What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Toll for the Bridge Troll (Syn;Zilrax)

The witch shook her head following Syn's question about the angels somehow knowing that they spilt something. "No, how would they feel that? Threads don't work that way." The witch explained. True as well, if a random angel thread could have felt that from wherever they were, it'd still be pointless because they're all far more likely to be poked with an angelic thread than some patch of ground. "It's a problem because they'll know where we've been. It could hurt us in the long run if they have that information. It might lead them to find other witch encampments. Our plans are threatened!" the witch growled. "We can't achieve our goals for Lord Avarice if the worst happens." the witch grimaced, spilling the name of the Demon Lord that Syn came to Gaea under privilege of, which basically meant she had to pay tax for traveling under her territory. Tax in the form of energy, which Syn had acquired a bit of.

So, the portal would open up quickly if Syn donated her energy to open it faster. Unfortunately, Syn would be famished after she helped with that, and then had to suffer Avarice's 'collection' of her dues, which was often enough an uncomfortable process of getting something stuck inside of her. Even still, weakened by supporting the portal, she'd likely be unable to fight against Avarice's collectors. As there's no law, the punishment for trying to skip on the tax could be as high or low as Avarice feels. Though often punishments for disobedience are often unreasonable in the land of demons, such as eternal nose whistles and developing an itch on the inside of your skin that you could never hope to scratch unless you tore your flesh off. That and the usual fair of gruesome punishment.

Syn could instead choose to be greedy, and not support the portal. Would mean that she'd be better off going into Hell, including should she try to skip out on taxes. Even then, if she did pay, she'd have plenty of energy to last in Hell with little worry about starvation. Only problem with that plan is that it would give the angels more time to find them. Ugly situations were both in front and behind her in both doors. However, such were the obvious choices given to her by the witch. It was up to Syn how to handle the situation.

 

[Zilrax]

Re: Toll for the Bridge Troll (Syn;Zilrax)

Nothing was ever easy it seemed. Greed was who had allowed her into this world, and it was greed that would take claim to her. And in true nature, Greed would not give a damn if Syn helped the witch's out of bind and give her lee way.

If she went through this quickly, she'd be drained dry in short order to pay the taxes of Greed. If she waited, then the angels could mow them over and they'd likely all be dead.

Trying to avoid the tax would end badly regardless. It was aggravating. There was no good options, only how she'd like to be butchered today. She was starting to regret setting foot outside of hell. Guess the Angel's had succeeded at that much.

Still, there was another option, but it was really really stupid. She could always snatch up an angel and drag her in with her. That'd pay the tax and then some. However she didn't have the power, skill, or ability to fly that such a feat would require. If she couldn't beat an angel on the way here, she sure as hell wasn't going to do it now. Didn't help her armor was like swiss cheese with all the holes in it right now.

Draining the witches was out, she needed them to open the portal. Helping the witches was useless, the demons could sense her general presence in a region or something so sticking around to help out would just get them all killed.

What a mess. She could honestly flip a coin and choose starvation or the annihilation of her soul, which amounted to the same thing. She should have known better than to trust Greed. The service was reliable, but you always lost everything in the end. She'd be leaving with less than she entered with. Such was life she supposed, sometimes you just had to be miserable because those stronger decided it's your lot.

Nothing for it then, the chances the angels found her before the portal was prepared was pretty high, and starvation gave her the slimmest chance of survival that the angels did not. If there was no road that ended happily, she'd pick the one that gave her a chance at continuing to walk. It was all she had anyhow.

"Threads or not, they can clearly sense my general location as they've been following me for miles. You'll be more ruined if they catch up so let's get this over with. What a mess. Oblivion or starvation. Alright, siphon it, then we all have a chance of living through this."

Seemed it'd be time to invite madness once more.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Toll for the Bridge Troll (Syn;Zilrax)

The witch nodded. "Alright. Gather with the witches and let out your threads for them to use." the witch instructed. There were various ways the energy of threads could be used, but the quickest at the moment was just allowing her own threads to be stolen as raw energy and used to form the link between the two dimensions. Such was what would happen if Syn were to stand before the occult circle and add her energy to the mix. It would be taken like much needed excess thread and used to require far less intricate design in the weaving of the portal. It ended up looking like the portal would be bigger too, not requiring all of the hunted to go through the portal in a single file line. The witches seemed thankful for Syn's charity. Most demons would have greedily kept their hard-earned, precious energy for their own sake, especially those in Syn's position. The witches in the background were collecting tents and trying to hustle about with bags so full one would think they were taking a corpse or two with them if not for the sounds of raw materials and metal for lack of flesh.

