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TO Rewrite: B3 — 21. That I May Feast
🕑 Added 2024-12-03 23:52:05 +0000 UTCPoV:
1. Rachel Park (Our Lunar Hare!)
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Standing in the center of the Yin-Yang Chamber, Rachel shifted to gain a full view of the illuminated circle as the air buzzed with an almost suffocating tension. The three divine figures seemed to pulse with the rhythm, each one drawing her gaze.
The chamber itself was alive now, shimmering with a brightness that reflected the Divine figures it currently housed. Light refracted and spiraled in intricate patterns through the symbols etched into the floor and the celestial spheres above, each filament weaving between the figures and her.
Rachel’s liquid-blood eyes locked onto Selene. The moon goddess’ overwhelming and calming aura cycled through her in a way that none of the others had before, except perhaps Cerridwen when she’d faced Seed Scarlet—Selene’s was more potent, vibrating every atom within her.
The Personification’s crimson gown rippled like waves of blood that carried whispers of forgotten grief. She seemed to breathe in tandem with the crimson flow surging into her soul. But she didn’t flinch. Instead, she let the sensation wash over her, drawing strength from the storm within. Still, it only helped so much.
Rachel flexed her fingers, her tail flicked with restrained agitation as the Eldritch whispers crawled up to claw against her Core. “The tide shall rise, and with it, the drowned gods will walk again. What stirs beneath the waves shall cast shadows across the heavens to blot out the stars in perpetual tears…”
“Can we do something about those damn whispers?” she growled, her gaze shifting to Athena as the goddess took a seat on a chair, the white yang side of the circle below it. “All I hear is gibberish.”
The Goddess of Strategy folded her hands in her lap, her armor gleaming with celestial light that fractured into golden streaks across the chamber as she took a thoughtful posture, glancing toward Nike and Selene as similar chairs came into being.
“It truly is the [Curse of the Wise] to understand the depths of the whispers of creatures that can peer beyond logic and reason to what lies below its foundation… It would be wise to not disregard their words. If I could hear them, I would certainly pay them mind.”
Rachel’s brow knitted together, a shiver running down her spine as the manic laughter returned. “Misfortune binds the threads, twisting fate into a labyrinth of despair. Hunter, you are prey; dancer, you are string. Watch the marionette collapse in the end…”
“It just sounds like it’s making fun of me,” she huffed, watching Athena cross one leg over the other and gestured toward the other two women to sit with calculated elegance. “I thought we didn’t have much time.”
“Indeed, we do not have much time to discuss everything I would like,” the 6th-dimensional goddess returned with a rather light twinkle in her eye. “However, much can go unsaid. All of us have our reasons for where this will lead. You can puzzle them out later, Rachel. For now…”
She motioned toward the center chair, an obsidian black. “Take your seat, and call your Living Denier to join us. Trust me, the Sultan is far too preoccupied preparing a defense for his city at this point. As for how Selene and I are able to be here,” she smiled at her, a knowing look that said only important subjects would be touched on. “The only reason we’re able to appear like this at all is due to the corrupted Fable Realm and the Eldritch Seed you released within it interacting. Not something I anticipated, mind you. You are quite the anomaly.”
Rachel’s jaw tightened, her gaze briefly flicking to Nia, who hovered at the edge of the circle now—she’d been listening. Yet, all sound momentarily died, bringing with it a buzz that tickled her brain with a high-pitched cry.
“The Leviathan dreams beyond chains unseen. Her breath shall poison the winds; Her maw shall swallow The Black Sun and return the Blood Throne to power. The ocean maelstrom is but tears of what it has lost, and it shall find them again…”
Oh, so Selvaria is going to swallow a black sun? Sure…
Athena continued, not hearing the whispers as she did due to her connection to the Black Moon. The goddess leaned forward slightly. “This Corrupted Fable Seed changes everything, Rachel.”
“How so?” she sighed, nodding toward Nike as the grinning Personification of Victory waved at her. “The Scarlet Hand were the ones who mutated the Seeds. So I’m not all that surprised they’re corrupt.”
The woman tilted her head to the side. “It’s not merely a gateway to corruption—it’s a puppeteer. The Dark Djinn is nothing more than its instrument, a shell for the entity within the Core of this Fable Realm. What lies there…is the true horror all Fablekin must face at the end.”
