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From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)


Keylo

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“Tales of heart-wrenching sibling love, of touching sacrifices span from heaven to hell… Out of dear respect for my beloved acquaintances, two stars that are fated to be apart shall be crossed in this world ruled by a witch…fufufu~”

The natural order shall be torn asunder. Neither the hells nor heavens can deny such…

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

A blinding flash of white light…light which resolves into fleeting glimpse of fragments that had passed, as whispers of the past fly by one by one…

Conjoined rooms parted by a mirror…

"Who is it? Who's there? Is that you Pollusia? This isn't funny, where am I?"

A world of darkness, twisted and grim…

"To think you'd make it this far in our Lady's game...unbelievable."

A safe haven, that shielded from evil…

“I am Reina, the Maitress de Salut and head of this establishment.”

A fated encounter with a servant of blue…

”And so we meet again little pets~ Shall we play to the content of our hearts now?”

A cry of hopeless despair…

”There’s too many! We can’t stop them!…”

And of course…the final confrontation…

"Curse the hand fate has dealt you, cry out in despair as all hope is lost, for as the Witch of -------- I guarantee that there will be no miracle to save you from inescapable destiny!~”

A heart pierced multiple times, a cry of triumph, a final wish…

”I wish…”

…A sinister and sadistic smile.

"Fufufufu~...

All these memories and more rush through one's mind as the light persists, filling oneself with warmth, with breath that had been stolen...as if bringing one back to life as the light and visions fade...

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

Crackling from a broken wire…the smell of burnt flesh…the uncomfortable feeling of bare flesh against asphalt….

Such are the sensations that are registered in one’s mind as one finally emerges from what feels like an unending dream…as what memories of previous times finally begin to disappear, to allow the present to regain control once again. No doubt, signaling the start of a new game.

As before, one finds oneself with nothing to their name once again. No weapons for self defense, no tools for convenience, not even clothes upon one’s back…yes, this was no doubt the start of a new game.

Yet certain things were… different, from before. For one, the location was a familiar place, at least so one’s memories would lead one to believe. It was the site of the final encounter, a parking garage underground, if one recalled... Albeit, this time unlit, and mostly shrouded in darkness, but unmistakably the same place as before.

A short distance away from one’s awakening point, laid a circle of candles, a reversed pentagram painted in red upon the stony ground… And there, pinned at its limbs within the circle with long iron spikes, roughly two feet long a piece, was what appeared to be a bony corpse, with blue hair… apparently having decayed as a result of time. No doubt the result from “that” time…

More importantly though, although one had been liberated of one’s possessions…this time, unlike before, one felt their mind, although clouded still in a sense, to be far more clear than the first awakening… one’s personal past more clear than before, and one’s body far more responsive to one’s whims…a vast improvement if anything.

Last, but not least of all, was of course…the initial presence of a significant other…a boon that had not been granted before. Was this an act of compassion?...Or preparation for cruelty to come?...
 

Incubus

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

The fogginess of the head, and the pounding headache. The feeling of hard ground beneath her. It wasn't a feeling too far from what Castea had experienced a number of times. She had passed out somewhere during one of her guilty binges and been left there, now that morning had come she awoke with the taste of vomit in her mouth and the usual hangover. As she began to regain her senses, she wasn't even overly surprised by her nakedness. Clearly, she'd been robbed and likely raped as well. Fantastic.

Queasiness began to grow in her stomach and she began to look around for a place to vomit. Pollusia was going to kill her; in fact, there she was just over there… also naked… okay, that was a new one. Had she really dragged Poll along with her on a binge? That… didn’t seem right…

As her head began to clear a little more, and her stomach settle, she took in her surroundings more and more. While an underground parking lot wouldn’t be too unusual a place for her to awaken, this was not the site of a guilt ridden binge, it was that of a battle. She had… fought? No… she didn’t like to fight… that couldn’t be right…

Okay, now she was feeling out of her depth. It was like the first time all over again and to make matters worse, Poll was here. But… didn’t she want Poll here? Not like this… covering herself, she curled into a ball, still on the ground, having not made it up further than sitting up. No, this was wrong. Nonononononono….
 

Pale

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Where Castea drifts slowly into consciousness, Pollusia lingers on the very edge of oblivion, assailed by images, by flashes, by snatches of voice and conversation, by the light gleaming off a blue-bladed rapier..

