Genesis Catastrophe/Lost Chapters

An archive of writings and ideas belonging to the Genesis Catastrophe story that have been overall abandoned by its head writer.
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==The Red Skies Above v1 (Scenario 01 Vanilla)==
The original 21 pages of the Red Skies Above, due to alterations of overall page length and style, exist in a sort of vacuum as it transitions into its current Grave Accent (`)/40~60 pages variant. However, vanilla Scenario 01 (as it is being officially being called) has been compiled from before the start of the massive changes and has been placed here.
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In this world, is the destiny of all life on this planet controlled by some universal law or entity?Is it like the hand of fate, dictating all like marionettes on strings?There is one law that is true, at least...No-one on this Earth has any control, not even over their own lives.
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The skies above the town of Hiruko glow a bright crimson contrasted with bright white clouds passing by, as one of the many civilians living within the town’s walls looks up at the redness. While he stares up into the sky, the others around him simply go about their business, besides from the two sitting near the small fountain at the center of town.
*Civilian 1: Hey, guys…
He tries to get the attention of his two friends sitting near the fountain, while his eyes stay glued onto the sky. They turned their heads to him, wondering what he wants to ask them.
*Civilian 1: ...How long has it been since the sky was blue…?
One of them immediately jumped from his seat and puts his hand onto the man’s shoulder.
*Civilian 2: You mustn’t be worried ‘bout things like this. Now, join us, will ya?
The man looks toward his friend as the three sit down to eat.
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The red skies aren’t just restricted to this small, remote town off in the ass-crack of the world. It has been a year since these skies went red, among other things which affected this world.
This world has seen so much turmoil during its conception, since the year 2100, the world has been plagued by a poisonous, corrosive element known as Seithr. Spread out from one corner of the world to the next, it nearly killed most life off completely. It was the last resort of a monstrous entity, whose existence seemed to be to cause complete havoc and chaos for all life on the planet. It was dubbed the Black Beast, and it threatened the very existence of everything that stood in its way. Man-made weaponry wasn’t able to affect it in the slightest, leaving the world with only one choice: wait for their eventual end.
However, hope appeared in the form of a power known as Magic, and through scientific research, came a weapon which had the possibility of killing off the Black Beast once and for all: Ars Magus.
It was the use of Ars Magus that led to the foul beast being slain, but from its carcass sprayed out the Seithr that dwelled in its body. Spreading across the planet in mere minutes, it made the planet virtually uninhabitable, except for mountains which reached beyond where Seithr could touch.
This led to the creation of Hierarchical Cities where the main bulk of the surviving populace began living. For almost five centuries, there was relative peace for the civilians, while small-scale wars kept going, but, in hindsight, they never contributed to the bigger picture.
Meanwhile, as life continued, the Seithr density kept decreasing over time, until it came to the point where it was safe to walk on the soil below once more. Ars Magus slowly started to become a relic, as the Seithr needed to fuel it became more and more obscure to find. Life on Earth was slowly returning to normal… But…
Just a year ago, the Black Beast rose, more terrifying than ever before. Almost as a demonstration of its sheer power, it drowned the planet in Seithr, to the point that it reached beyond even the atmosphere. There was no escape from it anymore, and now… The world is dying along with the life inhabiting it, inflicted with most call The Drought.
The Black Beast’s revival, though, wasn’t something natural… Someone caused it to happen…
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Someone cloaked in dirty garb approached the town, his entire appearance shrouded by his cloak. The only feature visible on his face was a left eye, which glowed this deep blue color. It looked so unnatural that is was debatable whether or not this “man” was human.
He saw it from a distance and looked at for a minute, wondering how he can get past the town without being recognized… However, that was something he could’ve planned out on the way out here. After all, since that day… He’s had less and less contact with the human race, or even the other races like the Beastkin… He doesn’t even know how these people are going to react to some stranger going through THEIR small little village.
He puts the thought behind him as he keeps moving along the trail leading into town. It takes very little time for him to end up at the entrance of town, this cobblestone wall with a somewhat small entrance hole going through it. The hole itself is blocked off by what looks like an old wooden door. So old-looking, in fact, that the man could probably just lean against it and it’d break apart.
However, there’s two people standing guard next to the entrance. They wore what looked like tattered and scuffled up NOL uniforms, with what looked like small holes forming all around the piece of attire, as if it’s rotting away.
They see the man in front of them, and they seem to be apathetic to his standing there, observing the two like lab rats. Finally, the cloaked man speaks up.
*???: I need to enter the town…
They glanced at him, and with the tone of someone emotionally withdrawn from all around them, one of them speaks.
*Guard 1: Why do you want to enter Hiruko?
Without missing a beat, the outsider plainly responds.
*???: I’m simply trying to get to Kagutsuchi…
Almost immediately, the two snicker at the very thought of this man trying to get to any hierarchical city, let alone the city of Kagutsuchi. One of them speaks up, trying to hold in his laughter.
*Guard 1: Kagutsuchi…? What, you want to get out of the Seithr? You’ll have to get on a fucking rocket for that…!
The guard talking finally loses it, holding his gut with both arms as he tries to control himself. The other one, who has already restrained himself from chuckling like his friend, starts to speak.
*Guard 2: Alright, alright, enjoy your stay…
The guard speaks with sarcasm latent in his voice, as he finds it hard to hold his widening smile. Finally, he walks towards the wooden door and pulls out a set of keys hanging of his person. He gets momentarily distracted by his fellow guard, who is now on the ground, wheezing after all of that laughter he just did. He unlocks it, and pulls on the ring-shaped handle. The outsider notes the loud creaking and cracking sound that emits from the door, as if the hinges it’s on are about to break apart. The guard stands back at his post, while the cloaked man walks right in.
He can still hear the wheezing echoing through the corridor of this wall, along with his footsteps. Each click against the foot tells the man that the ground he’s walking on is also stone, like the walls around it.
It barely takes a minute for him to end up inside Hiruko, as he glances around the place around him. The cobblestone wall circle around the town, standing about 25 meters tall. Even the tallest building in town, which the man sees is near the center, can’t compete with that.
The rest of the buildings and houses look like they were made of part wood and machinery, with some parts of the cobblestone thrown in there. The man ignores this, though, as he tries to walk through town uninterrupted. The townspeople, however, notice this foreign presence, looking at him like he was some kind of strange entity. Who wouldn’t, though? This completely covered up man is now in their town, either with something to hide, or too upset with his appearance to show it off.
The man ends up in the town square, and the first thing he notices is the large fountain at the center. It had a large sculpture of some kind of goddess, with wings emerging from her back and her head. From her cupped hands spewed out copious amounts of water, which splashed against the water already in the fountain.
He also noticed that the people working around the area weren’t paying any attention to him, instead carrying a bunch of crap all over the place. Large logs of wood, weapons, and the most out of place thing: a large canister. The man already knew that kind of canister was used for carrying around Seithr for the use of Ars Magus. At least, they were used that way a year ago, when Seithr was becoming a rare substance to come by...
The man noticed that three people, all guys who look like they were in their late 50s, were sitting next to the fountain, resting and eating. The robed man approached them, and they immediately looked up.
*???: What’s happening around here?
One of them got up, wearing what looked like old clothing, and approached the stranger.
*Civilian 1: They’re preparing for tonight, when those beasts try to come…
Ah… Those beasts… After the sudden rise in the Seithr density, cracks all over the world started to appear and they came out. Seithr Beasts, these monstrous, black, disgusting creatures which live to do one thing… Kill living things… They’re like mini-Black Beasts, but they take many shapes and sizes…
The civilian continues to talk.
*Civilian 1: Hey, I haven’t seen someone like you around here.
*???: I just arrived here a few seconds ago… I’m only staying until I can get to the other side of town…
*Civilian 1: Well, you’re shit outta luck, then.
The stranger is briefly confused by that statement, before keeping with his neutral demeanor.
*???: What do you mean by that…?
*Civilian 1: The guards we have around here always close up the entrances and exits in the walls around this time.
The stranger stays silent for a moment, as if he’s contemplating what he’s going to do now with this change of plans.
*Civilian 1: I should probably suggest that you check with our doc.
*???: And why is that…?
*Civilian 1: It can’t be safe walking ‘round in all that Seithr out there.
*???: You say that like it’s more safe from Seithr than outside…
The guy suddenly raises his arms, like he just took a blow from him.
*Civilian 1: Woah, I’m just sayin’.
The stranger doesn’t like any part of this one bit… Being stuck in any place with one person, let alone an entire town, makes him nervous… They might find out… Find out who’s under the robes and rags.
The civilian points out where the doctor is, and the stranger goes ahead towards the place without another word. The place in question is a small house-like building with a sign saying CLINIC hanging beside the door. The stranger slowly reaches his right arm out towards the door, having to expose it from under the garb.
