awashlogs | o toi, le plus savant et le plus beau des anges

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o toi, le plus savant et le plus beau des anges

WHO: Akira, Dextera, Ryo (+ Pyra in the second thread)
WHERE: The woods
WHEN: 3/14ish
WHAT: Satan, a Devilman, and God walk into the forest to kill a guardian.
WARNINGS: Character death, violence; I'll update this if anything else comes up.

[ Link had cautioned him against harming the guardian, and while Ryo agreed that he had a point since the forest is sentient to some degree and that killing it could very well incur the forest's wrath, he decided to ignore the suggestion to leave it alone—he wants that thing dead, and he wants to know what it might be guarding. One must sometimes take risks in the pursuit of knowledge, after all.

A few weeks after learning about Dextera being in possession of a bullet capable of killing even even a god, Ryo, Dextera, and Akira decide to make the trip into the forest with the intention of tracking down and killing the creature.

It's been a couple of hours since they left town. Their surroundings are growing darker, the trees becoming more twisted and gnarly as they venture deeper. It can't be far now, and Ryo feels unease knot in his stomach—it's as though they're being ushered toward the creature, with nothing hindering their way. They haven't even seen a single animal since they left town. ]

I hope we're not being led into some sort of trap. [ He says, eyes scanning for movements between the trees, fingers tightening around his rifle. ]

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[ He nods in agreement, and they part ways with Ryo leading the way to his house in Ruga instead. Tako is waiting for them in the hallway, staring up at the two with questioning eyes as they enter as if asking where Akira is. ]

He'll be back soon.

[ He's pretty sure the cat cannot understand him but he says it anyway. ]

[ Pyra will give the cat an affectionate smile, although she can’t exactly make the worry in her voice. ] Hello, little one. I’m just visiting....

[ She would reach down to pet it, but cats can be fickle things, some affectionate and some not, so she knows better! Besides, she’s not here for the cat. Looking back to Ryo... ]

What does the process of... using the grimoire include?

[ Tako sniffs Pyra's shoes curiously and then looks to Ryo, meowing at him. He knows that meow means he wants him to put food in his bowl, but feeding the cat is Akira's job. So he ignores it like the kind and considerate person he is. ]

All we have to do is open the grimoire together and read the text out loud. [ It sounds simple enough, but that thing is ominous, filling you with dread and the feeling that it shouldn't even be opened unless you're about to use it. ]

[ Her gaze remains uneasy. ]

How did you come to find this book, if I may ask? Do you believe it can be trusted?

[ She’s not questioning his judgment, though. She’s honestly just curious. ]

The Sphinx quest from last year. The rewards for it were pieces that could be put together to create a magical item—I got the empty pages for the grimoire, for example. Dextera got the cover.

[ He came close to throwing the pages away when he first found them, but his gut feeling told him to hold onto them at least for a little while. ]

I believe so, yeah. As Dextera said, it's dangerous, but I'm certain it will work. He won't come back as some kind of undead abomination.

[ She has a number of other questions about the nature of the grimoire itself, but in the end she knows she simply must accept it as a magic not of her own world.

Pyra rests her hand upon a countertop as they wait, looking away when Ryo assures her that Akira will not return as some sort of mindless monster. ] ....I suppose now, all we have to do is wait for him to bring the book.

[ it’s not much longer that dextera shows up with it, letting himself into ryo’s home with only some trepidation. the grimoire practically pulses with dark energy in the bag in which he’s carrying it, and he takes a deep breath before calling quietly into the house. ]

I’ve got it.

Bring it into the living room. I'll make sure the cat won't interrupt us.

[ Better safe than sorry, who knows what might happen if Tako does anything that could affect things. Picking up Tako, he quickly carries him into the bathroom and pushes the door closed, trapping the animal inside. ]

[ Pyra will follow them into the living room, hands clasped in front of her as she watches Dextera handle the grimoire. The book would seem ominous even without the aura surrounding it. ]

Just... tell me what you need me to do.

