Gulla (EAT manga) VS Daija, Lord of the Mountain (The Great Snake's Bride)
Gulla
Daija, Lord of the Mountain
Voting ended onMar 13
Gulla, a quiet, awkward ram college student with a strange taste for meat who gains a fixation on his professor, who desires to be eaten VS Daija, a giant snake who has lived in an ancient mountain for five hundred years and is revered as a god, though he insists that he’s merely just a big snake and his size is only due to his long life. He might be big, but he's also a sensual and affectionate creature!
In HB, Daija actually means canvas. Its a term that refers to a being that is molded and crafted into what one god wants them to be. The pinnacle of that god's creation. Their bodies could be crafted into something completely different from what they were before, all to match a specific image this god wants. To some eras, it means creep, or freak, or ghost, or destruction, but to some it is the lack of anything. It is a void, it is a blank canvas to be manipulated as you please.
Daija is Ter Campi, a creature already considered outside the bounds of Minatol, the realm that includes Hyrule, but that isn't their name. It's all they can remember, is some unknowable entity repeating this word to them. And now they're stuck, in a body they're unfamiliar with despite not remembering anything else but it, in a world that makes little sense but for some reason it isn't odd to them. Caught up in that worlds own problems and disasters, injured and unsure, and then all of a sudden their body is being pulled apart in their sleep, they're being changed, they're being sculpted. Picked away at and sliced, sewn back together as Minaten pleases. Body changing against their will, unable to look in a mirror because the face that looks back is not theirs and never was. They have no idea what or who they are.
Minaten is a god of creation that wants nothing more than for things to go their way. To go along the path they have created, to the point that they will hunt down worlds that do not conform and consume them entirely, as if they never existed at all. And even then, it fails so often to destroy them entirely. Survivors drifting along in some void, some being brought into a safe haven between worlds, others being caught again and consumed. Others being hunted well before their world was ever targetted, consumed for the sake of consumption. Some piece of their soul matching the structure of Minaten's own, and all it cares about it is consuming them.
Daija being from a world entirely removed from Minatol, a world with its own story separate from that Minaten is telling, but they were still hunted down and torn from their own home, driven mad and their entire being erased and rebuilt to fit Minat's whims. Echoes of rabbit's feet in the underbrush and they can't hear anything except their own screaming in their head and this burning sensation on the back of their neck while their soul gets torn apart and rebuilt from scratch.
Myth: There were many Uwabami in mythology, with one story telling of a snake spirit who fell in love with a human woman. The father of the woman tricked the snake out of the marriage, and in anger the spirit flooded the region, only stopping when the woman sacrificed herself.
Facts:
Uwabami were gluttonous creatures, devouring great amounts of food and alcohol.
Uwabami have the power to shape shift.
Uwabami had control over waters, wind, and rain, and in some accounts could fly despite being wingless.
Some accounts state that Uwabami, like all serpents, are part of the dragon species.
Hyrule-Bound The First Path Ch. 3 - From His World to Yours
HERE WE GO you can enjoy it on AO3 or under the read more, there has been no editing so far i need to sleep before work, if you want a cleaner version to read go on ao3 cuz there i can edit it more easily.
A blank slate. That is all you are. A blank canvas for this world to paint its life upon. I call you here to assist those in the Barrier Events in remaining on their paths. They will diverge too much without you. Keep them on track.
Who are you? Where am I?
You are in the In-Between. The space between consciousness. I am Minaten. Your master. You are my servant. My Champion. Ter Campi ev kol Minatol. The Champion of Minatol. You will keep them on their paths.
What? What are you talking about? What's going on?
You will begin in the Era of the Great Sea. Your name is
It hurt to breath. Sharp stabs between each rib as they tried to, the clamor of voices in a language they almost understood.
"Don't open your eyes, yet. You'll just blind yourself. Don't move, there is splintered wood around you, you'll cut yourself. Just give us a second, okay? You're okay, we're going to try and help alright? Do you understand me?" They nodded, still unable to speak. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed in the air, and some of the other voices shouted.
"Goddesses be damned, now there's two holes in my deck for you idiots to fix. Anyone else wanna drop out of the fucking sky?!" The voice closer to them chuckled, before setting back to work on cracking the boards around them to form a wider space to pull them out.
There was an odd buzz to their voices, something like an echo. First their words were indecipherable, another language, then became recognizable after they spoke, as if being translated just a split second after.