Some witches had luggage so plentiful that they had to drag their bags along the ground. One witch who was trying to seemingly take a whole house worth's of things with her was met with other witches coming to encourage her to abandon the apparently massive amount of useless things she collected. Ugly wood idols, paintings, and books of seemingly no intent other than to amuse mixed in with a few more useful looking books. They were arguing with her about the merit of risking her hide over such trivial things, and she was seemingly ready to bite the first fellow witch who tried to touch them while defending her items with violence and faulty logic. "Just because you cannot see the merit in these trinkets, does not mean none exists!" In the end, the other witches ended up helping her carry her pointless luggage.

Meanwhile, another witch was walking out with a small wagon on wheels that she was pushing in front of her. It held a brown wooden box sealed quite tightly and emitting a slight sensation of chill in the air around it. "I brought some snacks for the trip." she announced, seeming to make light of the situation.

"THIS ISN'T A FUCKING VACATION!" the witch Syn spoke to before shouted out.

"Fuck off," another witch defended the snack-bearer, with short green hair.. "I told her to bring some snacks. She's already packed too, so calm the fuck down." she demanded, her arms folded in front of the freckles witch, who merely threw up her hands and let out a massively frustrated sigh.

Not all witches were packing and preparing however. Some were looking to the direction that Syn came from. A pair of witches shaped magical bows, glowing blue ethereal weapons with magical arrows seemingly ready to break apart the very fabric of existence of whatever they hit, tearing apart not only flesh, but the nature of the soul itself. Such a weapon was dangerously effective against magical beings, not limited to angels. Simply because just killing the body was never enough. The halos always return unless you destroy them entirely. Other witches were hiding in various places, keeping their presence minimal and keeping a spell woven and ready to fire. It seemed like enough fire power to deal with an angel or two, if they're caught by surprise and hit with all of the damage that was prepared for them. Though disaster would follow if the witches missed in any large degree.

Then, the portal would open. A wide archway cut into existence that was as flat from the side as paper. Quite literally, it was a doorframe into the pathway between worlds. That was when the witches around Syn began shouting. "It's open! IT'S OPEN!" and the freckles witch began trying to encourage everyone to hustle through. "Move! Move! Go!" she rushed them. Meanwhile, Syn herself would feel a little light headed. The witches had borrowed a good fraction of her remaining power. She was even feeling a little hungry. Still, the task was done, and Syn was free to follow the witches through. Or not.

Though, surely her decision would be helped by the distant, yet quickly approaching sight of a golden glow in the sky, soaring straight for the encampment. A sight which, when the witches saw it, made the immortal former humans panic and try to pile through the portal in fear.

 

[Zilrax]

Re: Toll for the Bridge Troll (Syn;Zilrax)

Syn stepped before the portal, grunting as her energy was siphoned from her neck. While it wasn't the explosive loss that losing her head would cause, it was still very noticeable, and unpleasant. Courting madness indeed.

Syn rolled her eyes at the witches fighting over food and luggage and what not. It was somewhat distracting, but seeing such cooperation was somewhat foreign to her nowadays. Seemed like they kept more of their humanity than most demons did. She wondered if it was a blessing or a curse.

In any case, not all of them were doing the portal or mucking about. Some witches were prepared with rather deadly looking weapons. The sight of them made her feel rather useless all considered. While they had the capacity to rend angels asunder, if they were decent shots at least, she would be lucky if one decided to fight her on land. And would probably get mauled since any angel who was willing to do so had to be potent.

Finally it opened though, Syn shuddering dizzily. Ugh, not a good sign. She was right on the edge before she switched personalities it felt like.

The coven leader, at least Syn thought of her as such, was hurrying the witches through the portal after them. That's when the panic set in. Looking back, the sky was gold, and something hurtled right towards them. The witches began to clog up and struggle at the portal, Syn growling irritably.

"Now is not the time to panic! Move in smoothly or by the hells I will crush you down to all fit! Hurry it up!," barked Syn, having decided to take up the rear as the probably slightly more durable one. She tried to get the witches all through quickly before diving in after them. She wasn't entirely sure why, but it felt right and that was good enough for her.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Toll for the Bridge Troll (Syn;Zilrax)

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The angels apparently had no desire to easily let the demons go. Despite having a good distance to go, golden bolts began to soar through the sky like holy arrows shot by God's bow. They were so bright that they appeared as miniature suns in the sky, nearly blinding Syn and the witches before angelic bolts struck the earth, and erupted with intimidating explosions, sending dirt and rock flying through the air. The witches returned in kind, firing their energy fueled arrows and explosive magic in the direction of the golden glow, giving the sky a blue glow to go with the gold, as well as some darkness as a few witches seemed to fire what appeared to be dark orbs, holes of nothingness. Many of the explosive magical orbs were shot out of the sky by the hands of skilled angels, while it remained to be known how well the arrows did. Their numbers became slightly more clear as well. It was more than one angel who approached, and perhaps more than a dozen as well. Upon just getting a glimpse of the angelic numbers, the defending witch force seemed to lose all interest on holding their ground, immediately turning and running to join the other witches scrambling for their lives.