The brief second his arm is out, it looks humanoid. However, it isn’t skin, more like some kind of black cloth wrapping around every inch of the arm. It looks like an imitation of a right arm rather than a real one. The most out of place part of it, though, was what looked like an orb on the back of the hand, surrounded in two metallic piece from top to bottom. This orb was this deep red that looked out of place with the dangy garb and even the black arm. This orb also had what looked like a slit going across it horizontally.
In a quick motion, the man knocked on the door, quickly concealing his arm once more under the robes. Footsteps inside are heard by the stranger, approaching the door. It opens up and this old woman, wearing a raggedy doctor’s coat and raggedy civilian clothing underneath, is on the other side.
*Doctor: Yes, what is it?
*???: I was told to come here for some kind of check up…
The doctor looked slightly shocked, and then saddened as she looked behind herself to deeper inside the building.
*Doctor: You’ll have to come back later… I have too many people to attend to in her—Suddenly, a commotion starts inside, the doctor having to rush back to whichever patient she was attending to before the stranger knocked. The clattering of equipment, probably fragile, and the metal twang of narrow metallic objects can be heard, as the stranger steps inside. It’s an injured man having what looks like a spasm attack, with his arms flailing about, as if trying to fight against something only he can see.
He’s about to scream until a needle is stuck in his neck by a much younger assistant to the doctor. The doctor reappears, walking back to the entrance and pushing the stranger back out.
*Doctor: Please, come back later.
The stranger’s fully outside when the screaming starts up, with the doctor throwing the door shut while she tries to run to said screaming patient. This doesn’t make the stranger pause or even think on the matter. He’s seen what this new world has done to people numerous of times, with these exact results happening. However, he still can’t help the feeling that this sort of thing shouldn’t be happening to innocent people…
He can do nothing about it, though. He walks off, thinking he can try to find a place to stay for the night until he’s able to continue on his journey. His presence around town still isn’t normal for the inhabitants, as they stare at him going about his business. He knew they’d probably try to interrogate him or something. Just saying that was going to Kagutsuchi wouldn’t simmer their curiosity. It usually didn’t. These thoughts kept flooding his mind, while he tried to keep on task...
He manages to find a sort of inn, though the place looks like it’s seen better days. Several cracks in the wood, and the mechanical part look like they’ve rusted over. It’s better than nothing, though, so he walks right in.
He saw that the interior shared the same quality as outside, with everything looking like this place was on the brink of being condemned. The place was empty, like it was abandoned some time ago. It was almost perfect for the man, as he observed his surroundings. There was an empty counter in front of him, and on the left, there were a set of stairs leading up and down. He looked from the top of the stairs going down and saw pitch darkness.
*???: This must lead to a basement…
The man spoke out loud to himself as he walked to the stairs going up, and seeing only a slightly lighter version of the darkness emanating from the basement. He wasn’t sure if it was either the natural sunlight from outside, or the light of someone living upstairs. He didn’t want to bother with it, though. Peeking his head into other people’s business was a trait of his from the past… Not anymore, not ever since that damned day…
He’s briefly reminded of his torment, but quickly forces himself to think of something else. He can’t bare to even place his thoughts upon what happened… To remind himself of his mistake…
The light upstairs starts to dim, as does the sun outside the windows. He decides to go upstairs, since there’s apparently no-one up there.
The entire upstairs is empty, no-one in sight anywhere. Not even in the rooms are there people hiding or sleeping. He searches through the rooms for some place suitable, but all of the rooms look exactly the same: monotone, grey, standard rooms with no mess, no trash randomly scattered on the floor, no marks, nothing. It’s like no-one lived here even before this place was in working condition.
He goes for the room hidden deep within the structure, so he can hide away. He locks the door behind him and sits on the bed at the center of the room. His right arm peek from under his robes, as he holds his head in frustration. The hood still hides his face, even though he’s with himself and himself only.
He starts to unbuckle something hidden under his garb and lay it against the wall. It’s a sword with a silver sheen to its blade, and about 4 feet long. The blade is hollow except for horizontal bits which seem to keep the edges in place. The hilt of it has that same slit orb at the side of it, the same side which now stares at the man.
He lays the bed and covers himself in more cloth. Every blanket in reach, used to conceal himself even further than he already was.
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A giant light bursts out of the ground, rapidly ascending up into the skies above. The light glows a grotesque black and red, while letting out an almost ear-piercing sound that makes the man standing in front of it have to cup his ears closed. He still looks at it, though, despite the area shaking frantically, almost like a reaction to this beam of demonic light shooting out. The scream that the light makes is the one that stands out from the other sounds going: the ground’s trembling and cracking, large explosions going all around, the screams of people who see this… Thing.
The man can do nothing, but stare at this thing hitting against the atmosphere… Soon, the azure blue of the skies above quickly become a deep crimson red… Soon, the redness spreads across the Earth, as if infecting the sky with the light’s pure evil power…
That’s what it is… Pure evil… Some demonic power forcing its way out of its jail… There’s no other way to explain what the hell this light is… It’s evil incarnate, twisting the Earth into almost a cruel imitation of itself… Or it’s transforming the world so that it looks like what this thing’s prison looked like…
Staring at this from the bottom, the man can’t help, but feel this overwhelming need to run… Run away, so that he may live… He can’t do that, though… He has a duty that he must finish, even it if meant his massacre, his gruesome death…
Just run, Integer.A familiar voice speaks to him from behind his back. He tries to move himself, but it’s like he’s bounded to that one spot, so he can keep staring into the light.
Please, Integer, just run…He wants to heed this woman’s demand, but he simply can’t… He starts to move forward… Yes, this was how it was… He can’t go back, anymore…
Do you want to die…?!He has no other choice, except to die stopping this thing… He is fine with that, though… He’ll go forward and sacrifice himself for the sake of the world… He steps forward once more…
Suddenly, he can hear the song of his childhood… While in the festival, the song which was sung to recreate the events of the first war… The song of a man who did this very same thing first… All the fear seeps away from every inch of his person, as if it was just dust that had completely covered him…
He can stop this… He knows he can. He needn’t worry about his life, because it’ll save everyone on this world…
TETSUYA!!!
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A deep blackness surrounds every pore of his body, with such speed that it felt like it was going to rip him apart… He could feel it, his arms and legs were being torn apart… Not only his extremities, though… Everything except his own head was being pulled apart… The darkness enveloped his surroundings, making it as if he was blinded… No, not blinded… Only one eye was being blinded…
His right eye was torn from his body as well… The feeling was as if someone or something was stabbing him repeatedly with a sharp, yet blunt weapon… Boiling heat from the holes left behind came after the white hot pain of having such things torn off… He can even feel the muscles and tendons flailing about, severed from the connection it had to the rest of his body…
He couldn’t scream… It was like his jaw was sewn shut by this darkness… No… Something started to bore itself into the stump that used to be part of his neck… Every muscle, bone, every piece of him besides skin was being crushed into pieces… But…
He still had consciousness… Only his single eye could express itself, as it bulged out in reaction to this… Vandalism of his own self… He couldn’t cry painful tears, or sweat from the white hot pain spreading across his own sole body part… His head… It was like he was being systematically changed into something else…
He was becoming some kind of monster, some plaything of whatever was transforming him…
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Something crashes against the wall of the inn, instantly waking the stranger. He uncovers himself from the blankets and sheets, and quickly grabs his weapon. He hold it in his right hand as he slowly goes out into the hallway.
Some giant beast, covered in what looked like black goop, had crashed into the side of the inn… It had been pinned by the ceiling, which had seemingly collapsed when the wall was broken down. It squirmed in some attempt to get out, but it couldn’t… Then it saw the stranger who was looking at this… Thing….
*Black creature: A-a-a-azur-re…!
It choked out its word like it was trying to imitate vocal chords and failing at it… However, the word it said was still heard… The stranger grips the hilt of his sword tightly as he approached the pinned beast.
The creature didn’t notice the sheer malice coming from the man, only interesting in getting its hands on the “azure” it had noticed. It reached out for the man, while trying to push the cogs and plywood which was keeping it from moving.
*???: You live a pathetic life… You monster…
The stranger is in range to slice the beast apart, while it still tries to grab at him. He swings the sword down on the little beast’s head, almost instantly killing the thing. More black ooze spilled out from the slice, forcing the man to step back so that he wouldn’t be sprayed by it.
He looked to his left towards the hole made. There was a giant fire going on, with houses quickly being burnt apart, the townspeople trying to keep the town from being destroyed, and…
Them. The Seithr Beasts. They attack the townspeople trying to put out the fire, tearing them apart with their black teeth and fangs. Humans are like playthings to these creatures…
The stranger immediately jumps out of the hole and onto the ground below. He holds his weapon to his side, as he observes the scene happening before him. Almost as if they could sense it, every beast in sight turns its head towards the stranger. They utter the same word the now dead creature said. Azure.