And then she's awake, with an impressive alacrity, going from face-down on the asphalt to on her feet, blue eyes wide and blonde hair rumpled across her forehead. Breath heaves in her chest for long, heart-thumping moments as adrenaline reigns supreme, preparing for the fight to come.

But none comes. And instead, she's greeted only by the nude, and softly-stirring sight of Castea.. a girl she recognises, moments later, as her sister. Other, warmer memories stir, of warm-skinned intimacy and close embraces... but she pushes them away as distractions.

Turning on one heel, the taller, tougher twin surveys the rest of their area.. and flinches at the sight of the blue-haired corpse. Adrenaline rushes up once more, and only slowly, uncomfortably retreats, mouth dry and heart high in her throat.

Swallowing down the last vestiges of panic, and putting things together once again, she crosses the garage on trembling feet, clinging to balance and upright-ness like a drowning sailor to wood. She reaches Castea's side after a marathon of trudging, staggering steps, cursing her own weaknes.. and with a dull thump, drops to her knees. No control in that movement, a simple, brutal crunch of knees against asphalt, drawing a sharp spike of pain, quickly ignored.

Throat hoarse, words unfamiliar, only afterward recognised as her own.

"Cas.. Castea. Come on, we've got to get up... get moving. Can't stay here. We need clothes.. weapons. New round means we need to start over.. all over again.."

Mind examining the words after speaking them, unfamiliar and alien terms discovered in her own vocabulary. Game..? Witch..? Lady? Round? And then it comes flooding back in bursts, and the hand half-extended to her nude sister retreats to her forehead. Long moments pass, until finally, Pollusia recovers herself.. and reaches out once more, cold, trembling fingers laid on twin's bare shoulder.

"Cas... it's me. Pollusia. Do you need me to help you up..? We have to go.. this is no place to stay.. certainly not without clothes."
 

Incubus

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Castea was snapped out of her attack by her sister's proximity. "No... no, I can walk..." she answered, beginning to crawl back to her feet slowly, helped up by her sister. "This.. this is wrong... we shouldn't be here..." she murmurs in disbelief, still in a state of shock.

As they took a few steps, more of her sense began to return. "But where can we go?" she asked weakly. "We're trapped... there's no way out... where do we even go from here?" Distress and panic began to slip into her voice once more, before she stopped took a deep breath.

Bringing her left hand to her head, she let out a soft groan. "Okay... okay... no use panicking. But... at the same time, there's no point leaving, not yet. There's probably something else around for us to find still, help me look," she decided, trying to take control of the situation, rather than let it control her. That's what she'd always been told, right?

To say that it was a comfort that her sister was here would be an understatement, no one or nothing else would have gotten her out of that huddled mess she was only moments before. No matter what happened, as long as Poll was here, she'd be safe, it was the one universal truth she accepted, even if she had developed a habit recently of distancing herself from her sister on occasion, to binge in dark, self destructive habits and forget the guilt she felt, that even now twinged at her inside, causing her to shake her head, to try and push it away. She had to focus... she had to think them a way out of this nightmare...
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Rather than simply help her sister up and stride off, Pollusia commits herself entirely to assisting Castea. One arm looped around her nude sibling's side, hooked under her armpit, and she steps under her twin's arm, keeping her close for both warmth and reassurance.

Joined, twinned steps taken before Castea suggests that there might be a message left for them once more, triggering another flash of memory. An envelope, a message in elegant script.. and regretfully, Pollusia extracts herself from the embrace, hands steadying on her twin's shoulders, hips to keep her standing. And no other reason.

"I.. you're right, yes. Messages, and traps.. all sorts. I'll check the body.."

Naturally taking the gross job for herself, approaching the iron-staked, red-ringed corpse with some reluctance... and sinking, more carefully this time, down to one knee beside it for a closer look. Tentative tug to iron given, wondering if it could be freed from the asphalt, used perhaps as a makeshift weapon..
 
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Keylo

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Moving closer to inspect the corpse that had been so elegantly left for the twins to behold, Castea finds, perhaps predictably, what appears to be the corner of the envelope tucked behind the remaining rags upon the decaying corpse...near where the heart would be on a normal mortal human. No doubt symbolizing the events of the previous round...in the typical twisted of the game board's master.

As for the iron stake though...tugging it slightly would actually cause it to...topple over in a suprisingly easy manner... the metallic spike falling against the asphalt with a clang and rolling slightly, the sound of the impact seeming to echo endlessly off into the distance of the chamber...

