ᴇᴍʙᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴅʏɪɴɢ ꜱᴋʏ | ᴛᴇɴᴢᴀɪ & ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇ ᴅɪᴇᴍ

[Tenzai]

ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ ᴄᴀɴ ɢᴏ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ.
- ᴍᴀʀɪᴀ ʀᴏʙɪɴꜱᴏɴ
──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──

✦ ── ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ɪꜱ ɪᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʏᴏᴜ? | ʟᴏᴀᴛʜᴇ & ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴛᴏᴋᴇɴ ── ✦
↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺

Let's search the skies for a while
You and I
Collide like two stars for a while
You and I
──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──
Battlefields. The final resting place for those unfortunate enough to have been born in this era of war.​

"Any final prayers you wish to make, August. This might be the last time we see her." The last living witch of Autumn stood alongside her two sisters in front of one grave among many. It was no less a mound, only recognizable as their companion's final resting place thanks to the torn scarf hanging from a branch implanted in the ground. There was nothing else they could use around that was more befitting of a headstone for their fallen family. Given the scale of the devastation around them and their deceased's distaste for war, August refused to use anything that was once a part of a weapon or war machine. "Not much point now. There's nothing left but an empty husk to hear our words. Her soul is gone now, Shiro." Dropping down to one knee, the witch uttered a spell instead of a prayer, causing flowers to grow around the dirt pile. "Gone with the kami. I doubt my hopes would change their mind about her soul's direction. She's with the stars now."

Acknowledging that their responsibility to the dead has yet to be fulfilled, the mechanical gears had clicked as they were flexibly contorted while the sanguine cybernetic-samurai crossed her arms. "We still have a debt to pay back, Gust." True to her resolve, the light behind her eyes had appeared like neon stars the way they glittered with conviction. "We can't let her sacrifice go in vain. We still have a mission to complete and some reptilian rebels to take revenge on." While Neon understood the gravity of the loss of a companion, instead of focusing on what they lost, she turned her depression into anger, becoming a fuel that empowered the lethality of her sword. She would be damned to join her sister in the stars without avenging her first. "Sins like this cannot be forgotten. Scars like these can only seal after inflicting the same in return. Don't forget this feeling. Ever. Those rebels have hell to pay."

Slinging her weapon across her back to avoid having her custom rifle's barrel flag against her party members, the divine cat-markswoman approached the others' side, crossing her fingers and closing her eyes before bowing her head. "May the kami of fate and luck guide you, Elaine. I pray we find you again under kinder circumstances in the next life." As she offered her prayers to the same kami that assigned her to this team, her voice was nearly devoid of all emotion, yet her eyes revealed quiet regret. Even with the best of her abilities, she lacked the strength to keep their friend safe. There was still so much more she had yet to reach before she truly embraced the same perfection her kind was known for having; There was so much more to climb before reaching anywhere near the first heroine, Rafaela's, divine heights. Quietly cursing at her inadequacy, as she opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of August now standing and Neon's hand on her shoulder. "Neon?"

"Didn't think you cared enough to get sentimental like this." A smug grin had barely covered Neon's wrath that could be easily read through her eyes. She understood that now was not the best time to turn her anger towards those who were grieving, though she couldn't help but place additional pressure on the grip of her sword. Upon closer inspection, Shiro noticed that even the samurai too was feeling a pang of regret, of what should've been but did not. They all had fault in their partner's loss, though in the end, they acknowledged that death was a risk they all took when fighting alongside each other. The battlefield was an unfair and unforgiving place. "... Let's not keep her waiting, yeah? We came down to this wasteland of a planet for a reason." Turning the subject from their deceased towards the job at hand, the samurai gave her sniper a reassuring squeeze that she wasn't alone, they were all suffering together.

Double checking their objective, blue letters flashed across her irises displaying their responsibility on this planet's surface as she read aloud. "An eldritch artifact of a time of mythos is located here, rumored to be in a tower that stood the test of time. Nicknamed the Echo of Fallen Kingdoms, whatever that is, we need to find it before the rebels do or take it back if its in their hands." While she spoke, more bright blue speckles rained through the planet's atmosphere, reinforcing the scavenging efforts with other allied teams from across the cosmos. It appeared like a meteor shower in the sky, each light being another team just like them. They were far from the only squad tasked with this artifact's recovery in mind.

