RE: =WPC 2022= Field of Petals (Full Version)

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Dragonknight315 -> RE: =WPC 2022= Field of Petals (2/10/2022 19:55:36)

The Huntress could feel the beast inside calling for more blood as the two locked eyes with each other. Her mind was racing with every possibility. The strength and resilience of a demi-god. Whatever Serhil was, she was beyond human. Far beyond anything Suraeko had ever considered. How was she going to take her down?

Lesser creatures would be in despair at such a foe. But for Suraeko, it was a challenge. A puzzle. The pieces were falling into place, but Suraeko did not have long. Neither did Serhil, she assumed. The ground was already splattered red. There was only so much blood left between them. . .

Suddenly, Serhil made the first move. She calmly reached for one of her daggers. Suraeko flinched, pulling her knife back, but something stayed her hand. If Serhil wanted to throw the knife, she could have done it in the blink of an eye.

Even now? Are you still playing with me? What’s your move?

Much to Suraeko’s surprise, the warrior passed it from one hand to another and placed it against her own flesh. Sparks of purple light swept across her arm with a crackle.

Magic. Suraeko was stunned. She used magic to cauterize her wounds. And she didn’t even flinch. What wasn’t Serhil capable of?

It only reminded the huntress of her own weakness. She felt the burning in her left thigh grow stronger. It was growing harder to put pressure on it. Suraeko needed to end this fast while she still could.

Still, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. Magic. The carnivore’s eyes wandered towards the Blasting Glaive. That’s it.

The Carnivore saw her path forward. It was close, but Serhil was closer. She needed to borrow as much time as possible. . .

Without warning, the warrior’s stoic expression had faded. She flashed a familiar grin before clawing into her jacket and ripping it off. It was like a moment of inner release, as if the warrior was showing her true colors. And what colors she had. A living mural, curtains of scars fusing together exotic tattoos, all wrapped around her blood-stained muscles. Such a beautiful canvas.

With a sigh of relief, the warrior stretched her arms. “I think this has been a sufficient enough warm-up, right? Now, let’s get to the juicy part.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

The specter said he wanted to see her talents in action. He would have it all and more.

No hesitation.

Suraeko moved first. She leapt forward and reached for the final pair of knives at her waist. With a flourish, the huntress tossed the first knife slightly to the left, hoping to force the warrior away from the glaive. Much to her delight and her surprise, Serhil simply dodged, side-stepping the knife with little effort. She would not give up her remaining blood so easily.

One. Two. Three. She tossed three more knives in quick succession, each one aimed more and more to the right. Once again, the knives found no purchase. The first two sailed through the air where the warrior once was. For the last of her knives, Serhil brought up her own dagger and slashed, deflecting it far off into the distance. The huntress was out of knives, but she was now closer to the glaive. . .

Perfect.

With the warrior out of the way, the huntress dove towards the Blasting Glaive, gasping as she forced her left leg to move. Her knuckles went white as she clutched her only companion.

Take it.

As the sparks began to crackle across the length of the ebon glaive, Suraeko whirled around and slashed at Serhil. But the glaive felt heavy in her hands. The strike went wide as Serhil stepped back. Without warning, the warrior snapped back, launching another quick strike at Suraeko’s jaw. This time, Suraeko saw it before she felt it. She gritted her teeth as her jaw erupted in pain. But she pressed on, pouring more and more focus into the glaive.

Serhil was too fast. Too strong. Suraeko couldn’t hope to outmaneuver her with steel alone. But she needed more time; she couldn’t bear to be on the defensive. As Serhil moved to strike her again, the huntress pulled the glaive up at just the right time.

Take. It. All.

The warrior’s hand slid against the sparking glaive. With a roar, Suraeko pushed forward, slamming the frame against Serhil’s chest. But the warrior was unmoving. She responded in kind, pushing Suraeko with far more success. She staggered back, barely keeping her balance as she clutched the glaive.

Suddenly, the steel roared as the last rune ignited. She had waited long enough.

“Let’s end this!”

Suraeko raised the sparking glaive high into the air like a thunderbolt. With a roar of her own, she closed her eyes and slammed down, impaling the spiked cross into the ground. The air shattered. The sparks leapt from the glaive, igniting the surrounding mana into a burst of kaleidoscopic light.

