Release of Voidus

[MacThorstenson he/him]

1 minute ago, Voidus said:

 

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Can voidus get out without Alum doing something?

 

[Gancho Libre he/him]

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And what exactly is Alum trying to do?

Is this the Liebrarian plot or something else?

 

[Voidus]

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At this point as long as the various Dor users don't all simultaneously die within the next minute then the barrier's going to be coming down. I think Alum just wants to survive the experience.

 

[MacThorstenson he/him]

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This is the librarian plot, Alum took it over, but now hes just trying to open up the barrier. Right now, with the current state of the dor and the Alleystorm incoming, I think that voidus may be able to brute force his way out.

 

[Gancho Libre he/him]

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DON'T WORRY, RIATHOR CAN TAKE IT!!!!! YARG!!!!!

 

[+Ark1002]

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Wouldn't the Alleystorm strengthen the barrier?

 

[Gancho Libre he/him]

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Today is the day.

Voidus, if I'm not online when you escape, you can godmod Riathor into trying to attack you. Kill him as you like.

1

@Voidus

[Voidus]

7 hours ago, #Voidapple said:

Wouldn't the Alleystorm strengthen the barrier?

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It would strengthen the outermost layer of the barrier, but with the Dor as limited as it is it would effectively only strengthen some sections of while pretty much draining others completely.

Voidus reached out for another Aon, drawing the Dor back from it. It pulsed briefly before collapsing, leaving a hole in yet another layer of the barrier. Fifteen successive layers now had gaps large enough to slip through, it wouldn't be long now until he could collapse the last of them.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The rhythmic footsteps of the guardian set his pace as he continued on to the sixteenth layer, he quickly examined the configuration and began to drawing the Dor back from them in sequence, one misstep could set him back or trigger some of the barriers defenses.

Suddenly the entire barrier flickered for a moment, every Aon seemed to weaken as some kind of wave seemed to pass through them. Several layers seemed to simultaneously fail as key Aons were removed from their sequences.

Voidus stood, his hands faltered as the Aon he had grasped flickered out without any intervention. He stared at the barrier, the hint of a frown beginning to form. He'd realized already that something had to be drawing an incredible amount of the Dor in order to weaken the barrier like this, but to draw enough to weaken the barrier to this extent? And all at once too, this wasn't a steady accumulation of additional programs drawing on the Dor, this was something sudden. What could possibly create such a sudden draw? Had a Shard managed to enter the Alleyverse in his absence?

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The layers that he'd created holes in began to collapse completely, Aons flickering out over the entire surface of the barrier and new holes forming everywhere. Through them he could see that the outermost layer seemed to be shining brighter than ever, as strong as it had been when first constructed. Was someone amplifying the draw of the Dor by the barrier itself?

He moved back a step, taking a view of the barriers structure and quickly sketching a series of Aons in the air, the barrier was weak enough that the remains could simply be forced through, but now the entire barrier was weak. If he didn't do something to introduce some stability then the whole barrier might break, allowing unrestricted access to the Worldspike until he could repair it, and whatever was creating this draw had to be dealt with as well.

Thud. Thud.

In moments he had clear access to the final layer of the barrier, only this lay between him and freedom. However if he left the barrier in this state he'd just create more work for himself.

Thud.

With supernatural speed he drew one Aon after another, rebuilding the barrier as it was broken. But that was a stopgap measure at best, he could power them himself for now but that couldn't continue indefinitely. If he left it like that for long then either someone from the outside might get in, or the guardian might get out.

The guardian?

He realized that the regular footsteps of the guardian had slowed and finally stopped. That regular beat that had kept him company for who knew how long had changed. Cautiously he turned around just in time to see two enormous eyes staring right back, a glint of excitement within.

This is going to be troublesome.

[Voidus]

With a faint sound of shattering glass, a small square opening appeared in the barrier. A shadow fell across the opening as something stepped out from within, revealing the figure of a tall, clean-shaven young man in a somewhat dusty looking grey suit. He stooped as he stepped through the small gap before, finally, for what seemed like the first time in an age, Voidus took a breath of fresh air.

A storm whipped around him, tousling his short hair and seeming to react to the Investiture within him and the barrier.

A Highstorm? No, the feel isn't right, it's not anything of Rayse's doing either. Something new then? Something different?

A small smile tugged at his pale lips. New was good, new meant that things had continued progressing in an interesting way without any intervention. It was likely this that had caused the sudden fluctuations in the Dor earlier, but he might even be able to make use of this for the next rendition of the barrier. For now his makeshift patch seemed to be holding, and with any luck the Guardian wouldn't try anything too active to break out, though its eagerness when it sensed the Investiture out here had been concerning.

