28 - The Hungry Forest (Final Battle)

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: At the heart of the mysterious forest lies a magical trap.
When: Nov 14, evening
Where: Within the forest
Summary: Working together, and with the (reluctant) help of some menaced cultists, the rescuers have pierced the wooden wall into the heart of the forest.






The sky is clearly visible here, but it’s an evening one – it’s taken the day to work their way through this far. Those with some astronomy knowledge will also be able to tell it’s a sky on Earth, and anyone who can climb up above the treeline will see a vast, mountainous and wooded area, with the lights of roads, train tracks and small towns glittering here and there. They're clearly not in the Heavens anymore. Somehow, in their journey through the forest, the rescuers have emerged onto the Near Shore.

An icy breeze is blowing, and although the vegetation is unseasonably green and lush in this clearing, there are patches of snow visible at the foot of some of the trees, hinting that they're fairly far up the mountain.

Rescues

The clearing here at the heart of the forest is vast, and five colossal sigils are etched into the earth, each one holding an incredible amount of power. It’s on these sigils, North, South, East, West, and Center, that the trapped gods and shinki can be found. Those unlucky enough to be at the Center sigil are bound by hypnosis, each staring at a firefly spirit that hovers before their unblinking eyes. These victims are still and unresponsive, and the spirits will need to be destroyed to free them. The firefly spirits can be harmed by both physical and magical attack, though they likely won’t stay still to let themselves be easily extinguished.

The captives trapped on each of the other sigils are around the edges of the clearing, entangled in vines, brambles or whatever other limbs the trees could provide to bind them to this place. Some may also be under the effects of the hypnotic fireflies if they’ve been particularly troublesome, while others who have fought less might have only those bindings needed to prevent them fleeing. Regardless of how tightly they're restrained, all of the kidnapped gods and shinki on all of the sigils look drained, the severity depending on how long they’ve been there. Some are merely tired-looking, whereas others are barely clinging to consciousness. Whether their power is being used to feed the spell or being stored for something else to come, one thing is clear – those trapped need to be freed before anything more can be done.

Sigils

Those sigils beneath each group of trapped gods and shinki are powerful constructs, brimming with energy and meticulously maintained by the cultists up to now. It’s the same power as what blankets the entire forest, but it's focused on each of those five points. They must be the source of the spell that's caused all of this.

If the spell is to be broken, the sigils need to be broken as well, but it’s going to take more than just scuffing out the etched lines to break the magic. Attacking with shinki in their vessel forms or using blessed water to wash away the magic will be most effective, but for those who didn't bring blessed water or don't have the energy left to transform, there's one other option. The clearing is lit by traditional paper lanterns hanging from the trees all around, and any object set aflame with these lanterns can be used to burn the spell out of the ground bit by bit.

The trees and any remaining soulless shinki are still furiously opposing the rescue efforts, the surviving cultists are continuing to work on maintaining the spell, and it will take time to fully destroy the sigils. However, as the sigils deteriorate, the effects of the spell will begin to fade, and characters will find it easier to access their supernatural powers to speed the process along. Gods' and shinki's powers (that is to say, the special power they gained as a god or shinki, rather than canon powers) will be as effective as a shinki or blessed water against the sigils.

But be careful. As each sigil breaks, some of the magic escapes, but some is captured by the remaining sigils. For the spell to fully disappear, all five must be destroyed – and quickly, because there’s only a matter of time before this power becomes unstable.

Comments

[mostsuitable]

[While Reisi's visibly relieved to have found Kurosaki in his current state, he's also angry and disgusted at the forces moving this forest. Whatever this cult is doing and conjuring up can't be any good, especially since it's already affected so many people at such an alarming rate. In any case, Reisi slowly and calmly makes his way over at a King's pace to where the god has been restrained, studying his surroundings carefully when he hears a cry before seeing a familiar shock of red cross his path.]

Suzugamori-san, how does he look? Is there anything else there with him?

[From afar, Kurosaki looks to be in terrible condition. Of course, Reisi already has some idea of why and is proud of his god's hard work even if he'd only been completely restrained in the end. So he's namely asking out of a need to confirm his suspicions while he's still inspecting things from more of a distance.]