A groan was pulled from the other body that landed. Golden yellow eyes blinked open, staring at the wood beneath them.
"Hang on! Don't move your leg! Unless you want massive splinters through your kneecap, by all means I won't stop you." The person who spoke was a women with buzzed blonde hair, and dark green eyes. Her lavender tank top showed off a black tube top underneath, her arms covered in spiraling black and gold tattoos. A man in a striped shirt pattered his way over to help her break the boards currently trapping the new arrival's leg. "Got a name, or should I call you sky torpedo or some shit?"
"Ah…Lincati, ma'am. Lincati Harnon. Friends call me Link." This answer has her eyes boring into his.
"Link, ey? Well, well…Looks like we have quite the coincidence on our hands again, huh? I'm Tetra." The man with her lifts Lincati out while she talks, her holding the boards apart as he's dragged out.
"Wait…Tetra? Tetra Hymor? Like…the Tetra Hymor? The Last Princess of Old Hyrule, Tetra Hymor?" Lincati is seemingly uninjured from his fall as he scrambles to stand, eyes wide in shock. The frizzy blonde curls around his head seem to frizz up even more in his excitement, almost standing on end. "There's no way…you….that was over a thousand years ago! Half of your descendants couldn't even learn about you because the books all disintegrated! How…"
"Ah! It seems we're back to the Gate shit, huh? Hey, we can explain all the time shenanigan bullshit later, can you guys please help with this one? We can't break all the boards with hurting them."
Tetra gave Lincati a look, and he blinked back at her before flailing his hands for a second. "Oh! Yes, I will help. Okay. Yes." He quickly followed, wincing slightly at the sting in his foot. The three surrounding the other new arrival, the other man still bracing the board currently threatening to slice off their leg. Tetra thread her arms up under theirs, and Lincati stuck his hands between the boards on their left side. A soft green glow began to surround them, which had the other man and Tetra startled.
"Don't move! Just hold them in place for a second." The glow was coming from Lincati, and the wood slowly began to curl back, making way for the body of the new person. It formed a curled ring around them, and as soon as all of the splintered wood was out of the way, the other man moved to scoop them out. They yelled when picked up, blood from their leg dripping down on the boards.
As Lincati stood, the boards nearly slithered their way back in place, growing together again, until there was little evidence that the boards had been broken. Tetra stared in awe at the green magic now dissipating from the deck of her ship.
She taps Lincati on the arm, pointing to the hole his own leg had made in his landing. "Yo, can you fix the other hole too."
"Oh! Yeah!" He nonchalantly scrapes his boot against the deck, kicking it towards the hole, as lines of magic shot off into the boards towards the hole, quickly repairing the hole in the same way.
"Damn…Maybe we can keep you." Lincati gave a nervous smile at her joke, scratching at the back of his neck. "Torrent, how far are we from the docks?"
"We are pulling in right now, which you'd know if you knew how to look at something other than your own tits!" The other man, Torrent, called as he carefully sat the still unnamed arrival on the steps that led up towards the steering wheel.
"One, fuck you! Two, you get a name from them yet?" Tetra approached where they had been placed down, reaching into her pocket to hand the young girl in a blue shirt a small red bottle. The girl took it, popping the cork and dipping some onto a small piece of cloth, before gently pressing against the bloody cut on the person's leg.
"Not yet. Aryll, be careful, damn." Torrent braced the other person as they jolted when the rag was pressed against their leg.
"I'm being as careful as I can, it's gonna hurt no matter what. Just hold em still, damn."
"Who the hell is teaching you how to cuss?"
"I'm 16, dipshit, you really think I'm not gonna cuss when that's all any of you here do?"
"Fair enough…" Torrent readjusts the person clinging to his arm. "Hey, you gonna give us your name? Or can we call you Cannonball or something, since that's the effect you certainly had on our deck?" He tenses when two void-like eyes train on him. Dark brown that was almost black, surrounded by just as dark curls. "Could also call you hayalet or something, cause damn those eyes are creepy as shit. Hi." He got an annoyed glare from that, and a scoff from Aryll.
The hayalet still didn't answer for a moment, before mumbling something under their breath.
"Care to repeat that? Can't exactly here mumblers."
"Daija."
"Die-juh?"
"Yes."