Rachel’s fist clenched against the chair as she sat; that once piece of information tugged multiple threads of misfortune tugging at her, pulling her toward something she didn’t fully understand. Shit… What is wrong with my senses? Ever since Nam was… I can’t tell what is good or bad for me. Who is behind this?!
Her voice came out cold and even as she refocused. “From the start, I knew someone was trying to pull me around. I just didn’t have enough to go on and needed some direction to take that could provide answers. This was the best path I could see under the Moon of Greater Abundance. Whoever’s pulling the strings knows I’m not holding back and is trying to direct me in my pursuit toward them… They may even want me to find them.”
Athena’s lips curved into a faint smile, approval glinting in her piercing gaze. “I knew my support filling in with [Strategic Mind] wasn’t wasted on you. Don’t think you haven’t done well thrashing about until something gives. Mortals are uniquely suited to making moves where we gods are bound. The threads that hold you also bind us…but you’ve found a way to loosen them where we have failed. That also tells me quite a bit.”
Selene’s voice cut through the chamber like a soft sigh carried on a cold wind. “Limpid Hare of Misfortune…you tread on dangerous ground. The Blood Moon burns brightly within you, yet it cannot contain the chaos you invite. I cannot. That being said, I can create a cage, a construct to bind your buns and their primal energy—but you must accept the cost.”
The air seemed to grow heavier as Rachel swiftly pieced together the steps Selene had skipped in the conversation, drawing her gaze to the bright, lunar-filled heavens. Nia’s widening eyes implied she’d also caught on.
“You…want me to create Unique Bun Soldiers?” Nia mumbled, shaking her head. “There’s no way I can control them at this stage. In perfect balance, I can hardly keep the Event Moon Buns from ripping each other apart.”
Selene’s pale eyes didn’t shift to her outfit, her somber gaze pierced into Rachel. “Burn through your Lunar Pools. Empty them entirely. Only then will balance be restored, and only then can you wield what lies ahead without succumbing…with True Neutrality at its center.”
Nike stepped forward, taking her seat in the dark circle within the white side of the yin-yang. Her presence radiated triumphant grin, her white hair catching the glowing light like silver threads of fate. She grinned, her confidence infectious as she interpreted.
“Victory through chaos, Rachel. That’s the game here.”
“Major?” Nia asked, eyes wide and looking for support that this was impossible.
Yet, Rachel’s lips curved upward as the pieces started to fall into place. Naturally, the three godly women were on the same page at this point and that meant Nike saw victory in it. There were a few details missing but she saw the vague outline of Athena’s plot.
“You know we don’t play safe, Nia,” she chuckled, a shiver running up her spine to her ears. “If risk is the only way to keep them guessing, I’m down to take that route. So let’s break every thread they’re trying to wrap around us… Something huge is at play here that I couldn’t see due to the force of Conquest beyond the portal and invisible thread moving in the background… I have to push beyond my limits, which means doing the impossible.”
Nike’s countenance grew brighter, her stubby, recovering wings fluttering slightly. “You’ve brought us to this edge, Rachel. Now I have to ask again—are you willing to burn everything? Every ounce of Divine and Infernal Force you’ve gathered to this point—your safety net—all for a chance to achieve your goal here?”
The air in the chamber thickened as Rachel exhaled sharply, her breath merging with the ambient energy that seemed to pulse with anticipation. She leaned back in her chair, letting her fingers drum against its armrest. Her tail flicked sharply behind her, a subtle release of tension she wouldn’t let settle in her shoulders.
“Commitment’s never an issue with me.” She inhaled sharply, letting the raw energy of the chamber fill her lungs and restrained a quake that ran through her soul. “If someone takes a shot at my family, they get everything I have… I get the feeling they’re inviting it. I’m not one to disappoint. You want me to use the Black Moon?”
Nia’s body went stiff as a board. “Wait, but we don’t know how that will respond with…whatever happened to Cerridwen. What if this is exactly what those Eldritch fiends want? You dismantled their operation in Elizabeth’s Greater Seed, so couldn’t this be retaliation? They do operate on a completely different perception of time.”
