break it. Again, another way to screw you and everybody else over for the rest of the night, with the bear(?) shaking itself free of its stone prison by the following night. You'll have to get it to move somehow, if you want to get to that door.

As of 10/28: It will constantly raining on this floor, although the rainfall is light.

→ 4th Floor

Hot. Hot hot hot hot hot.

It's even worse than the heatwave of last month, this oppressive heat that makes breathing difficult and the ground shimmer with a heat haze that ripples across the entire floor with temping puddles of water that aren't there. You find yourself in a rural town like Hirajiro, with empty buildings and empty streets save for the Shadows that patrol through the streets. They're fewer in number than in the other floors, but are much larger than the rest, stronger than the rest, more dangerous, and give chase immediately when somebody crosses their line of sight, unrelenting until they either catch their prey and engage you in battle.

The ground buckles easily when you walk, steam escaping from the cracks as if the stone path were sitting on top of a pool of magma threatening to break apart and melt into the molten rock below. With the sky painted a deep orange-red but missing a sun to beat down on the world below, there is no shade cast from the buildings to offer reprieve from the heat. Along the lakefront, a dozen long, wooden storehouses line the perimeter, with piles of gold and precious metals visible through the open doors, each storehouse guarded by a pair of Shadows on high alert for the faintest sound or smallest movement, and a F.O.E. lurking within one of the buildings to deal with any intruders who slip past.

WRATH
Type Shadow	Absorbs Fire, Physical	Weak None
Underneath their semi-transparent skin, a hot fire burns within these hellish creatures and smoke seeps through openings of their exposed skulls. They gallop through the area, always on high alert and ready to charge at the slightest noise it hears. There are fewer of them in the main town, but they're far more prominent across the lakefront, guarding the storehouses and its treasures. Almost unsurprisingly, they use fire to dispel their enemies, breathing out hot flames. If you, for some godforsaken reason, choose to use fire right back at them, it will only heal them. Less surprisingly, if you also try to use any physical attacks, you'll find that they have no effect against them. For some reason, it only heals them as well. Perhaps they're masochists. Regardless, these Shadows aren't something that you want to fight. Their powerful legs make them fast persuaders and it'd be hard to lose them in a chase so it's best to just steer clear of these Shadows a keep your head low. Horns and sharp ribs can be collected as loot.

ELDRITCH
Type F.O.E.	Nulls Fire, Dark, Physical	Weak None
Lukcily, this singular F.O.E. can only be found if you were to venture into a particular storehouse. It sits silently in the air, waiting for any thieves to steal the treasure within, and when a foolish intruder enters, it locks the door to prevent any last-minute escapes. It's relentless in its curse-based attacks, leaving absolutely no room for a counter, and inflicts a powerful fear status ailment, causing the victim to suddenly become terrified of death. It will beat its victims to near-death before tossing them out of the dungeon, leaving them battered and injured, but hopefully smart enough not to reenter its domain...

And at the center of town, the lake has been drained, fire burning in a deep cavern filled with poisonous gas. Any wind used to blow away the gas only temporarily clears the area until more gas seeps out from the ground below, and serves to fan the flames that lick the rock all the way down to the bottom where a large slab of stone sits, much like the one at Castle Ouma. Instead of four slots, however, there are sixteen: a ring of eight small circles at the center, with a second ring of eight surrounding the first. Of the sixteen slots, ten have already been filled, in no particular order, with shining golden coins.

The toll to pass is six golden coins, and the boss awaits beyond.

As of 10/28: Heavy thunderstorms pour rain down on the floor, quelling some of the flames and especially at the cavern at the center of town, but while the humidity of the other floors have lessened, it remains 122°F/50°C with 100% humidity on this floor.