"Doesn't Daija literally mean ghost? That's pretty fitting, I'd say. Cause you, my dear, are creepy as fuck." Daija sneered at Torrent again, only getting a snicker in response. Torrent stood, stepping off of the stairs. "We're docking soon, get ready idiots!" He shouted, the other crew members quickly moving to complete whatever tasks they were set to do. Daija stared ahead at him, now ignoring the movements of Aryll next to them. Their eyes landed on Lincati, who was quite busy staring starstruck at Torrent.
Frizzy loose curls that barely reached his shoulders, eyes the same golden yellow as those curls. He was more tan than Torrent, but not as dark as Tetra, but he looked constantly flushed, little warmth to his tone. The bags under his eyes were heavy, his lips chapped and breathing uneven even as he stood still. He swayed as he stood, as if too strong a wave or even breeze could knock him over. The gold of his belt contrasted the deep blue-black of the tunic he wore, patches of four colors adorning one side, while the other was covered by an ornate cloak, embroidered with four different flowers in each quadrant. A lavender feather hung from the chain keeping the cloak on him. His right ear had a black charm hanging from an earring, but from where he stood Daija could not see what it was. But they did see he was staring back, eyes just as focused and dead as they locked onto them.
Just as they had been studying him, he studied them. His glare was less curious. It had a suspicion to it, golden eyes tinged red in the sun. They held the same dangerous gleam as the blade of the sword on his back. Those eyes took in the features of the ghost, from black-brown curls to the loose white shirt, brown pants and lack of shoes, all the way back to those atramentous pits in their face.
Something is with them. I don't trust it.
They're kind of cute though.
Don't be weird, Red.
Don't be so suspicious of everyone we don't fucking know, Blue.
Can you both shut up, please? Red's right, we don't know them, and Torrent's right, they're just creepy as shit.
Is that the guy in the blue?
Tetra called him Torrent, yes.
Well, I didn't hear that.
Yeah cause you never pay attention to anything.
Oh my goddess both of you shut up.
Sorry, Green.
I'm not.
sigh
Sorry, Vio…
The ship rocked heavily as it entered the port, causing Lincati to have to scramble for something to cling to, earning a snicker from Aryll at Daija's side. He didn't look at them again.
"Two injuries but that's it! Anjean, take the little one, Aryll's got the…well, other little one." The other little one scoffs at Torrent's remark, with the first little one snickering from their position of being carried by the sailor. A young woman with lavender hair pulled in an impossibly high bun trotted her way over.
She smiled at them as she easily pulled them from Torrent's arms, carrying them with much the same ease Torrent did. The ghost's eyes latched onto the pinwheel striped button on the front of the woman's robe. She didn't look down at them, talking to Torrent, maybe about the trip, they didn't know, their vision was too busy blurring.
The world around them heaved, but they couldn't move. Anjean and Torrent's voices were muffled, seemingly unaware of the hallucinogenic trip their new friend was experiencing.
A white cloth with fur along the hood, dark hair, hooked nose, sapphire blue eyes.
White-blonde, icy blue eyes, golden thread on the green hat on his head.
Dark red, icy blue with deep golden brown ringing the pupil, the scent of woodsmoke and hay.
Fiery ginger braids, too bright blue sword on his back, nervous hands and just as nervous smile.
Choppy blonde, angry green eyes, black blouse with a red sash around her waist, crossbow at her hip.
Putrid black dripping off the mouth. Claws harder than diamond. Mask like a mosquito, petals open like a lotus flower.
Padme.
Lu-
"Hey!" His voice brought them back. Golden eyes wide with shock, wide enough you could see the almost red tinge around the edge of the irises. Torrent's face came into view, and the ghost realized something about the feathers hanging from Torrent's braid and the chain around Lincati's shoulder. They were on the ground now, grass tickling the back of their neck. Something else kept trying to creep into their thoughts, even as they tried desperately to latch onto what was happening now.
Brown hair, blue eyes that looked purple too many times. I'm not supposed to know of you.
"Daija! Can you hear us?" Torrent's hands were warm against their jaw and neck. Everything else was too cold.
"Fiore, what is it?" Anjean's voice spoke again, followed by a new one.
"Gheradaem, there's something prowling around the Tower of Spirits. It's very dark, we're not sure where it came from, and the magic in the tower doesn't seem to put it off. The trains aren't moving. Most of them have stopped in place. I've not seen anything like it before." The woman that spoke had raven black hair, the same pinwheel striped broach Anjean had keeping her hair tied in a high ponytail. A green sash was tied tightly around her waist, and when she turned, a set of blinking lights adorning the ridge of her spine were visible. Black metal lined her spine, the back of her shirt open to make room for the contraption. "It's leaving behind massive piles of…gunk? I'm not sure what it is. It's entire body is pitch black, I didn't even see it at first, it stuck to the shadows. I didn't notice it till it opened those horrid red eyes." Anjean follows quickly after the woman, and back into Torrent's arms does Daija go.
