Welcome to the Netherworld!

[lazyvassals]

[It is difficult to define what a normal afternoon is by Netherworld standards. In the dark, torch-lit halls of the Overlord's Castle, penguin-suited prinnies totter about pretending to do work, while most other vassals make no effort at all to pretend. No fights have broken out yet, but it is questionable how long that will last with the Overlord being awake. It is just the sort of calm that comes before something unexpected happens, or someone makes it happen out of boredom.

And that is precisely when the first stranger comes through the swirling vortex of the Dimensional Gate.

It doesn't seem so unusual at first, because people use that gate on a daily basis. But more people start to show up, people who aren't demons. The Gatekeeper herself has no idea where they've come from, or how they've found their way to the Netherworld.

Unfortunately, neither do the unexpected guests.]

Comments

[fayth]

( yuna isn't all that far behind. dirtied and bruised as well, although this wasn't exactly what she was expecting... seeing kain nearby is no surprise. holding her left arm with in her right hand, she limped over, wincing with the movement... ) Where... are we? This can't be -- a new cycle... ( there was never going to be a new cycle for them, after all... )

[bound_skyward]

[Kain slowly tires to sit up, gasping in pain just a little, as he then glances around.]

Impossible... the manikins...

[They both had known what they were getting into. Had all know. Were the others nearby as well. He again looks around the area...]

Nor do I recognize this place, unless we've lost our memories again.

[Wait... he's not supposed to remember that, right? Nor should he recall last cycle, but it's all clear enough, from the beginning to the end.]

[fayth]

( she knew it too. they'd died. they shouldn't... be anywhere, until the war was won. but it was more than fact that they'd lost the last round... ) Maybe we should... have a look around.

( she breathed in sharply as she moved again. she couldn't heal them, her mana had been depleted from those last few attacks... it was going to take a good rest to renew it now. )

[bound_skyward]

[Kain knows the feeling. He's depleted all of his energy, having given every last bit of his strength into that battle. They'd both given it their all, as had the others... He wonders if they'll be along soon too, or if they've already arrived.]

We should. I'd like to know if we're meant to battle endlessly in the next life...

[What if that were the case somehow? Perhaps Chaos' reach somehow extends into the afterlife, or he found a way in somehow.]

[fayth]

I don't... recognize it at all... ( she casts a glance behind her, making sure that she didn't somehow miss anyone else following after them. but there was o one... ) I don't -- see any of the others, either... ( a reason for her to worry, apparently -- )

[bound_skyward]

[No sign of their comrades, no sign even of anyone from Chaos... nor are there any manikins yet either. Kain wonders what this means...]

Then I suppose we'll have to explore and see if we can find out more about this place.

[He's hoping they'll find the others along the way. They'll need to determine how to handle this new challenge.]

[fayth]

( she's quiet for a moment or two, considering everything...
confession time... ) I really didn't... think we were going to wake up at all, you know?

[bound_skyward]

[They're thoughts that are running through Kain's mind too. He slowly nods, looking away.]

I was certain of it... We all knew what we were getting into. None of us expected to return.

[fayth]

But now we're here in a strange world again... ( she frowns, rubbing a sore spot on one of her arms -- ) I thought the struggle would be over.

( was what they did... even helpful at all? )

[bound_skyward]

As did I.

[He'd made his peace, accepted his fate. After all of that, it seemed... almost anti-climatic to awaken yet again in some other strange world.]

...Are your memories of home now intact as well?