→ Mod Notes

⬥ There are multiple ways to deal with the dungeon, from clearing out the floors to make them more accessible, getting to the doors to the next floors, and obtaining the coins needed to face the boss. Players are encouraged to come up with their own solutions and may run their plans with the mods in the top level below to discuss results.
⬥ There is no scheduled IC/OOC date for when the boss battle with be posted. In order to access the boss, all six coins must be retrieved and reported to the mod top level below, after which the top level for the boss will go up. Sign-ups for teams is done below.
⬥ To determine the outcome of the boss battle, a minimum of 10 threads across the entire player base from this post is required, with a maximum of 2 threads turned in per player, containing at least 5 comments from you, and may not overlap with coin threads. Threads may involve battling, healing, exploring, discussing, etc as long as the characters interact with the dungeon in some way. Please report your threads in the mod top level below. They are due by the end of the month.
⬥ When knocked out in the dungeon, characters black out and wake up the next morning lying by the lake, fully soaked regardless of what floor they were on and will have chills for the rest of the day unless healed sooner.
⬥ Curing of poison can be hand-waved as provided by the Velvet Room attendants if the character visits them in the Velvet Room accessed from the first floor or outside the dungeon. They will be offered dokudami tea, which has a very pungent odor akin to fish but will cure them of poison, and a warm blanket. It seems like the music has changed since everybody was here last and everybody is required to sing the line "Every day young life Ju-ne-su!" before they're allowed to leave.
⬥ This month, the full moon occurs on 9/13-9/15, and Personas may behave strangely and disobey orders. This is an optional mechanic.
⬥ As of 10/28, floors in this dungeon see constant rainfall. As of 10/31, the lake has been purified and no longer poison people both during Lockdown and outside of it.

Comments

[trabryu]

[ Knowing that Terry knows what he's doing, Mondo obediently stays on his track when Terry stops him.

...Until he sees Terry coughing up blood. ]

Terry!!

[ To hell with the bear! He doesn't even think about how it's moved away from the door. Terry has been spilling a lot of blood since the first floor and Mondo is highly concerned - not completely aware of how bad his own state is yet. He dashes, but immediately loses his balance and falls, his whole body trembling while he tries to reach out for Terry. There wasn't anything that tripped him, nor triggered the fall. He just loses control to all his limbs all of the sudden, and he's having trouble just getting back up. He has to crawl to get closer to where Terry is, and even then it's extremely slow.

It's that moment when he realises he can't actually move his body the way he wants it. ]

...?

[ Terry's shoulder is just right there, and yet his hand can't seem to reach it. He tries again, and again. It just keeps grasping the air. The pigment of his skin, lips, and nails has turned bluish purple at this point, and he can barely see anything. The world feels like it's on a high-speed spin, that even if he closes his eyes it feels like he's going round and round. ]

Urp--

[ He can't hold it back anymore. He needs to throw up.

It's horrifying that he needs so much effort to even turn his head another way to refrain from vomitting on Terry. All that come out of him are dark mucus, mixed with darkened blood. Not that he can see it right now, but the strong vile smell tells everything. He coughs, trying to grasp Terry but misses again. He's getting frustrated. ]

Goddammit!!

[ His voice is hoarse and shaking. It sounds terrible, doubled up with his short, rapid breathing. Huge beads of sweat drip from his whole body, but he doesn't pay a mind to it. He needs to get Terry to Rei fast-- but before that, he needs to be sure Rei and Kido are safe. He gives up reaching out... he knows he won't be able to grasp the doorknob at his state. So, he puts the whole of his weight on the door by dropping himself to it, trying to break the door down. ]

[overstrain]

[ Terry's eyes go wide when he sees Mondo vomit all that and before he can say anything, Mondo falls through, the door revealing the next floor. ]

Mondo!!

[ He failed to grab him in time and immediately jumps in when he realizes that. The next floor is scorching hot--the heat that makes it very difficult to breathe. Terry has been here before, but he quickly pinpoints to where Rei and Kido are and then picks Mondo up. ]

Don't die on me, Mondo... you're tough, remember? You'll be okay. Stay strong. Don't... don't die.

[ Terry swallows, feeling desperation creep into his mind. Despite the poison trying to destroy his body from the inside out, Terry tries to stay standing. He needs to. He can't let anyone die here. Time is of the essence, so he immediately goes off to where Rei and Kido are while carrying Mondo and trying not to be detected by the Shadows. ]

[trabryu]

[ Mondo nearly passes out when he falls to the ground. He coughs on Terry's back, and tries to struggle off Terry's arm the moment he comes to. His body is weakening rapidly, but he's still larger than Terry after all - he's not gonna make it easy for Terry to go forward. ]

The... hell... who's... cough, dyin'... Don't... wheeze, don'cha treat me like a corpse...

[ Despite his quivering body, he manages to dislodge himself from Terry, dropping back to the ground. He's lost his vision completely at this point, but like hell he's gonna let himself being a dead weight. He knows, he knows that he's soon gonna lose all his capabilities, but he hasn't lost his pride and integrity. He hasn't lost his will to keep all three of them alive, even if it costs his life. ]

Keep goin'... Terry... Don'cha dare... look back.