He cast a brief, tired glance over his frozen surroundings, trying to decide if anything required any immediate attention. He'd been hoping to see some of the DA here, but he saw few figures that he recognized, and the DA likely would have used a more reliable method of extraction.

Forces of unknown allegiance were arrayed throughout the center of the city, beyond them large sections of the city seemed to have been destroyed, some efforts to rebuild had obviously been going for some time.

How long had he been stuck for?

Voidus sent a quick Seeker pulse through the vicinity, identifying the large number of nearby Invested individuals, other pockets of people throughout the city seemed likewise Invested. He also found a rather unique Investiture signal that he hadn't been expecting to sense, one that only one person was likely to possess.

"This raises a few questions." He muttered under his breath.

He ignored the forces arrayed around him and slowly reached an arm up, fingers splayed and grasping for something.

Blue lines erupted into the air around him, uncountable sources of metal within range. Almost too many to sort through, but eventually Voidus found a bundle that he was searching for. They were pale, extremely thin, likely invisible to any other due to the distance and the strength of the Investiture.

Pulling on the barely-visible threads was difficult, the Investiture resisted him far beyond anything he was used to, and adjusting the strength of Allomancy wasn't a particular specialty of his.

"When was the last time something was this difficult?" He said, frown deepening on his face and throwing the bags under his eyes into sharper highlight.

He tried to adjust, using enough force without going overboard.

Dozens of buildings collapsed as something was pulled through them at incredible speeds, finally stopping as Voidus caught it with his outstretched hand, clasping the head of the figure that had flown towards him.

"Hello Mac." Voidus said. "Would you care to tell me how long you left me in there for? And why is half the city a giant crater?"

[MacThorstenson he/him]

Mac walked back and forth in his office, thinking about what he needed to do. Suddenly, he felt a little tug. 

Nothin large, almost unnoticeable, but the tug grew stronger, pulling on his spikes. 

Storms

Mac ran over to the monitor, and saw that his fears had been confirmed. Voidus has been released. 

Without a second thought he began tearing out spikes while turning the rest into heavily invested metalminds, but it was no use. He slowly began sliding toward the wall, and suddenly he was pulled off his feet, and slammed into the wall. 

With a crash, the wall broke and Mac shot toward Voidus, slamming through alleys and healing himself as fast as he could. 

Before he knew it he was staring into the eyes of the void itsself. 

“Hello Mac." Voidus said. "Would you care to tell me how long you left me in there for? And why is half the city a giant crater?"

Mac gulped, and sweat began to fall down his face. Right now he was closer to death than ever before.

Reflexively he reached for the one power, by then he stopped himself. There was no way he would beat Voidus in a fight, he needed to try to talk his way out. 

“Uhh well I was dead for most of the time, but from what I can gather it’s been 17 years, and the seven day war was ended by the black crusade thermo nuking the city. 

I didn’t know you were gone until very recently when I came back to life, but I didn’t find out you were trapped until about an hour ago. There was a large backlog of mail from my leave of absence, and I only just got through it.”

Mac wept inside. There was no way he was getting out of this. There was no hope, no chance of him surviving. Voidus was pretty forgiving, but he had screwed up. 

Maybe Voidus would have mercy?
 

@Voidus

Edited January 26, 2019 by MacThorstenson

[Voidus]

Still staring directly into Macs eyes, Voidus loosened his grip for a moment.

"Seventeen years?" He asked. Latching on to the most important piece of information. "Then someone could have..."

The city was still standing, the Worldspike was in one piece so it was possible that nothing had changed, but the risk was still great. He would need to check on this immediately.

"Do you have any idea what you might have done?" He asked Mac quietly, expression darkening, eyes seeming to grow as he stared.

His grip tightened once more, trickles of blood beginning to flow down his hand from Macs scalp. He raised a menacing finger before Mac.

"This is beyond what I can overlook Mac. No matter what you may have done to help us in the past. You have no idea what you might have done, what could have happened, what might still happen!"

The words burst from him, tone shifting to a shout as he grew more anxious. He took a moment and drew a deep steadying breath, allowing his voice to soften and his eyes to become cold.

"You know," He began softly. "I can't even remember the last time I needed to use this."

A dark light began to emanate from the tip of the finger, dimming their surroundings as nearby light was sucked into it. The barrier nearby began to flicker as well, its power suppressed by the dark light.

"Rayse was always a bit melodramatic. Calling that imitation of his 'Voidbinding'.  His power comes from a Shard of Adonalsium, a creator. He knows nothing of what the Void entails."

Small wisps of multicolored light began to drift out of Mac's body, out of the spikes he wore.

"Voidmaking." Voidus said, a touch of finality to his voice.

He watched the coloured wisps begin moving towards the dark point, each one a piece of Investiture or other magic that Mac had gathered. A dim golden stream was the first to touch the dark light, it suddenly accelerated, pulled in entirely until it was gone. Mac had lost the ability to channel.