At the center of the blast, Suraeko clutched her chest, gasping for air. Even with her meager sensitivity, it was impossible to ignore it. Like facets on a gem, jolts of multicolored light moved across her form. She felt a cold emptiness in her chest as the glaive pulled its teeth from her soul. That was it.

What about her?

Suraeko looked up to her prey— no, her equal. . .

. . . Yes!

Something broke in Serhil. The pure joy from before was gone. She was clutching her arms, mumbling to herself. Tiny sparks of violet rose from her arms, crisscrossing against the fragments of rainbow light. Whatever the mana burst had done to the warrior, it was clear: she was shaken. She was defenseless.

That sight was all Suraeko needed. The pain, the exhaustion, the blood still dripping from her wounds— she could feel it all gnawing at her will. But she would not let this go. Through sheer determination, the huntress pulled the glaive into her hands and rose to her feet. With a second wind and an unhinged smile, she whispered.

“Finally. You’re mine.”

One final push. The Carnivore lunged, driving her glaive towards Serhil’s chest.




nield -> RE: =WPC 2022= Field of Petals (2/10/2022 21:11:14)

Sterahl’s eyes widened as the pale man’s gauntlets faded away, only to be replaced by a full set of metal armour and shield. The shield came up in front of the man’s face, blocking the slicer from doing damage.

Sterahl gritted his teeth, not having expected to find this sort of thing here. A Supernatural ability… But perhaps that was almost to be expected, although this one is very different from Jiuthiera’s…

But Sterahl had no time to get caught up in musings about the man’s ability, as the shield moved away and a blade glowing with a faint green light emerged, thrusting at his face.

But Sterahl had planned to follow his slicer with a thrust from his own sword, so he was well in position to bat the incoming threat aside with a strong swipe and take a step back as the man called out to him.

Phantom Knight? Unholy light? Does he mean to purport he’s using souls for his ability? Is that even possible? Maybe with magic… but he’s human. He can’t even USE magic… or can he? Is he from somewhere completely different, where the rules are not the same?

“I may not be here by choice, but you will find me no easy quarrel, ‘Phantom Knight.’” Sterahl stated, bringing Kelkeraz close to him, before sending it thundering forth from beyond the pale man’s own reach.




Oddball -> RE: =WPC 2022= Field of Petals (2/12/2022 23:50:56)

“I couldn’t agree more!” Came Suraeko’s frenzied response, the woman taking no time at all to rush towards, what would possibly be, the pair’s final clash. One last time, the knives flew, the first to Serihl’s left, causing her to instinctively dodge to the right. This would then be followed by another quick step to her right, with Serihl cautiously taking note of where the knives would land, just to make sure she could counter if Suraeko tried to recall them.

This last one, however? This one she would show off on. Twirling her own knife in her hand, she waited with baited breath for the right moment, swinging diagonally upwards and to the right just as the knife came into range. Satisfied, she dared not wait to watch where that one landed, swinging her attention back to her opponent and realizing the mistake she had made.

The Glaive!

Serihl was too far away to contest at this point, only being able to close half the distance before Suraeko had reclaimed her prized weapon, knuckles dyed white as she gripped it tightly.

Now? Now Serihl had to think, and do so quickly. Her chest wounds were still open, and her vision was starting to blur slightly, hinting at her possible collapse.
Still, she wasn’t just going to sit quietly and let Suraeko finish her off.

The first swing came, and to the mob bosses’ surprise? It was slow. Slower than she had previously witnessed from her dance partner…

Could she, too, be ‘running low on steam’, as her elementally attuned co-worker would say it?

The blow would arc wide as Serihl took a half-step backwards before taking two forwards, clenching her fist and thrusting her arm towards Suraeko’s jaw once again. With a solid enough impact, Serihl had forced Suraeko to take a couple of steps backwards as she recoiled from the blow, Serihl’s eyes sparking briefly as she saw her opening to finish it.

Chasing after her opponent, Serihl stepped to the left of the, briefly, stunned Suraeko, swinging in with her left in hopes of catching her in the side of the head for a good, clean, knockout.
But, to her surprise, Suraeko had recovered much quicker than expected, and had managed to bring the glaive up to shield herself from Serihl’s might.
As she pulled her hand away, however, she noticed she had left a small indent in the side of the weapon… Maybe a couple more like that, and she could gain a monumental advantage.

Seemingly as a last-ditch effort, Suraeko pushed forwards, slamming the frame of the glaive against Serihl’s form, perhaps an attempt to create distance so she could use the weapon to its full effectiveness?