"Okay, what the hell are we supposed to do now? We'll have to take them to someone else, but Anjean's the fastest of our healers, so it's gonna take longer, and now we apparently have some kind of monster lurking near the fucking tower? You, Harnon. Do you have any idea what's going on right now? What happened before you got here? Did you go through a gate? Torrent, drop the kid, go with Anjean, we'll deal with them for now, they'll need you." Out of Torrent's arms does Daija go. One of the larger crew members from the ship is the one to hold them, though he seems unhappy about it.
"If you're going to hold them like a bomb you better them tighter or they might go off~" Lincati snickers at the man's terrified expression. "The thing lurking by the tower, it sounds like a shadow. A being from the Dark World. It won't be easy to fight. Torrent may need help, even with those two with him."
"Eh…" Tetra gives a wry smile, throwing a wink Lincati's way. "I think he'll be just fine. He's dealt with those things before. Now answer my question while we walk, I'd prefer if Gonzo doesn't combust before we get your buddy settled and not bleeding out. Tell me what you know."
As Tetra's crew walked, Lincati told what he could remember. Nothing more than blurry memories, but enough to parse together that it was a gate that pulled him through.
"It was….this dark red and pink ring of runes, the middle was completely black but when it moved it would glow purple. When it opened it shook the entire ground, and sucked in everything around it like a black hole. I was alone when it pulled me through, and it pulled me through fast, I couldn't even hold onto anything to try and escape it. That's all I remember. It opened so suddenly, I didn't even have time to think. I'm lucky I had any weapons on me at all, I didn't know if I was going to be dropped somewhere full of monsters or in the middle of the ocean. I guess I got lucky I landed on a ship rather than in the water…"
"And you're lucky we weren't people who just immediately kill you. So, these gates are opening suddenly and with no warning, no hints as to where or when. I have to get my charm to see if I can get in touch with the others."
"Others?"
"Me and Torrent have been through this before. Some old friends of ours were pulled along for the ride, we were forced into some war across the ages. We even met someone from our future there too, she held the same sword currently across your back. She was as young as me and Torrent, clearly just starting on her journey though. She wasn't the only person forced in, apparently this was the second time eras had been pulled together. The hero of that Era, he and the Queen had been fighting this war for 3 years already. They thought it was over for only a few months before the shit happened again. And now, here we are again. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something from that Era that was causing all of this."
"Shadows are known for messing with the barriers betweens worlds. I think it has something to do with a creature that's locked in there. Like they're trying to release it by weakening those walls."
"What, like Ganondorf?"
"No…well, sometimes. But there's apparently something bigger in there. During my journey I met a shadow and a wind mage named Vaati, they both spoke of it."
"You know Vaati? Ah, I'm not surprised actually, he's mentioned he knew two previous wielders of that freaky sword." Tetra pointed at the sword strapped to Lincati's back, the iridescent jewel on the hilt winking in the light, as if in response to her insult. Lincati simply stared at her dumbly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.
"I'm sorry…I have no idea what to say right now."
"Yeah…it's a lot. You get used to it. So you have no idea who the curly headed one is? You never seen them before?"
"No, never. They kinda look familiar, but it's more in like a, deja vu kind of way. I can't think of where I could've possibly seen them. And they clearly aren't Hylian or anything else. I've never seen someone with round ears like they have."
"Yeah…that's the thing that has me the most curious. Round ears points to humans. They're rare, I haven't seen one since that war. The last one I saw was this redhead with beat the shit out of people with a giant bell….Don't ask. Priority right now is to keep them from getting some kind of infection or bleeding out, next is to figure out what's going on at the tower." Tetra whistles, which gains the attention of a tall brunette woman standing outside of a sturdy built log inn. "Addy, your mom home? We got injured."
"Yeah! Gimme a sec." The woman rushes into the inn, a few moments later popping her head back out to wave the group in. As they enter, Lincati lingers at the door, staring at the letters on the sign. The letters were different than what he knew, but somehow he could still read them.
Stahls' Call Inn.