Nike adjusted her posture as the three hellhound teens shifted uncomfortably beside her, glancing toward Athena with slight mistrust. “Don’t worry, Nia. I’ll make sure you both don’t burn out before this job’s done. But…you’re not wrong. And the Scarlet Hand does have its hooks inside the creation of these Fable Seeds, which is…troubling, to say the least.”
Her brow set, becoming more serious as she turned to the frowning bun. “This Eldritch Force Rachel released isn’t playing by our rules. Someone or something has pushed Rachel into its court, and if we want to win, we’ll have to meet it on its level to…”
The sounds of chaos muted everything and rolled through her once again, like the whisper of a torch against her ears. “Karma coils in endless circles, devouring itself. Misfortune lies in wait, a serpent in its own shadow. Beware, for even you cannot escape your reflection.”
Athena clapped her hands together, the sound echoing like a distant war drum and pulling their eyes to the thoughtful goddess, her tone contemplative yet edged with suspicion.
“You’re correct, Nike, the Scarlet Hand’s tampering with the Seeds is no accident. The corruption we’re seeing here—the puppeteering of the Dark Djinn—suggests a far deeper manipulation. This is not merely a mutation; this Seed was created to amplify and weaponize its influence… I’m sure of it. White, as Nike informed me, is the leader who managed to cut her organization away from them. Yet, the Scarlet Hand hasn’t gone after them…because they do not need to.”
Rachel’s fingers curled against the armrest, her ears twitching as the whispers twisted through her thoughts. “You’re saying this Seed wasn’t corrupted by outside forces…but was designed to fail? I can see that,” she reasoned, peering back at the unsettling thought and what she’d learned about Fable. “White possibly learned the truth of it and is trying to fight against it. The question is if someone exploited that or Adele is secretly pulling the strings to force this to happen… If she knows Astra is compromised.”
Athena’s lips pressed into a thin line, her voice sharpening. “Exactly. This Corrupted Seed you released doesn’t just erode its host, by the way—it controls it, molding the Fable Realm itself into a tool.”
Nia dropped into the chair over the dark half of the circle with a scowl. “So, Ali Baba is basically done for? The Eldritch fiend at the center of his realm is corrupting him as we speak? Well, that puts a bitter taste in my mouth after hearing Morgiana’s story. Oh—speak of the devil…”
Rachel sat straighter, this time listening intently.
“Threads woven in shadow, not light—hands unseen, yet their pull is felt, drawing the hare ever closer to her own snare. You know her. You hate her. You follow her… She whispers sweet lullabies of choice, a lie spun from the loom of inevitability. The designer, the sculptor of paths unchosen, not a guide, but a weaver who wraps her prey in gilded chains… Name her and strip her power.”
Name who… Damn you! Twilight? True Scarlet? Revilla? Who?!
Shifting uncomfortably at the tempting snickers from beyond the void, Rachel tried to refocus on the Goddess of Strategy. “The Scarlet Hand’s role in the creation of Fablekin in accordance with their dead deity beyond the 7th Veil raises far more questions than answers. If the Dark Djinn is merely a puppet of such forces, then, at the very least, we know the person or faction that targeted your brother wanted this… But for what end?”
Rachel’s jaw tightened, her tail flicking with agitation as her mind raced to connect the pieces. “They’re not just experimenting—they’re setting the stage, perhaps. Could…someone be using these Seeds to bend reality and twist it into something they can control…to bypass Scarlet’s dimensional wall?”
Athena nodded, her storm-gray eyes gleaming with calculated intensity. “What lies at the heart of their design is not mere corruption—it’s subjugation. They want to harness the Eldritch influence, be it the Scarlet Hand or someone else who hijacked it, not just release it.”
A low growl rumbled in Rachel’s throat as she processed the implications. “I keep hearing the Eldritch whispers saying basically the same… Something bigger is moving in the background.”
Nike’s grin turned razor-sharp, her wings flicking slightly as she leaned forward. “Now you’re asking the right questions, Rachel. The Scarlet Hand isn’t the endgame—they’re just another player on the board. But to figure out who’s holding the leash, you’ll have to cut through every chain they’ve wrapped around this Fable Realm.”