One among those witches fleeing was running not but a few feet in front of Syn, before a bolt came down and struck the witch in her back, spraying blood all over the ground and Syn's armor before falling into a heap on the ground about fifteen feet away and causing another witch to scream out the fallen witch's name and try to grab her friend's body, which was motionless on the ground from the angelic bolt that was carefully crafted to exterminate the very soul of what it struck. There was a good chance that the witch was no more. "Help me... Help me!" The witch cried out pitifully as she dragged her friend's body towards the portal. It would take too long. The angels would be allowed to get closer. The risks were immense, and the other witches said as much, demanding the body be left behind. "They'll burn her! Please! PLEASE!" she begged, looking then to Syn as her last hope.

"Leave them both!" The witch with freckles shouted before vanishing into the portal, the other witches quickly fleeing and vanishing as well. Desperately, the witch trying to help her friend dragged her body towards the portal with the angels firing so many bolts that the area around them would soon turn into a crater. Syn even was struck twice by powerful bolts, barely stopped by her armor as she felt extremely intense burning pain from the holy bolt trying to melt her soul. Weak from the portal opening, it was especially threatening to her life.

Thus, Syn would be the last able to enter, all of the other witches having gone inside while the angels were nearly on top of them, mere seconds before they'd be right on top of her. Unfortunately for the two witches, it would require those mere seconds to get the rescue the witch was calling for.

 

[Zilrax]

Re: Toll for the Bridge Troll (Syn;Zilrax)

Not one angel but many. Not one blast but dozens. The angels had come like a swarm, bee lining for them. How they had found them so easily, she did not know. Perhaps the witch was wrong about them being unable to sense corruption.

The defending witches tried to help valiantly, returning fire into the hail storm of angelic death that fired upon them, but as the numbers became clear, the defenders fled. One wasn't so lucky and took a blow, her friend crying out for aid.

Syn got low to try and avoid blasts, though two struck into her armor, making her hiss in alarm. She was weak, and her armor burned under the blows. She couldn't handle the strain. There was no time. This was stupid, she should leave them.

So why was she moving towards them?

Syn didn't exactly know what made her do it. Some forgotten aspect of humanity, some suppressed nature as a hero coming through in her weakness, or perhaps just sheer insane desire to snub the divine who lashed out at her. In any case, she was moving for them, skidding down and grabbing both witches as she grit her teeth.

"Idiot, she's probably dead! If you're going to get us out of this alive, you're going to use your damn magic and throw the angels back, if just for a second. A tornado to toss them aside, a shield to slow them for the smallest moment! I'm giving up everything to get you out! So if you care so much for her life, you'll put it all on the line too to get us out as well!"

As she spoke, she pulled the witches to her chest, covering them as she ran. This would be all for nothing if they got hit as she ran. She hoped the witch had the skill to buy them some time as she tried to lunge for the portal. She'd be lucky if she survived, nevermind them.

And if it looked like she wasn't going to make it, she'd throw the pair through the portal. Least her strength would be useful for something if she did it that way. Least it'd be a victory of some form.

Time to see if she could be an unstoppable force to an immovable object.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

The witch let out a cry as she was picked up along with her brutally injured friend. Without a word, she obeyed the command Syn gave her, but it was already too late by then to prevent more damage. As Syn ran the distance, another angelic bolt flew and struck her right in the center. The bulk of her armor absorbed the bulk of the damage, but the shock made her ears ring, making her deaf to the sounds of crashing and booming around her. Her chest piece now had a large hole in it with blood and slightly scarred flesh, but otherwise better than the witch who apparently died.

With two full sized witches being carried, Syn would find herself carrying more weight than she needed to be as her legs now had to support over 400 pounds. The one witch made Syn leg go to focus on the wounded witch, before she turned and began forming a shield as they retreated. It blocked a few angelic bolts, but did nothing for what came next.

Syn ran with the witch while carrying the limp body of the hollow witch. As good as a corpse. Seconds that felt like forever passed by as Syn would make a mad dash for the portal. She could feel an intense burning sensation behind her, the angelic, demon purging glow burning into her back and threatening to turn her into dust. The hairs on the back of her neck would stand as the angels felt so close that her instincts would tell her that they were right behind her. Then, her ears stopped ringing just enough to hear the truth of the matter.

"DIE, TRAITOR!"

The voice was so loud, and so close that it might as well been whispered into her ear, before a wide angelic blade pierced through Syn's middle. All functions ceased in that moment. The blade cut through her very soul, filling her with a pain so severe that she both felt so numb that she could no longer feel the pain, while also distantly knowing that the intense pain was there.