[ Reciting some lines, Ryo had said. She'll be ready when needed. ]

[ dextera tries, of course, to ignore his worry for the way ryo handles the cat and acknowledges, at least to himself, that it probably is best to make sure the animal doesn’t interrupt. with another breath, quicker this time, dextera lays the grimoire out on the floor.

he looks up at pyra. ]

This is your last chance. Ryo won’t let you drop out.

I'm ready for whatever comes next.

[ Perhaps "ready" is not the exact word to use in this case, but she does acknowledge that there may be consequences and repercussions. That, she is prepared to accept if it means bringing Akira back. ]

Good. Let's begin.

[ He gives Dextera quick glance to see if he looks ready before sitting down and opening the grimoire to the first page. The pages are practically curling under the weight of expectation and ominous energy but Ryo clears his throat and begins to read the text out loud in a calm voice. ]

[ it’s not right.

dextera can sense it, with his purification. the world is distorting, as ryo reads, and truth be told he wouldn’t even need his powers to tell that—it’s obvious enough, with the strange mood heavy in the air. ]

…

[ once he catches ryo’s speed and cadence, he begins to read along. it brings up terrible memories, of an atrocity he committed once before, but he can’t just look away from it. ]

[ Looking over the words, she chimes in not a second after Dextera and without a waver in her voice, reading the words aloud, synchronous to them despite the strange chill the energy surrounding the grimoire emits. Her own energy is quite adaptable, and if that is what this book feeds off of, then that is what it will get-- what she will give freely.

Pyra's own power works best when she is linked with others, when she has a common goal. And although she may not know either Ryo or Dextera very well, she knows they all share the same goal: to bring Akira back. ]

[ Ryo moves his finger long the text as he reads out loud, never once faltering or stumbling over the words. The ominous feeling the book emanates seems to worsen as they progress through the pages, hanging heavily in the air like poisonous miasma, and while there's no gradual drain of energy Ryo can feel something sink into his chest as if preparing to rip it all out at once.

But he ignores it and keeps going, and when he finishes the last sentence the book glows brightly for a moment—and in the next instant it claims it sacrifice from the three, leaving Ryo suddenly feeling cold and fatigued to the bone and vaguely nauseated, barely able to sit upright. When the glow fades, the text is no longer readable, the worn pages completely empty. ]

[ dextera actually does slump over onto the floor, when the book steals away its price. he’s breathing, quite obviously, and he has the energy to keep his eyes open, but it’s a task all his own to remain conscious or even want to with his sudden exhaustion. ]

…

[ and the nausea. he closes his eyes, willing the world around him to stop swimming before he empties his stomach all over ryo’s floor. it’s a dark, dark energy that’s gotten its claws into them, and they have no way of knowing if it’s worked until akira himself shows up at the door.

he shivers, feeling cold from the inside out. ]

[ The book wants power? It can have it. The book wishes for more? Here, she will give it, and give it freely. She has ample to spare within the depths of her core, and she will willingly provide it as much as she is able, as much as can be filtered from the seal that is placed upon her.

Yet when she speaks the final word in unison with them, when the incantation ends, she feels as if it grimoire has taken a whole lot more than what she had offered, like some sort of essence that she cannot place that she didn't know she even had. Now she suddenly feels without, an emptiness that leaves her feeling faint. Whatever it is that the book has siphoned from her, it's gone.

Feeling truly cold is a phenomenon for her, one she's only experienced while in Chroma, and she cannot help but bring her arms up to wrap herself around her. The crystal upon her chest has dimmed considerably. ] ...Was... was that it? [ She asks cautiously, voice small. ] Where is he?

Somewhere in town. [ His voice is weak, barely above a whisper. He gives up on trying to remain upright and lies down, staring up at the ceiling. ]

He'll come here soon.

[ He has to. They just need to wait for him to head back to the house. Their house. ]

[As he returns to consciousness, Akira's memories are a haze. He remembers being in Ryo's arms, he remembers a heavy pain in his chest, he remembers the battle, the forest, Dextera, flashes of lightning. It's all a mess, and as he comes into consciousness to the sound of waves lapping against the harbour, it has him touching his chest for a wound that's no longer there. His eyes come into focus, and he realises he's alone at the water's edge.