[ He'll go with his own power, with his dying will. Whatever happens, he's not gonna let himself to be in the way. His senses collapse one by one, leaving him with his hearing. It was his strongest one, and is the only one he can rely on now. He'll keep going, even if he can't. On all fours, he crawls forward, using the sounds to navigate himself forward. He can no longer feel the scratches on his fingers and knees anymore, and it honestly helps, even if he slips from time to time due to the lack of strength in his arms.

It's strange how clear his mind is despite all. He's calm, like he's accepted everything. He summons Komainu then, to follow Terry wherever he goes. ]

[overstrain]

No.

[ Terry's becoming frantic, his mind kicking into overdrive. He immediately reaches out to pick Mondo up, but he's immediately interrupted by a flame being shot at his direction, but fortunately, Komainu took the brunt of it, since Shadows are still aggro'd onto Mondo. His leg is singed, and it's painful--but it's nothing that will hold him back. ]

No! I'm not leaving you behind! All these Shadows are focused on you! If I leave you behind, you'll be dead for sure! I... I'm not leaving you! I'm going to carry you, find Rei and Kido, and then get out of the dungeon as fast as I can--

[ Wrath, the horse Shadow, immediately shoots another stream of fire at them. It's not going to let them have this talk. ]

[trabryu]

[ Mondo might be physically down, but his mind isn't. With his fire resistance, Komainu takes some damage, but isn't as much as someone without the resistance will - he slaps the fire with his bulky tail, roaring at the Shadows like never before. Komainu has always been calm compared to the explosive Mondo, but not today. As if aware that this might as well be the last of it, he's burning in vigour and passion. That gives Mondo strength, too, even if it all might be just in his head. Mondo crawls a little faster, growling with all his strength. ]

Rrrrrrahhhh!!

[ Komainu launches Eiga at the Wrath, before throwing down Tetrakarn to Terry. They're still gonna fight till the end. ]

[overstrain]

[ Terry immediately summons Vassago for the assist and he roars, sending a Psiodyne at Wrath. It's backed with Psy Amp this time instead of boost, so it's stronger. The Psiodyne swirls around the Eiga and it hits Wrath at full force, making it dissipate. It's a wonder as to why Vassago is listening now, despite it being around full moon, and how Terry's internal struggles are rising off the charts. It doesn't seem all that concerned for Terry and Mondo though, and merely heals itself to full with Victory Cry after the battle. Terry feels none of those effects.

Terry picks up Mondo again, carrying him bridal style this time so that he doesn't keep moving his head while he runs. His singed leg makes no different in his speed, because he's carrying through it with his own willpower like he always does, despite his injuries. He doesn't want to slow down, but he eventually comes to a stop when he's a little distant from the warehouse, seeing that it's absolutely surrounded by Wraths as if they're guarding the place (they are). ]

What the fuck... I don't have time for this...

[trabryu]

[ Mondo struggles less now, mostly because he can't even if he wants to. His body steadily grows colder, despite the heat. The shivers return again, and without thinking he grasps on Terry's shirt, not for his dear life, but because he needs to grasp something hard, because gritting his teeth isn't enough. Even then his grip is weak, like one of a child's. He's got no power left in his everything. Heck, he can't even roll off Terry even if he tries. He's so frustrated, vexed beyond words can ever describe. The last thing he wants to is to impede Terry's movement. ]

GOddamMNit Terry!! [ His voice struggles to come out of his throat, hot tears against his cold skin begin to roll down his cheeks. He lifts his fist and tries to pound it on Terry's chest, but again, there's no power in it. ] Put mE down, ya fucKER!!

[ Komainu releases Deadly Fury, which one of the Wrath absorbs and it roars in victory because haha, you absolute fool. Easily, the Wrath kicks Komainu out of the way, and the lion-dog falls on his side. Mondo can't see what's going on, but he can hear it. And he knows it's gonna be over at this point. Komainu is of no more use, so is he.

He can no longer shout, so instead, he leans closer to Terry with what power he has left and whispers. ]

Terry... I beg ya... there ain't no time... put me down and save Kido and Rei... Please...

[overstrain]

I can carry you just fine! You're not heavy! I can lift a car if I wanted to! You're not a burden!!