Selene’s voice cut through the mounting tension, her calm presence grounding the room. “This is why balance is necessary, Limpid Hare of Misfortune. The chaos you face is not just external—it flows through you, as it does through the Seeds. Burn through your Lunar Pools, and we will cage the wild energy. Only then can you push past these barriers and glimpse the web beyond.”
Rachel’s gaze flicked between the three higher beings, their cryptic expressions unreadable yet united in their silent agreement. Her grip on the armrest tightened, her tail stilling as she weighed the risk. She exhaled slowly, her breath merging with the charged atmosphere of the chamber.
Dealing with these colossal forces is such a headache… If I do this, I want to deliver a real blow that will make them back off for a while.
“Fine. Let’s burn it all. But if I’m cutting through their chains,” she said, her voice low and steady, “you’d better be ready to pick up the pieces where I can’t reach. I don’t need them coming back at me anytime soon with how much I’m dealing with on Earth.”
Athena’s faint smile returned. “Trust us, Rachel. While you clear the way, we’ll be watching—ready to strike where it matters most. There are connections on our side that we can target and disrupt. We merely need to find them.”
Rachel’s fingers curled into the armrest, her nails digging into its surface. The implications clicked into place as she turned her head toward Nike. “What about you? Obviously, I can only do this due to you quickening my soul. If this burns you out…”
Nike showed mild surprise, her chest shaking with quiet laughter. “How unusual you are, Rachel. Utterly devoid of emotion and sympathy for those she faces yet having such compassion for those around her that it defies logic… I am still bound to you. This will drain me and force me into slumber again, but it will be temporary.”
She gestured toward the chairs around them. “I have to act as a stabilizing force, the same as the others, but it is by my connection to you that allows their power to run through you. The Yin inside your Yang to pull you back. You are Neutrality in motion, and I the Positive tether…much like the others will be acting as.”
Rachel’s gaze drifted to the sole empty chair over the pure black section of the circle, the pieces falling into place. She slowly exhaled through her nose, her tail flicking against the back of hers again as she met Athena’s gleaming eyes—stormy and calculating, like a night sky pierced by lightning.
“I am not channeling any energy but the Black Moon… Nia has to channel the Yomi Hell Moon, doesn’t she?”
Nia’s ears fell forward, a scowl on her face. “That means…I won’t be able to help you.”
“And you’ll need our help with that, Short Ears,” Thalia mumbled from beside Nike, the blue-flaming haired teen grunting beside her two sisters. “I guess Lord Hades would be in favor of a plot made by Lady Athena…but this is stretching the agreement we were bound by.”
Selene’s tranquil voice flowed through the chamber like a lullaby carried on a winter breeze. “Lady Athena is very familiar with devil contracts, as I am sure you are aware. It is within the letters fused with your souls. And I will occupy the Yang inside the Yin. Together, we will balance the extremes of force of all sides into the Black Moon, binding what is unstable and guiding what is wild to your will, Rachel.”
Athena’s voice was steady, her tone carrying the weight of inevitability. “All your moons will be burned in this process, Rachel… Including the Event and Normal. This is not merely about power—it is about sight. You will sit in the center, as you’ve gathered, wielding the Black Moon, while Nia channels Yomi’s Infernal Force from the Yin chair. However, the balance will ultimately rely on you to not be overwhelmed.”
Rachel’s lips pressed into a thin line as she tilted her head back to study the celestial patterns swirling above. “Even the Event and Normal, huh?” she muttered under her breath, the thought heavy until she remembered the charred visage of her brother’s face. “Fine. But if this goes sideways, I hope you three have a backup plan.”
Athena’s lips curled faintly. “You are the backup plan, Rachel. But before we proceed…” Her eyes sparkled with mythological depth, sharp and knowing, as her tone shifted toward Nia. “Create the buns.”
Nia stiffened, a visible shudder rippling through her body. “Okay, look. You say that, but I can’t. There’s no way we can control them at this stage!” she protested, her voice rising. “They’ll rip the Major and my souls apart—literally. Explain it again.”
The three Cerberus pups glanced at each other before moving to stand beside Nia, making the bun’s vision narrow as they waited expectantly for their turn. Their youthful forms belied the power crackling around the Marchioness’ of Hell, each one emanating a fierce energy as they closed ranks beside her.