Fine.

If she wanted to play like that, Serihl would respond in kind.

She pushed off from her back leg while turning her body slightly, putting all of her weight behind her shoulder as it came crashing against Suraeko’s form, causing the warrior to stagger backwards. Her grip was true, however, and her Glaive was held firm in her grasp.

It would come as a shock to Serihl when the Glaive suddenly lit up, several runes glowing with a feverish intensity. She could only watch on as Suraeko raised it skyward before slamming it into the ground beneath her.

Something… Felt off.

It was wrong, all wrong.

It was like something was under her skin, begging to be set free, and Serihl was left clutching her arms, mumbling under her breath. She was so distracted by this alien feeling, that she wouldn’t hear Suraeko whisper, nor see the Glaive heading towards her until it was too late




Tir sighed as the last section of the wall locked neatly into place, her shoulders suddenly feeling a lot lighter now that her sudden guest had left.

Once again, she slumped down into the chair, alone in her dimly-lit office, simply waiting for something, anything, that could help them track Serihl’s whereabouts.

Waiting was all she could do.

She would lean forward, clasping her hands together and resting her forehead against them. She wasn’t, exactly, a religious person, but desperate times do call for desperate measures after all.

“Come on… Please, please be safe…”





Serihl’s eyes widened as she felt something foreign enter her body, her eyes slowly arcing down until she found the root of the problem… Which happened to be most of Suraeko’s glaive piercing through her chest. She went to speak, only to cough blood towards, and over, Suraeko, who would respond in, well, the only way she knew how.

Laugh.

She would break out into a maniacal cackle, believing herself to be the victor, thinking that Serihl had been bested.

By a wound like this? Maybe even the mighty Serihl O’las, who had seemed impervious to pain, had finally reached her limit.

Stuck in a state of half-awareness, Suraeko would be much too slow to react to any movement from Serihl, who would bury her knife into the back of Suraeko’s hand, and into the side of the Glaive that she had previously damaged. The mob boss held it tightly, her knuckles staining themselves white and, try as she might, Suraeko couldn’t escape.

“What. In the goddamn Hell. Is so funny?

Despite everything, her voice stayed firm, almost as if Serihl was managing to ignore the effects of the hole that had just been put in her chest.


Truth is, she was bordering on that threshold that she was terrified of and was fully aware. But, rather than the dread that she had come to know so intimately, she felt strangely energetic. Something was coursing through her veins that was allowing her to make one, final, action.
Was… This adrenaline? It felt like lightning was coursing through her entire body.

If this was to be Serihl’s final moments? Well. She had promised the Family that she wouldn’t go down quietly.

Bringing a shaking hand up to a still, stunned, Suraeko, Serihl’s grip found the collar of her shirt, pulling the woman closer to her until their foreheads were almost touching. Both of her eyes were sparking with that same intense, purple, lightning now, as Serihl stared a hole through Suraeko.

“You fell… Right into my clutches.”

With one last grin of her own, Serihl outstretched her arm, pushing Suraeko as far away from her as the length of her arm would allow while still gripping at her collar, before pulling her back in with all of her might, clashing the pair’s skulls together.

Not giving the Warrior any time to react, or even brace, Serihl began to repeat the process. Over, and over, hearing cries of pain coming from the one she had grasped, the one she had locked in place. The horrible sound of bone crunching would echo across the battlefield like a horrific metronome.

Serihl stopped, feeling the body of her opponent go limp as she would finally stop struggling to break free. With this, she finally let go, watching as her opponents’ head would loll backwards as she fell.

“...For good measure, one more.”

It took every ounce of whatever energy she had remaining to raise her hand and bring it down across Suraeko’s throat, sending her flat against the ground on her back. Serihl herself didn’t take too long to join her, only managing a single step before collapsing.

Vision blurred, she reached out towards Suraeko, finding her hand and grasping it tightly.

A rare, warm smile found its way onto Serihl’s features, as her vision went dark. It was too difficult to keep her eyes open right now.

Maybe…


Maybe a little nap would do her some good.




Chewy905 -> RE: =WPC 2022= Field of Petals (2/13/2022 0:02:34)

A tumultuous battlecry resounded across the blazing courtyard. Five branches, twisted, strong, and pulsing with flame, stretched above a Pawn each. The cry grew louder, lost to the howling of a sudden gale, and petals cascaded downwards, their burning forms whirling around the Pawns until there was naught but fire.