[redmare]

[ Then there's Chinatsu, who runs right past Reisi. She wasn't as patient, and already tried pulling at the branches. When that didn't seem to work, she broke the knife off from the pole staff she had modified and began hacking away at it. She was glad she followed those two, since sure enough they had ended up finding the god. ]

What do you mean how does he look? He looks like crap! [ She didn't mean that as an insult, but he looked terrible, which only worried her more. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Ren might have better luck smashing the firefly that didn't dodge the first time, since it doesn't seem terribly interested in moving - the other one is still hovering around, though, trying to return to its original position without earning itself a squishing.

Chinatsu isn't exactly wrong in her summation of Shun's condition, either. Closer up, it's easier to see the details: blood on the side of his face near his mouth where he'd caught some brambles, rubbed raw marks visible under his sleeves and shallow scratches up his neck and jaw where his scarf isn't covering, dark shadows under his eyes. The brambles have tangled a little bit in his clothes and the ends of his hair and pulled at them a bit as well. His scarf has actually started to come undone a bit, and if one looks closely enough, there seems to be a spatter of dark markings on the back of his neck.

Despite the calls and Chinatsu's hacking at the vines, Shun is still unresponsive for the moment, considering the lingering presence of the fireflies.]

[shadowrevenger]

[Ren's hands creep slowly toward the fireflies so as not to scare them too much. He pauses for a second around the lazier one, just to make sure it isn't about to move....Then he claps his hands together as hard as he can. The way it burns his palms makes him wince, but it's worth it to also feel the satisfying squish that goes along with it.

It's only then that Ren lets himself half laugh at Chinatsu's exclamation and respond to both of them, while he wipes his hands off on is pants.]

He really does look terrible, doesn't he? Oh, you brought a better weapon for this than I did...

[Ren briefly reaches up to touch near the scratches on Shun's jaw, but it just isn't satisfying if Shun isn't aware enough to care. So he turns his attention back on the second firefly, to see if there's some pattern to its frantic buzzing about Shun's face that he could take advantage of. Shun would be a lot more satisfied if he could help get himself free too...(even if he probably shouldn't)...]

He's definitely going to need to rest for a couple days once we get him out of here.

1/2

[mostsuitable]

[It's only natural to express concern in this situation, especially after more thoroughly gauging Kurosaki's condition. Which is exactly why Reisi's doing the exact opposite of that by maintaining exceptional calmness and composure. But beneath that mask is a wrathful anger unlike any Reisi remembers experiencing before.]

Step aside, Chinatsu-kun. [As collected and seemingly pleasant as Reisi is, the sternness and confidence in his voice is like a snapping whip.] Take care of the other insect-spirit.

2/2

[mostsuitable]

I'll handle freeing Kurosaki.

[As he speaks, speckles of blue aura ascend to the sky, gathering together to form a case of ice. It liquefies and expands before rapidly crystallizing. Then, the ice splinters into tiny fragments that dissolve into nothingness, revealing the Blue Sword of Damocles overhead.

A blue orb on his saber's pummel lights as the weapon unlocks.]

[redmare]

[ Chinatsu had seen it before, but seeing it more up close was....something else. She steps aside as she's told, watching as Reisi makes his approach, calm and graceful. Truly quite the entrance.

Though she couldn't help but wonder in the back of her mind, as she takes out the other firefly with a swing of the knife, if the giant sword was necessary to cut the vines. ]

1/2

[revolutionfalcon]

[The firefly can't avoid Ren and Chinatsu at once, so the swing of the knife bisects it neatly. The remains drop to the ground and disappear into faintly glowing particles that die out soon after.

As soon as the spirit is gone, Shun's head drops abruptly, as if it's been the fixation holding him upright and not his own will. But within the moment his awareness comes back, there's a violent motion as he pulls himself back upright, expression and reaction along the lines of a cornered animal's wariness and blind aggression mixed with surprise. Instinctively, he yanks at the vines with that movement, though they hold fast considering his current condition.]

2/2

[revolutionfalcon]

[In the next moment, though, he seems to recognise that it's his allies around him and not enemies. That in combination with the obvious passage of time since his last awareness has him slumping back against the tree with a bitter hiss.]

Didn't fight hard enough. [His voice is a little harsh, though that's probably unsurprising considering he hasn't had food or drink in something like three and a half days now.