Selene remained serene, her hands folded in her lap as her pale gaze met Nia’s. “I will devise a cage to contain them until control is possible. This process will provide a way to convert Normal Lunar Energy into Unique in the future for those moons, including me. Do not fear what is necessary.”
Rachel leaned forward, her eyes narrowing on Nia as she assessed her partner’s tension. “You’re not scared, are you, Nia? We’ve done the impossible before. This is just another step.”
Nia swallowed, her shoulders straightening as she steadied herself. “I’m not scared, Major. I just…” She trailed off, her gaze darting to the pups, now encircling her like protective sentinels. “Maybe I am a little. It’s not just their power but their influence on the other buns. But… Let’s do it if the Blood Moon says she’ll handle it, I guess.”
Nike tilted her head, her grin softening as her gaze locked on Rachel. “Once you do this, Rachel, you’ll shatter the fourth dimension—if only for a short time. That will let you enter The Dream, where you will see things even we can’t—pathways to realms beyond. But I want to be sure you’re okay with this… You won’t have any of the moons you’ve relied on for the Crystal. This is all or nothing, and that…could be disastrous.”
Rachel’s tail stilled mid-flick, her crimson gaze shifting to the shadow of the Black Moon looming in the celestial sky above. Her lips twitched into a faint smirk as she felt her misfortune steady for the first time since this fiasco began.
“Actually, I think that could be a good thing. I couldn’t rely on misfortune this time to guide me, which means I need to adapt and get stronger,” she mumbled, feeling the slightest tug in her direction. “Something’s interfering…but not enough. And obviously, none of you can give me all the answers, or you wouldn’t be suggesting this.”
Her gaze fell back to the divine figures, studying their expressions. “That means the source of all this is beyond the seventh dimension, doesn’t it? You all know it.”
The three goddesses exchanged a subtle glance, their silence speaking volumes as faint, enigmatic smiles curved their lips. A chill ran down Rachel’s spine, her tail giving a slight quiver. “Oh, shut up!” she laughed, reading between the lines. “You’re all excited to finally get answers as much as I am… Go figure.”
Rachel straightened in her seat, her fingers moving to her lap. “Fine. Let’s get creative, then. Break every thread trying to tie us down. I’ll burn every lunar ray I have if that’s what it takes… All in. What will it take Nia?”
“Bunny foot,” Nia mumbled in a curse, ears twitching as her gaze darted between the divine women before settling on her. “I guess we’re doing it. Full reset. For three buns?” She hesitated, a faint tremor running through her.
“Every Synchro Point I’ve gained from leveling up. And if we’re going to make cages for Unique Buns, we could try bonding them through a Feat—something to slowly bring them into alignment with us. If that’s the direction we want to take. It’d take time but it might make future Unique Moons possible… We might need to get an exchange Feat down the line, though, in order to swap out Moon Buns to make it more manageable.”
“Sharp thinking… I like the idea,” she nodded. “How long would you think the bonding process will take?” Rachel pressed. The gravity of the moment allowed no room for uncertainty and by Athena’s glance at Selene, they were running out of time.
Nia exhaled, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m not a fortune teller, Major. But it’d need Style Points to strengthen the bond—maybe three for the three buns? That’d leave us with three Points and one Feat Point to spare.”
Athena’s calm voice cut in. “The cages themselves would need to be part of you, Rachel. That last Feat Point would be necessary for that.”
Rachel didn’t need time to think. Her lips thinned into a determined line as her tail stilled. “Do it.”
The decision settled over the chamber like the snap of a lock. Rachel’s gaze dropped to her Stats as her window came up, her mind calculating. “What about my Points? Should I use them now or wait until I’ve leveled up more? I’ve been saving them for Level 20. If I’m going to channel the Black Moon directly, though, my soul might be malleable enough to handle pushing beyond my limits to reach that point.”
The divine figures exchanged glances before Athena answered, her storm-gray eyes gleaming with a quiet intensity. “There are many unknowns. Channeling the Black Moon will affect you in ways we cannot fully predict.
“What it will do, however, is grant insight beyond your current understanding—an opportunity to gather invaluable information for us all: Izanami, Hades, Eostre, Persephone, Chang’e. Your soul has already adapted to the Black Moon twice—once under Cerridwen’s direct stewardship.