Did he really die? Or was that yet another close call? Death had become all too common after he'd become a Devilman, to the point of almost being routine.

But, he remembers, Chroma is different.

Akira also realises he's not in the forest, and if he's alone, he must've been separated from Ryo and Dextera after the fight. So he staggers unsteadily to his feet, and, disoriented, heads for the first place he'd think to look for Ryo: their home in Ruga, as fast as his demonic agility will allow.

When he arrives, he almost tears the front door straight off its hinges with the force that he opens it, yelling into the house.]

RYO! Where are you?

[There's both desperation and confusion in his voice as he enters. If he's not here, he might need to go back to the forest to help them.]

[ Ryo feels a swell of relief in his chest when he hears Akira open the door. It worked, it worked, he's on the verge on passing out but the fatigue weighing down on his body is worth it because Akira came back. He's home. ]

Akira... [ He tries to say it loud enough for Akira to hear, but all that comes out is another pitiful whisper. He's too tired to raise his voice.

Meanwhile, loud meowing can be heard coming from the bathroom. ]

[Akira doesn't hear any response from Ryo. But the meowing from the bathroom is odd, so he moves to open the door. Tako darts out, and before Akira can stop to figure out how he got shut in there, the cat doesn't even stop to greet him, running across the hall and standing by the living room to look at him with expectant eyes.

Is Tako trying to tell him something? Apprehensive, he follows the cat inside.

What he sees makes his blood run cold. A book on the table, Ryo and Dextera on the floor, and -- Pyra? Why is she here? He moves to her first since she at least seems to be sitting upright, even if the crystal in her chest is worryingly dim, and she's huddled with her arms around herself.]

H-hey... What happened? [He touches her shoulder, his voice trembling as he struggles against tears.]

[ Pyra wants to do many things here. She wants to help Dextera, or at least clean up after him. She wants to bring a blanket to cover him. For Ryo, she wants to give him a pillow and perhaps a cup of hot tea. But she hasn't the energy to any of those things....

She feels a hand upon her shoulder before she realizes it's Akira that's there, and a soft gasp escapes her lips as she looks up at him. ] Akira.... ?

[ He asked them a question, but she can hardly focus on anything but him right now. ] ---Akira. [ She would have leaped up to pull him into an embrace. As it is, she can only bring a hand up to cover his that's upon her shoulder, squeezing his weakly. ] It... it worked. The grimoire worked.

[ Her voice is trembling, but despite her exhaustion she cannot help but smile as she sees him. Relief washes over her. ] You're alive.

[You're alive. So he really had died after all, and it hadn't just been a bad dream.] What worked...?

[Is she talking about the book? Why is she smiling, when all of them look exhausted? He glances at the grimoire only briefly, and something about this situation seems wrong, even if he doesn't yet understand why. He's starting to panic, so Akira moves over to Ryo's side next, dropping to his knees and gathering him up in his arms.]

Ryo? [His voice trembles, remembering how Ryo had held him like this as he died. Then, with a little more urgency--] Ryo, talk to me.

[He's breathing, at least, but he and Dextera look even worse off than Pyra.]

Akira. [ Despite how tired his limbs are, he manages to lift a had to Akira's cheek. His touch is soft and gentle, but his fingers feel kind of cold. ]

We used the grimoire to revive you. It-- it took our energy in exchange for bringing you back.

[ He exhales quietly, leaning his head against Akira as he lowers his hand. ]

[The tears welling in Akira's eyes spill over, and he catches Ryo's cold hand in his.]

You all... did this for me?

[He didn't ask for this, for them to give up so much for his sake. The town would have brought him back on its own, wouldn't it? But then, he didn't ask for a lot of things Ryo has done for him. Akira wraps his arms around him, hugging him close.

For once, he won't get angry at him for going this far. He couldn't possibly, not now.]

Everyone... Thank you.

o toi, le plus savant et le plus beau des anges

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