Who: The Mizuki Quest Crew What: Mizuki Quest When: Roughly around the end of Feburary Where: The Caerula Arbor Warnings: Will come up in tags when appears
Navigating through the Nethersea Brand is no easy feat. Even if you managed to get a Seaborn guide, their youthful exuberance often clouds their understanding of your destination. How are they to really understand that you're not just playing with them? This is a game of chase? We're having fun! Why did you fall over!
You've made it.
What that entails does little to fill you with confidence. The creature that stands in your path is unmistakably alive—very clearly not a tree now that you're this close, with flesh in place where bark should be and an unnatural sort of movement as if it's underwater. There is a enclosure under the leviathan, though. A space mostly lacking in brand, like an eye of the storm, and formed where the "roots" keep it held up. It's also... pitch black. The roots twist and intertwine, forming an archway that beckons you closer, inviting you into the darkness beyond.
[Sesa has never been more thankful to have his little doglike Seaborn than now. He's been alerting him to something being Up since before Mizuki's disappearance, but now is arguably the most important. And despite how excitable it seems, "barking" a gurgly, high pitched sound and winding around Sesa's legs when it thinks he's not moving fast enough, it's an invaluable asset.
He doesn't know what he would do otherwise, but even then...he doesn't even know where to begin, seeing this massive tree. The sight of it fills him with equal parts dread and apprehension, but he knows that he can't just stop here.
This is where Mizuki's been taken. He's certain of it, now.
But at least he isn't alone. He's not the only one concerned for Mizuki's well-being, for obvious reasons. He'll turn to anyone else standing nearby, or maybe just walking up as his Seaborn sits happily at his feet.]
We will need to exercise an abundance of caution, here. It feels that the journey here will have been the easy part.
[livio has seen the brand before, by the river. months ago. was it a year? he can't recall. it wasn't nearly this out of control, though, and there wasn't a giant fucking ominous tree at the time, either. if even the little seaborn in the river don't want anything to do with it, surely it must be wrong.
maybe he's mixed up in between snags from the brand, maybe he feels guilty he wasn't around to confront suri. maybe both. but he makes his way slowly but surely, not realizing there are others until he gets closer. he isn't immune to the grief or the involuntary crying, either, he just doesn't fight them. honestly, one doesn't get the title of "crybaby" without being intimately familiar with grief. he's a stubborn motherfucker, though, so he trudges up to the base of the arbor and wipes away the freshest tears upon meeting sesa and his little seapup.]
Easy... yeah. Y'reckon the forest is hurtin' the Seaborn with this thing somehow? [if he recalls, the brand they'd made last year was their defense mechanism.]
[Gnosis... knows things. What does he know? Things he should not know, thanks to Mizuki. And also thanks to Kal'tsit's laptop that he definitely didn't steal via Ydalir a year or so ago. There are records on Seaborn contained within, a fascinating wealth of knowledge that he honestly didn't think he'd have to use.
It's not every day that you have to deal with a dead God, after all. Not that Gnosis would be able to identify Caerula Arbor based on her notes alone.
He found his way here through stubborn trial and error. He's passively resistant to the Brand thanks to a weird niche talent he has in-game and even though he was sometimes overcome with paralysis on his way here, the man is willful enough to get out of situations like that on his own.
It comes with being an Edelweiss, he thinks.]
Considering the Seaborn that remain within the river itself are in good spirits, I doubt it. [Sesa's Seaborn dog is an example, too, and Gnosis gestures to it with a flat hand.] What concerns me is the fact that Mizuki is missing. Me, and many others, I assume.
[You'd really have to be heartless to Not like Mizuki.]
Given his nature, it's possible that the Forest is hurting Mizuki himself, rather than the Seaborn as a whole, but that still doesn't explain why the remaining hivemind are in good spirits. I'd wager it's caused by a third factor we haven't considered yet.
[Dipper has been staring at this tree thing for some time, while the others chat. Yeah, he's here also through a stubborn sheer force of will because multiple people have been lost to this damn band. Like hell would he not go looking for Mizuki the minute it was apparent he was missing. After that "dream" he had, he couldn't help but feel like something was going to happen.]
[The voice of Caerula Arbor kept ringing in the back of his mind.]
[Gnosis brings up a third Secret Thing and something clicks from his chat with Mizuki the other day.]
What happened to the original Firstborn from Mizuki's sect? Out of curiosity. Do any of you guys know?