“Now, with her power untethered after her abduction, this is our best chance to pierce the veil.” Athena’s tone hardened, her words an anchor in the rising storm. “Make no mistake: this is a risk, likely a trap. But it is one we must spring in order to shake off any and all manipulations beyond our current sight and control.”
Rachel’s jaw tightened. Her fingers gripped the chair’s armrest as she processed Athena’s words. Divine Chaotic uniting into Infernal Order. Infernal Positive Force combining with Divine Negative Force. Not just a fusion—a damn collision. Totally incompatible spectrums being brought together under the True Neutrality of the Black Moon… Is that what Cerridwen did when I fought Seed Scarlet? Well, whatever I see this time, it’s sticking. No haze, no cracks—just focus.
“Let’s start,” Rachel said, her voice cutting through the air like steel.
The chamber brightened. Celestial spheres overhead flared with radiant light as the circle beneath them began to spin. Energy rippled outward, carrying a force that pressed against Rachel’s chest like a gathering storm.
[Divine and Infernal Unity: Started]
Nia sat in her chair, her movements hesitant but resolute as Thalia and her sister’s placed their hands over her head, forcing her ears down slightly. Her hair darkened from its blood-red hue to a deep black, streaked with ruby.
Rachel lifted her head, spotting every moon pulse, Yomi oozing out its corruption as the transformation spread through Nia into her like ink dropped in crystal clear water. A single horn sprouted from the bun’s head, obsidian flames licking at its base as crimson electricity sparked across her form. Her eyes shifted—her pupils narrowing into the cruel taint of Hell that crept into intense red slits, surrounded by swirling black clovers, radiating demonic power.
Rachel gritted her teeth, watching as Nia trembled under the infusion of Yomi’s energy independent of her. “Nia…”
[Lunar Hell Hare - Yomi: Active]
“I’m fine, Major,” she replied through a dark chuckle. “I forgot how liberating…Hell feels.” The air around her warped, shimmering with the heat of Yomi’s flames as Athena and Selene guided their own flow of power into her. “I feel her on Earth.”
Brow furrowing, Rachel tilted her head to watch the spiraling forces inside the yin-yang coiling nearer in the loop to reach her. “Who?”
“Yseress… She feels us…”
Then it hit Rachel. A pressure unlike anything she had felt before, her body trembling as bloody streaks of light began to seep into her form. Her bound hair darkened to jet black, streaks of red, glimmering white, and gold weaving through it like veins of molten metal. The weight of the moons bore down on her, each one a fragment of power forcing its way into her soul. Her skin tingled with a fiery cold, and her breath came in sharp, ragged gasps.
Still inside her blonde model-like form, Yseress’ face flashed across her vision, hovering over the Eiffel Tower, a curious tug moving her lips as her words somehow reached her through the black flames.
“Lady Izanami may have been right about you… To ascend to such power and bridge so many. Hmm. Perhaps I should keep an eye on you and your little Hades pups. Well, I better run before you grow stronger than me. Have fun, children.”
[Divine and Infernal Unity: Achieved]
[Lunar Hell Hare - Yomi (Unrestricted): In-Progress]
The vision gradually faded, and at first, it felt as though she were swelling beyond her limits, her soul straining against the growing power like an overfilled balloon. The tension built, threatening to shatter her entirely. Then, it happened—a crack, like ice fracturing under immense pressure. A sharp, searing pain shot through her, and she screamed, her voice lost in the roar of the celestial storm.
[Black Moon (Unrestricted): In-Progress]
[Curse of the Wise: Active]
[Horror of the Dream Adaptation X (Unrestricted)]
[Entity of the Nightmare X (Unrestricted)]
[Soul Adaptation: In-Progress]
[Fright of the Greater Harvest Moon (Unrestricted): In-Progress
[Flower of the Crimson Corruption (Unrestricted): In-Progress]
[Curse of Ambrogio (Unrestricted): In-Progress]
Her vision blurred as folds within her soul curved inward, collapsing into a singularity—a void that devoured the overwhelming energy—the spiraling maw of the Black Moon taking the place of the yin-yang below her. A maelstrom spinning faster and faster until the pressure began to stabilize. In her lap, a jet-black bun emerged, its form absorbing the light around it, pulling in everything like a living black hole, emanating violet shadows.
