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

[unlucky7]

[If Shun had any questions about the kind of life Ginia's had prior to becoming a shinki, they're either answered or further raised as she leaps into the fight. She swings her machete with deadly efficiency, chopping into the back of a shinki about to attack Shun from the side. She pulls the blade out and kicks the shinki away, already turning to take down the next attacker. If she's holding back, it's to conserve energy instead showing mercy.

She glances at Shun, noting his worn-down state, not unlike Caster's. He really shouldn't be fighting at all, but Ginia doesn't try to stop him either. He can have his revenge.]

Out of water, burn the sigil, I'll keep them off you.

[revolutionfalcon]

[While Shun doesn't typically attack to kill if it's not necessary - it puts him a little too much in mind of back home - he's not exactly going to stop anyone else from doing it in this situation. And particularly because it means Ginia isn't going to be giving him the third degree about the violence with which he's handling the attackers.

At Ginia's message, Shun lets out a faint spitting sound between his teeth, but nods and plunges the ends of both weapons into the lines. He'd much prefer to deal out retribution on the people responsible for this, but getting rid of the spell is, unfortunately, of higher priority.]

I've still got my canteen. If there's enough of a gap in attacks. [Shun's voice is cracked from lack of sustenance in the last couple of days, but it's the blessed water in his canteen he's referring to, not anything else.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia nods, blocking with her machete and side-stepping another attack. It's hard to gauge how much damage the sigil needs to sustain. Complete erasure? Partial? The lines are blurred or broken in some areas, the heavy, suffocating pressure so present in the forest lessened. But there's still a long way to go.

A pity blood doesn't wash the sigils away.

Taking down two more shinki, Ginia breaks out of the fight, whistling at Shun to get his attention and holding up a hand ready to catch.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun is mostly trying to focus on the sigils, even though he can't stop the reflex of glancing back every so often to track the movement of the shinki. Ginia's whistle shifts his focus, though, and he transfers one of his weapons quickly to balance in the crook of his elbow so he can grab the canteen from his belt and toss it over to her.

It's heavy enough that it's definitely almost full - he must not have gotten an opportunity to use it before he was captured. Or, more likely, it was just useless against what he was facing at the time.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia catches the canteen before it hits the ground, dodging the swing of a sword directed almost at the container more than her. She switches the machete to her right hand as she uncaps the canteen. It may be near full, but she's still mindful of how much she spills onto the sigil, moving the water around the lines to spread it out as much as possible.

It's a shame there's no time to take pictures or record anything. Five sigils at presumably cardinal points. The wind is cold, snow covering the ground. This can't be the heavens anymore, but then if this is the Near Shore, when did they cross over? Ginia tucks the details away as she fights, scrubs out the sigil, and watches Shun's back.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[With Ginia also helping with the sigil now as well, Shun goes back to both dealing with that and keeping an eye out for any shinki that might approach, even if most of the cultists have wised up. That certain determination to his motions remains, almost as if he needs to keep moving - there's a certain almost mechanical flow to when he lifts the weapons, smashes aside another enemy, and returns them to breaking apart the sigil lines.

If he stops, then the last few days are waiting there to catch up with him, in exhaustion and pain and whatever else might result. So for now, the solution is to simply keep moving and look ahead until it's done.]

[unlucky7]

[Were she his shinki, Ginia would consider telling him to meet with Ebisu's shinki to get healing and rest. But she isn't and she isn't going to waste time bothering him. She understands well enough; if Caster were in any condition to fight, she'd let him before hauling him home.

The best thing she can do now is destroy the sigil. Her movements are fluid as she spills water on the sigil and blood from any aggressor who gets too close. They're making a difference; she only hopes the other four spots have the same level of progress too.

By the time she eases out the last drop of blessed water onto the ground, there's a long wet trail a few feet long, the sigil erased or faded against the soaked earth.]]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Making progress is at least something to put Shun's mind at ease, but he can't help but feel, glancing at some of the other sigils between continuing to tear apart the sigil lines, that they don't have quite the numbers over here some of the other areas seem to.

There's no telling as to whether that will make a difference until it's all over, though, and they really can't afford to worry about it too much now, so grits his teeth, smashes another shinki aside, and drives the flames against the lines again.

For now, all that will be done is all they can do. The results, one way or another, will be felt later.]

[unlucky7]

[It's hard to tell how much time has passed since they rescue and destruction efforts began. Exhaustion begins to seep into her muscles and joints and it's harder to find a second (or a fourth or fifth) wind. Ginia refuses to fail so close now, even if the goal and possible consequences are unclear. Out of water, Ginia runs to grab one of the lanterns, using a branch to scrub the flames against the ground.

The sigil is brighter under their feet even as they continue to wipe it away. Concerning, disturbing. There seem to be less cultists in the area, some even beginning to flee.

Further away from him, Ginia whistles sharply to get Shun's attention.]

I'm going topside, something about this area seems off. There hasn't been snow around until here. Won't take long.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun's focus has been narrowed in some ways and widened in others with the onset of exhaustion. It's hard to tell who's who anymore, but his alertness has spiked to the point that soulless shinki are getting a faceful of flaming blunt object by the time they get within ten feet of him. There's a certain familiar desperation to it, the deep-rooted desire to last and survive until the attack is over, and only then allow himself to falter.