Though his eyes track to the sword hovering in the sky before long, he doesn't comment on it beyond clenching his jaw slightly. Whatever feelings he might have about how dangerous it is, there's probably no more ideal kind of situation for it than this, and he glances to Reisi as if to tell him to get on with it before he turns his attention to all of them.] Did Kotori make it out?

[She's not with them...and neither is Fubuki, despite what Shun can feel weighing on his mind. He's restless like this already, but he doesn't feel like squirming is the best idea if Reisi is about to start using that saber.]

[shadowrevenger]

[It's probably a good thing Reisi asked Chinatsu to handle the other firefly, because Ren is thoroughly distracted from chasing it as soon as that sword is activated. He only just has the presence of mind to also shift a little more out of the way while he's staring up at it.

At least, until Chinatsu kills the second firefly and Shun jerks awake. Ren whips his head around fast enough to give himself whiplash, and it's lucky that Shun is still covered in plants or he'd end up with an armful of redhead he's probably not quite strong enough to handle.

Ren contents himself with pulling the brambles out of Shun's hair instead and keeping an eye on what Reisi's doing so he can move more if he needs to.]

She did. And she warned everyone about what was happening so we could come rescue you. You'll have to reassure her that she did the right thing when we get home, by the way. She's been feeling a bit guilty over leaving you.

[mostsuitable]

[While Reisi seems pleasant, pleased, and composed enough, there's an unusual sort of indescribable delight or amusement in his expression as he approaches. Blue aura surrounds his saber like a flowing stream of clear blue water before he suddenly rushes forward. With a few swift and graceful strikes, he cuts Kurosaki free of the foliage.

Then, he backsteps to allow the others to collect Kurosaki, though he stays at the ready in case the vines aren't finished. After all, there must be some reason the forest itself is moving to secure its prisoners, and it might continue to lash out now that Kurosaki's been freed.]

[redmare]

[ The relief that washed over Chinatsu was indescribable, though it was also mixed with some anger. Mostly relief though. Once he's free, Chinatsu catches him under his arms, holding him up as much as she could. ]

I'd say you fought decently enough. [ Or so the evidence on the branches showed.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun grimaces a bit at the mention of Kotori feeling guilty. It doesn't feel like it's severe, but it's probably best not to risk it progressing in this situation.] I'll talk to her.

[That's as much as he gets out before Reisi slashes through the vines, and though he tries to tense himself in preparation for having to hold his own weight again, there's no real way to un-deaden his legs after several days of being bound in the same position. Thankfully, Chinatsu's catch means he only really falls forward into her grip - though she may notice that he tenses very visibly on contact before the reflex fades. He's surprisingly light, considering, though he immediately lets out a somewhat bitter sound and starts trying to find his own feet. Or, more accurately, make his feet want to support his weight.]

Not if it made you all have to go to this kind of trouble. [He's trying to keep himself moving a little to try and get some life back into his limbs, though the way Chinatsu is holding him makes using his arms a little awkward. One end of his loose scarf finally slips off his neck from the movements, though. Someone might want to get it before it falls off entirely.

The tree will probably be a bit of an added distraction. As Reisi predicted, while the cut vines withdraw as if to nurse their injuries, a few other vines drop down and start trying to whip out at them from higher up in the tree.]

[shadowrevenger]

[Ren dances backward a bit when Shun starts to fall, not really prepared to try and catch him but happy to trust Chinatsu to to it instead. A worried look flashes across his face as Shun struggles to carry his own weight...but at least he's awake and trying. It definitely could have been worse.

He wishes he had some way to help Shun get his strength back, even if it was only enough to get out of here...well, he can make sure Shun doesn't lose his scarf, at least. He'd probably come marching right back in here to get it if he did. Ren darts his hands out to catch it and start tying it back on.]

We probably would have had to go through all this trouble anyway, to help everyone else who's in here. It's more worth it if it's for you--ow--

[He jerks his hand back to stare at it in alarm. While he was finishing trying the knot, his fingers brushed against Shun's neck and now...there's blight on them...?

But he does have much time to ponder over it, because that when a vine decides to come crashing down onto the back of his shoulders, sending his stumbling into Shun and Chinatsu.]