[ Unlike the others, Affogato may not be able to do much, but he's here on sheer ire alone. He's staring at the tree like he can combust it with his will. Mizuki is in there somewhere and he's determined to get the one he loves back.
Or not... depending on how long he has been with it. He knows enough about the hivemind to know Mizuki may be lost in it. ]
It was not something he offered and it was not something I wished to pry in to. Yet with what I do know, I can hazard a guess.
[ He reaches down to pat the little heart shaped jar tied to his side, the little seaborne Mizuki gifted him inside, doing it's very best wiggles. ]
[ Joshua, meanwhile, doesn't know enough about the Seaborn to really contribute to the discussion. He doesn't even know all that much about Mizuki, to be honest, other than the fact that Mizuki had been immensely kind and helpful. And now, for him to be missing...
The little Seaborn that he had come across certainly seemed concerned about something, though. It had wanted to go downstairs so badly, but it had been so afraid of the fire. He'd finally had to take it safely through in a pitcher of water in order to find out where it wanted to go, and... well, here he is, in the belly of the beast. Or, at the very least, at the mouth of it, judging by that dark entrance. ]
Whatever it is that's going on, I daresay we're going to have to go in there to find out.
[ He folds his arms, frowning at the darkness thoughtfully. ]
I can light the way. It looks like we're going to need it.
[ Looking up at the not-tree... It's certainly like nothing Jade has ever seen before. Admittedly, he hasn't spoken in-depth with Mizuki about the Seaborn, but he'll be sure to when they find him again. However, the merman, with his extensive knowledge of forests and the like hums in thought. ]
...This Arbor should be in water. It should be at risk of drying out like this, but it's still very much alive. I don't know how, but it's definitely doing so unnaturally... Interesting.
[ He can't say he's made a deep bond with the jelly - yet - but yeah, you'd have to be heartless to not like Mizuki. Jade is also just as determined to find him. Taking out his mage pen, he summons a bit of light onto the gem. Starting to step forward towards the archway with a smile, he looks back to the group. ]
Well then, shall we delve into the unknown and find our missing companion?
I can't say I know anything about the Firstborn. The Seaborn were widely not considered an issue where I'm from, and were you to ask anyone else from Kjerag about them, you'd get a shrug. I'm lucky enough to have access to certain files from Doctor Kal'tsit's laptop — but it contains terabytes of data, and I haven't finished reading all of it.
[And he's mostly interested in medical records and national secrets, oops.
To the others, he nods.]
Is everyone ready to set out? I'll let Joshua take the lead.
[Sesa can't help but feel a certain level of guilt, to be unable to properly answer Dipper's questions. He shouldn't, of course, when Gnosis is the smarter of them and can't easily answer either...especially when Seaborn weren't a problem in Sargon, but. Seaborn or no, Mizuki is his best friend.
Already, he's getting the gnawing insecurities of knowing that he very well may not be of much help, here. He isn't a proficient fighter, and he doesn't like conflict. If it weren't Mizuki...he doubts he would be here at all.]
Yes. I will take up the rear. Should we need to enter combat, my weapon does not handle close-range well.
[ Being in the middle is the best place for him, he knows this. Protected at the front and behind, able to cast what magic he needs without being hindered. But the idea of not being the one in there to be the first thing Mizuki sees rankles in his warped little mind.
Finally he sighs, grips his staff tighter, the metal rods on it jingling softly. ]
I am ready. Let us hurry.
[ Yet there's a growing sense of dread and it's only his love for Mizuki that prevents him from cowering out. ]
[No one is sure, which leaves Dipper to speculate on the situation quietly to himself. Mizuki had mentioned a mentor and people in his church who wanted him in a high position. If something had happened to this Firstborn, could it have a reason to target and hurt Mizuki? Whatever might be going on, Dipper has a bad feeling about it, much like everyone else.]
[He unholsters the Azure Pine and falls back by Sesa.]
Looks like we’ve got mid-to-long range covered. Let’s go.
[with... everything going on, livio hadn't even realized mizuki was missing. the idea that he is who the forest is possibly torturing deep within this tree... well. he'll be glad to remind the bastard that livio is one letter away from livid. tensing and relaxing his muscles to ground himself out of the last dregs of brand-dissociation, he steps up to those near the front.]
I don't got my guns anymore, but I can take a hit straight from hell. Let me be y'all's shield.