"We can't afford to have any more of us suffer the same fate as Elaine. I won't let it happen again." The two nodded in response to the samurai's words. With August taking her staff and tome and Shiro slinging her weapon back towards her arms, the three set off back towards the massive, pillar-like structure in the distance. Having nothing else to go off of and with the world made level by the sheer devastation of the fighting, they only had one destination in mind. However, before they left, the samurai waved Elaine farewell. "We'll make you proud, Elaine. Promise."

"See you soon."
──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──
The Tower

Rumored tough-to-breach prisons in fairytale storybooks intended to have kept princesses from times of old.
──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──​

Upon approaching the entrance of the intimidating structure, the three girls were met with their first obstacle: A massive iron gate that appeared to have been untouched by time. "Enchantment magic. Magical reinforcement." The witch scratched her chin, inspecting the exterior of the tower. Interestingly, while the surviving trees that surrounded it had been overtaken by long, entangling vines, the roots of the parasitic vegetation had stopped right at the bricks of the building, as though its presence even on the very face of it was unwelcome. Enabling her third eye through the necklace on her body, she saw a familiar alien language inscribed upon its walls. "Runes of eldritch origin. It looks like the rumors are right. Whatever's causing the anomaly must be potent. Looks like we're at the right place."

Scratching her chin, Shiro felt through her satchel, running her free hand's fingers through the various explosives and ammunition types inside. "I believe we have more than enough to breach-" Before she had a chance to finish her statement however, August interrupted her. "We're not risking the artifact with explosives." There was too much at stake here to avoid moving without caution. Other than the powers that might have been held within, there was little known about the inside of the tower beyond here-say and educated guesses. "Just watch my back for a moment, I have an idea." Donning a separate set of gloves, the witch stroked her fingers on the massive door's exterior, casting sound spells on the opposite end to act as a sonar for the entrance's construction and the contents of the room. Sensing where the hinges were located inside and believing that there was nothing of value immediately ahead of it, August highlighted where she wanted Shiro to shoot in her eyes' heads up display.

──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──
"Alright, Shiro. I marked your targets. Bring it down."

"On it."
──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──​

Six well placed plasma-shots had sent the massive door thundering down onto the floor below, blowing a shockwave of dust and wind through the room inside. With a dust cloud shot up to block their vision, the trio's augments had illuminated the darkness, taking away the fugue they otherwise would have experienced. Immediately upon entry, the sounds of footsteps had erupted from the inside. "Looks like we got company. Keep your wits about you."

Sensing the impending combat, Neon braced for battle, unsheathing her blade and aiming it towards the many sounds incoming from ahead. Eldritch abominations taking the form of tentacle-laden hounds had slithered from the cracks in the flooring, engaging their intruders as though they were antibodies fighting foreign invaders in their system. Though, in spite of the surprise whatever creator of this tower held in store for them, unlike the would be naive adventurers and nobles that they expected to invade its walls for a chance to rescue its hostage prize, these three were of a different generation. Combat magic was not some form of miracle but another expected weapon that should be prepared for. The galaxy knew how to make weapons out of anyone and anything.

"August!" With her hilt aimed behind her and her blade pointed forward, a jet of light had shot from her weapon's rear, sending her forward towards the first eldritch beast. Instead of aiming for its head, Neon ripped the very legs off the living being with a stroke of her sword before implanting her blade where she imagined its core would be. "Got your back!" Following through with her warrior's advance, the magus casted a spell that quickened the movements of her companions' bodies, turning the warrior into a blur as she finished off her first opponent while doubling the fire rate of the angel beside her.

As Neon fought in the front lines, while the other hounds had sought to flank her, every time they jumped towards her back, they were brought down with a well placed shot fired in advance. "Another down." Behind every trigger pull came a short moment where Shiro's halo had illuminated, giving her the ability to predict where to aim well before she had to pull the trigger. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with, even if they lacked one. Given the recent loss of their friend, they would be damned to let another fall so soon.