Every single one in front of him start to make a mad dash for him, the fastest being this small, lizard-shaped being with black protrusions piercing out of its back, which have blades on the end of them. It leaps and tries to slice the man from the side. The man quickly kneels down, the blades going past him. He then thrusts the sword through the thing’s underside, making it squirm from the pain.
He uses the thing as a shield as three more attacked, in the shape of the creature inside the inn. They’re large goops of black ooze with what look like arms, or at least mockeries of arms, poking from from their bodies at the sides. A curved blade was attached to the end of these “arms”, which contrasted from the black “skin” they had with a silver sheen.
These blades were swung, but got caught on the carcass of the beast. The man kicked the corpse off his blade, it being launched forward into one of the creatures. It pinned the thing, while the other two moved to attack. They tried to slash at the man from the side in a sort of pincer attack, but the man simply kneeled and quickly rolled out of the way. He stopped himself and stood once more, running towards the one on his left.
It was too slow, as he swung his sword horizontally, slicing the thing in half. The “blood” inside of it sprayed out as it fell apart. He moved to attack the remaining little creature, but off to the right, out of his sight, he could hear more coming.
Their moaning of that one word was almost like a chant or mantra, with how they keep on repeating it over and over again. However, the man keeps focus on the one in front of him, as he readies his sword for an overhead swing. The creature recognizes this attempt and tries to block with its blades.
*???: AHHHH!!!
He screams as he swings downward against the blades. With so much force being used to bring this sword down, the blades break apart upon contact. The creature is sliced down the middle, it’s black ooze spewing forth while it falls over, dead.
In a single moment, while the stranger tries to ready himself for his next attack, he’s suddenly blind-sided. A large beast rams into him and launches him into one of the many burning building. The entire structure collapses onto itself, the fire enveloping the wreckage.
The giant that crashed against it, so large that it had to be on all-fours to even keep stability standing up, walks towards it. Each slow step caused a small tremor to happen. It looks on the wreckage, while the more small beings follow, as if wanting to check if the man is dead.
One of them goes so far as to walk into the inferno to check.
*???: AHHHHH!!!
A sword pierces the being from under the rubble, as the thing is tossed back out. The stranger emerges from the wreckage, almost completely in flames. They somehow doesn’t bother him as he rushes out, the sword prepared for another attack.
It is swung down against another one of the small ones, and then stabbed into where its chest would be. The blade is pulled out as another one of them tries to slice the man with its weapon. He rolls out of the way and flanks the thing, slicing it in half. It gives off a blood-curdling scream before it completely dies.
The man tries to move around the giant beast, while it tries to attack with protrusions on almost every part of its body. Each one ending with a differently shaped objects, some looking like straight sword blades, others curved crescents, and some just blunt objects.
The man manages to blind-side one of the little creatures, slashing off one of its “arms” before piercing the thing through its “torso”. He’s managed to take out all of the small ones… At least, the ones around the beast in front of him. During all of this, his dirty robes still keep burning away.
The only things concealed under it now are his face and his chest. Now his arms and everything from the waist down is revealed. His legs has that same cloth look that the arms have, with metal bits scattered in places where his joints would bend. However, at first glance, they have the same outline as a normal human leg, except for the feet. They look like jet black boots that are apart of the cloth which wraps around his leg.
On the ankles, that same slitted red orb is there as well, two of them in fact. Going up, his waist is the same wrapping cloth, though there’s something bronze looking placed against his hips. The rest is out of view because of both the rapidly diminishing robe, and the flames which are eating away at said robe.
The man doesn’t notice this, though, as he prepares for his attack on this foul beast. He rushes towards it, with his sword over his shoulder as he jumps up. He swings down against one of its legs, managing to slice off a couple of the “arms” poking out of its body. The thing roars in anger, as it attempts to ram him once more, but he manages to jump out of the way.
Instead, the giant smashes against one of the burning buildings, completely destroying it. The flames don’t affect it, though, as it turns around and faces its target. The man readies himself, splaying his legs away from each other as he points the tip of his sword towards the beast. He stares at the thing in front of him with his single eye, while the other one remains out of view.
He rushes forward, his hood flying off his head. Spiked, white hair flows from his head, with black coloration coming from the roots of this hair. It seems out of place with the rest of his appearance, even more so as it doesn’t catch fire, despite the robe still being in flames. He moves too fast for his face to be made out, as he makes a mad dash towards the giant.
In turn, the beast gallops its way towards him, its feet slamming against the ground so hard, it’s leaving massive cracks in the stone. The man jumps forward and tries to stab the beast in its “head”. However, an “arm” suddenly pops out of its “head”, making a disgusting, squishing sound as it takes shape and form.
It slams him to the ground with a rounded, blunt object. He collides with the floor, the impact causing him to let go of his weapon, which lands too far for him to reach. In that moment of weakness, the beast raises one of its front legs and smashes it against the man’s body. Only the sound of the ground cracking is heard, with the man not even making a single noise.
The civilians, who’re all hiding away in the safety of the wall, listen as the giant creature slams its foot against the ground once more… The man thinks for a second that he’ll die here… That’ll be great, though… The body he has now that made it impossible for him to live a normal life anymore… If he dies right here, he’ll never have to relive that damned memory again in his dreams… His mistake… His failure…
Please…That familiar voice appears again… He knows it’s just a figment of his imagination, but… He can’t help, but listen to it.
Do you really want to die here…?She’s right… But what’s the point anymore of trying to live…? Giving up is a better option to this man…
Tetsuya Integer…He hasn’t heard that name in so long… His name… A name now dragged through the dirt…
RunSuddenly, a light seeps out of the cracks… A light which glows a disgusting black and reddish color… The beast’s foot starts to be pushed off, the light bursting out more and more as it’s given more space to spread. The man under the heel of this giant is engulfed in this light, which now shapes itself like the flames which have burnt this town beyond repair.
The man known as Tetsuya Integer now lifts the beast off the ground by its foot and throws it across the town, landing on the fountain. The statue pierces through the hide of the beast, as it squirms to try and recover.
Tetsuya rises from the crater made by the beast and walks to get his sword, the dark flames completely covering him, but revealing his appearance. His robes have completely burnt away, revealing all of his body, except for his head and part of his neck, is that black cloth, which wraps around him.
His right eye is completely gone, replaced with that red, slitted orb, with a black thing cover covering over parts of the right side of his face. Only the entirety of the left side of his face, his nose, his forehead, his mouth, and his jaw line are the only things completely exposed.
He grabs his sword and lifts it to his face, gripping it with his both hands.
*Tetsuya: Restriction 666, section 7, release...
The sword’s red orb opens up, revealing some kind of mechanism inside which resembles a lizard’s eye.
*Tetsuya: Dimensional Interference Field deployed…
Suddenly, that dark flame bursts out of the orb and becomes apart of the bigger flame enveloping Tetsuya.
*Tetsuya: BlazBlue Number 7… Activate!!!
The sword’s edges separate and suddenly, a burst of that dark light comes out of the hilt, making the form of a giant sword.
*Tetsuya: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Tetsuya starts to run towards the beast, the giant sword resting against his shoulder as he jumps upward with almost superhuman strength. He’s almost literally flying as he prepares his blade for a downward strike. He screams with anger as he pierces the beast with the supernatural blade of his sword.
The monster instantly dies from this, Tetsuya falls into the wound he’s left in the beast’s body. The dark light envelopes the monster’s body until the entire body is completely in flames. The dark flames stay bright throughout the entire night.
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The morning comes, and with it, the light of the sun. The red skies take shape as the townspeople look at the destruction that’s come to their home. In particular, the carcass of the giant beast now in the center of their town. They haven’t touched it yet, in fear that it might still be alive. Though some are sure it’s dead because of how it’s burnt to a crisp.
Despite it having black “skin”, the scorch marks running all across its body and the smoke that’s billowing from it makes it pretty obvious that this thing died burning. Some of them even suspect one of the other beasts killed it, though they have no idea why one would kill one of their own kind like that.
Suddenly, a small section of the body starts to shake, causing the people to panic that it’s not dead. However, that’s not the case, as a blade suddenly breaks through the “skin” from the inside. It slices downward, and out comes Tetsuya, who falls over from the hole, along with gallons upon gallons of black ooze that was acting as the blood of this beast.
Tetsuya is on his knees, completely tired out from the fight despite having been inside the body of the beast all night. BlazBlue on that scale has a tendency of breaking his body… He only had shown part of this full strength, for good reason… His body wouldn’t have been able to take such abuse… Though, as his thoughts become organized, he is thankful he didn't lose control...
