The Well of Descension

[Sherlock Holmes]

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Archer, the Ghostblood Ball is happening a few months before this occurs. 

@Archer

[Archer]

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Wow, I was in that box for longer than I thought! Thanks for telling me. Disregard my comments about going to the party. Klasten will teleport somewhere else (likely to make a surprise appearance to attempt to thwart the liebrarian schemes at the next place you adventurers go to).

 

[Gancho Libre]

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hey archer do you want to RP Ioc meeting max, or are you fine with me jumping to after the meeting?

Ioc materialized at the written coordinates. It wasn't sure it wanted to do this, but...

There was no other choice.

Edited October 10, 2018 by Gancho Libre

[Archer]

2 hours ago, Gancho Libre said:

Ioc materialized at the written coordinates. It wasn't sure it wanted to do this, but...

There was no other choice.

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I don't know what you have planned for said meeting, so you may do as you like. I haven't planned anything for him, he's a freebie NPC. Go ahead and jump ahead, write up a whole conversation, marry him, do whatever you need to. 

 

[Gancho Libre]

On 10/10/2018 at 9:45 AM, Archer said:

 

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... kill him? Perhaps?

Hypothetically, of course.

And if you like I could, you know, not do that?

Hypothetically?

Edit: Nevermind.

 

 

Ioc knocked on the doorway, shifting somewhat awkwardly. It hadn’t really planned this far in the plan. Well, it knew what it had to do, but… not really what to do. Ioc had never met an actual Smedry.

Ioc didn’t have a Talent. It’s powers were undefined to the public, and it liked to keep it that way. However, Ioc had no problems with admitting that it had no Talents. It had heard how… messy Talents can be, and it didn’t really want the trouble.

Thus, Ioc’s mind hadn’t even tasted that of a Smedrys. So, how they acted in a stereotypical sense, which was generally the least of what Ioc knew about different types of people, was unknown to Ioc.

Ioc cocked it’s head, frowning, then knocked on the door again. Surely it's knocking were loud enough? Wasn’t it using Gravitation to enhance the sound?

Nothing happened. It had only been a couple seconds, but, hey. Ioc was a busy entity.

Ioc drew it’s fist back, Accessing Stormlight, then punched the door, fueling the knock by Lashing it’s fist towards the door. This was a tough trick, requiring that Ioc think of it’s fist as separate from the whole, but if there was anything Ioc was good at, it was lying to itself being awesome.

The door dented, and a resonating crack snapped in the air. Ioc smiled it’s cruel smile. Ioc didn’t know why, but for some reason, it’s smiles looked like… well, the smiles an Inquisitor does. Cold and Heartless.

Well, Ioc would show them. It had a heart.

You could tell because Ioc bled. Even better, the blood was red, which was a real variable in the Cosmere.

And yet, the door wouldn't open.

Ioc sighed. It touched the door with it’s index finger, Adhesed the wood to it’s flesh, and ripped the sagging door off its hinges.

Or, well, Ioc tried to. The door budget a bit, but didn’t move besides that.

Ioc gaped. What? Ioc could rip a steel sliding door off its hinges. This was a damaged, wooden door.

What was this place?

Ioc sighed. Only one thing left to try.

“Hello?” Ioc called in it’s loudest voice.

The door was immediately opened by an extremely muscular young man.

“Yes?” the man asked. His voice was exactly like how Ioc’s subconscious version of a muscular young man’s voice should sound.

Ioc wasn’t good with social skills, which may seem unrelevant, but it gets relevant in the next sentence.

Ioc shifted in it’s stance, blushing as the young man looked at it.

‘It’s perfectly normal to feel inferior to people more fit than you are,’ Prefrontal Cortex soothed. ‘You don’t have to be invincible all the time,’

Ioc’s untamed anger returned, fueling it’s drive. “Hello, insignificant Mortal,” Ioc said casually. “I could kill you with the raise of a finger. Now, allow me to come into your humble dwelling,”

The young man laughed. “Okay,” he said, then turned and waved for Ioc to follow.

Ioc gaped again. How stupid was this kid?

However, an invitation was an invitation, so Ioc stepped inside.

The house was a picture of pristine cleanliness. Everything was in perfect organisation, as if a team of OCD people had been left in the room for an hour with nothing to do. The light thrown by a simple chandelier above fell perfectly on every surface.

Even more annoying, the wooden walls seemed to gleam.

Ioc shook it’s head. It would not gape again.

