Do you ever find yourself going 🦇batty🦇? If you’ve followed me for a while, then you probably know that Yukata! Lilith from Cross Edge has been on my cosplay wishlist for the past couple of years. While I never played Cross Edge, Darkstalkers 3 is my favorite fighting game and Lilith is always my go-to character!💜 The second I stumbled upon Lilith’s Yukata design, I knew I had to make this frilly, cute costume! I actually sewed the majority of this costume back in early 2023, but ended up putting her on pause to work on other projects and whatnot. I’ve been listening to the various Darkstalkers soundtracks and Halloween playlists while working on this. (Thank you, Spotify!)
Have a lovely day and remember to always believe in love.💕💕
WELCOME TO ANOTHER ROUND OF TIA TRIES TO GUESS THE NIS TIMELINE. This timeline theory is based off of dlc dialog, little hints and etc. Feel free to to state your opinions and ways this could be improved.
EDIT: Fixed the timeline after @burnfist23 pointed out some fixes o xo/
EDIT 2: Added Antiphona to the timeline and linked Phantom brave to Marl kingdom at @hottob suggestion.
If anyone on here has played Cross Edge and likes themself a crossship please hear me out on Shurelia and Marie. I just think the woman who spends a third of the game out of commission should get to know the nurse and like? Whilst I can definitely see Marie making a few assumptions (ie. Babying her because she looks significantly younger than she is… mostly that but she’s also probably said some unintentionally offensive things) I can also see Shurelia humouring her so long as she doesn’t have to talk much initially.
The Curse of Empathy (Chapter 2) - CrossEdge/Original Fanfiction
AN: Hope you take a moment to read~
Ao3 | Wattpad | Inkitt | FFNet
-
Chapter 2:
Wind from the moving car tussled Lyner’s hair as he studied the map, hoping to note any other key markers. But there did not appear to be anything worth noting between the museum and their next chosen destination of the gas station. Around them was nothing but vibrant and dense forests, saved for the occasional residential house dotted throughout.
Zelos handled the jeep rather well, navigating every corner and bend without any hassle. It actually would have been a smooth, peaceful drive around the countryside if not for the lingering concern of their missing companions and the questions of where they were exactly.
A sharp, piercing pain suddenly erupted in the middle of his forehead, prompting Lyner to clench his jaw to swallow back a noise of discomfort and for his hand to fly up to clutch at his brow. The pain was unexpected and abrupt but began to diminish quickly. However, as the remnants faded, another strange feeling washed over him.
A cold chill preceded the intense feeling of dread.
“Something’s wrong.” Lyner turned to Zelos and placed a hand on his biontic arm, something he knew that the other man did not like, but he needed to convey the importance of his words. “You need to pull over.”
Zelos jerked the wheel slightly, both startled and by impulse to dislodge Lyner’s hand from his arm. “What?”
“Pull over,” Lyner said more firmly. “We need to find cover.”
“What are you going on about?”
“I feel that something is coming.”
It was too difficult to explain and there was no reason for him to feel this way - it was a nice day, Zelos was driving exceptionally well, and there did not appear to be anything of note around them. But he wanted to trust his instincts. He needed to trust his instincts. They were screaming at him too loudly for him to ignore them.
“If I’m wrong, you can cuss me out as much as you want later. But something is wrong. I can feel that something is coming.”
Something was coming…
Was that…those words written on that wall. Was that a warning?
“I know you have no reason to, but I need you to trust me,” Lyner implored. “I have no reason to lie to you right now.”
“…Alright, fine,” Zelos finally said, his gruff tone an indication that he was disgruntled and exasperated with his antics. “There’s a house up ahead anyway.”
Lyner felt a small reprieve of relief when Zelos pulled the car over at an isolated house. As soon as the jeep rolled to a stop, Lyner pivoted in his seat and immediately reached for the bag that holds their weapons. He grabbed it and hefted it up with him as he slipped from his seat.
His heartbeat increased, uncomfortably hammering in his chest as he quickly made his way to the entrance of the home. Thankfully, the door was ajar, preventing time being wasted looking for a means to open it. Something also told him that the house was empty, despite the unlocked entrance.
