At the depth of 6,835 yalms, you and your companions are greeted by a breathtaking sight: a colossal replica of Dalamud, believed to be the device which regulates Bahamut's regeneration. The structure swarms with legions of the lesser moon's internal defenses, but through it you must go if you are to reach the main bridge.
By now, just as he prepared himself for anyone to strike at him quickly that he steeled himself to try and take another hit.
However, what had came next when Sela had went forth to strike, her fist had struck true that the shock had come off as jarring, prompting the titan to hunch over a moment.
Unbeknownst to him, the demoness' punch had effectively cracked it.
As Sela's claws had managed to find purchase and gripped at the fractured molar in order to yank at it, that she hadn't factored in the supportive effort from Hollow's...Unusual magic.
Now, she did expect for a guttural sound of the tooth separating it but the fact the unprecedented assistance had lead to a much more inconvenient measure as the recoil was enough to disorient her balanced stance.
Suddenly, the screen on his face begins to flicker violently with his face twisting in sheer pain, but as soon as his response was to scream from the shock coursing through his whole being that he was suddenly brought down to kneel thanks to Vainglory's opportune time to sneak in a hit at their left leg.
During this state, the fact Paul had chosen to leap in with the punch dead centered and crashed against his screen had managed to jostle him enough to almost cause the titan to prostrate, his face within mere inches from the floor.
Heavy breaths were exhaled before his obscured face would shoot up, gaze directly centered on Sela while ignoring Paul.
The built up anger alone would make the titan dart his left hand up before swatting both of them in close proximity away with enough force to send them flying back, to the point where the defensive measures taken by Revak and Lillith wasn't enough to catch them.
Lucky or not, Paul is the first to crash into a wall with Sela colliding into the mushroom, which thanks to him had cushioned the impact.
The titan soon pushes himself up to a slow stand, clutching at the injured spot before he'd do his best to shrug it off and proceed to focus again. He would then raise a foot before pressing down with a mighty stomp and in turn, Johnny's stance seems to shift as his upper body hunches slightly before the coalescing arcs of energy seems to rise to a crescendo.
Meanwhile, with Avarice that his curious intentions to go for the portal would lead to have an outburst of vines to suddenly break out of the floor beneath him just as soon as their hand had just been within mere inches from the opening to cross over to Waterfall.
Ensnared, they were abruptly slammed into the ground and were stuck. To which a mere looming threat was now aimed directly at him.
A rather familiar pattern is now present from the titan, indicated by the ascending power collecting from within the chest-mouth. Even though their defenses may be slipping, it's gonna take a lot more to interrupt this attack.
Avarice | @thesmilingtragedy
Avarice was pinned to the floor! They were squished some more, and they try to kick their legs in the air as much as the vines would allow.
OOF! F L O O R!
Hollow | @misunderstoodkings
It seemed to be going at least somewhat well. But the Alpha's response to the combined assault was quick and powerful.
Hollow had to release his grip on Sela's soul when he saw the titan reel back to swat her and Paul away, not wanting to hurt her by accident. He watched them fly, contemplating catching them but he could only affect one.
In the end, he decided to conserve his energy and let them crash, hopefully they wouldn't be too hurt. His attention was directly on Johnny, who was continuing to build up energy, and it was for something he definitely recognized.
And it seemed to be aimed at the strange one who jumped in from the sidelines, pinned to the floor, a trapped target. The alpha would be too strong for him to pull Avarice away with his blue magic, he had to think of something else.
The voice inside him spoke up, already having an idea in mind. "Welp, time to pass the baton. Purp, take the rest of my energy and see what you can do. Give daffodil hell for me, okay?"
Hollow felt his insides lurch about, collapsing to the ground from the sudden rush that poured through him. He wasn't used to the souls changing themselves around, let alone so quickly.
The blue glow in his eye vanished, replaced with a deep purple color. It darted about, confused from suddenly being shoved out.
"Huh? What? Oh, crap baskets...." The voice blended almost perfectly with Hollow's own, only a slightly higher octave to it. "I have no idea if they'll be strong enough...but I will have to get closer to use them."
Shakily the king stood up and made his way over to Johnny and Avarice, stumbling a bit from the dizziness that still fogged his mind. Once he was a few yards away, he took a stance and breathed deep to clear his thoughts and focus. Purple energy coated his claws but vanished quickly.
"Oh no, please no...." Was it too soon? Did the change disrupt the energy too much? They tried again, and again, but nothing but fizzling energy. "Come on, we have to persevere so we can help, so we can protect." With that, the burst of energy that Blue passed over poured into the magic and kicked it into action.
Dark purple chains fired out of the king's hands, launching out to try and wrap around the titan, primarily targeting the chest mouth to seal it shut. He had no idea how strong they were, especially in comparison to Johnny's power.
Revak | @blazing--soul
[With Sela and Paul whizzing past him, Revak's head swiveled to look back towards the pair, mouth agape with shock. He'd turn back to the titan just upon spotting energy swathing from the mouth on his chest, and, upon quickly realizing the intent, took off running towards him.]