“So,” Ioc said, “I understand you are a Smedry? Max, if I am correct?”

Max turned and nodded. “Sure am. The power to underestimate things, or so I’m told,” Max gestured around. “However, I don’t think so. I’m just so lucky to be in the presence of things that are not very hard to solve or lift. All of the boxes my cousin tells me to lift seem to lose all of their heaviness once I grab them. It’s weird. I think my actual Talent is redistributing weight,”

Ioc nodded slowly. Then, it had a revelation.

Ioc couldn’t kill this person.

Ioc had not known it, but murder was in it’s plan until this point. Gosh, if Ioc had known that, it would have teleported in the house and killed the guy before having to meet him.

‘But you didn’t know if that was the right move,’ Prefrontal Cortex whispered. ‘You were afraid. I sense you trying to destroy me, but you can’t. I’m a voice in your head. If you dissolve my personification, I’ll still be here, offering you advice.

‘And there’s nothing wrong with that,’

Ioc gritted it’s teeth. “Right. Weight redistribution. Cool,”

Who was this kid kidding? Obviously, Underestimation made sense here. Underestimated harmful substances to make that muscular body. Underestimating messes to make everything pristine. Probably even underestimating the fact that wood can’t shine to make them… well, shine!

“Would you like a glass of water?” Max asked, gesturing farther down the hall. Ioc paused, then nodded.

“Thank you,” it whispered, then cursed silently. Prefrontal Cortex was right. How could Ioc get rid of a part of its own brain? Perhaps Ioc should spend more time listening to the voice rather than ignoring it.

However, then was always the plan. The plan Ioc could not put aside.

Even if it hurt to continue.

Ioc followed Max down the hall, entering a kitchen that matched the foyer in pristinity. Max pulled off a glass and filled it with running tap water, and offered it to Ioc. ioc accepted, draining the water in a matter of gulps.

Ioc’s eyes widened. “How do you get it so… fresh?”

Max smiled. “I’m lucky to live here. I was blessed with the help of some friend who constructed me an amazing water filtration system. I’m so grateful to them for that,”

‘Yeah, right,’ Subconscious snorted. ‘Underestimating water pollution. Geez. How powerful is this kid’s Talent?’

“So,” Ioc ventured, then snorted internally at the word, “What do you know about other Smedrys? They’re names? Powers? Locations?”

Max laughed pleasantly. “Oh, i know plenty! I was lucky to spend so much time with my family this summer, and i learned so much about my heritage,”

‘Underestimating his lack of knowledge?’ Subconscious asked. Wow. That’s stretching it,’

“Well, you see, Max,” Ioc continued, “I’m looking for a certain Smedry. I can’t remember their name, but they have the power to drive people insane,”

Max thought for a moment, then snapped and smiled at Ioc. “Cecilia? I thought I recognized the power,”

Ioc let out a huge sigh of relief internally. It had worried that there was no such Smedry.

“Why do you want to know?” Max asked. “Are you a Smedry?”

Ioc froze. Then, Ioc cursed every bad word it knew before taking on a plan of action.

“... Yes, I am,” Ioc said, tensing up for what would happen next.

Max lit up like a fire. Or, well, a light bulb, for that matter.

“Really?” he exclaimed, then threw his arms around Ioc in a tremendous squeeze. “Oh my gosh, i love meeting new family members! What’s your Talent?”

“Uh, oh…” Ioc stammered. It opened its mouth.

“Oh, sorry, forgot my manners there,” Max said, releasing Ioc from the hug.

‘Yes, extended hugs are bad manners,’ Subconscious muttered.

“I forgot to ask your name!” Max exclaimed.

There was a pause.

Max frowned. “Oh! Sorry. I mean, what’s your name?”

Ioc snapped out of it’s reverie. It would have picked up the hint, but… there was that darn talent again, affecting everything around Max.

Oh, ee, oh, my name is, uh, George,” Ioc said with a tone of nervous finality.

Max laughed again and threw his arms around Ioc once more. “Oh, i love that name! Now, what’s your ability?”

Ioc stammered. “Oo, ee…”

“Yes?”

“I… uh…”

“Yes?”

“I mean… well, Talents, and such…”

“YES??”

“Well, it’s not that… you know…”

“The suspense is killing me!!! WHAT IS YOUR TALENT?’

“I have…” Ioc said, then remembered. “I have the, uh… Breaking Talent?”