Time froze, or seemed to. Though it also seemed to slowly go by. There seemed to be no doubt that she was dying. Her blood was rolling down the wide blade in small rivers, slowly dripping to the ground as it glowed with a glorious golden light. Perhaps appropriately, as those who die often describe, Syn would recall a certain thing from her past. A prayer, from when she was regarded as a hero. Or perhaps it was earlier. The memory didn't come with specifics. All it came with was

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. A song that all the girls and boys would sing in chorus in church, ironically in this case, before an angel. No one knew what they were singing exactly. Though they did it for the sake of worshipping the peace that the angels allowed. The golden lights came in through the painted glass from the sun's glow, but also from the angelic glow that surrounded them and the church, fully illuminating the church with the most beautiful golden sparkle. The bells tolled, what sounded so wonderful then, now sounded grim. Surrounded by the children and people who loved her, and now hated her. Those who begged for her blessing, and then begged for her execution. Amidst the deceptively savage.

Then, her hair stood on end. A hand was placed upon her shoulder. Looking back... It was her. Syn's head, coming loose from her body, would turn and see her executioner. Once a smile, now a scowl. The very angel who had blessed her with her heroic powers, now used her blade to try and take them away. Her golden blonde hair flowed elegantly in the wind created from the explosions. Her emerald green eyes stared directly into Syn's eyes. Though it was only in that moment that they shifted, realizing who she was killing just as Syn was realizing who she was being killed by.

"My name is Kushiel." the angel once said with a smile, illuminated by the church's glow. Though, her expression slowly transformed into what it is now.

"You could have become an angel." she said, looking into the eyes of the hero turned to darkness. She had a hint of sadness on her voice, before she pulled her blade from Syn's body as the sight of the angel, and the sky behind her closed like a pair of doors sealing shut, before beholding darkness.

Time seemed to catch up with Syn in that moment, as her body fell. The feeling of her hitting the bottom never came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 2: What you Could have Been​

Like a spirit, or an existence without presence, Syn felt as if she were floating. She couldn't feel or move. Her spirit was too weak. Remotely, such was the way some demons talked about dying. Loss of all power, not even enough energy to think. Your soul just a tiny speck of existence, or what's left of it. Just floating around, without purpose or reason. Eventually fated to vanish, and become apart of the magic in the air. That is all Syn did, was exist. She couldn't even comprehend what was happening around her, if anything. There was a feeling of ignorant content washing over her. She could not even bring herself to acknowledge any problem, so there were none. It was just to be, that's all. Just exist, until you existed no more, leaving little more than a memory behind that would vanish in turn as well, until Syn no longer existed. Completely erased.

Then, came a sudden warm embrace, and Syn would open her eyes abruptly to find herself in a large bedroom complete with red hellish wood, and black lining with gold trim. She laid in a royal bed with red sheets and purple curtains, with plenty of room for her and more, though she was the only one in bed.

"Good morning, and congratulations!" Rang a jovial voice, as Syn would find a tall, slightly tanned succubus with purple wings and long, purple hair dressed in typical succubus royalty attire. "You have been adopted! You may call me Sparkle!"

 

[Zilrax]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

It was foolish, stupid. Why had she done this? She had no idea any more. Agony was her motivator as she was struck dead centre. The witch's shield a bit too late. Witch's were so damn heavy, they were so small so why the hell were they so damn heavy? Was she really that exhausted?

She was almost there. Almost. Then her hairs arose. She wasn't going to make it. It was right there and she knew. She gritted her teeth and did the one thing she could. She hucked the witches through the portal, knowing the end was nigh. "Seal i-," she began to yell as she hoped the two got through.

But she never finished the sentence as a louder voice cut her off. And ran her through. She stared down at the great blade that had stabbed through the hole in her back. This was it. This was how it ended, impaled in a forest for the crime of existing.

She recalled as she stood dying, agonisingly slow, yet maybe it wasn't that slow. A song. A prayer? Faces, people she might have known. She wasn't sure. Prayers. Prayers to what? Angels? In front of angels. It was a nice song. But she knew the truth behind it all. Bells tolled, once peaceful, but now grim.

She was turned to stare into the face of an angel. No, not just an angel. Her angel. Once her angel. Now her executioner. The blade was no longer holding her up. The angel recognised her too now.

Syn wanted to respond to the angels comment. But she didn't have the energy as she fell away, as the whole world fell away into the black.

---------------------------------

So this was death.

Couldn't think. Couldn't feel. Couldn't anything. Exist until one did not anymore. She was just there and there she would remain until she no longer did.

But then she was there, and something interrupted her existence with... More existence. She felt warm. Hugged.

She opened her eyes. She had eyes again. She stared around, she was somewhere nice. Better than anywhere she had been before. It was a big bed, a comfy bed. The wood was hellish in nature, she recognised it. She must be in Hell again.