"C'mon, freaky sword, let's go!" Tetra's light-hearted jeer broke him out of his stupor, and Lincati allowed himself to be pulled into the inn without any resistance.
Lincati's ankle is wrapped without much fanfare. A small cut easily healed by a bit of red potion thrown on it and a belt in his mouth so he doesn't shout. Daija's injury, however, is much worse. Splintered wood was lodged into the cut, bone just barely visible through the torn muscle, and once the adrenaline had run down and they were conscious again, their scream was unholy. Short as it was, the sound sent chills down the spines of everyone in the inn. They were promptly knocked back out by a concoction of potion and herbs unknown even to Tetra. Thankfully, all debris was cleared from it, and they remained asleep well into the evening.
Torrent and Anjean returned with little information. The creature had disappeared by the time they arrived, only leaving behind small piles of rolling black and red tar. Torrent lingered between the bed Daija was laid in, and the chair Lincati sat in. He stared at them for a moment, eyes full of an unknown emotion.
"I…had an odd thought on the way back here. Something about them…is familiar. Like…deja vu. Like I've seen them before, but only in passing. Or it's like…"
"Like you should know them?" Lincati finishes his sentence, earning a slow nod.
"Yes. Like we should know who they are. Can you tell me about your Era, Lincati? What is Hyrule like by your time?" Torrent finally looks at Lincati, that emotion now identifiable as desperation within the seafoam blue.
"It's…normal? I'm not sure how best to describe it. Older folk call it prosperous, but…It's…It's just Hyrule. I had my journey, but, ultimately it didn't cause much damage. No post-apocalyptic recovery or anything like that." Lincati shifted under Torrent's gaze, not able to keep the eye contact for long.
"What about you? What's your story? You're a hero of hyrule, like me and many others. What did your journey entail?"
"Ah…um…well I'm from a family of knights. My dad's the knight captain. Mom's an advisor to the royal family. I got a little brother. I grew up close with the princen. In regards to my journey, it was…weird. The Elemental Sanctuary had apparently reappeared after thousands of years, despite it…not being there before. We had the suspicion that it just, follows the next wielder? Because it was in old Hyrule before, but then appeared all of a sudden on the new continent a few hundred years ago. Vaati, Tetra mentioned you guys met him, had been sealed in the Four Sword, and we think the movement of the Sanctuary following New Hyrule may have weakened the seal. That coupled with some shadows helping to release him, and an apparent incarnation of that Ganondorf guy, I kinda had to play clean up for that. Not really much else to it."
Torrent is silent for a moment, then sighs. "I understand if you're not comfortable telling me of your journey, that's fine. But I'd prefer you say that instead of lying to my face. I know what the Four Sword is and does, please don't treat me like I'm stupid."
"I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention…"
"I know." Torrent sighs again, looking back at Daija. "Can you keep an eye on them? Someone should be in here and there to check his bandages and change them when needed. Hopefully they'll wake up soon." Without another glance his way, Torrent leaves, the long coat of his whipping behind him. For a moment, Lincati is reminded of the legends surrounding the person in front of him. He shudders when the door closes, rubbing his face. He steals a look at Daija, still unconscious in their bed.
The black earring was a rose. A small, carved charm, that would gleam purple if the light hit it just right. Neither of them said a word when their eyes met. Both sitting in silence, unspoken words exchanged through that glance to not break that peace for just a moment longer.
There is something very wrong with you, isn't there?
There is also something very wrong with us.
"Who are you?"
"I don't know." Daija answers quickly, their voice small and hushed.
"I'm Lincati."
"Daija."
"Where did you come from?"
"I don't know. Where did you come from?"
"Hyrule."
"Ah."
A smile twitches onto Lincati's face, earning a small one back. "How old are you?"
"Twenty, I think. You?"
"Twenty-one."
"Where are we?"
"Hyrule, just…a bit before my time. I time-traveled, I'm not sure what you did."
"Why do you look like you're dying?"
"Because I am."
"Oh."
Their conversation had Lincati feeling as if his body was floating. Something about their voice was too familiar, itching at the edges of his soul. He couldn't understand why, and didn't have time to question, before a terrible shockwave shook the building they were in. What sounded like a horrible scream echoed all around them, followed by heavy and fast footsteps barreling towards their room. The man from before, Gonzo, threw the door open, and quickly scooped Daija up out of their bed. A man in a striped shirt, whom Lincati had heard Tetra call "Niko", helped him stand from his chair, acting as a crutch.