There was a pause.

“OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!!!” Max yelled and started jumping up and down. “THAT’S AMAZING!”

“Hehe…” Ioc said. “Now, about that address…”

“I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET SOMEONE WITH THE BREAKING TALENT!!” Max cried. “THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT!!!”

Then, Ioc got it.

‘Oh…’ Subconscious muttered. ‘That’s why he’s so darn happy. He underestimated his circumstances so much that everything is so much better than he thinks that it’s amazing,’

“CAN YOU SHOULD ME SOMETHING BROKEN?” Max screamed. The last word hit th highest decibel Ioc had every heard.

Ioc winced. “Yeah, just keep it down, alright?” Ioc implored. It walked over to one of the vases and grabbed it, Lashing different parts of it in different directions inward. This caused the vase to implode.

“OH MY HEEBEEJABEEBIES!!!!” Max… said.

Ioc nodded in thanks. “Now, where can I find this Cecilia?”

Max almost cried with the prospect of helping a Smedry with the breaking Talent.

As he went into another room to write down the coordinates, Ioc sat in the kitchen. It felt guilty for receiving such a good person. Max was obviously a good man, full of joy and happiness.

Ioc smiled with the memory of it all.

Max came out of the other room, holding a piece of paper. In order to continue with the plan, Ioc ignored all that was said for fear of breaking down in the face of kindness.

Ioc accepted the coordinates and, still fearing it’s own mind, vanished, leaving behind a puzzled, yet content, Smedry.

‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Prefrontal Cortex whispered. ‘Max will change. Max will become a different person. You know he won’t keep his joy,’

Ioc ignored Prefrontal words.

The truth in it, and Ioc’s acknowledgement of the truth therein, was too much to bear.

Edited October 12, 2018 by Gancho Libre

[Zehr]

Achirian stood up. He had been staring at a rock at the Waystop for a good few months now, so he’d decided he needed to do something. Stretching, he surveyed the area around him and noted an absence of people. He concluded that that was probably because something had happened because of something else that had happened, and checked his watch. It told him that Tena was near the Alleycity, and he took out a Tia card that always brought him three feet to the right of the coordinates of her tracking device. 

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I have discussed this with Axelius, and he is okay with it.

After tapping the center of the card, he teleported in to the Ghostblood Ball and leaned against the rail next to Tena.

[PrinceDusty]

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To everyone who's asked

Yes, the Ghostblood Ball is happening at least a week before this. The thread should wrap up sometime in the next two or three days- at least, the plot that I have planned for it will, everyone else can stay there if they want- but events that are still to come in the Ghostblood Ball may affect this once they happen. I dunno. Like I've said, it depends on how the guilds react.

Your character can be in both threads and you don't have to worry about trying to teleport back and forth all the time

Once Kidpen gets back on here and tells me what to do I'll say actual things but for now I missed the Seven Day War and don't want to mess anything up concerning the worldspike

1

 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by PrinceDusty

[Kidpen]

The Liebrarian nodded. That was mostly expected. Now that all of the blatant enemies have been weeded out, it was time to begin the training. "All right. Mahz, come with me, you will be receiving personal training from our best Awakeners. The rest of you, you may request training if you'd like, but anyone not a Ghostblood will need to pay. You can train in whatever you'd like, but you only have six months, so keep that in mind."

Six Months Later (you can still RP anything that happens during that time if you'd like)

The Liebrarian called Team Chartreuse to order. "Alright, listen up. We have several avenues to try to break the barrier, and considering how many people we have, we can probably split you up into multiple teams to go after two or three. Option one: Voidus created the barrier. If we can get him to break it without stopping the ritual or anything else detrimental to our plans, that would be ideal. Option 2: We create something with more investiture than the barrier, specifically designed to break it. A type four awakened object would be ideal, but it would have to be incredibly powerful. Option 3: We convince a literal shard to come help us. Unlikely, to say the least. Option 4 is anything any of you think of that has a chance of working. Any preferences for teams?"

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Feel free to PM me with plans that you think I need to know before you do them. If they are gonna be particularly influential to the plot, I'd like to know. If they aren't necessarily going to be, no problem if you don't want to tell me.

 

[PrinceDusty]

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Ok, groovy. Uh, I don't care about teams, anything is all right with me. But Night may be taking a sudden leave of absence. I just realized a problem with having the Ghostblood Ball before this. Don't worry, he will be replaced seamlessly by another Ghostblood character of mine, it's nothing that will affect anyone else. I'll PM you with plans for my plot outcome of the Ghostblood Ball- it will probably effect this.