...Though, asides from the lack of a descending horde after such a loud disturbance, should the iron spike be investigated...one would notice it to be rather...strange. The end that had supposed been pinned to the ground for an unknown period of time...was red hot, a bit...molten perhaps, at least so one's eyes perceive. Yet...the instant attention was diverted from it, a hissing sound would be heard...and the metal would be cooled once again, the molten end having become rounded off from the intense heat...strange.
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Lips curl with distaste... then part for a call to dearest sibling.

"Cas..? I think I've found the envelope.. just.. give me a moment."

Leaning forward on her haunches, precariously, one hand set flat against the asphalt on the corpse's left to steady herself, already disregarding her nudity, Pollusia reaches down for that protruding corner.. and with a wince, plucks it free and springs backwards.

A moment's pause to see if anything dramatic happens as a result, then she hands the unopened envelope to her twin.

"All yours. You've always been better with these things.."

Already dismissing the contents of the envelope.. or, at least, entrusting them to Castea, Pollusia reaches for the stake.. and disturbs it, sending it clattering to the floor. Frozen with a grimace, the blonde awaits the likely result of such a disturbance in silence.. broken only by her eventual exhale. Relieved glance cast over her shoulder.

"For a moment there, I thought.."

The hiss drags her gaze back to the stake, and she curses under her breath.

"Melted.. this'll be no good as a weapon, now. Unless we're supposed to just hit anything we encounter over the head with it."
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Following her sister's lead, Castea, with a mounting sense of dread once more, opens the letter.
 
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Keylo

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

The envelope is of course, addressed to the two present, though manner of greeting it slightly different from before. Inscribed upon the envelope in a most elegant blue script was the following:

"To a beloved pair of lovers:"

...To the point in a sense, though not so clear. Naturally, the same could be said for its contents, given their usual nature:

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

"And I looked, and I beheld..."

Revelations 6: 8


The Lady and Master of This World​

P.S: I do apologize for leaving you utterly bare. However, it appears that pink footwarmers are an unfair advantadge~...

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

Though the letter may perhaps be an afterthought...as a distinctive sound may have begun to warrant the more immediate attention of the twins, one that echoed from a relatively long distance away, yet seemed to draw closer each time, if only slightly.

Drip...drop...

That is of course...until the northern most candle, if the corpse were a compass, suddenly goes out...
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

"Revelations 6:8...?" Castea read aloud, slowly as she thought back to her years spent studying religion. She had done it, of course, because her mother had wanted her to, although she had of course studied Greek Orthodox rather than a more local variety of the church. "I... think I remember..." she mused to herself, concentrating so hard on the message she paid little attention to her surroundings.

"Death... I think it's the one about death... and something about the four horsemen and hell at their heels... I don't think we're safe here for the moment anymore..." she says, going pale as she slowly lowers the letter in her hand.
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

"Beloved pair of.. lovers...? That has to be a mistake, maybe someone else is starting around here..? And what does she mean by pink foot.."

And then the familiar rush of memory. First the older.. teasing, easy remarks, cold feet and a shared bed... pink footwarmers slung over the shoulder of a form bending over, away from her, and very, very nude. Abruptly colder memories, of nudity and pink fluff adorning her feet, of wearing a girl for a dress and...

Her cheeks flush crimson.

"Ah... yes. Footwarmers. Moving on.."

The drip, and the guttering of the candle dawn on Pollusia at the same time.

"I'd.. agree with that estimation, but.. which way? Maybe not -that- way.."


Hand indicating the direction of the dead candle.

"Though.. maybe the wind blew it out..? That could mean fresh air that way.."
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Castea frowned, taking a step backwards. "I... don't know..." she replied uncertainly. "Do you see any of the other candles in the circle flickering? I think maybe we should get away from the pentagram and the dead lady..." she suggested, backing away slowly. This feeling of helplessness was familiar, but hardly comfortable and even drawing strength from her sister, even contrary to her earlier statements of "and go where?" she wanted to get out of here now, and didn't much care where they went. If death itself were coming, or even just some local representative thereof, they were certainly in no state to stare it down.
 
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Keylo

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

((Rolls:

Castea

[8d10] => [3,6,9,8,3,7,5,10]
[1d10] => [10]
[1d10] => [9]
Pollusia

[8d10] => [9,8,2,2,4,4,10,2]
[1d10] => [7]
))

Was it the wind that had snuffed the candle out?...If the chamber they were in was an enclosed space, and an entrance way had been opened maybe. That'd certainly be a plausible thing to believe.

Drip...drop...