The moment the both of them were inside the house, he closed the door and locked it, even though the voice in his head told him that it was unlikely to be enough.
“You gonna explain to me what the hell is going on?” Zelos demanded, fed up and angry with his nonsense. Which was honestly understandable.
Before Lyner could utter anything, the sunlight outside unexpectedly faded, as if something rolled in, falling across the sun, creating shadows and darkness. It grew dark, intensely so, very quickly. It was not from a dense cloud moving across the sun. It was something else. Something abnormal.
Something dangerous.
“What the hell is that?” Zelos asked as turned his head to look toward the front door.
Nausea abruptly appeared in the pit of Lyner’s stomach. “…A fog.”
He suddenly remembered that he held the bag with their weapons. He immediately unzipped it and pulled out Zelos’ gun and blade, quickly tossing the two to him. He then pulled out his own sword and dropped the bag to the floor.
His nerves frayed further when a prickly feeling on the back of his neck caused him to tense. He fell silent when he felt…a presence. Something within him told him that there was a being, an entity wading through that fog. There was more than one. Three unworldly creatures.
He could not physical and visibly see them, but he felt them. Within his mind’s eye, he knew where they were. He could…view them. And one of them was drawing closer.
“There’s something in that fog,” he whispered, his attention focused on the front door. “It’s…there. On the other side of the door.”
A sudden and sharp knock at the door caused Lyner to jump.
“Please help! Let me in!” a voice, seemingly human, cried out from the other side.
Lyner snapped his head toward Zelos and held out a hand toward him, to prevent him from following his instincts and moving toward the door. “No,” he said firmly, but quietly. “That’s not human.”
“Please help! Let me in!” the voice continued on repeat, the tone and octave not changing.
The knocking, however, did. It started out sharp, rapid, frantic almost. But it soon grew in strength, causing the whole door to rattle and shake. Each consecutive strike more violent, more destructive than the last.
Either the lock would break, or the thing would push the door off the hinges. Either way, Lyner positioned himself into a ready battle stance.
The door swung open violently and a white-grey blur rushed past the threshold. It was pure instinct that had Lyner lead with his left foot, his blade level and ready. He pierced the figure within the centre of mass and pushed it back, the force of his attack so sudden and unexpected that he was able to throw the thing off centre and crashing onto its back. Where his sword pinned it to the wooden floor.
A creature of sickly grey-white skin pulled taut over writhing muscle and bones, with teeth yellow and crooked, but sharp and serrated, and eyes of empty sockets graced only with deep red empty orbs of light stared back at him. Long bony arms, somehow human yet distinctly inhuman, tapered off with to jagged and lethal claws.
Claws…
They look like they could be the very things to leave such destructive and devastating gouges in the walls of buildings.
Lyner was left shaken by its appearance. By its very presence.
What-?
Its mouth opened, its jaw unhinging in an inhumane feat, and screamed right into his face. No words. Nothing comprehensible. Not even from pain or fear. Just a scream for the sake of screaming.
Lyner twisted his blade and called forth his lightning abilities to coarse along the steel of his weapon, to strike the hideous creature to the core of its very being. It screeched again, but unlike previous, the sound was that of pain. And it disappeared into a cloud of dust.
It was gone. That icy, cold feeling that Lyner felt had lessened. The knowledge that there were three entities changed. One was gone. But others remained. And he knew exactly where they were.
Lyner jumped back and immediately pulled his body into a battle stance once more. “Get ready. There’s two more of them.”
Zelos knew better than to ask questions and demand answers in the middle of a battle, so he immediately got himself ready to battle as well. “Where?”
“Coming in from the right.”
The mysterious grey fog curled in around the doorframe, coiling its way inside. Outside, nothing could be seen. Only the darkness and shadows of the fog.
Two, small flickers of red soon broke through the empty void.
“That’s its eyes!”
“Good enough!” Zelos took aim and fired off a single round.
A loud shriek was his immediate reward and Lyner felt that rush of relief when the entity disappeared into the ether.
He had remarkable aim.
Remind him to never mess with mercenaries.
Zelos kept his gun trained on the doorway. “Unsurprisingly, the head is the weak point.”