Voidus watched solemnly, it was never a lesson he'd wanted to teach Mac. But this day he needed to learn the price for his failure. Another thread, this one a soft green was next to be pulled in, vanishing just like the first. Stormlight healing.

He felt something shift behind him but paid it no heed, these soldiers could do little to harm him or Mac, and Mac deserved his attention in these final moments. He deserved that at least. A shadowy thread vanished into the darkness, Alleymatics had been removed as well.

A tiny strand of colour began to drift from Voidus' body, flowing behind him. He stared at it for a moment, still holding onto Mac before the significance of what he was seeing hit him.

"What?"

He dropped Mac to the ground and spun around to follow the small strand with his eyes as it connected to another point of dark light, held on the outstretch finger of a wavering, semi-translucent figure behind him.

"Evening Voidus." The figure said, tipping a transparent bowler hat.

What else could possibly make use of Voidmaking? And against him? Stunned, it took Voidus a moment to respond before he cut his hand swiftly through the air,  sending a blade of dark energy towards the other figure. It collided with the point of dark light that it held, both of them held for a few brief seconds before vanishing.

Powerful enough to hold on that long? Nothing could hold on that long against the power of the Void when he himself wielded it. Nothing except Voidus himself.

"Too late after all." Voidus said, looking down at Mac sadly. "After the first sixteen years someone must have acquired it."

"Not quite." The figure said, straightening up. "I should introduce myself, I'm Sudiov."

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

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HOLY PLOT TWIST, BATMAN!

 

[MacThorstenson he/him]

Mac looked at Sudiov, a something that resisted Voidus for a brief moment! That means that it would need to be nearly as strong as him! At least as strong as Adonalsium. This was astounding, but what was it? His eyes widened. This, this was what Voidus was afraid of, this was what caused him to nearly kill me. He collapsed. It was his fault, he had endangered the Dark Alleys, his city, and his mentor. 

He had failed. He should have trembled at this. For him, failure meant the end. There would be no afterlife for him once the council realized he failed. But instead, Mac felt nothing. He had been beaten! There was nothing more he could do. He tried to reach for the One Power, or his metalminds, but nothing worked. Voidus had bested him.

Even without trying, he knew that Alleymatics was no longer an option. There was nothing left, no investiture or even soul. It felt like there was a void, permeating his body.

Mac slumped to the ground.

There was nothing else.

He tried to sit up and meet his death with dignity, but he didn't have the strength. 

I give up. 

 

He reached for his powers, but found nothing. He found a void in his soul. 

What’s this?

He realized that he could touch the void, and move it, even push it out of him toward others. 

Whatever it was, it was something. Without a second thought, He pushed it at voidus, but instead of attacking him with it, he gave the power to him. 

If he was going to die it would be in defense of the Alleys and his mentor. 

With that thought he fell unconscious. 

Edited January 26, 2019 by MacThorstenson

[old man moomba he/him]

Rick smiled, then tried to teleport. Instead, his body and Cognitive aspectliterally melted from the amount of Investiture flowing through him.

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Saving Rick for an E3 villan plot.

 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Rekaerb's eyes widened and his mouth opened. What?

He hadn't been expecting this.

[MacThorstenson he/him]

 

8 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

He hadn't been expecting this.

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The Dark Alleys Plot Twist Department aims to please.

 

[+Ark1002]

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I doubt anyone was

 

[Gancho Libre he/him]

Riathor glanced at the two of them, something that wasn't quite power radiating from them both.

Everything inside of him told him not to interfere.

[Voidus]

Voidus watched the transparent figure, Sudiov it had introduced itself as, straighten up. It looked back at him with a grim smile on its face, seeming to wait for him to make the next move, but he could see the light in the area begin to darken. It was trying to suppress any other Investiture in the area.

"Sudiov?" Voidus asked, incredulous. "Not a particularly creative name is it?"

"Well, when I first gained sentience I didn't really know much about anything other than you."

Sudiov seemed to grow wary as the air began to darken even further and his Investiture was also suppressed. His form shifted uncomfortably for a moment before stabilizing again.

"Sentience?" Voidus asked. "So no one else managed to pick it up, but gaining sentience should take a lot longer than the time you had, it can't have been more than a year."

The air between them grew thick with the pressure of their invisible contest, their voices became a little strained as they continued.

"Not sure I could explain it myself." Sudiov replied. "Perhaps something to do with the Alleystorms? But however it happened I'm alive now, and I don't particularly feel like being reabsorbed. So no hard feelings."