 

[Gancho Libre]

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Aren't time paradoxes storeming inconvienient?

The trouble is, they happen all the time!

 

[old man moomba]

Rick looked about. He had heard of the liebrarians plan, and he applauded their attempt to release the guardian. But, it was imperative that the guardian not escape. He would need to find a team. Yes, he would need some powerful folk to help him.

Spoiler

Hooray for opposition!!!!!!!!

 

Edited October 14, 2018 by Dwig Jigdens

[MetaTerminal]

Considering himself part of Team Chartreuse, due to no indication to the contrary, Alum began.

“I greatly agree with the first point. Some of us have been thinking of this whole thing as a heist - the thing we’re stealing being static. But it’s not. Voidus Prime is inside the barrier, and the only reason he can’t get out is that the shield is extremely powerful - as powerful as him, I believe. If we were weaken it to a significant extent, it’s likely we wouldn’t need to open it all the way - Voidus could give us a final push over the edge to open it up. Obviously, he’s going to want the Guardian protected, so if this goes ahead we’ll need to find a way to trick him into releasing it as well. As for the proposed plan to keep him trapped - we’ll, he’s a god, so I don’t see that idea working out anyway. Might as well work with it.

“As for Investiture - the shield is Aonic. I admit that it is one of the magic systems I know very little about, but someone more knowledgeable could deign to design some sort of Selish method of manipulating or breaking open the barrier. If we could study the symbols used to make the barrier (side quest!), maybe we could work out ways of opening a portal through it. Drawing said aonic symbol during the Alleystorm would be beneficial, I think, so our plan should probably happen then.

“And the thing we’re all forgetting - the shield wall isn’t the only line of protection. There are multiple. Hemalurgic entities at the very minimum. So if we’re going to get close enough to the barrier to work our magic we’ll need a way through those layers of security as well.

 “Also... why chartreuse? I’d much rather be turquoise than that sickly green!”

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Would you mind adding me to the Liebrarian ranks, Kidpen? (This is me officially joining in-thread).

 

[+Sorana]

Althea entered the room and greeted Night with a curt nod.

She then turned to adress the Liebrarian.
"I've been sent here to help. Although I have to admit, that I wasn't fully informed about the exact state of your plans at the moment. Is there anything apart from the options you mentioned, that I should know?"

@Kidpen

[Kidpen]

11 hours ago, MetaTerminal said:

Considering himself part of Team Chartreuse, due to no indication to the contrary, Alum began.

“I greatly agree with the first point. Some of us have been thinking of this whole thing as a heist - the thing we’re stealing being static. But it’s not. Voidus Prime is inside the barrier, and the only reason he can’t get out is that the shield is extremely powerful - as powerful as him, I believe. If we were weaken it to a significant extent, it’s likely we wouldn’t need to open it all the way - Voidus could give us a final push over the edge to open it up. Obviously, he’s going to want the Guardian protected, so if this goes ahead we’ll need to find a way to trick him into releasing it as well. As for the proposed plan to keep him trapped - we’ll, he’s a god, so I don’t see that idea working out anyway. Might as well work with it.

“As for Investiture - the shield is Aonic. I admit that it is one of the magic systems I know very little about, but someone more knowledgeable could deign to design some sort of Selish method of manipulating or breaking open the barrier. If we could study the symbols used to make the barrier (side quest!), maybe we could work out ways of opening a portal through it. Drawing said aonic symbol during the Alleystorm would be beneficial, I think, so our plan should probably happen then.

“And the thing we’re all forgetting - the shield wall isn’t the only line of protection. There are multiple. Hemalurgic entities at the very minimum. So if we’re going to get close enough to the barrier to work our magic we’ll need a way through those layers of security as well.

 “Also... why chartreuse? I’d much rather be turquoise than that sickly green!”

 

 

10 hours ago, Sorana said:

Althea entered the room and greeted Night with a curt nod.

She then turned to adress the Liebrarian.
"I've been sent here to help. Although I have to admit, that I wasn't fully informed about the exact state of your plans at the moment. Is there anything apart from the options you mentioned, that I should know?"