“They seem to be weak against lightning, too,” Lyner returned. “Lucky for us.”
With one more to go, Lyner wasted no time creating a dense ball of lightning in his hand and with his innate knowledge of the creature’s exact location, he threw it through the door, through the fog, and struck his target immediately. His reward, a high-pitched shriek, and that unnerving but oddly satisfying feeling of something disappearing into the ether.
The chilling sensation that held his body tense faded away also. And he felt that he could breathe again.
“They’re gone,” he announced with a sigh, relaxing his posture.
“The fog is leaving, too,” Zelos pointed out.
Sure enough, the light around them was brightening and the mysterious fog that had encumbered their view through the front door lifted, allowing him to see the environment outside. Where the jeep sat out in the driveway, with the empty road and seemingly vast forest as a peaceful backdrop.
The danger had passed. His senses, his fight or flight instincts had calmed. Everything was back to normal.
But those monsters. Those creatures. What in the world were they? They were unlike anything he had encountered before.
“That’s odd. York didn’t say anything about having monsters in his world,” Lyner murmured to himself.
“What’s odd is the fact that you knew these bastards were coming,” Zelos said, his tone accusatory.
Lyner turned toward Zelos and found him staring back at him with an impatient, almost demanding stare. Which prompted him to turn away. To gaze out the door to the world outside. He…he did not know what to say. What could he say?
It was odd. It was more than odd. His reaction, his intense fight or flight senses demanding that he, that they sought shelter immediately. He had never experienced anything remotely similar to it before. His…premonition to danger.
It did not make sense.
He idly raked his hand through his hair and rubbed his forehead, his headache returning tenfold. “I don’t understand it…”
“What the hell is that?” Zelos suddenly asked sharply.
Lyner immediately turned to face him. “What?”
He expected to find Zelos looking at something within the house they had hastily used as cover. Instead, the mercenary had his attention focused solely on him. “That thing on your forehead?”
Lyner’s hand immediately flew up to his forehead. “What thing?”
“You have a marking on your forehead.”
He what?
Lyner lifted his blade and used the smooth steel as a mirror to inspect his own forehead. He did not expect to find a strange black marking in the very centre of his brow. It appeared to be a symbol similar to the style of writing discovered back at the museum, but he could not read it.
Why couldn’t he read it? But, more importantly…
“What is that?” Lyner murmured as he instinctively rubbed at the skin to remove it.
“I take it that’s new?”
“Of course, it is.”
Lyner dropped his weapon to his side and hastily inspected his surroundings, hoping to locate a sink of some kind. A bathroom, preferably. It took him a moment, but he found what he was searching for. He leaned his sword against the wall and pushed aside his bangs to look in the mirror once more. The clean mirror allowed him a clearer view of the strange marking, yet he still could not decipher it. It was just a strange, black marking. In the very centre of his forehead.
It was likely to prove futile, but Lyner still splashed water upon his face and attempted to wash away the strange symbol with a folded facecloth. Yet, all he succeeded in doing was turning the skin of his brow a light pink, the marking not even smudging.
“It’s not coming off,” Lyner muttered when he heard Zelos approach.
Zelos leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest. “That thing might be the reason why you can ‘sense’ those bastards.”
Lyner fell silent as he patted his face dry and took Zelos’ suggestion into consideration. “Like some kind of sigil?” His head did hurt a fraction before he got that cold chill and insatiable need to seek shelter. “But magic isn’t supposed to exist here.”
“The Bakus do.”
“That’s true,” Lyner conceded. He idly folded the facecloth and placed it onto the rim of the sink. “I…I guess I should be satisfied that we have some kind of warning system in place.”
Even if that warning system was him.
But where did he get it? Where did it come from? Was being a forewarning its only purpose?
“One thing for certain is this place has been attacked, just like the museum,” Zelos revealed.
“You found a room?”
“A couple. Trashed and ransacked.”
From the way that creature burst through the door, it was easy to imagine the kind of destruction it was capable of.
“Those monsters must be responsible,” Lyner muttered, a frown of concern making its way to his lips. “We need to find York and Lazarus. They’d have no idea what the fog is. Or what’s in it.”