You all begin to roll the dice from your final puzzle, and it seems to be going well. The screen ticks up rather slowly, but you can assume it probably doesn't have the best RAM and everyone is rolling at the same time, so... sure. It can tick up a little slow! Once it hits Light Level: 80%, you'll notice that the space is filled with light, finally. Here beneath the Arbor, the "skin" seems to glow, with blue streaks along it's skin, and the water finally clears up. You can see the ground and for once, things feel... peaceful.
The small Seaborn all wander away to post themselves against the fleshy wall of the Arbor and start to chew on it, as baby Seaborn are meant to.
You all feel calm. Refreshed. You all also hear... humming? It's a woman's voice that is completely unfamiliar, and while the sudden presence of it might set some of you a little on edge, the sound alone will ease your ailments. Any cognitive disfunctions inflicted by touching the bodies go away.
...
The light level continues to slowly tick up. You don't know what'll happen when it gets to 100%, but you have time in the serenity to discuss or investigate, if you'd like.
[Just like that, something...is happening. Sesa watches as his dog suddenly departs from him and goes to join the rest of the seaborn to nibble on the Arbor, which in itself isn't too alarming, but...
It's the humming. Something about it is setting Sesa on edge. It doesn't feel relaxing, or serene.
It feels foreboding. Like a warning.
He lowers his hand subtly to rest on the hilt of his gun again, though he isn't yet drawing it as the humming continues.]
Be on your guard, everyone. We don't know what this means for us yet.
[well. "waking up" to an unfamiliar voice isn't the most pleasant way for livio to realign with his own body, but at least he isn't thrown right into the midst of some sort of combat. and like some others, he isn't entirely convinced they're in the clear yet.
as sesa and dipper do, he instinctively reaches for guns that -- he remembers are no longer there. his lip curls and his brows draw down, but there's nothing he can really do about it, so he once again moves closer to affogato. this time, though, he's more defensive of mizuki. somehow, he doesn't believe the arbor will just let them walk out with him.]
It's so very bright. It hurts to look at, and there's nowhere to look that makes it feel better. The water reflects the light back, and the walls of the Arbor are blindingly white. The humming is still there, but it sounds like it's coming through old, shitty speakers to become more and more... well, crunchy in it's audio processing.
Mizuki "glitches" in a way that's familiar to some of you, like someone hits an old TV to get the picture working again. He's still there, and its a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort of thing, but he's definitely not happy. The distorted noises ceases just long enough for the blinding lights and area around them to join Mizuki in its own static, that only lasts a second, but when it clears up...
Fire.
There's fire. It's everywhere. It encircles the whole group and flares and the heat is unbearable. The roar of it is deafening. As if you weren't already disoriented enough, turning around to try and see the lighthouse light or the screen or the Seaborn or even just the Arbor is completely fruitless. There's just fire, smoke, and the small patch of water at your feet. It's hot. It's loud. It's scary.
"It's okay."
...Ah, the voice that was humming. You can hear it faintly. Why is she whispering? Why does she sound scared?
"It's just like when we play hide and seek. But you have to be really quiet, okay? You just have to stay here and you can't come out no matter what."
What will you all do? The water doesn't seem safe anymore.
[Oh! Okay!!! Cool!!!! Sesa was only just starting to calm down from the various states of panic he's been in before, what's a fucking all-encompassing fire between all of that? It's not like this isn't something out his worst nightmares or anything, oh no no.
Sesa doesn't know what to do, as a matter of fact. Out of reflex, he flinches back towards the others, trying to get closer to them because he feels like if he doesn't, the fire will swallow him up utterly and consume him.
Is this what it must have been like? Is this what it felt like, in his last moments?
The Vouivre feels his chest tighten. Because even for someone of his race, a heat like this...it's not going to be something he can withstand forever, and he can't imagine the others are feeling all that great either.
He wants to run. He needs to get out of here!!! His tail lashes as he looks around, but there's no escape. There's nowhere to go, they're surrounded. Even the baby Seaborn are nowhere to be seen.
[ Like Sesa, Affogato shifts back towards the others. But he also fetched Mizuki from his spot in the moon - maybe he shouldn't have? But it's too late for that now. So instead he turns his body, making sure Mizuki is kept safe away from the fire, curling his tail up and around him the best he can to protect him, wrapping his arms around him.
He can be shockingly selfless when he wants. It's not unlike the position he took to protect the dragon eggs from the attacking sea creatures. ]
You!