Rachel’s mouth branched outward into a monstrous, jagged grin as abruptly, the entity at the heart of the Fable Realm responded, sharp and threatening, unseen claws reaching for her:
“Ah, a fledgling shadow in the vast expanse, born from the Marrow of Despair. You dare rise within my domain, a wretch born of fractured light and twisted hope. You would craft a feast from the echoes of dreams, would you? Foolish spawn of emptiness, you forget: despair is not yours to harvest alone. The void hungers endlessly, and my reach is eternal.”
From her, Rachel heard a giggle, from the rift in reality wiggling in her lap—a gentle hum that pulsed to meet the opposite Eldritch power:
“And yet, you speak, oh ancient glutton of ruin. You name yourself The Devourer… The Corruptor of Sands, yet you tremble at the thought of a flame too wild to extinguish. You mock our shadow while fearing its creep into your decayed throne.”
“Your nightmare cannot devour where our hands cast the deeper darkness. Your Black Moon trembles at the sight of true obliteration—know this, wretch: hope is but the beginning of suffering, and suffering is our throne. Should you cross our shadow, we will consume you whole, and your whispered lies will be but fading screams beneath our tide of silence.”
Rachel’s skin rippled like water, shifting with the darkness in her lap as it yawned. “You forget, Old One: I do not destroy as you do—I unravel. I twist the roots of belief into ropes to strangle their own bearers. I do not drown the flame; I let it burn brighter, hotter…hungrier, until it consumes itself, until all that remains is ash. Our feast is delicate where your chaos thrashes.”
The sands beneath rippled with indignation and mirth, drawing out Rachel’s snickers as the claws flexed around her:
“Bold words for a child adrift in the abyss. You presume to twist the roots of belief? To feed on the marrow of hope and despair alike? You are naught but a fleeting ripple upon the vast tides I command.
“Delicate, you say? Delicate is the fracturing of a single star. Delicate is the fleeting gasp of a dying god. But the void is not delicate—it is ravenous. It does not twist, it rends. It does not whisper, it silences. You unravel? I am the Weaver of Nothingness, the force that binds and unbinds creation itself.
“Step carefully, whelp, for your precious moon is but a reflection of our Greater Night. Your whispers of hunger are feeble cries against the roar of our dominion. Cross me, and I will teach you the true meaning of despair. I will make you an echo of an echo, a shadow that even The Forgotten will not remember.”
“Ah,” Rachel responded in tandem with her voidling, “but echoes linger, do they not, Old One? Shadows seep into cracks too small for the roaring tide to touch. And you…you speak of your dominion as if it remains unchallenged, as if the threads of your night do not fray with time…or the fleetings of fantasy.
“Do you not hear it, Ancient One? The faint creak of the chains you forged, the groan of a vastness you could never truly master? Your reign is brittle. Your suffering a monument to your failure. And your silence… Oh, how it trembles beneath the crescendo of Neil’scera’s rise. Can you hear The Song’s call from its endless halls? We awaken.
“Dare not threaten me, for your throne of suffering will bow to our endless eclipse. Step into our shadow, if you will, and let us see whose hunger is greater, whose whispers reach deeper. You speak of eternity, yet…eternity is but the beginning of our ascension.”
As the whisper fades, a chilling laugh lingers, echoing like the creak of ancient chains, promising the endlessness of a nightmare where hope is devoured, and all light is extinguished.
Bloody streams of energy flowed from Selene, weaving through the air like liquid moonlight before converging on the buns. The crimson lines expanded into intricate cages that pulsed with the rhythm of Rachel’s morphing soul, drawing the buns into a deep, trembling slumber. Yet, the whispers in her Core remained, drawing, lulling, guiding her to a world of mirrors.
Athena’s voice rang clear above the chaos. “The process has begun. Your journey through the veils is underway… It cannot be stopped.”
Rachel’s eyes snapped open, her vision fracturing like shards of stained glass. The chamber flickered around her, shifting between reality, a dreamscape, and a yawning void of nihility. Her body remained bound to the chair, yet her soul felt as though it were stretching, pulled between dimensions. A deep hum resonated through her, low and haunting—a melody that vibrated in her bones.