With a new sense of urgency in his actions, Lyner leant down and grabbed his sword before heading out to the foyer where he retrieved the discarded duffle bag. He and Zelos then headed back outside to the awaiting jeep.
“Keep an eye out for buildings along the way,” Zelos instructed as he offered his weapons to Lyner to replace in the carry bag. “If those bastards return, we’ll need to seek shelter again.”
“Right. Hopefully, the gas station isn’t too far from here.”
“What the hell are those things?” Zelos asked as he jumped into the driver’s seat.
Lyner quickly slid into the passenger’s seat next to him, pivoting to place the bag of weapons behind them, easily within reach for the both of them. “I haven’t the faintest idea. Something about them activate my fight or flight responses. It might be due to the sigil on my forehead. It would explain a lot, if so. I mean, we’ve faced deadlier enemies in the World of Souls.”
Zelos pivoted in his seat also and pressed a hand against the back of Lyner’s seat as he backed the jeep out of the driveway. “That’s true. But if they utilize the fog, they could be dangerous ambush predators.”
“Not to mention their voices luring unsuspecting victims,” Lyner added with a frown. “In vast numbers, they could be deadly. We need to be careful around those things.”
He could not help but think back on that fog. It closed in on them so quickly. They were driving straight into it. Had they not sought shelter when they did, if they instead kept driving, they could have been ambushed by those things out in the open.
Thankfully, they were able to dispatch them rather quickly. And it was only three of them.
They fell into a contemplative silence as Zelos got them on the road again. As they drove, Lyner took mental note of each structure they passed, trying to calculate the distance and whether it would be a viable shelter for them. And as he rested his elbow on the door next to his seat, his fingers unconsciously trailed over the new marking that marred his brow.
He…well, he supposed he was somewhat grateful for its unexpected appearance. Its early forewarning was critical in ensuring their safety. And if more of those creatures roamed the forests around them, then it would prove crucial in the future, too.
He just wished he knew where it came from.
After taking a wide bend in the road, a clearing in the trees opened up to reveal a new manmade structure. A white building with large glass windows and doors, with a large cement parking space out front, covered by a tall awning that seemed to be precariously supported by two wide support beams.
“Finally,” Zelos muttered as he manoeuvred the jeep toward the structure. “We were running on empty.”
Ah, so that was the human equivalent of a gas station.
Zelos drove the jeep toward one of the gas pumps and drew to a stop. When he turned the engine off, they were plunged into silence once more. Just like back at the museum, it was deathly silent.
The two of them shared a brief look before they stepped out of the jeep, cautiously surveying their new surroundings. A couple of cars were situated in the parking spots before the gas station itself, and lights could be seen inside. Yet, one light seemed to be flickering, and from the large glass windows, nothing and no one could be seen.
“It’s quiet here, too,” Lyner muttered.
Zelos glanced at him before he turned his gaze at their surroundings once more. “I don’t suppose you can sense any of those monsters here?”
Lyner shook his head. “No, I can’t feel anything.” That cold chill and sense of dread was unmistakable.
“Then you check the place out,” Zelos said as he turned back toward the jeep. “I’ll get the gas.”
“Sure.”
Lyner cautiously made his way toward the building, passing the two parked cars as he did so. He glanced inside the two vehicles, unsurprised to find both empty, with nothing of note or interest.
The building, however, gave him pause. What he assumed were large glass doors was indeed true, but the glass had been shattered, the shards scattered inside, broken in by something on the outside. The shards crackled under his boots as he stepped through the opening. Inside appeared to be a convenience store, with both food and minor essential products to be found.
Some shelves, however, had been toppled over and destroyed, the contents scattered in an unmitigated chaos.
Unsurprisingly, he received no answer. He had expected as much, but he needed to try. And he ventured further in, mindful of where he put his feet. But as he moved deeper in, toward the back of the building, he saw the same, unsettling scrapes and tears on the walls and doors.
“Just like before…”
At the museum.
Monsters had attacked this place, too.
Lyner bit the inside of his mouth. There was nothing he could do. The carnage had been done. The monsters, those disgusting creatures had attacked and moved on. He could not feel any of them on the premises.