With the pack being made short work of, once the last had fallen, a silence had quickly returned back to the room. Holes littered the walls and floors, each giving a window to the dark skies outside. Wiping the sweat off her brow, the samurai took a moment to let her blade and herself cool off. Steam erupted from her body, immediately reducing whatever droplets of sweat that touched her cybernetics to steam. Given the ability to do everything quicker was a terrific advantage against most threats, but naturally, it came with the drawback that she would be acting well above her bodies' limited parameters, leading to her needing to cool down soon thereafter. August and Shiro on the other hand had appeared to be more fine to continue. Quickening spells were far from the most intensive the witch could cast, and though her supplies were running slim, Shiro had more than enough in her backpack to preserve her lethality. Unlike the other two, she was more likely to overprepare than under.

Once they got a moment to rest, Neon was the first to stand up, offering a hand to both of the girls to help them up. "... Safe to say, I think we're on the right track. Monsters like those often inhabit places of power." A smile grew across her face, believing that they were getting close to whatever artifact they were tasked to find. "At least, we know we're not leaving this planet empty handed." The first to take her hand was Shiro. After counting the amount of rounds she had left, she assumed that if they were to come in contact with any more enemies, she would still remain combat capable.

"Good. This gun's been seeing too much action anyways. It would be good to head back soon for repairs." Though, despite her initial optimism when it came to her supplies, due to her being the engineer behind her weapon, she understood when it was getting close to malfunctioning. The barrel was growing increasingly warped due to the volume of superheated high caliber rounds she fired through it in such a short time; Spare parts and custom repair tools unfortunately were harder to carry around than additional magazines.

Meanwhile, as the other two spoke, August seemed to have her eyes turned towards the floor. The tower was odd. The room they were in itself was not made an ordinary shape, curved and sloped as though they were in the cavity of a body. Unlike ordinary constructions, this one had a low thump underneath its flooring akin to that of a beating heart. "Uh... Noctua to August, can you hear me?" The samurai snapped her fingers in front of Gust's eyes, causing her to snap out of her trance. "Huh? What is it?" As she turned back up to her sanguine ally, she saw Neon wave her towards an entrance of a stairway leading up. "Is the floor really that interesting?" Appearing aloof, the witch shook her head while confused.

The vampire chuckled, displaying her fangs with her smile before returning her focus back on the mission. "Finish resting? The staircase is that way and we're not gonna leave without you, you know?" Nodding her head, August took both of their hands to lift herself off the ground, letting her staff and tome float back over to her sides once she was upright. "Sorry, just got distracted. This is the first time I've ever been in a place like this one." Smiling to dissuade their concerns, she brushed her skirt off before walking towards the staircase. "After you." There was no reason to stop now, not with all they lost already on the way here. "Maybe we should send our coordinates to Medina so she could pick us up outside. I'd rather leave than stay here any longer than we should. It's creepy here."

──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──
A never-ending staircase.

A high level illusion spell acting as an obstacle to the top floor.
──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──​

As the three climbed the tower together, interestingly, despite walking up several flights of stairs, they were met with the same room over and over again. It was as if the tower itself had refused them access to its inner sanctuary. "August, what the hell is going on here. My sensors are showing that we're not rising in altitude no matter how far we walk." On the staircase leading upward, they found the same skeleton sitting there for the seventh time, only stopping upon reaching it the eighth. "Odd. This tower seems to defy the laws of physics and spacetime." Upon realizing what was happening a few flights before, the cat girl had dropped a glowstick on the ground, only to find it higher up the staircase once again.