Her attention was drawn to a very happy voice as she looked up, eyes wide. A succubus, no, a succubus queen perhaps.

"Adopted...? How? I was dead, I... Angels...," grimaced Syn, closing her eyes again a moment as she grimaced in confusion, feeling completely disoriented. "They destroyed me. She destroyed me. How am I still here?"

She paused a moment to try and get her bearings. "I'm sorry. I'm being ungrateful. I'm just really confused. Thank you for saving me, Sparkle. But why did you and how? Um, I'm Syn. If you didn't already know somehow."

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

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- Warning, it's quite silly and cartoonie)

Sparkle giggled at Syn's confusion. Indeed, the dress she wore did portray her as a very proud demon, most likely the owner of the construction they were in. "You're still here because you weren't destroyed. Isn't that a simple enough answer?" Sparkle declared with a smile. "Though, you were 'dying' for lack of a better word to use. I simply fed you some of my stores of raw energy so that you'd feast on that and recover naturally. As for the reason? Well~" she giggled. "As it turns out, you had quite a bit of debt to pay. Add that onto how much more you owe me now, and the fact that I purchased your debt... He-he-he~" she chuckled. "Well, for lack of a better way of saying it, I own you now~ Isn't that great?" she asked with a sarcastic smile.

Sparkle moved with a flourish, her cape moving through the air as she turned and moved towards a window covered with blinds, and opened it to behold a fiery red sky and a purple moon that Syn would be familiar with having been in Hell before. "So, it's time to rise and shine! This will be your first day as my servant. Your armor and the like are in the closet. This shall basically be your room, so feel free to make yourself comfortable in it. You may refer to me as Grand Elder Sparkle henceforth. It's my title." Sparkle declared, telling Syn to refer to her as what would be known in hell to be the oldest demon alive. "That's not so bad, right? You get to work for someone famous, and in not-so-bad living conditions either! Just think of it this way if you're down about it, Avarice planned on having you sleep with the ghouls and zombies in her back yard. This is certainly better than sleeping in an unmarked grave, I'd think." she nodded, rather certain of herself.

"Whenever you get dressed, go ahead and bring that armor of yours to our blacksmith. She's a cyclops working in the rear grounds of my estate, outside of this building. She prefers solitude and isn't much of a talker, so be brief with her or she'll just ignore you." Sparkle declared. "Don't worry about the costs of repairing your armor either. I'll add it to your debt~" she giggled. "Come see me in the throne room once you feel up to it. If you try to run, my witches will shoot you down, okay~?" Sparkle said with a sweet voice as she gave Syn a cute little wave of her hand and left the room, the sounds of her high heels clicking against the ground slowly getting quieter as she walked away. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said from the hallway, "The witches who brought you in are in the alchemy room. Be sure to thank them for bringing you in~"

 

[Zilrax]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

Syn blinked as she received her explanation. So that was it. She figured something like this was it, but an idle dream said maybe it'd be something less unpleasant. The room was pretty nice though.

Grand Elder. Was it really true? The eldest demon was... This girl? Appearances were deceiving in hell true enough. It likely was a smoke screen meant to disarm others. Syn wasn't so easily fooled. At worse, the girl was lying about being the oldest but it didn't matter who she was really. Sparkle owned her now. One didn't just lie about things like that.

Once Sparkle headed off, Syn sighed and got up, flexing her body a bit. Her mind was still distracted by what happened. The death, the visions were bad enough. That she couldn't remember what made her become this, a demonic corpse, made it all the worse. And now she was shackled to her debt. She should be angry, at the angels for putting her in this position. But it was her own decisions to try and help that got her here.

It sounded like the witches were who dragged her here though. She'd need to ask them why. Maybe it was punishment for all the trouble she caused them. Guess she would find out.

There was nothing to be gained by sitting here moping though. She would figure a way out of this one way or another. She had some things she needed to figure out that she couldn't while she was leashed.

Syn got up and headed to the closet, re-accustoming herself to balance and having a body once more before retrieving her clothes and armor. She dressed in her plain black robes and pulling the hood up, and slipped her choker on. She then gathered the pieces, or what was left of them, of her armor and bundled them up before heading out to find this blacksmith. Though if she saw the alchemy room on the way, she'd stop by there first.

"Welcome to the first day of your new life...," muttered Syn to herself as she walked. She still felt numb after all that occurred.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

Welcoming herself to the first day of her new life, as if accepting damnnation, Syn would get dressed from light underwear to her robes while collecting her chewed up armor into a bundle. It still felt hot to the touch due to the angelic energy that seeks to 'purify' all on it's path with holy fire. Once it was secured, it was a simple trip outside, and to the smithy in the back before Syn came across a dark room lit only by a burning forge and the sparks of a grinder. Legendary cyclops craft at work as this one was seemingly capable of her work even in such darkness. Though it likely mattered to her as much as it didn't matter to Syn. Eyes magical allowed Syn to see in the dark with a simple alteration. An advantage to being a magical being.