[ Terry nearly screams and really, all the things Mondo says only makes him hold onto him tighter after shifting him around so that he's over his shoulder instead. Maybe he doesn't want to see his face right now. Maybe he doesn't want to face reality for what it could be in the near future.

Unfortunately, his yelling drew attention of all the Wraths in the vicinity and Vassago comes in to slaughter them with an onslaught of Psiodynes, even if he's continuously taking damage from the sheer numbers of the strong Shadows. ]

I want you alive with everyone else!!

[trabryu]

[ Just after what Terry said last to him, a loud ringing pierces his ears and then like a line that has been cut off, he no longer hears anything.

He was given twice, two extra times of chance in life. But in neither did he manage to protect his loved ones to the end. He left Ishimaru, Liv, Tsumiki, Jon, everyone behind, before even finding the way out of Wonderland. He wasn't able to help Ishimaru return to the future he deserves, nor was he able to send off Liv back to her home, where she belongs. Tsumiki... he wanted to keep her smiling, but all he made her was to cry, just like what he did to Ishimaru. He wasn't able to be there for Jon when he was having his hardest time, either.

When he came here, he resolved not to get involved to any of the people. And yet he easily gave in to the warmth everyone showed him, because he was selfish. He even had a chance to form a gang that aims to protect, not to destroy. A chance to have a family, that he has always wanted. He got to live all his dreams, all he wanted here. He's gotten so many moments of true happiness. And yet all he's done are failures after failures, mistakes after mistakes.

Ah... he doesn't want to die. He thought he was ready to die anytime because that was what he was supposed to be - dead. But not when he doesn't know if Rei and Kido are even safe. Even if Terry can't die, he can only imagine how much he's hurting right now. If only he learned from his mistakes... If only he trained harder in the dungeons... If only he's stronger... If only--

It's really cold.

His eyes are feeling really heavy right now.

Funny, he isn't supposed to be able to see anything. Is he regaining his sight now? It's still dark, but he can see two spotlights coming towards him from afar.

...A truck? This road... it's one that has always appeared in his dreams, every night after Daiya left the world. He knows this place. Maybe, this is another dream. Maybe he's just really tired and needed this nap, and he'll be back to fight alongside Terry again. If he just follows those lights, will he see what's beyond?

A loud screech, followed by blaring horn resounds in his ears, and his entire body hurts excruciatingly, like never before. It resembles the pain he felt in the Cage of Death, but ten times worse.

Haha, so this is it. It's the end, isn't it? Then at least, before dying in the most pathetic way once again, let him do just one thing. His head turns towards Terry's with what power he has left, and a quiet whisper leaves him with the last of his breath: ]

I'm sorry.

[ With that, the body on Terry's shoulder grows limp and heavy, so heavy that it feels like Terry is carrying a literal car.

It's over, Terry. You should give up on him. ]

[overstrain]

[ Terry has always been aware of human mortality. It's always been in his face ever since he was made--from the audio diary in the past, to the news he always heard in recent years, and the impending war that will wipe out most life on Earth in the future. However, as much as he was aware, he thought that he wouldn't have to face the death of someone he's close with dying so soon. The fear always lingered in the back of his mind--that's why he wanted to pull Jace into this world so that he could get away from the future war that would surely kill him. That's why Terry never hesitated to take the blow for anyone. Because yes, that would hurt, but not as much as humans who only live once, to have them pass away because he couldn't make the sacrifice of being their shield.

He breathes in.

Mondo's body feels cold on his shoulder even with the sweltering heat around him. Terry knows what happened after hearing Mondo's quiet "I'm sorry" and it's something he doesn't want to face. He wanted to try so hard to keep Mondo from dying, and yet.

Yet...

He doesn't realize that tears have been streaming down his face until one of them goes over his lips, in which he tastes the saltiness. Terry quickly wipes his face with his bandaged arm and stays still for a few more seconds, quiet as Vassago lets out a roar of anguish in the background, as if to scream in Terry's place. Despite how he's vastly outnumbered, Vassago only seems to get stronger with the number of Wraths he managed to kill.

If Terry's emotional state had been a delicate balance in comparison to a brass scale all month and a half, one side now completely outweighs the other, the other side having broken chains that will no longer hold anything up. He laughs a little at the ridiculousness of it all.

The night goes on. ]

[trabryu]

[ and then he melts in the extreme heat like butter ]