"We need to go, the thing from the Tower came back, and it's got some nutso magic!" Niko helped Lincati grab his gear and strap it on quickly, before rushing them all out of the room. "It's headed this way so we need to move!"
"Where are we going?!" Daija sounded frantic, clinging to Gonzo's shoulders as hard as they could.
"Away from here!" Was Niko's only response, before they entered the chaos outside.
It was already there by that time, its screams echoing and shaking the ground like an earthquake. Torrent and Tetra were barely visible running after it through the debris and rubble flying into the air. A lithe, pitch black figure ran ahead of them on all fours, glowing red sometimes peeking through the dust.
Our pirates were hot on its tail, but Tetra didn't trust how quickly they were gaining on it. Her eyes locked on the glowing shackle around its neck, a glowing emblem etched across its exposed back. She snatches Torrent's arm, yanking him back. They both skid to a halt, and the creature hears it. It rolls forward, flipping itself as it lands to face them.
She feels sick to her stomach. A familiar face leers at them, painted in ink black, haunting red eyes beaming back at her like fire. It stands to its full height, just shy of being the same height as Torrent. The front of its chestpiece has a familiar crest, and the sight of it has her choking on her words.
"Rav…"
"That's not him, Tetra. It's a Pitch, probably his, but it's not him. Get back." Torrent stops her from stepping towards the creature, which is now crouching again, digging its clawed feet and hands into the ground to keep itself stable as it breathes in again.
Torrent shoves Tetra to the side, the wind kicking up to push both of them further out of the way. Its terrible scream blasted through the ground, carving a ditch out between the two of them, and traveling all the way back to knock another building into dust.
Tetra lands hard, unable to hear Torrent's calling of her name. Her ears are ringing, head pounding. Can't breathe, I can't hear. What is that thing? She can't hear its approach.
The cold pouring off its hard barely graze her cheek before its overwhelmed by something else. A sickeningly strong smell of lavender floods her nose, making her dizzy. The air is freezing, wind whipping around her like a cyclone. Torrent's winds, but what is the smell from?
Cold hands tug her down, and everything is black for a moment. Just as quickly as she's pulled down, she finds herself back out of the darkness, being flung into the air. The bird's eye view she's given shows a different creature, this one with pale purple braids framing a face with a similar pallor to Lincati's. The winds keep her in the air as Torrent scrambles to get to her position, now a good distance from where she'd been seconds from death.
A familiar feeling of smooth wood greets her waist, and the earth shakes again as Tetra is pulled towards the felled trees. She has no time to thank her savior before she is left gain her bearings.
A head covered in deep green hair that looked more like leaves than actual hair was barely visible under the large hat on her head. Her and the purple headed man fell into step with each other like it was nothing, no hesitation as they both set their sights on the ink black monster with the face of a friend. Massive vines broke through the earth, trying to grab the creature, but it deftly dodged them, running along the bodies of the plants to get closer to the new duo.
Heavy smoke covered the ground where the vines had broken through, as deep purple lines began to etch their way into the plants, tentacles of smoke bursting out wherever the creature stepped, trying to trip it up. The creature was fast, but the shadow user was faster. The monster stepped wrong and was caught, red and black magic snagging it by the waist. It was thrown to the ground, vines twisting their way around it, binding it to the ground. It screamed, over and over, shaking the ground around it. No one could get near it, as everything around it effectively turned to quicksand, sucking in whatever got too close. The vines had a tight grip, so it could escape, the bright sun stopping any access to the shadows it hides in.
After a moment, it laid there, legs limp as it dangled half way in the air, and dipped its head back to stare at its approaching adversaries. It sneered, showing off teeth like daggers, the glowing blue color of its gums giving its entire mouth a pale blue tint. It opened its mouth, trying to breathe in to send off its screams again, but it seemed to have exhausted itself too quickly, barely able to get out a choked cough.
Torrent had helped Tetra out of the broken forest, acting as a crutch for her as they approached the creature. His eyes landed on the man with the braided hair, and an unnerving sense of familiarity washed over him. He looked to the green haired woman, and a soft smile crossed his face.
"Thank you, Serenity. We appreciate the help." The woman smiled back, face like the bark of a tree, teeth just as sharp as the monster before them. She bowed slightly, the bones at her waist clacking with the movement. The pure green of her eyes traced over the unknown man between them, then back at the trapped creature.