@Kidpen

"Well, obviously Voidus was incapable of killing the monster. Once we take it under our control, we should hopefully be able to use it plus our other forces to take him down. Leechers are extremely helpful, notably. We... admit we may have not realized the exact nature of the barrier. Studying the symbols would be good, and the Alleystorm would be helpful to provide that extra push. Good ideas all around. In terms of other lines of protection, why do you think we offered the training? Team chartreuse because we were the fourth team with a greater number of participants than 3 but less than 20 who are attempting to undergo a ritual." The Liebrarian turned to Althea.

"As for you, I wasn't expecting anybody else to join this late. However, the gist of it is we're bringing the monster that Voidus trapped under our control."

[Archer]

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Several months later...

Liebrarian: Noooooooo! Curse you, cliches!

Chartreusian: Who could have anticipated that the whole time the monster was just a manifestation of Voidus' split personality? I didn't sign up for this philosophical rust. GIVE ME SOMETHING I CAN RAZE VILLAGES WITH!

Klasten (now a ghost): Wooooh! You should have listened to the guy who can feel these things coming.... 

Liebraian: *throws book through ghost-Klasten*

[I'm calling it now, this is how this quest will end. If it tuns out I'm right, y'all owe me a high-five. And a book through the chest.]

 

Edited October 15, 2018 by Archer

[+Sorana]

Althea shrugged.

"Sorry for being late. I could help to study those symbols or the barrier. Or I can simply go along and help when the need arises. Whatever you think could be helpful. I tend to spend a lot of time in Shadesmar or the cognitive realm if you prefer  that expression and know my way around there."

@Kidpen

Edited October 15, 2018 by Sorana

[Minato™]

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Can I join in with the main plot after I’m done with Devaan on the training grounds?

 

[Kidpen]

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ohcrapmorepeopleIcan'thandlethis

Sure! I wouldn't recommend joining with the Liebrarian party directly though, we're pretty big. You can join with the opposition or do something weird as a third party. Or if you really want to you can join us, but preferably via another way than just showing up and saying you want to help.

 

[Minato™]

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Ok thanks! I’ll look into it

 

[Gancho Libre]

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Sorry for the long post. Don't worry, it is only indirectly related to the main plot.

Ioc knew where it had to go. Ioc knew what it had to do.

Ioc knew, but it didn’t know.

Why did the Ioc of the past concoct this plan? Who knew what side effects it would have?

Ioc could die. That was the minimal consequence. For the worst case scenario, it’s mind would be irretrievable. Ioc would be ruined, but not in a way that would let it rest.

‘Prefrontal Cortex has grown more subtle,’ The voice of Hope warned. Hope had, recently, taken over Subconscious’ job as the chronic narrator. ‘You should be careful. He’s trying to get you to abandon this mission,’

Ioc nodded. In fact, it hadn’t heard Subconscious’ voice in quite a while, ever since Hope had become more prominent.

‘This has to be done. Do it for Nei’an,’

Ioc nodded more firmly. Ioc was what society feared.

The world doesn’t fear a villain. No, the world fears a hero who fails.

Ioc had built itself up. Ioc had become something of a figurehead, hadn’t it?

Then, Ioc had let down the one person it cared about, the one person who trusted in Ioc more than anything.

Ioc snarled. There was one thing about Ioc that was imperfect and terrible. One thing that needed to change.

One thing that Ioc needed to destroy.

Ioc teleported. It had been standing in the cellar of an abandoned house, a refuge for it, but now the cellar was empty once more.

Ioc reappeared in Smedry Castle, the black, box-like building in Nalhalla. The place where perhaps the strangest beings resided.

The world feared these people.

Ioc was in one of the spacious rooms inside the castle, occupied by a young woman, who was purposefully putting a bookshelf’s books out of order. She finished and took a step back to survey her work. For some reason, she didn’t seem curious or even frightened as to why an unknown figure had materialized in her room.

Ioc coked his head, then walked next to her, surveying the bookshelf for itself.

A human’s mind worked in patterns. An ordinary human was mentally incapable of creating something purely chaotic. Everything made by man needed to have a reacurable variable.

Everything, except, the order of the books. Ioc tapped Mental Speed to give itself ten full minutes of looked, but to no avail. The order of the books in the bookshelf was, in essence, the pure form of chaos.

Ioc ceased tapping Mental Speed, then turned towards the young woman, Cecilla.

“Huh,” Ioc muttered. “Your Talent. You use it on yourself? No, but this isn’t insanity. This is chaos,”

Cecilla turned towards it. “Oh, so you can talk, can’t you? Well, you still can’t fool me. You’re nothing but my own imagination,”

Ioc snarled and grabbed her by the arm. She shrieked.