And then, life and sight once more. The branches retreated, the tree sheltering an empty gate, through it the spires of the Chequered City. A safe passage home. Though not for all, as several competitors had vanished when the storm of petals had scattered away.

The Powers had chosen. The War had begun.

And the tree of Petals burned ever on.





nield -> RE: =WPC 2022= Field of Petals (12/25/2022 2:47:33)

Kelkeraz never got far, as it turned out.

A great commotion swept across the battlefield and Sterahl could see branches from the tree stretching above and halted his attack, drawing Kelkeraz back to himself as a flurry of petals fell, forming an impenetrable wall of flame around him.

And then they faded away. Sterahl looked around. The pale man was still there, though the two women he had come over to fight were not. Beneath the tree was a gate through which stood that odd city he’d stood in only briefly.

“Very well. If we are discarded, I have no more reason to fight.”

Sterahl turned from the pale man and strode through the gate.

However, he didn’t find himself in the city but once again suspended in void. The strange entity from before that had called itself ‘The Observer’ shook its head as though disappointed.

“I was expecting more from you, Sterahl Kelolst. But alas.”

“Is that it then? You put me back and send the Vampire on its way?”

“No. Well, not yet at least. I told you didn’t I? We’d set the outcome of your personal conflict on the outcome of this conflict. Your own poor showing aside the conflict is not yet over.”

The Observer snapped its fingers and Sterahl blinked, the entity now in a different position before him.

“Well, I’ve seen all there is to see here. Time for you to return.”

The entity snapped its fingers once more and-

Kelkeraz thunked dully as its blade buried itself to the hilt in the Vampire’s chest. The monster gurgled as its arms reached weakly for Sterahl, before falling to its sides. He forced the thing off his blade, and began breathing heavily.

Was it all a dream? Sterahl lifted a hand to his cheek where a petal had burned him and recoiled as his touch aggravated sensitive skin. No, that was real alright…



Viela was still standing watch with Neophyte Karm when Sterahl trudged up to the barricade.

“Cousin!” She called, relief suffusing her face, which faded when she saw the stormy look on his face.

“Sterahl, are you okay? Is the Vampire…?”

“Dead. As are the Dveztil Katcha. They’d mostly killed each other, one survivor tried to jump me and I ended it. As for what happened afterwards… We should go get Lady Kiara and then I’ll explain everything to The Master.”

Neither Viela nor Kiara would raise any objections to this course of action, the two women exchanging concerned looks for how troubled Sterahl seemed to be.

Before long, they were standing before The Master of the Rose, interrupting another session with Jiuthiera and Sterahl told all. When he reached the part about The Observer’s interference, The Master let out a low whistle.

“The Observer… I haven’t heard anyone mention that name in… oh at least a dozen Cycles.”

“Master,” Jiuthiera asked, “Who is The Observer?”

“Dear child, do you know what God is?”

“God is… a concept, right? A hypothetical being that lords over all the universe and can control everything to its every whim.” She cocked her head to the side. “Are you saying that The Observer is God?”

“No… Not quite. Those of us who know of it… We’re not sure what to make of it, we’re undecided on whether or not it’s a Deity, but we are agreed on one thing. Whatever it is, it is the closest thing in our universe to God. Continue, Sterahl.”

Sterahl continued his story through to the end and they mostly stood there with grim expressions.

“And they were all humans… You’re sure, Sterahl?”

“Well, I mean, I didn’t stop to have conversations exactly, Master, but…” his glance flickered over to Jiuthiera briefly. “Yes, I’m all but positive they were all members of the Scourge.”

“Fascinating.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure that is the term I would use, Rose Master.” Kiara said with a frown.

“Somehow I doubt they’ll show up as part of the Threat, Grand Justice. That this odd place even exists is fascinating… but we should put it out of our minds.”

The man gave Sterahl a small smile.

“From your own words Sterahl, it sounds like your training is far from over. Come, join me and Jiuthiera for a while. Viela, Grand Justice, I trust this concludes our business this day.”

The Master turned on his heel and stalked off, Jiuthiera quickly following him.

“Well, not much I can do but follow that kind of summons is there? Lady Kiara, cousin, be well the both of you.”

“You as well Sterahl. Well, times are busy, much to do, good day, Lady Arunia.”

The last thing Sterahl heard as he went and followed The Master was Viela muttering to herself; “Now… Where is Natsumi?”




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