He gets up and wipes the black goop off his person, revealing his entire body to everyone there. The townspeople are shocked by the form of this “man”, but one starts to react violently towards it. One old woman who has shrunken so much over the years that she’s only half the size of the other people around her.
*Old Woman: It-it-it’s him…!
Tetsuya’s single eye widens as he realizes what’s happening… Someone has recognized him
*Old Woman: It’s the man who caused the apocalypse!!!
The townspeople freeze in absolute terror. The man who destroyed the world, HERE? One of the children of the townspeople starts to throw rocks at the man who saved them from the beast.
*Child: Go to hell, you monster!
Tetsuya sees this and he grips the hilt of his sword tightly, but not in anger. The emotion of sadness spreads all over him, with his body trembling because of it. Suddenly, the rest of the civilians start to throw crap at him, in some attempt to drive him out of town. Tetsuya just lets them, he deserves it. At least, he thinks he deserves it.
One kid throws a cinder block against the back of his head, which breaks on contact. He violently reacts to it, holding his head in pain while drops to his knees. He has to get away from this now… Otherwise, he won’t be able to move on. He looks up and sees that the exit on the opposite side of town is open, and the thing blocking his path is the crowd…
He makes a mad dash, through the crowd, who try to get out of his way, some violently throwing themselves out of the way, some just stepping out of the way. He manages to get out through the other side of the wall, having to throw himself out. He lands on his chest as the guards quickly close the gate behind him.
Tetsuya gets up off the dirt ground and stands. He places the sword back where it was stored, hanging off the right side of his waist…
He looks back on the wall, pure sadness painted clearly across his face… He looks forward, seeing the stone road in front of him… He brings his hands to his head as he covers his face… Though he doesn’t cry… He can’t cry, sweat, bleed, or anything… He’s a monstrous creature, there’s no denying that… The only emotion that hasn’t been hampered by this change is anger… Completely and utter hate…
Hate towards one man… “The snake”... At least, that’s the name associated with that creature… His real name has been long forgotten by Tetsuya… Mostly because such a foul beast doesn’t deserve a name other than what it is… “The snake”...
Things were different, though… Just a year ago… Everything was relatively peaceful…
----
GENESIS=CATASTROPHEThe Birth of Salvation is the Origin of Disaster
SECTION A END----
SECTION B START----
One Year AgoAD2639, March 25----
Within the walls of the training ground, several cadets stand in file, waiting for what they’ll have to do next. They all wear the NOL uniform, with everything almost buckled onto them except for the beret and the cloak. Among them is Tetsuya Integer, as the Company Commander of Charlie Company.
His neck-length, jet-black hair flows in the wind slightly, but is doesn’t bother him, even with the bangs which sometimes obscures his vision. His green eyes look on forward, never moving. He was to always stare straight into infinity by the instructors. He stands as properly as possible, as not to look like many of his fellow cadets, who’re more or less standing like they have no purpose in life.
Slumped forward like they were hunchbacks, the sight of these people give Tetsuya a great deal of irritation. He’s here to do his part in the world: protect and serve under it, and preserve the order and harmony that has transpired for five centuries.
He doesn’t know why they’re here. They would seem to be here only because it’s cool to be an officer of the NOL. He can’t help but break his constant stare so that he can check if one of the 500 cadets are fucking about. Immediately, he can see 10 of them wearing the uniform poorly, like they just threw it on. Seven didn’t have the proper stance when at attention. An overwhelming 85 were looking around, bored.
The only squads he couldn’t check at a glance was his own: he was positioned right in front of them as their commander, so they were neatly hidden in his blind spot. He calmed down, though, and looked forward once more. This was the day before they would graduate every single cadet there, and release them into the army. His training would be over and done with, and he could protect the peace as he’s dreamed.
*???: Battalion, attention!
No-one moved, as they were already at attention. However, Tetsuya could hear some of them shuffle about. A man in complete NOL regalia stood in front of everyone there. The Sergeant. Sergeant Greene Edwards. A man who had constantly taught the recruits everything they would need before they even started their job as officers in the NOL. And a man respected by many of the people there, even some of slackers see him in a good light.
*Edwards: Right, good morning to you all!
Immediately, the entirety of the battalion screamed four words.
Good Morning Sergeant Edwards!!!Edwards nods his head while smirking, glad to hear that everyone managed to scream loud enough for him.
*Edwards: Good to hear that all of your vocal chords are in working order.
Scattered laughs emerge from the silent battalion, as the sergeant paces back and forth from where he stands.
*Edwards: I hope you’re all excited for your graduation to full-fledged officers of the NOL. I know I am.
He stops in his tracks, standing with the open arena to his back.
*Edwards: However, today, I’ve still got you all under my command, so we’re going to do my favorite training exercise.
He turns his head towards the large ring. It’s just a giant slab of stone, that’s just sitting there. It sits about a foot or two above the ground it was placed upon.
*Edwards: The Fighting Exercise!
The sergeant walks towards the arena, now standing at the middle of it.
*Edwards: Like at the beginning of your years in this facility, a one on one match between one of you and me will be held.
Tetsuya remembers well the Fighting Exercise. An embarrassing moment for him personally, but it wasn’t like he was the only one that got beaten down by the sergeant. Every single person who volunteered (and was chosen at random when there weren’t any volunteers left) ended up beaten down pretty hard.
It was to make a point, that the sergeant was your commander and that he was stronger than you. At least, when you joined. The whole theory was that if you could beat the sergeant, you’d succeed as a NOL officer. The first Fighting Exercise was to motivate the recruits to train hard to win this time.
*Edwards: Are there any volunteers? If there aren’t any, I’ll pick.
Immediately, one voice sounded off, left of Tetsuya. It was the Company Commander of Alpha. His name is Sepem Anguis, this man who specializes in using a rapier. He steps out of line and steps into the ring.
His appearance consists of dark grey hair and deep red eyes. The uniform is neat and primed, as it should be. He stands about 6 feet, 3 inches tall, the same as Tetsuya. However, he has a much thinner build than his fellow commander. Hanging off his left side is a silver rapier, about four feet long from what Tetsuya sees.
He walks with confidence to the arena, facing off with the sergeant.
*Edwards: Are you ready, mister Anguis?
Sepem smiles, as if he thinks he already won this fight.
*Sepem: I’m more than ready, sergeant.
The sergeant called forward a couple of the cadets and instructs them to grab his weapon. They immediately run off to inside the building to grab said weapon. Sepem takes this time to draw his sword and move into a stance, his legs splayed out with the tip of the rapier pointing towards the sergeant.
*Edwards: Right, now this is like the first fight; if any injuries happen, like puncture wounds or cuts, medical Ars will be used.
The sergeant takes off the garb he has on, so that he can move more efficiently for this fight. Taking off the beret reveals a completely bald head, and the removal of the cloak shows off a completely muscular build. Despite him being in his mid 50s, he looks great and fit, which completely contrasts with Sepem’s slim shape.
The cadets suddenly come out and bring over the sergeant’s weapon of choice—Beckoning Forger: Rockside. A giant, blunt thing with a long handle sticking out of it, the thing is a rigid piece of metal that’s seen better days. What made its original shape, a straight and wide piece of grey metal, can be made out under the modifications it’s received over the years. These modifications vary from a small piece of red metal which covers the edges of the thing, from yellow bracers which are on top of the main bulk of the weapon.
The thing was considered a sword at some point, but it’s now some kind of misshapen hammer from all of the crap that’s bolted onto it. On top of all of that, the thing weighs more than a normal person can carry. Which is why, when the cadets get the thing outside, they’re carrying it on all sides, as to not have it fall down in any way.
They drag Rockside up to the main ring, and let the sergeant grab it by the handle. A sight that still baffles everyone there, the man holds up the weapon up like it weighed nothing. He then held the thing with both hands as he readied for this fight. His weapon faces forward while he spreads his legs outward in a way that makes it look like he’s trying to keep balance.
Almost immediately, Sepem rushes forward and thrusts with the rapier, aiming for somewhere in the chest. The stabbing move gets dodged, as the sergeant turns and steps to the side, letting his opponent pass him. He then swings the sword from the side, hoping to catch Sepem in the middle. Sepem effortlessly kneels down far enough for the swing to miss completely. He then thrusts forward with the sword once more, this time hitting the sergeant in the shoulder.
It pierces straight through his right arm’s deltoid, some blood trickling out. Almost as fast as it stabbed through, Sepem quickly pulls his sword out from the wound. He jumps back in an attempt to gain some distance, while the sergeant covers the freshly made hole in his arm. That doesn’t stop the fight, though. The sergeant rushes forward and swings the massive weapon once more.