...If the candle to the immediate right of the northern one had not just snuffed out as well, and the "dripping" sound having seemingly come closer that is. The extinguishing of the candles really didn't seem to be due to any natural wind or the likes.

It is at this time however that Castea, perhaps out of a sudden stroke of inspiration as the second candle extinguishes, notices something strange about their placement and number. The candles were a set of dozen, and placed in a manner that almost resembled a clock, a timer of sorts perhaps...with two candles burning brighter than the others. Under this perception, the candles at "twelve' o clock" and "one' o clock" had already extinguished themselves... and from the direction in which they represented, came the sound of "dripping water". Whereas the ones at "six' of clock" and "eight' o clock" shone brightest... Was this perhaps a significant detail?

Either way...it seemed that time could not be wasted dallying for too long...
 
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Incubus

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

"It's... it's a clock," Castea exclaimed, making the realisation as she backed up. "They way they're arranged, it's a countdown lock. First 12, and then 1 have gone out, 2 will be next around the circle... but 6 and 8 are brighter... 6:8 again... will death appear when the time is up?" she pondered aloud, uncertain. "I still think we need to leave..." she decided, looking around for some sort of stairs, or ramp to a different level of the parking complex.
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

While certainly not the smarter of the pair.. or the more likely to work out this devilish riddle, Pollusia prided herself on her ability to make decisions. And having done exactly that, the nude blonde takes her sister's hand.. and tugs her in the direction exactly between the candles burning brighter than their kin.

"Then.. every moment we spend here puts us in more danger. Let's get moving.. and if we spring a trap, so be it. I'm sure I can handle whatever's waiting out there in the dark."

Spoken with confidence she doesn't feel, and Pollusia starts off into the dark, fully expecting Castea to follow her decision.

(Seven o'clock. I may not be the smart one, but damn. I'm going to kick ass!)
 
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Keylo

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Dashing off to the south-west, from the perspective of the candles at the very least, the dripping sound would seem to grow fainter and fainter with each step taken. A positive sign perhaps, given the ominous nature of the letter that had been received. Success leading to further success, a short venture in the darkness later, the two would find a more "familiar" and modern sight...perhaps too obvious of one really... Off in the distance, amidst what had been utter darkness, was illumination provided by the ever so common "Exit" sign in most modern buildings...a windowed door beside it, with a flickering blue light coming from within...
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

"Looks like you were right," Castea murmurs as she races towards the door. "I just hope it's not some kind of trap..." She gives a door a quick look over before allowing her sister to take the lead through it, just inacse anything struck her as particularly odd.
 
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Keylo

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

The door swings open easily enough, revealing a rather...out of place stone stairwell, perhaps from a medieval era, both ascending and descending into darkness. At the point of junction however, would be a raised desk of sorts, a blue-flamed candle in a golden holder, as well as a closed and silver glided book...

An initial attempt to open the book would be in vain, for it would soon be discovered that the pages were waxed shut, melded together to prevent prying eyes... The title of the book however, would be visible enough, though written twice in differing languages...

It's title?...

La Commedia: The Divine Comedy

With a faint subtitle written beneath, in red script:

Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

Castea shrunk back slightly. "Hell..." she murmured softly as she looked at the book. Exchanging a quick glance with Pollusia, she pointed towards the stairs heading up. "Up, I think. Definitely up," she declares, and after a moment to recover, goes on to explain to her sister. "That phrase at the bottom is what was said to be inscribed at the entrance of hell, Dante’s Inferno and all that. So yeah, given the choice, heading up, hopefully that will lead us to paradiso…”
 

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Re: From Hades to Olympus(Castea and Pollusia)

As the dripping sound fades into the distance, Pollusia relaxes, and allows their hurried stride to calm somewhat.

The lighting, however, of the exit sign, spurs her onto greater urgency, matching her twin's own desire to get -out- of this damned place. She wasn't claustrophobic.. but it was becoming easier and easier to understand the fear as moments passed. A brief nod to confirm that she'd been right, and she pushes through the Exit ahead of Castea.

A swift check down, then up the stairs confirms there's no one to be seen, and she beckons her sister to her.. then stands back to close the Exit door behind them, and let Castea attempt the next riddle. Rather than doubt the smarter twin, Pollusia nods.. and starts upwards.

"Up it is.. stay close behind me."

Unusually curt, perhaps.. but focussed nonetheless, and coupled with a brief, warm smile flashed over her shoulder.

((Sorry I'm slow. Heading upwards!))
 
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