“I’m real, girl,” Ioc sneered. It felt as though… there was a layer of glass between its mind and its body. “You think I’m one of your hallucinations? No, I’m as real as you are,”

Cecilla shrank back. “What… what do you want?”

Ioc shattered the glass. It fumbled, then took Cecilla’s hand in it’s.

“Come with me,” Ioc said, then teleported, taking her with it.

They appeared back in the cellar of the abandoned house. Cecilla put a hand to her heart, gasping.

“This is…” she panted, “the realest they’ve ever gotten,”

The voice of Hope seized control. Ioc spun towards her. “Listen up,” Ioc demanded. Immediately, her eyes met it’s and Ioc smiled it’s cruelest smile. “If you do exactly as I say, you’ll find yourself back in your room of Smedry Castle. Got it?”

She trembled. “And if not?” she whispered.

She probably expected Ioc to make some obscure threat that you had to think about in order to realize it’s a threat. Now, of course, would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

However, Ioc was on a time crunch.

“Then,” Ioc snarled, “I kill you,”

‘We’d kill a Smedry?’ Prefrontal Cortex shouted. Ioc reeled internally. This was the first time Prefrontal had spoken in several days. ‘Didn’t we acknowledge that Smedrys were great people full of happiness and joy?’

Subconscious spoke as well, and this would be a cause for celebration except that the voice sounded suspiciously like Hope. ‘We're not going to, obviously. She’ll do as we say, you nimbrain,’

‘I find that comment offensive!’ Association Cortex wailed, but Subconscious’ words held true.

Cecilla shivered but nodded. “Okay,” she whispered. “What do you want?”

Ioc took a deep breath, then picked up two knives. Cecilla shrieked.

“HELP ME!” she cried. “SAVE-”

“Shut up!” Ioc yelled, and she quieted. “This house is abandoned. Nobody will hear you. And secondly, these aren’t for you,”

It raised the knives.

‘Are you sure?’ Prefrontal cortex asked. ‘You do realize what you’re about to do, right? I’m not just the front part of your brain, you know. I provide Reason,’

‘Shut up and die!’ Hope yelled.

‘Perhaps I will,’ Reason said simply. ‘But without me, what will this body do?’

‘We will survive without killing our own friends!’ Hope responded.

Ioc’s hands began to tremble.

‘Was it my fault that Nei’an saved our lives? Was it my fault that we went after a stupid volleyball in the first place?’

‘Shut up!’ Hope yelled.

‘Is it my fault that we ever met Nei’an? Is it my fault we inhabited his body?’

‘Go away!’ Hope screamed.

‘Is it my fault that, all those years ago, we were ban-’

‘DIE!’ Hope screamed, throwing his entire mental capacity against that of Reason’s. Hope, having grown incredibly strong in the past days, outnumbered Reason immensely.

However, nothing Hope could do could stop Reason from speaking.

‘You’re not Hope, are you? You were given that name because you appeared in the face of death,’

‘DIE!’ Hope screamed.

‘The first thing we thought of when we thought of ‘unkillable’ was Hope. Hope cannot die. And if Hope dwells with us, doesn’t it follow that we won’t die either?’

‘DIE!’ Hope screamed again.

‘However, we ignored a truth we've been aware of for quite some time,’

‘GO AWAY!’ Hope’s voice began to change.

‘Hope can be killed. People can give up. You are something even stronger than Hope,’

‘YOU LIAR!’ Hope continued, but it no longer sounded like Hope.

Ioc’s hands dropped to its sides.

‘The one thing that cannot be destroyed,’

Hope ceased to speak, intensifying the attacks on Reason.

‘The one thing that nothing, not even Adonalsium, can destroy,’

Hope struck.

‘The one thing that is purely independent of any other thing,’

Hope struck again.

‘The one thing that the world fears more than a hero who fails,’

Another hit. Reason began to shatter.

‘The one thing that cannot be destroyed. This is because it cannot exist in the same universe that sentience can,’

Pieces of Reason began dropping off.

‘You aren’t Hope. You call me a liar, but you name yourself Hope, after something you cannot even begin to comprehend,’

That which was not Hope began to scream. One long, never-ending scream.

‘You’re not hope. You are…’

Reason shattered.