* Shit, shIT SHIT!!
[The dragon would hop upwards, sending a few bursts of flame to aid him in changing his airborn direction, first throwing him to the right, then a midair somersault to the left, before one last burst would send him in a single frontflip overhead, a burning blaze building within his OWN mouth...]
[Upon his head being aimed downwards towards Johnny, Revak would fire off a midair beam of pure flame, laced, once again, with flickering, yellow electricity, a familiar, thunderous "BOOM" crackling from the attack.]
Sela | @the-junk-sela
The unprecedented assistance surely did throw her off. She had felt something during her approach, but didn't think much on it until her fist was flying that she felt herself move forward with more force than given. Johnny fell forward, and in came Paul with a punch to the face, but there was little time to react as that TV face face shot up to glare directly at her, and no time to throw her arm up in defense.
Sela felt her feet leave the floor, and a second passed before suddenly impacting the wall. While Paul had been behind her to take the brunt of the force, they were still moving fast enough that they made an impact dent in the rock.
Another knocking could be heard in their vicinity almost right after the impact crash, the sudden stopping of their momentum made Sela's horns bounce off the stone. Paul may have unintentionally caught most of her, but she was still taller than him.
She fell forward and landed on her hand and knees, but the force against her head threw balance off, making her fall forward on her right shoulder. Nothing is said, she doesn't stir.
Paul | Flourishingbatter
It had happened all so fast, from watching Johnny react in pain to actively getting swatted like little insects. Though, he was initially squished, dazed to the point where he could almost see stars as his vision seemed to blur with the world seeming to swim in a hypnotic sway.
"Di-...Did anyonE CAtch thE LIcense on thaT truCK?"
He asked, voice distorted by a dizzy slurring tone. Though, it would take him a few seconds to recover, much less despite his soft exterior that he was hard to take down. Essentially, he comes to his senses, blinking and discovering how well enough he had sunken into a hole in a wall.
A faint glimpse downwards makes the mushroom notice the still form of Sela, which alerts and set off immediate red flags in Paul's mind as he proceeded to try and perch both hands at the stone to try and pull himself out.
"S-Sela?! Hey! N-No time for a quick nap, c'mon!" He pleaded, not willing to entertain the thought of what he dreaded the most right now.
Sela
Not too long after Paul began addressing her, did a low noise escape her throat.
Paul
The mushroom blinks, before putting more immediate effort to pull himself out, which an audible POP!! was heard before Paul eventually fell down face first then scrambled up to his knees and proceeded to place a hand on her shoulder and gave a light nudge to try and get her attention.
Lilith | @ribbcn-bxnes
[* Dammit dammit dammit! This was getting worse by the second! Everyone was throwing attacks but they still wasn't stopping Johnny! Whatever was coming next...it wasn't gonna stop until it launched. And despite Revak's attempt at fighting against it.... it wouldn't work. Not with his attack alone. She seriously was hoping she wouldn't have to do this infront of others. That it wouldn't get this bad to need it but... but it looked like she had no choice in the matter. It was either change, or get obliterated. A hand clutched her chest, then she spoke up.] "....I want those who are close to me to back away for a moment. There is something I need to do and I do not want to accidently do more damage in the process."
Sela
The light nudging to her shoulder causes her to groan and open her eyes and look at the perpetrator. Oh-- Paul, right. "... Sorry." She slowly pulled herself up to sit on her knees, wincing slightly as she brings her hand to her head. "Knocked my horns, it rattled me a bit... are you okay?"
Paul
As much as he wanted to exhale in major relief, there was still the problem they were currently dealing with but as long as a friend wasn't gone, things were going to be fine.
To her question, he'd try his best to give her a thumbs up, grinning slightly while the right of his cheek looked a bit swollen but no discoloring. "Y-Yeah...Gonna take a lot more than that to knock me out...Heh..."
"But-..." He pauses, directing his attention back to Johnny for a moment before his face seemed to pale in surprise at witnessing the charge up. "...Oh no...What are they doing now...?!"
Sela
Sela turns her attention to the situation at hand. Restrainst, charging, so much fire and lightning. That did not look like a safe direction to go. The direction Johnny's beam was facing.... Oh God. Avarice sits pinned, flailing as wildly as he can. Those vines, they wouldn't be easy to cut, and as her hand falls it pauses in front of her. The tooth is still in her grip. "... Paul," She brings herself to her feet, a headache already present, "Help me try to get Avarice out. Please. I'd rather not have the theory of how durable he is be tested against whatever Johnny's about to do."(edited)
Paul
He blinks, switching his gaze between to Johnny and to her, as he had been processing her words. He was actually gonna try to off their friend? Again, this didn't seem like Johnny but either way, that was something he nor anyone would allow.
Seeing as she was standing up, he proceeds to get back onto his feet and ignore his own well being for a moment, trying to see if he can offer himself as a crutch option for her to lean on.
"Ya got it Sela! We'll have him out lickety split!" He exclaims, pumping a fist out that emphasized his supporting nature. Despite the adversity in the atmosphere, Paul still had enough time to try and share his optimism with his friends and the like.