The sound of metal grinding and the sight of sparks flying stopped when Syn walked in. The cyclops, with long and straight black hair, stared at Syn as she entered. She said nothing to the patron entering her smith, simply ceasing her work, letting Syn know she was being stared at, and waiting for Syn's input.

 

[Zilrax]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

It was less accepting and more a statement of her situation. It didn't sit well with her. None of this did. She didn't know what to think. But she also couldn't just sit there. Sooner or later she would have to interact with the world. She wasn't dead, and she wouldn't act like she was. She wouldn't waste a second chance on weeping in a corner. Or at least, not all of it.

Syn found her way outside easily enough, playing hot potato with her armor. Stuff was completely saturated with angelfire, and it didn't seem to ever want to give up trying to kill her. A endless reminder of what had happened.

Syn entered the forge, her vision switching for better vision in the dimly lit forge. The cyclops was hard at work here, though she stopped when she noticed Syn, staring at her silently.

"My armor was shredded by angels. I was told you could fix it, and that Grand Elder Sparkle would cover it.," said Syn simply, looking to the cyclops, "Angelfire is still saturating it."

Assuming the cyclops gave assent, she'd hand the armor over with a thanks. She trusted a cyclops would know what had to be done to fix it more than she would after all. And it wasn't like she didn't need her armor.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

The cyclops pointed to a bath-sized pool of purple water off to the side that was contained in a square shaped formation of obsidian foundation. It had a metal grid over it for Syn to simply put her armor on top of it. "Place. Back away." The cyclops instructed her. Upon doing so, the cyclops would set the blade she was working on aside to approach a crank that operated the metal grid via four ropes. Turning it, the armor would slowly be lowered into the corrupt water, before a rainbow of fumes erupted from the armor, quickly coming to a halt as the angelic fire was purged, burning as much of the corrupted water as it could before dispersing. "Come back tomorrow." The cyclops declared, before sitting back down in her original location and picking up the sword, putting it back to the grinder, pumping an operator with her leg to get it spinning as sparks began to fly again.

 

[Zilrax]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

Syn blinked as she was pointed to the corrupt water, and walked over as instructed, piling what was left of her armor upon the grid. Once she did so, the cyclops lowered the armor into the water. A great release of steam made Syn step back before she got scalded.

As the cyclops returned to her work, Syn simply said "Thank you." She then headed out.

Syn went back to her mistresses home, and began looking for the alchemy room. It was time to find out what had lead to these events and which of the various thoughts bouncing about her skull held true.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

The cyclops said nothing in reply, simply focusing on her task and left Syn to leave whenever she felt ready to abandon the idea of hearing a reply or to push the issue. Regardless, it was back to the main building. As she walked, an imp flying by quickly dashed past, flicking Syn's clothed nipple with a antagonizing giggle before quickly dashing off with her tiny wings. Such was the nature of imps. It's also why they have a high mortality rate when they piss off the wrong demon who promptly strangles them to death.

Walking into the building, it was just a matter of looking one way and then another once she was standing in the main corridor on the first floor that opened up into a four-way path, with one leading straight ahead to go out of the front of the building, where Syn was told she'd be under threat of getting zapped if she desired to go that way. The other two ways to go lead through the entirety of the building, giving access to various rooms without much need for complication. Various other demons were coming and going, as if it were a mall. Though it was a bit far from the truth. There was no official 'cafeteria' for everyone to eat at, mostly due to the fact that almost no one in Hell was mortal. All the sources for sustaining one's life force were within the incubi that were loosely scattered about. Most had grins just as evil if not more so than their female counterparts, the succubi, as they would be spotted acting sweet to various girls who looked interested. Though Syn would always hear a similar conversation in one way or another. All the incubi wanted something, and approached the females for it if they weren't approached themselves. Some wanted jewels, some wanted information, and others were apparently trying to recruit them as bodyguards by encouraging the particularly capable looking woman into walking with them. By doing so, the weaker witches and demons seemed to leave the incubus be. Despite it being a very business-like way of living, the incubi did it as if such was normal. They sold their bodies and affection for things they needed and wanted.

The right path was the one most populated by the incubi. To no surprise, it was where a bit of shopping could be done within the building if one had the trade for it. Without currency for a long time, Hell eventually adopted the currency of the human lands thanks to Avarice spreading her influence there and using her financial desires to further her territory. So one could easily trade gold, silver, and copper coins for goods thanks to her. Prior, it was far harder. Goods had to be traded for goods and services. If you didn't have what an armorsmith wanted, you did not get weapons and armor. If you didn't bring what a gate keeper desired, you weren't getting into the human world. Though such is hardly a convenience. With the gates monopolized by Avarice, you were forced into paying an outrageous price. All to further her greed. The humans would no doubt be thankful for Avarice indirectly keeping so many demons out of their world.