[ At Gnosis. ]
Your ice! Can it put the fire out?
[ Unless it's just too hot even for the birds ice and merely evaporates before it can turn into liquid, sweat beading down his face from the heat. ]
[Luckily, they had the same thought here! Gnosis holds his cane up skywards and wordlessly starts blasting the area with ice, focusing them on the flames. There's an open area to the back of where you all are where he's not hitting, since he operates in AoEs and would otherwise hit you guys with it.]
Gnosis, you will come to the conclusion very quickly that this is not traditional fire. It does not freeze or even seem to react to your ice at all.
You sit there and ponder for just a moment. The weird water that doesn't make you wet, the bodies that aren't yours, the ailments that felt very real even if there was nothing there, the dice that show up and disappear...
...This isn't really here, is it? Auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations were a specialty of Mizuki's, after all. But just because it's not real does not mean your brains truly understand that. Running through the fire, while it is a possibility, the pain of burning will feel very much real. Like how this heat feels real enough to make people sweat, and the sound is like you're actually next to a blazing, all-consuming fire.
You could convey this to the others. You could keep this to yourself. That's neither here nor there, though. As for solutions... you could run through the fire, but that would hurt like hell. You could attempt against all odds to wake the comatose Mizuki. You could try and see if maybe there's another "solution" to the "puzzle", as that has seemed to be a recurring theme here. You could try to talk again to the Arbor, to the voice, or to the Seaborn that are bound to be beyond the fire. There's plenty of options to try. Unfortunately, freezing something that isn't truly there is not one of them.
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> The Beginning
Navigating through the Nethersea Brand is no easy feat. Even if you managed to get a Seaborn guide, their youthful exuberance often clouds their understanding of your destination. How are they to really understand that you're not just playing with them? This is a game of chase? We're having fun! Why did you fall over!
You've made it.
What that entails does little to fill you with confidence. The creature that stands in your path is unmistakably alive—very clearly not a tree now that you're this close, with flesh in place where bark should be and an unnatural sort of movement as if it's underwater. There is a enclosure under the leviathan, though. A space mostly lacking in brand, like an eye of the storm, and formed where the "roots" keep it held up. It's also... pitch black. The roots twist and intertwine, forming an archway that beckons you closer, inviting you into the darkness beyond.
You've made it.
What will you do now?
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He doesn't know what he would do otherwise, but even then...he doesn't even know where to begin, seeing this massive tree. The sight of it fills him with equal parts dread and apprehension, but he knows that he can't just stop here.
This is where Mizuki's been taken. He's certain of it, now.
But at least he isn't alone. He's not the only one concerned for Mizuki's well-being, for obvious reasons. He'll turn to anyone else standing nearby, or maybe just walking up as his Seaborn sits happily at his feet.]
We will need to exercise an abundance of caution, here. It feels that the journey here will have been the easy part.
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maybe he's mixed up in between snags from the brand, maybe he feels guilty he wasn't around to confront suri. maybe both. but he makes his way slowly but surely, not realizing there are others until he gets closer. he isn't immune to the grief or the involuntary crying, either, he just doesn't fight them. honestly, one doesn't get the title of "crybaby" without being intimately familiar with grief. he's a stubborn motherfucker, though, so he trudges up to the base of the arbor and wipes away the freshest tears upon meeting sesa and his little seapup.]
Easy... yeah. Y'reckon the forest is hurtin' the Seaborn with this thing somehow? [if he recalls, the brand they'd made last year was their defense mechanism.]
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It's not every day that you have to deal with a dead God, after all. Not that Gnosis would be able to identify Caerula Arbor based on her notes alone.
He found his way here through stubborn trial and error. He's passively resistant to the Brand
thanks to a weird niche talent he has in-gameand even though he was sometimes overcome with paralysis on his way here, the man is willful enough to get out of situations like that on his own.It comes with being an Edelweiss, he thinks.]
Considering the Seaborn that remain within the river itself are in good spirits, I doubt it. [Sesa's Seaborn dog is an example, too, and Gnosis gestures to it with a flat hand.] What concerns me is the fact that Mizuki is missing. Me, and many others, I assume.
[You'd really have to be heartless to Not like Mizuki.]
Given his nature, it's possible that the Forest is hurting Mizuki himself, rather than the Seaborn as a whole, but that still doesn't explain why the remaining hivemind are in good spirits. I'd wager it's caused by a third factor we haven't considered yet.