Sela
She smirks lightly, giving him a gentle bop on the mushroom cap with the back of her hand.
"Sounds good."
After that smack to the face and promptly taking a moment on the floor to collect herself, the demoness pulled herself up at Paul's behest. He was the one who cushioned the blow for her, but he was worried about her?
Well, the knock to her head through her horns was painful, but it was fortunately just a headache and not a concussion. The pair assessed the situation, when Sela noticed the predicament Avarice had been placed in... and worried that any distraction tactics would not stop this, another measure had to be taken.
With the tooth in hand, and enlisting Paul's help, the demoness bounds over for Avarice as fast as she can. "You dumbass, people would be sad if you got really hurt you know!!" She scolds Avarice, doing her best to use the tooth as a makeshift saw... but if that was proving to take too long, Sela would just go ahead and start using her own teeth to rip them as best as possible.
Paul
Taking huge hits was much of a common thing during his time into boxing but right now, a friend was in need of their help. He'd take note the way she talked to him and did have a fleeting thought of wondering how well they knew the scribbly man.
Regardless, no time to lament on such things as he'd quickly follow along, going ahead to kneel down to try and pry away the vines despite the inconvenience of wearing boxer gloves. "Don't worry buddy, we'll getcha out!"
Avarice
MAMMA M I A, you DO c a r e!!
Avarice smiled wide to Sela and Paul as they worked on the vines. He tilted his head at awkward angles to get a look at everyone.
Things were definitely getting... Heated. As discreetly as he could, his thumb severed from his hand, and began attempting to crawl away through the vines. It wanted to get away from any possible attack- and get to the portal!
Lilith
[* Alright Lilith. Breathe in... breathe out. You can do this. You don't do it often but....aw hell. This was gonna hurt. Lilith kneeled, crimson magic beginning to form and swirl about her body.
Fabric ripped and tore away as spines forced their way through. Her gloves, quickly becoming too tight, were discarded, revealing the enlongated claws beginning to form. Her ribboned fedora too was tossed to the side in time to allow the new pairs of horns to grow through without sacrificing anymore articles of clothing.]
[* Finally, she achieved her new height and shook off what remained of her dress. Hell if she wasn't sore all over because of this form... but there were more important matters mind right now. Steam hissed between her jowls, her jaw opened just slightly.
A faint whine can be heard building up from within her as Red begins to wane and glow brighter between her teeth. One fist planted on the earth and she braces herself. As soon as the other's beam would fire, she would as well as a counter. She just hoped to the gods it would be enough.]
Vainglory | @puppet-time
Vainglory winced and skittered back a few steps, his eyes following the carnage that occurred just next to him. He growled, cracking his 'knuckles' and began stepping towards Alpha, gritting his teeth.
"No one hurts mushroom pal and gets away with it you big sack of SHIT!!"
Where the mallet had once been, it had reformed and turned into what looked like a crowbar. Vainglory's gaze fixated on that no-good chest mouth and with a swift motion, he jumped towards Alpha's leg.
If successful, he would cling on and climb around the knee-thorn, proceeding to climb up to the chest mouth. He would then make a hearty attempt and try to use the crowbar to pull out one of the bigger teeth in the chest mouth.
Ages passed as Aatos busied himself with the details: in the striations of sediment, in the arches of orogeny, in the foundations of firmament. And while he whispered secrets from the forge and guided many a shaper's hand, the world still spun.
It was on a beach cradled by the southwestern ocean, on a great expanse of columnar basalt that he had spent the better part of a lifetime meticulously carving and measuring and slotting into place, that he was finally contented. Not satisfied (for no craftsman ever truly is), but contented nevertheless. His tools, sullied and worn, were buried deep within the flesh of the land, and, unburdened, he turned to new labours.
---
Walls stand low. Porous are these hovel-packed settlements. And those that live within, they stir and burble but do not yet boil. Potential untapped. This cannot be.
Aatos suffuses the world in silvery threads, unseen except by the divine eyes and unwoven except by divine hands.
The pool consists of 36 power, which will persist until it is exhausted or until the end of the 2nd Age, whichever is first. A deity can draw up to 3 power from this pool per turn. This power can be drawn and used in one of the three following ways:
Command Race to Create City, so long as it is sufficiently large, centralized, artificial, planned, walled, etc.
Advance City towards Technological Innovation, so long as it's related to craftsmanship, industrial production, military endeavours, scientific development, or similar concepts.
Command City to produce notable architecture, such as particularly grand walls, labyrinthine archives, military garrison, or some other suitable structure.
Rather than their typical 4 power cost in the 2nd Age, any of the above actions that uses at least 1 power from the pool will only cost 3 power. You can use as many of the above actions as you have points for and in any combination.
(For example, a deity could draw 3 power from the pool and spend it to Command Race to Create City for 'free'; or they could draw 2 power from the pool and spend 1 power from the pool plus 2 power of their own to Command City, then do the same with Command City elsewhere in the same turn.)