The left path is where she wanted to go. In that direction was a corridor leading to an alchemy lab on the right, and on the left was a training area. Inside, Syn could see various demons wearing armor and training helmets while taking instructions from various veterans. A few of said veterans were dullahan like Syn herself. She'd not recognize any of them though, despite them being heroes like she used to be. A good thing too, as if she had not taken in that angelic blessing, which was now turned dark from the corruption, then she would not have survived a blow like that through her abdomen. It was a very ironic survival, being saved by the very same power that tried to kill her. That aside, the alchemy room was just to the right.

Should Syn walk in, she'd behold what would no doubt go for a stereotypical witch's den. Young looking witches, all ages deceptive, were going this way and that way. They were crafting magical items, often working in groups in order to provide the power, focus, and planning to construct a working tool. Once through one of the two pairs of double doors leading inside, Syn would step close to a witch with short black hair working with various kunai over a sink filled with purple liquid. The kunai had metal loops behind the grip used for throwing them. It was through that loop that a chain was rolled through them, collecting multiple kunai at a time. Once a line of kunai was hanging from the chain, the witch took the chain and held it wide over the sink. The kunai dangled in the air from where she held them, before she lowered them towards the sink. The kunai dipped into the purple liquid without a fuss or sound while the witch carefully placed the chain between a pair of forks with hooks sticking out away from the sink. She stuck the hooks through the loops in the chain, before letting the chain go and be held suspended over the liquid. There were several other forks with chains placed in a similar manner. One of which she took and lifted out from the liquid. The kunai dripped with the purple liquid they soaked in, and let out a purple fume into the air. "They're ready..." The witch sighed, taking the kunai and putting them over a long rectangular strip of leather and rolling them up into a bundle, chain and all. "I can't believe the shinobi need so many of these, and daily at that..." the witch sighed with amazement.

Meanwhile, another witch had her own space in the corner of the room. She had various bottles of red liquid contained via corks in a wooden box next to her while working at the 'L' shaped counter along the wall. There was a cauldron in front of her that she was mixing just as another witch and an incubus walked past Syn towards the witch with the red liquid. They were carrying trays of yet more red liquid. "Here's the human blood." the witch declared, before gesturing to the incubus, a young thin man wearing nothing but a loin cloth, with red skin, blue hair and golden nipple piercings. "And he's got the synthetic blood." she declared. The witch brewing with the cauldron looked at the two containers and growled. "I need more synthetic blood than that!" she complained. The witch who brought the trays in just shrugged. "They haven't made more than that. Remember the old brewer got caught stealing?" she reminded her fellow witch, who simply rolled her eyes. "Tell the new one to pick up the fucking slack!" she snapped. The other witch seemed to care little to speak more, before she snapped her finger at the incubus, earning a glance from the other witch before the two of them headed for the door.

Amidst all the business going on, Syn would spot a witch with freckles taking a break with the other witch, whom she saved, while they were eating pudding together. "Pudding's the best." The witch with freckles said. "Totes." the other replied.

 

[Zilrax]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

Syn didn't linger for more than a moment, heading out. She had been warned after all. Heading back for the main building, an imp zipped past, flicking her nipple through the thick cloth. Syn paid it no real mind. Imps were basically clever vermin, reproduced rapidly but otherwise just annoying. Crushing one wasn't worth the effort. Hell in the Imps twisted little minds, it might even be considered a victory.

In any case, she strode back into the main structure. One couldn't be blamed for mistaking this place for a merchant sook. Greed's mark was all over this place. It wasn't just symbols, the way everyone acted and the acceptance of it all. Each of the sins territories had markedly different cultures that showed through. Here, nothing was free. Ones own life had a price, and if you couldn't pay, no one would care if you dropped dead. It was a callous place, but predictable. While ones own standing and worth boiled down to what one could provide, you were always guaranteed to receive exactly what you went for. There wasn't the arbitrary nature of justice or punishment. Greed benefited under a codified set of rules and laws that may have wiggle room, but was superior to pure anarchy where the strong simply took from the weak. One could tell easily just by looking at the incubi.

While nominally they were weak, just tainted humans, the incubi essentially were life out here for the demons. Even an imp could overpower them, and in other realms they'd be snatched up and kept and hoarded. But out here, they were a business, they had the power to deny others access to them. They bartered and traded for things and the fact they could deny others the chance to survive gave them great power indeed. They weren't dumb enough to do so arbitrarily mind. If the incubi all upped and denied all the demons, they'd lose all their control. Instead they bartered for bodyguards, services and luxuries. While the place overall made Syn feel filthy, she could at least respect the level of cunning and thought that had gone into every aspect of it.