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[Dipper has been staring at this tree thing for some time, while the others chat. Yeah, he's here also through a stubborn sheer force of will because multiple people have been lost to this damn band. Like hell would he not go looking for Mizuki the minute it was apparent he was missing. After that "dream" he had, he couldn't help but feel like something was going to happen.]
[The voice of Caerula Arbor kept ringing in the back of his mind.]
[Gnosis brings up a third Secret Thing and something clicks from his chat with Mizuki the other day.]
What happened to the original Firstborn from Mizuki's sect? Out of curiosity. Do any of you guys know?
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[ Unlike the others, Affogato may not be able to do much, but he's here on sheer ire alone. He's staring at the tree like he can combust it with his will. Mizuki is in there somewhere and he's determined to get the one he loves back.
Or not... depending on how long he has been with it. He knows enough about the hivemind to know Mizuki may be lost in it. ]
It was not something he offered and it was not something I wished to pry in to. Yet with what I do know, I can hazard a guess.
[ He reaches down to pat the little heart shaped jar tied to his side, the little seaborne Mizuki gifted him inside, doing it's very best wiggles. ]
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The little Seaborn that he had come across certainly seemed concerned about something, though. It had wanted to go downstairs so badly, but it had been so afraid of the fire. He'd finally had to take it safely through in a pitcher of water in order to find out where it wanted to go, and... well, here he is, in the belly of the beast. Or, at the very least, at the mouth of it, judging by that dark entrance. ]
Whatever it is that's going on, I daresay we're going to have to go in there to find out.
[ He folds his arms, frowning at the darkness thoughtfully. ]
I can light the way. It looks like we're going to need it.
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...This Arbor should be in water. It should be at risk of drying out like this, but it's still very much alive. I don't know how, but it's definitely doing so unnaturally... Interesting.
[ He can't say he's made a deep bond with the jelly - yet - but yeah, you'd have to be heartless to not like Mizuki. Jade is also just as determined to find him. Taking out his mage pen, he summons a bit of light onto the gem. Starting to step forward towards the archway with a smile, he looks back to the group. ]
Well then, shall we delve into the unknown and find our missing companion?
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[And he's mostly interested in medical records and national secrets, oops.
To the others, he nods.]
Is everyone ready to set out? I'll let Joshua take the lead.
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Already, he's getting the gnawing insecurities of knowing that he very well may not be of much help, here. He isn't a proficient fighter, and he doesn't like conflict. If it weren't Mizuki...he doubts he would be here at all.]
Yes. I will take up the rear. Should we need to enter combat, my weapon does not handle close-range well.
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Finally he sighs, grips his staff tighter, the metal rods on it jingling softly. ]
I am ready. Let us hurry.
[ Yet there's a growing sense of dread and it's only his love for Mizuki that prevents him from cowering out. ]
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[He unholsters the Azure Pine and falls back by Sesa.]
Looks like we’ve got mid-to-long range covered. Let’s go.
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I don't got my guns anymore, but I can take a hit straight from hell. Let me be y'all's shield.
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1/2
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sorry my turn to be silly
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1/3
2/3 cw: depictions of death/fire/blood/etc.
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3/3 cw: insanity mentions
1: welp
cw: death ideation
cw: talk of poisoning/bodily effects like gagging, vomiting/choking on it etc
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cw: razlo being razlo
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2: two nerds walk into a treehole // hover for translations
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3: my paid ran out at the worst time for this-
cw: violent imagery
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4
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Outloud
> continue?
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> The... end?
The small Seaborn all wander away to post themselves against the fleshy wall of the Arbor and start to chew on it, as baby Seaborn are meant to.
You all feel calm. Refreshed. You all also hear... humming? It's a woman's voice that is completely unfamiliar, and while the sudden presence of it might set some of you a little on edge, the sound alone will ease your ailments. Any cognitive disfunctions inflicted by touching the bodies go away.
...
The light level continues to slowly tick up. You don't know what'll happen when it gets to 100%, but you have time in the serenity to discuss or investigate, if you'd like.
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Gnosis is going to pull himself up to his feet now, thank you very much.]
Well, that's not ominous.
[Why are the women singing....... why have his baby Seaborn left him to go eat (he knows why, they're hungry).]
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... well, it seems that we're doing something right.