Ginia's whistle has him swinging his weapon as he turns, but they're far enough apart that Ginia won't have to worry about being hit at all. It seems to take Shun a moment to focus on her and recognise what the whistle had been indicating.

To her message, he just nods, turning his attention back to the sigil and attackers. Had it been this bright earlier...?]

Go ahead. I can handle things here.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia chooses a path to the closest sturdiest looking tree that allows her to drag the flaming branch along the sigil, burning as much damage before she starts her climb. The tree is no kinder than the rest of the forest, branches rattling and scraping as it tries to dislodge her. The cold is also beginning to seep into her skin. Still, Ginia climbs, trained ability and the innate lightness of shinki aiding her ascent.

When she finally breaks above the treeline, Ginia blinks at the sight as she clings to the trunk of the tree. Mountains. A town nearby. Lit roads. This isn't the heavens anymore, but at what point did they cross to the Near Shore? Not wanting to risk being shaken off while taking pictures - and the lighting is low enough things wouldn't be clear anyway - Ginia memorizes as much as she can about the landscape before she starts a hasty climb down.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[On the ground, there's still soulless shinki to deal with, more determined than the humans but still just as easy to soundly knock aside, and their numbers are dwindling just by nature of how long this has been going on. It means Shun has more time to continue breaking apart the sigil himself, even though it still seems to be brightening.

Once he hears Ginia climbing down and shoves down the instinct to attack in that direction, he glances back towards her.] Anything?

[He hadn't had the energy to even consider climbing up there himself, so any information is new information.]

[unlucky7]

[The sigil - interlocking geometric shapes that mean nothing to her, but maybe will to someone else - seems brighter as do the other ones in the distance and it's greatly worrying. When Ginia's close enough, she drops down.]

Mountains, town nearby. We're in the Near. All the other sigils are glowing too and they're looking shabby. Let's keep going.

[With less cultists getting in her way, it's not hard grabbing a fresh lantern. It's only been minutes after Ginia resumes burning the sigil when a bright light flares from the central point, brighter and brighter and so blinding until it flashes out.

Worryingly, their sigils only look brighter, though unevenly, almost pulsing and flickering beneath their feet.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun actually looks surprised to hear that they're in the Near Shore - though it makes far more sense than humans having gotten into the Heavens. The question is how, because he certainly doesn't remember crossing over when he was being brought here.

But he doesn't have long to linger on that. They need to get back to destroying the sigil, and he's distracted thoroughly from his thoughts by the first flash of a sigil going out. Some of them have been broken, then, or so it looks like from here.

Theirs doesn't look nearly as promising as it lights up beneath them, though, and Shun grits his teeth and takes a few steps back.] Move.

[If it does something other than flashing out, they probably don't want to be on it, so retreats to a location off the lines and light to see what's going on.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia drops the lantern and moves away from the sigil, also scattering back a few feet. Another light flares up - the west sigil - and when the cultists themselves begin to flee, it's both a cause for concern and celebration. As the remaining three sigils begin to pulse, the east sigil flaring out next, Ginia begins to wonder if they should leave the area completely.

It's their sigil and the one directly across that flare up last, a sickly green glow cast on everything. Trees thrash, an awful clatter of branches rattling about as twigs and leaves flutter down.

And then there's darkness, pitch and thick.

Then there are stars again and it's quiet, the gentle rustle of grass in the wind. No trees, no sigil. Ginia looks around wildly, jaw dropping as she stares at everything.

What the fuck just happened?]

[revolutionfalcon]

[As the sigils get brighter, Shun has to discard one of his weapons to cover his eyes, because there's no way he's just closing them against it in a situation like this. He can still hear the trees moving, and he's not going to risk one of them making a last-minute opportunistic attack.

When the light suddenly vanishes, he blinks, moving his hand so he can see properly. The scenery has changed, he can tell that much - they're back in the Western District, near as he can tell...

He would comment on it, or even react more than a dull sense of realisation, but with the knowledge of safety comes the payment owed for all that energy exerted earlier, far more than he can give right now. Shun had merely been pushing back exhaustion until it was over, at what he knew would be the cost of it hitting more powerfully later.

Weapon slipping from his hand and rolling away into the grass behind him - thankfully the flames had been just about snuffed by the time the sigils were lighting up anyway, considering the amount of dirt they'd been ground against - he falls to his knees, then pitches forward. It seems like he just blacked out on his feet, because he's certainly making no move of any kind, even semiconsciously, to soften his landing.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia is too far to catch Shun when he falls, but she rushes over to his side, kneeling down to check his vital signs. Just unconscious. No surprise there. She carefully rolls him onto his back and sits next to him. Exhaustion creeps on her as she sits there, her limbs feeling weightier every second, the hollowness of an empty stomach settling in.

But until Shun's shinki or friends come to collect him, Ginia forces herself to stay awake for a little while longer. Once he's taken care of, Ginia accepts the help of the white-robed shinki - took long enough for help to show up - flooding the area to get back to her temple. She takes long enough to check in on the rest of her temple before dragging herself to bed, asleep a few seconds after her head hits her pillow.]