Hell had adopted the currency of mortals to improvise for it's utter lack of them. Though ultimately the truth was, with how few people got into the human world, currency was rare and inflation was massive. Most simply bartered services, favors and soul energy. It was much easier now thanks to Greed taking over more areas and territory than it used to be, but it meant little to someone like herself who had nothing and no means to get it.

Syn took a left. This area was more to her liking. Truth be told, she often felt out of place in hell much of the time. She could see the appeal of each sin but they all felt slightly out of touch to her. In here at least, it was training and crafts work. Physical exertion and practical creation. This felt nicer to her. She quickly skirted pas the training and went to the alchemy lab. There were other Dullahan in the training room. She really didn't like being around other Dullahan. She was always the weakest of them, younger, inadequate, inferior. She couldn't even remember her past. Even worse she had gotten herself killed now. No, she'd do what she always did around other Dullahan, avoid them like the plague.

Seeing them did remind her a bit of her own blessing. Corrupt as it were now, she was alive because of the angels. Truly was an awkward state of affairs now. She shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on that.

Inside the alchemy lab, the witches were hard at work it seems. Poisoning blades for the kunoichi, something about human blood, and various other experiments that were utterly beyond Syn in their function. All she knew about alchemy is it made useful stuff, and the witch's were masters of the craft.

Taking a break and eating pudding, she recognised the witch leader and one of the guardian witches. She felt a little relief to know she had saved her after all, though apprehension filled her. She wasn't sure what sort of reception she'd get. She had her guesses though. No point in lingering though, they were on break so it was as good a time as any.

Syn carefully picked her way through the lab over to the pair. "Um... Hi again...," said Syn awkwardly once she reached the two, seeming a bit unsure. What do you even say in a situation like this?

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

The witches turned to look at Syn. "Oh, hello again. Thanks a lot for helping out back there." The witch said, while the one whose life she saved nodded. "Yeah. Avarice just wanted to collect the remnants of your armor and soul to make some kind of profit, but we got Sparkle to buy you instead, and restore you back to good health. You're kind of indebted to Sparkle now, but at least you're not at the mercy of Avarice, right?"

 

[Zilrax]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

Syn blinked in slight surprise. She expected to be blamed for the death, that this was done to ensure more suffering. In retrospect it didn't make that much sense but angry people didn't think clearly either. It was her fault the angels had shown up at all after all.

"Oh, uh, no problem. Sorry I couldn't do more.," says Syn awkwardly, fidgeting a bit, "But, thank you. I was sure I was finished. I may not like being owned, but given the choice, yeah I really appreciate this. I'm uh, not really used to people doing stuff like that for me. Usually you do something and they just sorta take what you'll give and run for the hills with it. I actually figured you all would hate me or something."

Syn sighs a bit. "Sorry if I'm a bit of a mess right now. Not often you die and get a second chance and... Stuff. Anyways I'll leave you guys to it I guess. Thanks for letting me have a second chance. I guess I should go meet with my owner and see what she has in mind for me."

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

"Why would we hate you?" the witch with freckles inquired. "Did you think that the angels coming was your fault? The angels are onto us all the time, it's only a matter of time before a coven is found out, and we were set up there for months before the angels came. Most of us got out too, I think. Bringing you here to someone who could repair you and make you better was the only way we could repay the favor. Helps that it was easy too." The witches chuckled, since they basically just handed Syn off to Sparkle, who bought her from Avarice.

 

[Zilrax]

Re: What you Could have Been (Syn;Zilrax)

"Well... Sort of... Yeah...," says Syn a little embarrassedly, "I mean, I knew that too, but it's not like I can expect everyone to be as rational as all that. I mean if everyone was rational about stuff, we wouldn't be having this dumb war that the angels seem hell bent on having." Syn paused, looking a little distant, thinking back to her death again. She used to listen to them. She was just as hellbent once. But why? So many blanks...

She shook her head with a sigh and smiles. "Honestly, I'm used to doing stuff and not getting anything for it. Guess that's sorta alien around here, but guess I'm glad my confusing nigh suicidal instincts came out on top for once. In a fashion anyway. Anyway, I'm rambling. I'll let you guys have your meal and do whatever it is you guys are doing around here. I probably should go see what Sparkle actually plans to do with me now."

Syn nods and stretches, "If I didn't give it before, my names Syn. Maybe I'll see you guys around. And well, if you need something heavy carted, I can lend a hand. Later, and thanks again."

She then headed off with a wave, picking her way carefully out of the lab and deciding to go see Sparkle like she asked. Syn wasn't sure how bad this would be, but she was alive. And if Sparkle really wanted to make her wish she was dead, she wouldn't be going to the trouble of getting her armor repaired or giving her a nice room. It really was a mystery.