‘Chaos,’

Chaos’ scream didn’t end. Not while Reason still existed. Reason the voice was destroyed. Now, it was time to kill Reason the idea.

Ioc raised the knives, then swept upwards, shearing its forehead off, but in such a way that left the brain undamaged.

Its brain lay exposed to the world, a window opened up by which to see it. Ioc healed the opened wound, but not regrowing it. The brain began to die under the influence of the outside world, so Ioc healed that.

Ioc survived, even if Reason wouldn’t.

Chaos had full control of Ioc now. There was no longer Reason to counteract Chaos.

Ioc took a step forward, towards Cecilla, who shrank back. Ioc dropped the knives, and clutch on of her hands in it’s.

Then, without a word, Ioc pressed Cecilla’s hand to Ioc’s brain.

Directly onto the Prefrontal Cortex.

A flash of pain entered Ioc’s conscious, pain brighter than any Ioc had experienced, but Ioc healed it away.

Cecilla screamed. The situation would be too much for her. Being kidnapped, then forced to touch a living brain? It would be terrifying.

At such times, Talents engaged, or so Ioc had heard.

Ioc’s source was correct.

And a flood of power flowed down Cecilla’s arm. A flow of power with only one ability.

To damage the mind.

The power flowed from Cecilla’s hand to Ioc’s brain.

And Ioc blacked out for one second before it comprehended what was truly happening.

Ioc’s brain was breaking.

Desperately, Ioc healed the parts that were essential for life and deductive survival.

But, under the direction of Chaos, Ioc left several parts of the brain, those that offered restraint and Reason. Ioc left those broken.

Broken beyond repair.

Ioc hardly comprehended as Cecilla wrenched her hand away and fled, trying to find a way out.

There was none, and Ioc knew it. But Ioc had better things to worry about.

The brain adjusted to this change in functionality. Neural pathways reformed, and the cranium reset.

Ioc healed up its forehead.

And Ioc smiled.

Cecilla backed away as far as she could. But Ioc paid her no attention.

Everything was so… free. Ioc could do anything. There were no feelings of regret or shame for anything Ioc had done. Ioc wished it had killed Max. Who would leave such a powerful Smedry behind?

‘But wait,’ Hippocampus murmured. He didn’t really have a voice anymore, more of a… prompting. ‘Wasn’t there more to the plan?’

Oh, right. The plan that Ioc now had no qualms about completing.

“Take me back…” Cecilla murmured. Ioc turned towards her, still wearing that cruel smile.

She shrank back. “Please, you said you would take me back…”

Ioc took a long step towards her, bringing them only a couple of feet apart.

“Oh, I will…” Ioc promised.

Then, Ioc pulled out a silvery spike. Ioc didn’t know what type of metal it was, but Ioc had found it in Arnoldette’s castle after Nei’an had died. A diagram had shown what it did and where the bind point was.

Ioc smiled wider, so wide that his lips began to crack.

Then, in a burst of motion, Ioc lunged forward and stabbed the spike into Cecilla’s heart.

She didn’t make a sound as she went down.

Ioc placed the spike in its own body, then tasted the new ability it had. A Smedry power. So… underused.

This was why Ioc hated Smedrys. They barely utilized their power.

Ioc shook its head. It would return the dead body to the castle, as Ioc had promised.

Then, the next stage of the plan would commence.

Edited October 15, 2018 by Gancho Libre

[little wheel]

Silas, having returned form his six month training trip (will be shown later) only a few minutes before the Liebrarian decided to speak. "Hello, Mother." 

[xinoehp512]

One of the liebrarian assistants raised his hand. "Can I say something?" he asked.

[Sherlock Holmes]

“Heya, kid,” Tena said to her son. “Ya look handsomer. Well done.”

[old man moomba]

Dwig sat in the secret Ghostblood vault that he'd been secreted in for a few months now. He stood up and stretched, walking over to a console. URGENT MESSAGE flashed on the screen. He tapped the keyboard, accessing the message. He read quickly. The Benefactor wanted him to the guardian. 'Work with Team Chartuse' the message had said. Dwig smiled, it was time to begin Operation Muave. Dwig walked back to the chair, typing in commands. 

A few hours later, three massive ships rose above the secret vault, moving towards the Alleycity. 

[Kidpen]

21 hours ago, xinoehp512 said:

One of the liebrarian assistants raised his hand. "Can I say something?" he asked.

The liebrarian frowned. "I have assistants? Huh. I hadn't realized that. Go ahead."