A section of pavement that lay between the two began to crumble and vanish, leaving not even dust behind, but neither of the two took their eyes off each other to observe this. Something moved out of the crowd of spectators, a person or a projectile he wasn't sure, but in tandem both Voidus and Sudiov released a small blast of darkness towards it, erasing it before it reached them.

We're evenly matched. Voidus realized with surprise. I've had to divert some power into the barrier again but even then I didn't expect it to be this close.

A small flicker of darkness caught his attention, flying towards his back. Another assailant? He turned his attention for just a moment towards the darkness, almost instantly Sudiov took advantage of his distraction, gaining some ground in their contest. He saw Sudiov's smile widen slightly.

Then the darkness hit him and he realized what it was. Someone else had Snapped into Voidmaking, something that hadn't happened in a long, long time. It was a small amount of power, likely all that Mac could muster in the moment. But it was enough to establish a difference.

Voidus pushed back, gritting his teeth as he channeled this power towards Sudiov. He made back the ground that Sudiov had stolen, then began to push back further still. Small wisps of light began to creep out of Sudiov's body as he widened his eyes in surprise.

"That's really not fair." Sudiov said politely, voice betraying none of his fear. "Well then I suppose this will need to be settled later."

Voidus nodded slowly. Destroying Sudiov entirely would mean destroying all the power that he held, everything that Voidus had left behind. This couldn't be settled with a simple contest of strength anymore, though knowing that he had the upper hand in such a confrontation was a relief.

With a final nod, Sudiov vanished.

Voidus turned around, the dark circles under his eyes even deeper now than they had been before. He silently watched the body that lay before him, the unconscious body of Mac.

For you to have snapped at that moment. He thought, still astonished. Wonders never cease. Come on, you've done enough for today.

He stooped down for a moment, pulling Mac up and feeding him a trickle of power to heal with. What was done was done, no sense in punishing Mac for it any further, and he had redeemed himself in that last second.

"I suppose I'll need to start teaching you again." Voidus said, a small smile creeping over his pale lips once more.

He looked up, towards the still-frozen people surrounding him. Signs of conflict seemed to have stalled for the moment.

I suppose I'd better deal with this for now.

His tired eyes wandered among all the participants, occasionally stopping on one figure for a little longer before moving on.

"And what were all of you doing here?" He asked sternly.

 

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This is more or less the end of what I had planned for this era, I'll respond to anything else in this thread if other people need me to help wrap some things up. If anyone interfered in the middle of the Sudiov vs. Voidus conflict then they would have been blasted by both of them so feel free to have characters die that way if needed. Otherwise I think this is more or less the end of era 2 finally.

 

[+Ark1002]

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Yay! Meta, please respond to the monk so I can give him a good death.

@MetaTerminal

[MetaTerminal he/him]

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Sorry, I’ve been occupied by moderation recently. My apologies.

Alum felt the duralumin-fueled force press against him, and he became cold. Very cold. Emotionless, yes, but not in the way of a firm resolve - but instead of a semi-coma, being unable to respond to any sort of stimuli. He stopped counting. He almost stopped breathing - but his unconscious mind kicked in and kept that going.

Sense slowly came to him. He had completely lost count now. And that meant every second could be his last.

He stared at the monk, who had grabbed at his arm, and was grinning madly. Pyrus disappeared from his restricted hand, reappearing as a longer blade in his other. Alum drew his hand back, preparing to strike once more, but then he stopped again. In the distance, the barrier had fallen.

Should he have an emotional reaction to this? Probably. But his emotions were still dampened, and all he could feel were the tracings of fatigue, and the prickling feeling of poison in his bloodstream. Time was not on his side.

 “You have failed,” he said to the monk, and plunged the blade towards the neck.

@#Voidapple

[+Ark1002]

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I WANT THE HALLUCINATIONS AAAAAH

His hand shot up, missing the blade, scratching the arm. "You'll still die." The knife hit him, and it all ended.
@MetaTerminal

[Kidpen he/him]

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So what happened with the Guardian? Is it dead? I'm 99% the amount of power Detran got wasn't enough to control it, and if I had to guess the Sudiov fight killed it anyways.

 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Kidpen

[Voidus]

28 minutes ago, Kidpen said:

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So what happened with the Guardian? Is it dead? I'm 99% the amount of power Detran got wasn't enough to control it, and if I had to guess the Sudiov fight killed it anyways.

 

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Guardian is still inside the barrier, the barrier itself is unstable at the moment and there's a Voidus outside of it at the moment but up to you if you still want to try to break the Guardian out to control it.

 

[Archer he/him]

I hate pinging people. And necroing threads. But I'm about to do both, because I would like to finish off the fight @Kidpen and I started. Kidpen, could you please post something lethal so Mace can die? If you're too busy, or I don't hear back from you, I can just gloss over your role and have him fall on Detran's sword, but I'd rather not have to do that. Thanks in advance.