Sepem jumps and brings his legs close to his body, dodging the attack once again. In just a split second, the sergeant swings again just as Sepem is landing on the ground. The man tries to dodge it once more in the same fashion, but one of his legs collides with the blunt weapon at his ankle.
The sheer force of the impact violently spins Sepem and drops him to the floor. He rolls out of range from the massive weapon, but as he tries to get up from off the ground, he can’t seem to stand. That strike to his foot has made it painful for Sepem to even stand up properly. He tries to limp backwards, away from the sergeant, but he’s closing the distance on Sepem.
During all of this fighting, every cadet is just watching. They’re analyzing this fight before it’s even over. All of that importance of standing straight and with arms to the side, with legs together, that has left the minds of these people. All they’re thinking about is when they have to fight the sergeant…
The most depressing thing for them is that Sepem is the second best of the entire group there. If he’s losing this much to the man, they have no chance. Well, except for a couple, Tetsuya included. The man is the best of this group of cadets, and right now, his rival of four years is getting the ever-loving crap beat out of him. The feeling he was getting from watching this wasn’t satisfaction, but it’s close.
Sepem deserves it, as far as Tetsuya is concerned. The man feels that he’s the best at anything, and far too important to be associated with such people like the rest of the battalion. While Tetsuya share these feelings, he isn’t so blunt about it like Sepem is, nor is he so brash and overconfident about his ability to succeed. If anything, it's good to see the man's ego crack a bit.
On the ring, Sepem tries for one last attack, as he can’t walk with this limp much longer. He points the rapier forward, aiming for somewhere in the chest once more, hopefully something vital. The sergeant has embarrassed him as far as he’s concerned, so he must pay for something like that.
*Sepem: Ahhhhh!!!
He yells out as he thrusts his sword forward, the blade heading straight forward towards the man’s chest. However, the sergeant’s empty hand swiftly grabs onto the rapier before it can even touch where it meant to hit. Like a twig, the blade is snapped out of its handle, leading Sepem completely shocked. He lost.
Complete silence envelopes the area as the sergeant signals one of the cadets to get the medical Ars. That one person runs inside while the man lets go of the rapier blade, letting it drop to the ground in front of Sepem. Some of the people from his company quickly come over to pick him off the ground to rest and heal up.
*Edwards: So… Who’s next?
That question was the only sound coming out of anyone there. Everyone, even the slackers, were in deep thought. They had to fight him next, and if nobody martyred themselves, the man would pick for them. However, one voice spoke out.
*Tetsuya: I’ll go.
Due to the utter silence of the place, what would’ve been his normal speaking voice became a sort of echoed yelling. As soon as he said that, the person sent inside comes back, now lugging back a small, silver canister with two dark red caps on both ends. He gets in the ring and immediately attends to Sepem. He opens the canister on the top, and suddenly this hissing sound comes from it.
It is a Heat Canister. Due to the Seithr density dropping so below, the substance itself is starting to become a rarity. Thus, in order to use any kind of Ars Magus these days, the NOL have had to create this device for carrying around Seithr in the form of Heat.
The Seithr spreads all around as the “medic” grabs onto Sepem’s broken ankle. With a short chant, a light briefly flashes between the two. The guy then takes the canister to the sergeant, in order to heal his wound. Immediately, Sepem is able to stand perfectly fine, as he gets off the floor. However, he looks at the blade of his now-broken sword, almost contemplating what just happened.
Tetsuya starts to walk up on the ring, with the long sword hanging off his right hip moving all around with each footstep he took up. He sees Sepem almost depressingly leave the stage with both halves of his weapon in hand. He then turns his stare over to the sergeant, immediately catching the flash of the Ars working on him. As soon as the medic gets off the stage, and closes up the canister to save the contents inside, Tetsuya and the sergeant are facing off.
*Edward: Are you ready for this, mister Integer?
Tetsuya extends out his right arm in front of himself, as he grabs onto his sword with his other arm. He quickly pulls it out of its sheath, and as he does, his extended arm pulls back. In a swift motion, he grips the hilt of his weapon with both hands and splays his legs down, now in his fighting stance.
*Tetsuya: I’m ready if you are.
He points the tip of his blade diagonally, ready for the fight that’s about to start. The sergeant, who’s somehow not tired after the last one, now repeats his beginning stance from that fight. There’s a short pause, as the two stare down each other, with the makeshift audience looking at this display and wondering who’s going to attack first.
Suddenly, the two men rush at each other, their swords clashing against each other halfway. Despite the overall size and weight of Rockside, Tetsuya’s sword is managing to keep structural integrity. Tetsuya himself is managing to keep the full weight of the blunt thing from crushing him completely down.
Swiftly, Tetsuya moves to the left of his opponent, and draws his sword out of the clash. The full strike from Rockside ends up hitting the ground of the stage, smashing the stone like it was nothing. The sergeant immediately maintains composure as he pulls his weapon up from the freshly made gap in the floor.
Tetsuya rushes towards the man during this moment of weakness and strike, swinging the blade at the man. The sergeant manages to get his sword in front of his person in time, blocking the strike. This attack isn’t over yet, as Tetsuya starts to swing his sword repeatedly and with no break, forcing the sergeant to keep his weapon in front of himself as a sort of makeshift riot shield. This flurry of attacks, due to the sheer force behind each attack, were forcing the sergeant to step back after each blow, in order to keep balance.
The makeshift audience comment on how Tetsuya was forcing back the sergeant which each strike of his sword against the thing the sergeant was carrying. They were all still on the fence on who was going to win this fight, but… It was becoming obvious that Tetsuya was going to be victorious.
The sergeant, tired of this barrage, manages to reach his leg out of the cover of his weapon, and kick Tetsuya in the gut. This brief halt to the attack allows the man to bring his weapon up, planning to aim at Tetsuya’s back. He swings the weapon down, but almost immediately, the young man moves forward and slashes his sword upward.
The sergeant is shocked. His weapon is now flying across the stage, colliding against a wall and causing it to crumble a bit on impact. The sergeant looks at his two hands, which still hold the hilt of his weapon, but no longer have the weapon itself attached to it. Tetsuya has just broken apart Rockside.
This match was his, as there was scattered claps amongst the battalion. All for his victory, while the sergeant laughs over the fact this weapon was now in two pieces. This would no doubt lead to another modification to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future. However, right now, Tetsuya was proud of himself. He had only one thought while he smirked, with his sword resting against his left shoulder.
My future will turn out great.----
Ending Song 1
Chikaradzuku (Revive)
The white sun blinds me in its gazeI can only see the mistakes that drove me hereWithout thought, I just look up at the skyWith the memories of what I’ve done sinking in...I deserve to die for all I’ve doneThe haphazard idiocy on my part...Is simply unforgivable...I don’t deserve such love and mercyJust let me lay here, every part of my body bleedingMaybe I’ll die, maybe I won’t cause trouble anymore...But suddenly, I can hear your voice, calling out...Demanding that I keep running...!Despite my pain, I need to keep going...!That I need to be revived...!A burning mirage is all I have left of you...!Like a fake image taunting me with its non-existence...!But... If it’s an image of you...I’ll get up----
STAGE 01:
THE RED SKIES ABOVE----
LAST STAGE: N/ASTAGE: THE RED SKIES ABOVENEXT STAGE: OUT TO WAR
----
----
==Out to War v1 (Scenario 02 Vanilla)==
The original Out to War was generally disliked by its main author due to overall tone and how it kept going past when it was supposed to be split into its second half. This is the first official collaborative effort between BlackRoseIXA, JZero11, and Ethank14.
----
In this world, is the destiny of all life on this planet controlled by some universal law or entity?Is it like the hand of fate, dictating all like marionettes on strings?There is one law that is true, at least...No-one on this Earth has any control, not even over their own lives.----
During the sunset, the light of the orange, glowing ball in the sky shines through the windows, into the halls of the military academy. Not one sound echoes through this place, as if abandoned some time ago. It was the final day, the senior officers of this establishment would go off to join the NOL officially, as its soldiers.
In the last six centuries since the Black Beast’s death, massive conflict has rarely happened on the same level as a war. Only two examples come to mind for the inhabitants of this world: the Second War of Ars Magus, during the NOL’s age of total control over the people. So much control that a group of hierarchical cities united under the banner of Ikaruga, as an attempt to rebel against this seeming regime. However, the conflict ended with Ikaruga ruined, and the NOL even more victorious, having cemented their place as the dominant power of the world.
That was nearly five centuries ago, and the higher ups in control of the Librarium have managed to restrain this kind of absolute grip over the world’s neck. The reasoning behind this loosening grasp on order was because it was choking the world out and their inhabitants.