The only thing he could do was grab some supplies and return to Zelos and the jeep. And back to the crucial task of locating Lazarus and York before they encountered those same creatures themselves.
After a quick inspection of the area, Lyner grabbed an empty duffle bag and quickly gathered some essentials he believed would be most useful for them for the time being. Thankfully, with the map and the jeep, they could return to gather more if needed.
“Well?” Zelos asked him the moment he returned.
“Empty,” Lyner replied with a shake of his head. “And just like the museum and the other place there are signs that those monsters have been here, too.”
Zelos scowled. “Safe to assume those bastards are all over this area.”
Lyner leaned over the back of the jeep and dropped the new bag of supplies into the middle of the back seat. “I got some supplies, but it’s mostly water and some med kits. The food is mostly of the snack variety.”
They needed to find some proper food soon. Not to mention shelter. Hopefully they would find both in town, which was likely where they were headed to next.
Lyner grabbed the rollbar and swung himself back into the passenger’s seat. “Do you think those monsters are the reason why we haven’t seen anyone else?”
Zelos slid back behind the wheel and quickly started the engine. “They’re probably the reason why we’re here.”
Could they have been pulled in from the World of Souls? No, they were unlike anything he had seen before. But that meant they were unique to the Human Realm. That was a terrifying prospect all on its own.
As they began driving once more, Lyner felt a twinge of something familiar. It prompted him to quirk his head to the side in confusion and to look out through the windscreen in front of them. It was not that cold sense of dread he felt before. Nothing like it. Instead, a thought flashed through his mind. An inner knowing as it were.
“Huh?”
“What?” Zelos immediately asked.
“No, it’s ok,” Lyner immediately reassured. “I think York and Lazarus are up ahead. I can feel their presences.”
Not long after, the jeep crested a hill, and two figures were seen walking alongside the road. One with red hair and the other with blond. The redhead seemed agitated while the blond tried to calm him down.
No doubt about it, that was York and Lazarus.
Lyner gave a sigh of relief. Not only had they been found, but they seemed to be in good shape. “There they are.”
Their two companions stopped talking the moment they heard them approach, no doubt startled to hear the sound of a vehicle. The sound of anything, really. As Zelos slowed the jeep down, Lyner grabbed the top of the windscreen and stood up, resting his elbows atop of the metal rollbar.
“Hey, need a lift?” he asked, jokingly.
The expressions of relief on their faces were unmistakable.
“Man, finally, where did you two come from?” York asked as he and Lazarus jogged over to them.
“Just get your asses in the car,” Zelos retorted, the two quickly hopping into the back seat.
With the two inside the vehicle, Zelos immediately began driving again, and Lyner pivoted in his seat and folded his arms atop of the headrest to give the two his full attention. “There’s some snacks and drinks in that bag if you need them. You two all right?”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Lazarus replied as he and York immediately ransacked the goods. “We found ourselves near an empty campsite and have been wandering about since. What happened with the two of you?”
“We ended up near a museum where we found this jeep,” Lyner explained. “And well, surprise, we appear to be in the Human Realm.”
York immediately snapped his head up to look at him. “Are you sure?”
Lyner had expected such a response. “Yeah, the museum we found isn’t remotely familiar. I take it this isn’t your home region, though?”
York frowned, still sceptical. “No, it’s not recognisable.” He, however, paused and looked down at the drinks and snacks that filled the bag next to him. “But now that you mention it, the place does feel familiar. I definitely recognise these snacks.”
Well, that was one way to find proof that they were in the Human Realm, he supposed.
“Um, hey, did you two encounter anything?” Lyner asked, cautiously. “Like, with a fog?”
York arched an eyebrow at him. “A fog?”
“No, we haven’t encountered anyone or anything,” Lazarus replied, his curiosity piqued. “Did something happen?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Zelos suddenly cut in, snaring Lyner’s attention. “Yo, there’s a fork in the road up ahead.”
“Ah, give me a sec.” Lyner corrected his posture and reached for the map, quickly identifying their location. “Keep left. That will take us straight to town.”