Then she heard it: The Song. A haunting, alien tune that wrapped around her mind like silken threads, pulling her focus to a single, distant point. The name came unbidden to her lips. “Neil’scera… The City of Eternal Reflections.”
It was only the First Gate—she knew it was not the end but the beginning—and she had yet to even set eyes on it. The vibrations coursing through her intensified, threatening to consume her, but she didn’t falter. Her soul dipped deeper into the maelstrom, the fracturing pain now a dull ache that sharpened her focus.
Rachel stepped out of her awakening soul to stand before the Sultan, her body in constant flux. Soon, the Black Hare would take shape, the fur would trickle out of her. For now, her sight wasn’t on Neil’scera, but the rising tide of twisted scarab-like fiends that answered the Dark Djinn’s call.
The Sultan’s narrowed eyes lifted to the sky, rifts forming to radiate all seven moons within her Lunar Pools. “I take it that this is your answer to face what is to come?”
Summoning her hammer, Rachel slung it over her shoulder. Her lips curved into a jagged grin, her voice laced with a dark resonance that rippled through the air, distorting the very fabric of reality. “My answer?” she echoed, her tone a twisted melody of power and promise. “Oh, Sultan, I am far beyond answering now.”
The air around her thickened, trembling under the weight of the Eldritch energy that radiated from her Core, powered by all Divinity and Infernal spectrums. Invisible waves pulsed outward, carrying the echoes of her unraveling soul.
The scarab-like fiends recoiled, their insectoid bodies shuddering as if the vibrations alone threatened to dismantle their existence. Chittering panic spread through their ranks, some breaking formation, others collapsing as the unnatural hum of Rachel’s presence seeped into their hive mind, fraying its threads.
Her liquid-blood eyes rotating with a void at their center locked onto the Sultan. “You finish your barrier,” she stated, her voice cutting through the growing cacophony of buzzing vermin. “Seal your city. I’ll deal with the first wave before the ancient seals break free… It appears he has turned the ancient guardians meant to keep him in check into his slaves. How fun.”
The rifts above widened, leaking the unnatural light of her seven moons into the battlefield. Each one flared with energy, their hues swirling together in a chaotic symphony that mirrored her own unstable transformation. Rachel’s shadow stretched unnaturally long, tendrils of darkness writhing and twisting around her—alive, eager to answer her call.
Her grin widened, exposing sharp teeth as she took a deliberate step forward, her Eldritch presence thickening the air into a suffocating miasma. The ground beneath her feet cracked, blackened veins spreading outward in jagged lines as molten light seeped through from Hell, Yomi’s influence filtering through. The scarabs scrambled, their once-unstoppable tide faltering as her aura consumed the space between them.
She tilted her head, her voice dropping to a chilling murmur that carried like a whisper into the heart of the enemy swarm, the fable people, and her own allies. “This land…will soon be molten glass; so be quick, Sultan. Let them crawl to me—I will become the things that the abyssal fear.”
The air vibrated with her final word, the ominous hum of her growing power resonating like a death knell. The fiends hesitated, their alien instincts screaming to retreat, yet the Sultan remained silent, his narrowed eyes watching the scene unfold with a grim understanding at what she’d tapped into.
“I’ll leave it to you… I hope that darkness can save you from what will come from above.”
As he turned to complete the barrier, Rachel stepped into dimensional lines, her jagged silhouette splitting the horizon like a crack in the fabric of reality. The trembling sands and fissures ran through the land, the ancient machines around and within the planet awakening, not to stop the djinn, but to join him. She caught sight of Grace and the others—they would play their part soon enough.
“Come, Dark Djinn…” she sang as the Black Moon at the center of the rift above began to draw in the scarabs. “Bring me your hopes so that I may feast.”
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Comments
Opala
🌑🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒🌑 That's a lot of moons at the same time. Also, looking forward to the others reaction to all of this, including the initial blood moon shenanigans.
SME
I plan on doing it lol
Andy
And this all happened in a matter of seconds? Damn can't wait to see the other's view on what occurred if there is one. Lol