However, just five years ago, another threat has knocked on the gates of the NOL. Harbinger Section, a military which has threatened the world and the tranquility that the government and its people have worked hard for. The conflict, despite being five years old, has yet to escalate beyond a full-fledged War of Ars Magus.
----
Ao Hakka (Blue Ignite)The black skies above block out the day
The eyes of order looking from up highBurning all in its sight with its dark powerLeaving only the igniting blue flame
A burning scar on my back reminds meThat I am not free from the shacklesI am whatever they want me to beA tool of a system with an iron grip
Only I can ignite the flame insideOnly I can break free from my chainsOnly I can bring the inner chaos outsideOnly I can burn away at the reigns
The black skies above block out the dayThe eyes of order looking from up highBurning all in its sight with its dark powerBut the igniting blue flame is unharmed
The black skies above, destroyed by dayThe eyes of order, blinded by the lightBurning away at the seams of darknessThe igniting blue flame becomes day once more----
STAGE 02:
OUT TO WAR
----
The silence which permeated the halls of the military academy located in the hierarchical city of Torifune suddenly get destroyed by the sound of feet hitting against the neat, marble tiles of the floor. Footsteps echo throughout the building, the sound belonging to Tetsuya Integer. Even though he should be out celebrating with the rest of the graduating officers, he’s still in the academy’s main building. He carries a black duffle bag which hangs off his right shoulder by a shash.
*???: Is Mister Perfect still the Sergeant’s lapdog?
That name irritates Tetsuya to no end, but he mustn’t show his frustration to the man who gave him such a nickname. Kaji Namari is his name, and he was probably the one that baffles Tetsuya when it comes to fellow cadets, especially after evaluations a couple of years back.
The evaluation was to predict the likelihood of skill development for some cadets, going from the physical to the mental. Kaji had results of a born and bred leader, one of the few to get such an evaluation. The only kind of leader Kaji is, as Tetsuya thinks, is the leader of degenerates. He stands like he has no other purpose in life other than to annoy others around him and slack off.
*Tetsuya: What do you want?
Tetsuya makes no attempt to hide his utter contempt for the man in question. Turning around to face where the voice came from, he saw this man’s appearance. His slacker attitude extends to his attire, the NOL uniform worn loosely and looking like it’s been put through a small bottle. His brown hair is disheveled and looks like the man who owns said hair just woke up. It shifts as he crosses his arms and smiles at Tetsuya.
*Kaji: Just trying to be as friendly as possible.
That smile is a dishonest lie almost meant to be the smile of a jester. It’s a wonder how this joke of a human being managed to get into the academy. Tetsuya wants nothing to do with this man, so he turns and continues to his duty. Despite having just graduated this morning, he’s still doing his job as one of five company commanders. He’s supposed to deliver a file full of paperwork that’s been collected by him over the years. Each of them are signed and written by him and his first sergeant and the XO.
*Kaji: Hey, don’t ignore me!
Kaji follows right behind Tetsuya, irritating the man as he tries to outpace him. Their combined footsteps echo throughout the halls. Tetsuya makes a complete 180 as he stares at Kaji.
*Tetsuya: Go away.
Tetsuya goes back to walking, while Kaji just stands there, thinking of the next words to say which might irritate the man. Sighing, as if he hasn’t thought of one in the span of a second, he looks towards Tetsuya’s back.
*Kaji: Oh whatever. I’m seeing you outside anyway.
Kaji walks away, presumingly outside, while Tetsuya sighs in relief that he doesn’t have to deal with that slacker’s crap. It’s a good thing too, as it allows Tetsuya time to think. Soon, he and the rest of the graduates will be sent off to participate in the skirmish between the NOL and Harbinger Section. While he is aware of the fears many of his subordinates have towards being shipped away to a battlefield, he eagerly awaits the moment. One of the many reasons for joining the NOL was to participate in this war and fight for this world, protecting it from any power wishing to corrupt it.
He looks on towards the windows on his right, seeing outside the setting sun in its orange and yellow glory. Its light having temporarily painted the building, both inside and out with whites, yellows, oranges, and browns. Deep shadows have also emerged in places where this light cannot penetrate. Tetsuya runs down the hall, file in arm, in an attempt to get his final job for the day over and done with. A large, clapping sound makes itself known with each time he plants his foot on the ground.
He sees his destination, Room 192, the Sergeant’s office, on the left, and immediately stops in his tracks. The sound of his footsteps return to a relaxed pace as he approached the entrance to this room. The door is a slightly darker shade of white, which matched the halls, besides for the floor, which is wood brown. The door is slightly ajar, as Tetsuya notices, and it seems that two people are talking inside. At least, what can be differentiated as two different people.
One speaks with this obviously rough tone of voice, yet sounds so casual and relaxed. It’s this distinct way of speaking that is immediately pinned as Sergeant Edwards by Tetsuya. The other sounds wispy and soft, and sounds like a certain someone that Tetsuya knows. He pins the voice to Sepem Anguis, and it suddenly unleashes memories of the man inside his mind.
Sepem seemed to always be grabbing at something he wanted, all the time. Even despite the fact that he can’t fully grasp it. A man who wants to prove that he’s superior to any one of his peers in every way possible. It just seems to Tetsuya that Sepem has an inflated ego the size of the military. That might be, as Tetsuya remembers, from the man coming from a slightly wealthy family with a few strong connections to The Order.
It doesn’t concern Tetsuya, however, as he has remained the number one valedictorian of this academy for the last three years, while Sepem has remained comfortably in the second place position. All that really matters to him at this point is getting his own command as soon as he lands out in the battlefield. With his achievements and ability to lead proving he’s qualified, he might be able to actually become commander of a company, or at least a platoon.
With his train of thought over and done with, he reaches out his empty left hand for the door handle. Suddenly, the voice pinned to Sepem suddenly yells.
*Sepem: What did you just say…?!
What sounds like something slamming onto a table forces Tetsuya to rush inside, seeing the Sergeant sitting at his large, wooden desk. And Sepem hunched over it on the opposite side, his closed fist on the desk. The Sergeant just stares at him before looking over to the entrance. Sepem turns his head, his face displaying his clearly pissed off attitude for any and all to see. He soon moves away from the Sergeant’s desk, but not before giving his superior officer a cold stare.
On the way out, he shoulder bumps Tetsuya on his right one, almost making him drop his files. Tetsuya turns his head towards the departing Sepem, and immediately starts walking towards the Sergeant. On the way, he starts to speak.
*Tetsuya: What was that about, Sergeant?
The Sergeant relaxes in his rolling chair, rubbing the side of his head as if trying to take care of some kind of headache he’s having.
*Sergeant Edwards: It’s nothing for you to be concerned about, Cadet Integer.
The Sergeant remains silent about what just happened, his eyes looking over Tetsuya’s shoulder towards the doorway. Tetsuya shrugs it off and soon faces the files onto the Sergeant’s desk.
*Tetsuya: Here are the release forms for the students being sent off to the Bunkatsu Plains.
The Bunkatsu Plains is where all of the fighting between the NOL and Harbinger Section has taken place, and has been for the past three years. The inability to move from there comes from constant interference on the NOL’s part that keeps Harbinger Section from expanding in that direction. At least, that’s the information that most of the cadets have been told by their instructors.
The Sergeant briefly turns his gaze towards the file right in front of him before looking up at Tetsuya.
*Sergeant Edwards: Do you know which company you’re going to, Cadet Integer?
*Tetsuya: I was told that I was being shipped off to Bravo company, Sergeant.
The Sergeant smirks at that, as he twists his chair to the side and splays out his body, as if trying to brush off a sudden bout of yawning.
*Sergeant Edwards: I heard they’ve been farring good with the fight so far. You’re lucky to get assigned to them.
*Tetsuya: I’d like to think it isn’t luck, Sergeant.
Tetsuya earned this through his extraordinary record and abilities. At least, that’s what he wants to believe. The man doesn’t like the idea of luck. It’s a random concept that arbitrarily decides to help out someone and then quickly abandon someone else. That’s what Tetsuya thinks, anyway, as the word luck rings through his ears.
*Edwards: Well, I do wish it to you, Tetsuya.
The Sergeant says with a slight, but genuine smile, as he opens up the file and sees the stack of forms inside. Tetsuya turns to leave the room, ready to enter the fight now.
*Edwards: Hey, wait a minute.
The Sergeant’s command immediately stops Tetsuya right in the middle of the room. He turns around, slightly confused.
*Tetsuya: Uh, what is it, Sergeant?
*Edwards: Have you thought about going home to tell your family the good news?