"Both our adversary and our ally here are of the Dark World. The one we fought is called Bandit to most. I know not his true name, but as you saw, his main ability is that voice of his. It can decimate almost anything into sand. He is our old friend Ravio's Chaotic half." Serenity explains it with little emotion, as if she were talking about nothing more important than what she ate that morning. "The one who helped us is an old Pitch. I'm quite unsure as to why it is here. Do you have an explanation, Primor Fayrel?"
The man, Primor Fayrel, chuckles, turning to look at Torrent and Tetra. "Apologies. I travel with the Four Sword wielder. You can call me Primor. Lincati sensed it when you arrived in the port, I tried to investigate, but that Tower of Spirits of yours makes things a little blurry at times. A pleasure to meet you both." He bows, and Torrent can't stop staring down at him.
The friendly Pitch was drastically different from the entrapped one. Where Bandit had gleaming black metal across his body, dangerous and sharp, eyes with no iris or pupil, only gleaming red. Primor was dressed comfortably. Normal, unassuming clothing. One might mistake him for a normal man if not for the almost-white hair and too wide, blood red eyes, dark skin that was too grey in the sunlight, but could be mistaken for a normal dark brown in dimmer lighting. His hands were tipped with velvety purple claws, a gold ring on his left ring finger. Simple pants, boots, cream shirt with gold trim around the color. The braid at his temple on the right side was braided with twine throughout it, holding a deep purple feather at the tip, much like the one Torrent had in his hair, in the braid on the same side. Around his neck was a short necklace with a black rose charm, like the one that hung from Lincati's ear.
"The true name of the Pitch here is Renrasith. He is too crafty to keep captured. Your only current option is to disperse him. Meaning, send him back to the Dark World for now. He will likely cause us trouble later, but there is no way to contain him in this era."
"How do we know we can trust what you say? You're a Pitch like he is, what if you're trying to trick us?" Tetra spits out, voice laced with venom.
"I can vouch for his character. He will not deceive us." Serenity's lilting voice chimed in from behind Primor, as she continued to stare up at Bandit's limp body.
Tetra sighs, shaking her head. "This is insane. Fine! Whatever, get rid of him. You're helping us fix the fucking houses with your weird magic though! Get your little friend to help too. I fucking hate Gate jumpers." Tetra grumbled as Torrent helped her start moving back towards the port buildings. Primor chuckles, barely sparing Bandit a glance as he waves his hands, ignoring the strangled scream as Serenity sends a much sharper vine through its stomach. Smoke rolls down the vines as its body disappears, bright blue dripping down to the sandy ground beneath them.
"Of course Primor is there! Of course that piece of shit majora is traveling with that brat of a Divorem wielder. How could you not tell he was with him when you snagged him?!"
"Maligna, I cannot see everything. There is only so much Padme allows me access to."
"Excuses, Luculen, and you know it! Fix it!"
A heavy growl rumbles out of Luculen's chest. "As you wish. Is there anything else, heir?"
"No, get out. You've pissed me off enough."
Maligna dug at his neck as the man called Luculen leaves. He stares at the orb in front of him, sneering at the sight of the heroes of the sky and merge. "Bandit failed, Annie is on her way to the tyrant and ghost child. Wraith will deal with the wolf and princess, but…he's young, maybe I should send Faeles…no he'll never go around the wolf…maybe just wait until Luculen moves them…."
"Are you sure this is going to work?" A soft, monotone voice chimes in, cutting through Maligna's out loud thoughts. "Are you sure this is what you want to do, Mali?"
"Don't begin to speak to me on this, Ghirahim. You of all people have no right to give me advice on this. Go and deal with Ryllus or something, instead of bothering me with your inane questions."
"....You miss him."
"I miss no one."
"Then why do you look at him like that every time you snap at him and send him off? Why not just apologize?"
"Seriously? You're trying to give me relationship advice right now?"
"I am the guardian of death. You are my death to guard currently, so yes. My duty is to guide and raise you to the best of my abilities. I am fulfilling that duty, or at least trying to."
"Fuck off, Ghirahim. I don't need to talk about my feelings."
"As you wish, heir."
He returned his gaze to the orb in front of him, ignoring the fact that the sword spirit never left the room, remaining stock still next to the stone throne Mali sat upon.
None of that matters now. Only this matters. Nothing else.
-Nothing but a puppet on a string hanging from a fuckin tree (from some song i can’t remember the name of.Those are strings around Time in that picture)