[ It does keep getting brighter. He hopes that that means they're doing something right. ]
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It's the humming. Something about it is setting Sesa on edge. It doesn't feel relaxing, or serene.
It feels foreboding. Like a warning.
He lowers his hand subtly to rest on the hilt of his gun again, though he isn't yet drawing it as the humming continues.]
Be on your guard, everyone. We don't know what this means for us yet.
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This would be about the time for a final boss.
[Hopefully not, though.
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as sesa and dipper do, he instinctively reaches for guns that -- he remembers are no longer there. his lip curls and his brows draw down, but there's nothing he can really do about it, so he once again moves closer to affogato. this time, though, he's more defensive of mizuki. somehow, he doesn't believe the arbor will just let them walk out with him.]
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It's so very bright. It hurts to look at, and there's nowhere to look that makes it feel better. The water reflects the light back, and the walls of the Arbor are blindingly white. The humming is still there, but it sounds like it's coming through old, shitty speakers to become more and more... well, crunchy in it's audio processing.
Mizuki "glitches" in a way that's familiar to some of you, like someone hits an old TV to get the picture working again. He's still there, and its a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort of thing, but he's definitely not happy. The distorted noises ceases just long enough for the blinding lights and area around them to join Mizuki in its own static, that only lasts a second, but when it clears up...
Fire.
There's fire. It's everywhere. It encircles the whole group and flares and the heat is unbearable. The roar of it is deafening. As if you weren't already disoriented enough, turning around to try and see the lighthouse light or the screen or the Seaborn or even just the Arbor is completely fruitless. There's just fire, smoke, and the small patch of water at your feet. It's hot. It's loud. It's scary.
"It's okay."
...Ah, the voice that was humming. You can hear it faintly. Why is she whispering? Why does she sound scared?
"It's just like when we play hide and seek. But you have to be really quiet, okay? You just have to stay here and you can't come out no matter what."
What will you all do? The water doesn't seem safe anymore.
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[Oh! Okay!!! Cool!!!! Sesa was only just starting to calm down from the various states of panic he's been in before, what's a fucking all-encompassing fire between all of that? It's not like this isn't something out his worst nightmares or anything, oh no no.
Sesa doesn't know what to do, as a matter of fact. Out of reflex, he flinches back towards the others, trying to get closer to them because he feels like if he doesn't, the fire will swallow him up utterly and consume him.
Is this what it must have been like? Is this what it felt like, in his last moments?
The Vouivre feels his chest tighten. Because even for someone of his race, a heat like this...it's not going to be something he can withstand forever, and he can't imagine the others are feeling all that great either.
He wants to run. He needs to get out of here!!! His tail lashes as he looks around, but there's no escape. There's nowhere to go, they're surrounded. Even the baby Seaborn are nowhere to be seen.
It's just them and the fire, now.]
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He can be shockingly selfless when he wants. It's not unlike the position he took to protect the dragon eggs from the attacking sea creatures. ]
You!
[ At Gnosis. ]
Your ice! Can it put the fire out?
[ Unless it's just too hot even for the birds ice and merely evaporates before it can turn into liquid, sweat beading down his face from the heat. ]
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[Luckily, they had the same thought here! Gnosis holds his cane up skywards and wordlessly starts blasting the area with ice, focusing them on the flames. There's an open area to the back of where you all are where he's not hitting, since he operates in AoEs and would otherwise hit you guys with it.]
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You sit there and ponder for just a moment. The weird water that doesn't make you wet, the bodies that aren't yours, the ailments that felt very real even if there was nothing there, the dice that show up and disappear...
...This isn't really here, is it? Auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations were a specialty of Mizuki's, after all. But just because it's not real does not mean your brains truly understand that. Running through the fire, while it is a possibility, the pain of burning will feel very much real. Like how this heat feels real enough to make people sweat, and the sound is like you're actually next to a blazing, all-consuming fire.
You could convey this to the others. You could keep this to yourself. That's neither here nor there, though. As for solutions... you could run through the fire, but that would hurt like hell. You could attempt against all odds to wake the comatose Mizuki. You could try and see if maybe there's another "solution" to the "puzzle", as that has seemed to be a recurring theme here. You could try to talk again to the Arbor, to the voice, or to the Seaborn that are bound to be beyond the fire. There's plenty of options to try. Unfortunately, freezing something that isn't truly there is not one of them.
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cw: death + child death implications
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cw: still death and dying
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1/2 same cws here, death, child death, u kno the drill-
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