Tetsuya just stands there, trying to process what the Sergeant said. Tetsuya comes from the town of Amida, just west of the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi. His father, a man who vehemently hates the NOL, despite the overall state of peace they brought with their reformation, nearly assaulted his son when he came to say that he was joining them. His father attempted so many times to change his son’s mind, but Tetsuya refused over and over again. He still remembers the last conversation he had with his father…
“Is your mind still made up?”
“...Yes, father.”
“What about your family? What about your sister?”
“...I can’t just stay here and let everyone else fight.”
“...You hate being the son of a pacifist, don’t you, Tetsuya?”
“...It’s my duty to the world.”
“You’ve no idea what war is like. Do you want to die?”
“...It can’t be worse than being a spectator.”
Those fragmented sentences continue to float through Tetsuya’s mind, even after three years of what has been complete silence between him and his family. Those words continue to ring out from time to time, unable to be firmly put to rest. Maybe it’s because of how they were said, or how they seemed to the words of a man who finally given up on his own flesh and blood. He doesn’t know, but one thing’s certain in Tetsuya’s mind: he isn’t returning until this war is over. No matter what happens, he is confident in the fact that he’s made the right decision.
Finally, Tetsuya snaps out of his small daze, having just stood there for a moment or two as everything was rushing through his senses. He finally begins to speak, though he says his words with this sense of sorrow behind them.
*Tetsuya: ...That’s fine, Sergeant… I have to go.
Tetsuya turns around immediately after speaking, not wanting to see the expression on the Sergeant’s face when he heard the way he spoke. He walks out of the room and into the hall, closing the door behind him as he looks out towards the windows, into the large courtyard outside. He focuses his view onto the centerpiece, a fountain with a statue of what looks like a goddess, with angel wings spread out, and her arms splayed out. Her left hand carries a spear, while the right carries a large book with the NOL’s symbol, at least the way it’s looked for the past two centuries. He’s strolled past that statue for three years, and has memorized the plate which is at the fountain’s rim:
In utter darkness, we shall blaze the path to order and peaceWe are the Blue Flame that blazes through the chaos and dystopia
He closes his eyes, before positioning his left arm horizontally, and on top of that, his right arm vertically, making a sort of cross shape. Soon, his arms hang off the sides of his body once more, and he opens his eyes. He turns, and makes his way towards the dorms.
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The entire infrastructure of the Torifune Military Academy is made up of several levels of different buildings and support towers, making up seven “floors” of this gigantic city. At the top lies the education area, along with other sections that are meant to be out in the burning sun. On the floor below lies a section specific towards the student body. The dorms, the training halls, the Student Council Building, and a sort of lounging area, all spread out around a large courtyard with a giant pillar-shaped support tower ran by NOL personnel.
The dorm is made up of six buildings to fit every attending cadet within the walls of Torifune, only separated amongst a grade of 1, 2, 3, and 4. Within one of those buildings is the one specific to the four year cadets ready to be sent off for active duty.
In one of the halls, the boxes of one Tela Envolver are stacked right outside her door, done so in a manner where it looks as though they’re about to tip over, but still stay perfectly upright. Out comes Tela from her room, carrying another box outside and placing it right next to the already massive stack on the left.
Working out the strain in her arms by slowly stretching them, Tela exhales before looking back into her room with a look of disgust.
*Tela: How many boxes do I really need to have this is insanity.
This is all for the sake of having everyone’s personal material shipped back home so that none of it takes up space within the academy walls. Tela’s only one of many doing the exact same thing right now. Others, however, have either had little to send back or have done it ahead of time. A pair of footsteps echo across the mostly vacated hallways, the person these footsteps belong to is in the latter camp. Atara Fukui, with files wrapped under her right arm, strides past Tela as she carries out another box, this time of rectangular shape, out her dorm room.
Atara stops in right in front of the doorway, watching how Tela struggles with carrying the heavy crap stuffed into her boxes. She simply stands there with arms crossed, observing this.
*Atara: I see you decided to rush instead of having the free time.
Tela heaves forward and manages to place the rectangular box on the second stack, exhaling as she rests against it for support. She looks back at Atara for a brief moment before returning to the chore of moving all of her stuff out.
*Tela: It’s either I do this now or it never gets done.
*Atara: I suppose, would rather be doing that than running around trying to deal with these.
In a single motion, she raises her right arm up by the forearm, holding up the files which she was carrying, showing them to Tela.
*Tela: Not when you have as many boxes as I do…
Tela looks into her room, seeing the massive mound of clothes, books, and other material goods all thrown about like a typhoon had hit the place.
*Tela: Seriously I don’t remember bringing half of this stuff here and yet the boxes just keep piling up on me.
Atara looks at the boxes before leaning to the side to see the sight Tela’s staring at. Meanwhile she has put the file back against her arm and her torso, and returned her arms to their crossed position.
*Atara: Almost makes me glad I had nothing to pack, given whatever tornado went through this place.
Tela grimaces at the mere sight of this, then turns her sight to a set of cardboard boxes with the NOL symbol printed onto their side, with a white sticker displaying a barcode and Tela’s full name. She goes back inside, and pulls out one of those boxes from the pile, stuffing the clothing right in.
*Tela: I’m just shocked as to how much stuff can actually fit in my disaster of a room to need this many boxes.
Atara snickers a little, though trying to keep it from being heard by anyone besides herself. However, it fails as Tela hears the faint hint of her amusement behind her. However, she shrugs it off as she carries out another box.
*Atara: I wish my quarters held this much, it’s like they looked at my luggage and threw me in a closet.
*Tela: Believe me, having all of this crap isn’t worth it. Way too much work to find something you might need in an emergency.
Atara becomes curious and takes a step towards the stack, opening one of the boxes on the side that isn’t inside the massive stack. She sees the nice stuff Tela owns inside, though nothing that she’d have herself. Tela, meanwhile, carries out another rectangular box and drops it onto the pile with the rest. Tela turns to Atara, leaning against the boxes like a wall, causing a brief shake in the integrity of the stack, though nothing substantial.
*Atara: Oh, I don’t know, looks like there's some interesting crap here.
*Tela: I honestly don’t know what is in most of these boxes anymore. I kinda panicked when we were told to start getting stuff ready to be shipped out.
Atara keeps staring inside the one box she’s opened, though she promptly closes it after she’s done.
*Atara: Hmmm interesting, you want to take a break?
*Tela: Yea I guess I should take a break here…
Tela looks at the massive stack and shutters a bit, with the very thought of having this keep going sending shivers down her spine.
*Tela: I’ve gone through at least MOST of the crap in my room and we still have some time to get stuff ready.
*Atara: Well, I think some hard work deserves some fun afterwards, lunch?
*Tela: That sound like a great idea right about now. I haven’t eaten much at all today.
*Atara: Good, its been awhile since I’ve had some company, nice to have some conversation.
*Tela: I hope I won't bore you with anything then.
*Atara: I wouldn’t worry about that, I don’t particularly bore easily.
*Tela: Alright let’s go before I lose my mind from having to carry more of the boxes around.
Tela goes to her dorm room and closes the door, pulling out a key from her pocket and locking down the entrance. She rattles the doorknob to make sure that the lock didn’t fail. The dorm doorlocks are shoddily made with crappy material that is not even properly put together. Lock failure is a common occurrence in the dorms. Soon, Tela is sure that her room is locked, turning her attention back to Atara.
*Atara: Any particular place you’d like, if not I know a good place.
Tela shrugs, having nothing really planned in her mind at the moment. Her headspace is still sort of in a mode of “putting stuff in box, put box outside”, so no thought of where to do is coming up right now. Besides, even if she was more susceptible towards diverse thought like she is during her day to day life, she rarely feels the need to go out elsewhere that isn’t in the comforts of her room.
*Tela: I’m down for whatever, considering I don’t go out that much.
Atara grins as an idea for somewhere to go pops to mind almost immediately.
*Atara: Well in that case, follow me *Hooks arms with Tela and half drags her off*
She gets close to Tela and hooks arms with her, almost dragging her off to her chosen destination. Meanwhile, they leave the boxes right outside, and as they leave the scene, the huge stack finally falls over into the hallway, with a random assortment of clothing, accessories, books, and other stuff that were forced into these box flood into the hall with the same strength as a river.
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The destination in question is located on the floor below, where much of the recreational stuff is placed. Like the floor above it, the fifth floor contains a sort of restaurant, a docking bay for airships that carry in supplies, a gun range, and various other places surrounding that same pillar-shaped control tower.
When it comes to getting to floors quickly, students need to move with the help of specially-designed elevators. These elevators are designed to move in all directions within the structure, and are large enough to fit about a thousand cadets inside and not even feeling crowded. Though the moment it becomes crowded is when TWO thousand enter one of these elevators, which is unfortunately the case as Tela and Atara walk towards the stop for Elevator E24, amongst a larger than normal crowd.