Realizing what it could be, instead of making a futile attempt to rise again, the witch borrowed Shiro's knife to inscribe a rune into the wall. Upon piercing the brick, they saw black liquid spill out of it as it was etched upon, being sealed quickly into the shape of the letter she carved. "A labyrinth spell. To think, even the people of back then knew how to use something of this level. Especially to use it like this." The labyrinth spell was meant to capture those too ignorant of the magic arts into a maze, though to have it as a staircase was something even the witch of Autumn wasn't used to. Curious as to what necessitated guarding this much, as August took the vanguard leading the other two up the staircase, finally they were met with different sights as they neared the end, eventually stopping at a door that stood at what they assumed was the top. "Whatever is behind here must be worth the lives of many. A spell of that strength casted by an eldritch being requires great sacrifice or the direct intervention of a god."

"Whatever's hidden up here was meant to be undisturbed. Be careful, alright?"​

"Never planned on being anything else. Don't worry about me."​

"Relax, Gust. We made it this far. I'm not fucking up now."​

Giving each other acknowledgement that they were all on the same page, both Shiro and Neon looked to August to determine if the door was magically trapped itself somehow, only to be met with a shake of her head upon closer inspection. The worst was past them somehow. Now it was time to ensure that whatever artifact lay behind it was safely extracted. [Medina, here are our coordinates. We'll be ready for extraction soon, so be ready within ten minutes of receiving this message.] Shiro communicated to their pilot using her implant, quickly receiving a confirmation in response. [Hear ya loud and clear. And uh... Sorry about Elaine.] From the other end of the call, the cat markswoman heard her emotion through the comms. [It's fine. We'll mourn her properly later, but for now. The mission.] A short paused followed, breaking with the sound of a lighter being flicked open. [Right. I'll be there. Just... Make sure you come back safe. All of you, okay? No artifact is worth losing your life over... See you soon.] The call ended, leaving Shiro mind alone with her thoughts. "Medi will be here soon."

Neon's hand clenched on the hilt of her blade as she approached the door, placing her hand on the door knob while readying herself to strike. "Got it. Ready to breach?" With August's hand's illuminating as she gripped her tome and Shiro's weapon hoisted upward towards the entrance, it was clear that both were ready for whatever was to come. "I'll breach on three." Taking a deep breath, she counted at a volume that only they could hear. "One... Two... Three-"

Crashing through the door, the three made their entrance into the room, finding no more than a woman laying in the bed of what seemed to be an ordinary bedroom. At first, believing that the girl was another one of the eldritch, given the enhanced speed of the samurai combined with the propulsion of her weapon, the strange woman was immediately tackled by the cybernetic torpedo of a woman, Neon. "Hold still and don't fucking move! You reach for anything, cast anything, or do so much as fucking breathe anything that could sound like a weapon, I'll rip you apart myself!" Gripping both the woman's arms above her head, she forced her wrists into a set of magic rope before clasping her hand around the woman's mouth to muffle her words. "Nod if you understand me." A light of a laser appeared at the center of the woman's forehead, being emitted from the barrel attachment of the team's gungineer's weapon. "Even if you get lucky, my friend over there will put an end to you before you blink."

Behind the both of them, August approached, noticing the oddity that was the woman's clothing. She appeared like the pictures of olden times, looking like a breathing far-flung relic of the past. "... Neon. I don't think she could understand us." The cyborg raised an eyebrow. "What the hell do you mean, Gust? Everyone in this day and age could speak galactic common!" Sighing and shaking her head, the witch approached the two women, stopping at their bedside. "Yeah, that's the thing, Neon. Everyone in this day and age. Look, can you leave the talking to me? I could take care of this from here." Placing her hand on her own throat, August casted a spell that allowed her to be received in the fluent tongue of all who heard her before placing another on her ears to translate the words of all who spoke to her.

"Evening, Mrs. Apologies for disturbing your slumber, but we're here to find a magic artifact. Something called the Echo of Fallen Kingdoms." Opening her tome, she revealed a holographic digital image of the woman's kingdom. "It belonged to a kingdom on this planet and it's been rumored to have been locked up in a tower due to its strange but powerful eldritch capabilities. If you know anything about where it could be, we'll be out of your way quickly, but please, speak with haste."

──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──
"My friends are not known for their patience. Neither am I should you attempt to harm them or lie."

'This world won't be our grave.'
──・୨ ✦✦✦✦ ୧・──​