Tela gets shoulder bumped and lightly shoved around, while a constant feeling of uncomfortability sets in.
*Tela: Why are there so many people here now of all times?
Atara suffers the same fate, though much of it only brings about the feeling of indifference, showing that to Tela with a single shrug of her shoulders.
*Atara: Probably other saps clearing out their rooms and getting ready for departure.
*Tela: Still I haven’t seen this place THIS crowded since I’ve been here.
*Atara: Same, did we miss an announcement or something?
Tela’s eye widen as the thought mixes and twists in her mind, forming into worry.
*Tela: I...hope not.
*Atara: Eh, I doubt its anything serious, they’d be blasting the alarms if it were.
*Tela: Don’t say things like that because knowing my luck it WILL happen.
*Atara: Hey even if something did, we could probably handle it.
*Tela: You seem to have no lack of confidence.
Atara shrugs at the notion, while looking off elsewhere almost by habit whenever reacting to this sort of thing.
Atara: No real use in worrying until we knows what's happening, besides I’m too hungry to really be worried.
Tela’s nervousness and overall uncomfortability melt away a little as she chuckles at Atara’s comment about hunger.
*Tela: Yeah I’m hungry too…
*Atara: Been too busy running around all day to eat, and here i thought not packing would give me free time.
*Tela: When do we EVER get free time around here. It always seems to be something that we need to be doing at all times.
Soon, the elevator doors, a set of giant chainlink doors which slide forward, close up. A metallic door in front inside the hall closes on the elevator, sealing out the light and making it completely dark. The lights hanging from the ceiling should be coming on right now, but there seems to be lag or something.
Atara looks up at the ceiling, seeing that the lights haven’t come on yet.
*Atara: Well that’s odd.
Tela’s frustration comes out as she looks at Atara with a slightly annoyed expression.
*Tela: We just had to say something.
The lights finally kick in, but they come in so quickly, after a prolonged moment of darkness, so they end up blinding everyone who’s not looking down immediately. Atara, fortunately, immediately looked down and managed to keep her eyesight. Tela, however, was not as lucky, as she was looking at the ceiling in worry. When it kicked in, she makes this sort of painful groan as she covered her eyes with her left forearm.
Atara sighs in relief after seeing that there was nothing wrong with the lights.
*Atara: Well I guess there was just a glitch in the lights.
Tela keeps her eyes closed, her arms being used to judge where Atara is so that she can face her.
*Tela: Okay, oww… Seriously, giant overseeing government and they have lighting problems?
The elevator shakes a bit before finally moving. For the people inside, it feels as if nothing is happening at all, but the elevator is actually moving at such a speed that it travels down to the fifth floor.
*Atara: Well, I don’t think a simple lighting glitch is anything to worry about… I hope…
That last part, she mutters out her mouth with worry and, oddly enough, annoyance in her tone. Tela tries to open her eyes, but it’s almost still a complete blur for her. She can still make out some people, but they more look like blobs of color if anything at all.
*Tela: Still didn’t feel too good on the eyes…
*Atara: Compared to everything that can go wrong on one of these, I think that’s the best scenario.
Tela realizes the length of how long the elevator has been going and hasn’t reached its destination.
*Tela: True… Hey how far down were we supposed to go here?
The elevator shutters a little as it shifts in direction, now heading straight forward towards the pillar support tower.
*Atara: Pretty sure just one floor.
*Tela: Huh not sure how far we have gone so far.
*Atara: I really can’t help with that, these things always throw off my sense of direction.
The elevators shakes some more as it shifts back into a downward direction, traveling down the pillar. The total darkness is now overtaken by a view by the huge floor below.
*Tela: Uh I think we got on the wrong elevator.
The elevator shows the layout of the fifth floor, which Atara sees when she gazes off towards the view. Tela, meanwhile, is still dealing with temporary blindness. She sees the gun range and the docking bay right next to each other, confirming to her that this is, indeed, the fifth floor.
*Atara: There it is.
*Tela: What how can you see anything, my eyes can’t adjust that fast
*Atara: I looked down before the lights turned on.
*Tela: This whole switching the lights on and off is getting annoying.
*Atara: I don’t really see why its necessary to be honest.
*Tela: If that is supposed to simulate an attack or something its not necessary.
Finally, the elevator begins to slow down as it reaches its stop, the gears shrieking as they struggle to break themselves. Tiny quakes are felt by every passenger as the speed finally comes to zero.
*Tela: They should uh really fix the gears if they make that much noise.
*Atara: Probably, but that would involve effort and the bureaucracy doing something.
The doors begin to open up, and the entire passenger population floods out, half walking normally, while the others are as blind as Tela. Atara hooks her arm with Tela again and dragging her out to their destination.
However, that is not the only thing happening on this floor, as gunshots echo from the gun range. These large blasts of sound come from one Asher Fukui, whose revolvers shoot at humanoid target. His bullets keep hitting these targets and bathing them in eternal flame.
*Asher: *Panting from the heat as he checks his bullet reserves* Seems I overestimated the number of fire bullets I made last time. *Quickly empties the casings, flipping more bullets into the air and catching them in the revolvers*
*Kaji: What is this, now?
The presence of Kaji Namari enters, hunched over himself which his hands in his pocket, with a pair of ear mufflers around his neck. He walks up to Asher’s booth and leans against the wall, looking straight at him.
*Kaji: Training just a week before we all get our asses shipped out, Ashley?
Ashley is the nickname Kaji has decided to give Asher after the first year of being in the academy.
*Asher: Well some of us can’t just get by on sarcasm and tests, besides, I don’t really have anything better to do.
*Kaji: Well, Ashley, why not hang out with your sis, Tiara?
Tiara is the nickname of Asher’s sister, Atara, which was given to her at some point, though it is unknown when.
*Asher: She’s busy running some documents around, at least thats what she told me she was doing.
Kaji kicks the ground as an idea pops up in his mind, one that deserves his devious, mischievous smile creeping in.
*Kaji: How about hanging with your company commander? What was her name again? Mica Tanikaze?
*Asher: *lightly blushes as his Eyes shift for a second* I don’t know where commander Tanikaze is.
*Kaji: Oh please,
He begins with a tone of annoyance,
*Kaji: Don’t give me that shit, Ashley. See, this is why I call you by a girl’s name, you never take action! “I don’t know where command--” well if you don’t know, go find her!
*Asher: The commander is probably busy with more important matters, clearly something you know nothing about.
Kaji shrugs befores pretending like he was shot or something, or at least over exaggerating getting shot. He begins to speak with a tone of utter sarcasm and amusement.
*Kaji: You wound me, Ashley. Like a stake driven through a vampire’s heart, you wound me.
*Asher: See, you can’t even work up the effort to do a convincing not to mention funny, sarcastic joke, its kind of pathetic.
*Kaji: Is that supposed to affect me or somethin’? Oh please. I’ve heard that shit a million times, and it hasn’t even hurt once.
He scoffs as he sits down on the ground and pulls out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
*Asher: *rolls his eyes* Oh for the love of god Jaki, there's already enough smoke in here, isn’t your presence choking enough for you.
Jaki is a nickname made up by Asher for Kaji as a sort of counter to Kaji’s constant giving out of nicknames to other people.
*Kaji: What, I can’t smoke? Fuck off.
Suddenly, a little fire ignites in his right hand, using it to light a cigarette hanging from his lips.
*Asher: *Shoots the cigarette out of his mouth* If you don’t mind too terribly much.
The remains of the cigarette fall off a little as Kaji spits it out, his eyes staring at Asher.
*Kaji: You could’ve killed me, man. Or do you not care?
*Asher: Oh please, you were never in a second of danger, at most you would have gotten singed.
Kaji sits there, thinking for a moment, then looks back up at Asher.
*Kaji: Would you even be sad if I really did die?
*Asher: Meh, I don’t know, why?
*Kaji: I’m just curious, is all.
Kaji begins to get comfortable where he is, though without a controlled fire dangling from his lips, he’s less relaxed than he would be if he had it.
*Asher: Our shipping out dates got you thinking?
*Kaji: Sort of, yeah. I mean, who’s going to even cry for my ass? Maybe my family, but I’m thinking about you guys right now, since you’re all gonna be around me.
*Asher: If it comes to that Jaki, I don’t think any of us will even have the time to cry, especially for your sorry ass.
The gears in Kaji’s mind shift as he hears that, making that smile of his once more.
*Kaji: Trust me, Ashley, I’ll make you all sad enough to sob for my “sorry ass”.
He chuckles a little to himself, with confidence almost usually reserved for being a walking annoyance being fully used up here.
*Asher: *Rolls his eyes* Well then, you’d better get working on that. *Glances in his ammo container* If you’ll excuse me I need to grab more ammo.
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Category:Story