Evernight Castle
Arcana Ritual Chamber
A state of feeling stuck somewhere between awake and asleep. You could faintly hear the world around you, but you couldn't see it. You were left with emotions, feelings, and thoughts swirling in what felt like an endless darkness. That was the state one would experience as they were becoming an Arcana.
She had been left with plenty to think about. But every now and then, it was almost as if she could hear the thoughts of someone else. Someone unknown, yet familiar.
"Don't you think you've spent long enough like this?", the vaguely familiar stranger pondered.
"I'm still trying to figure out what happened.", she replied to the stranger.
"Does that part matter now? It is time to wake up.", the stranger answers back.
The girl's lips twitch, almost as if she wished to smile on reflex.
"You say that like I can just choose to 'wake up' whenever I want."
While musing on that exchange, she can finally see things forming within the darkness. The girl squints at the objects that feel so far from her, as if trying to will them into focus. She finds that this process does seem to help. Though she isn't fully sure that it's just because her vision is coming back, or if she did indeed will these things to appear.
It was a strange thought to have. But she didn't feel fully awake. It felt more like a lucid dream. But before she can ponder that for much longer, she hears the voice of the stranger once more;
"Finally. You're starting to stir and stretch. You really took your time, didn't you?"
The girl looks around, trying to find the source of the voice. She finds nothing, but nonetheless answers them.
"You make it sound like you've been waiting a long time for something."
The familiar voice then snorts derisively in response.
"I have. You're a heavy sleeper -- which is unusual considering your circumstances."
The girl then shrugs.
"My circumstances?"
A heavy sigh is her answer, and then the figure forms not far from her, staring down at her.
"You slept rather soundly despite the fact that you are no longer Human."
At the sight of the monstrous figure, the girl takes a step back and instinctively raises her hand as though she were wielding a blade. Shortly thereafter, one appears in her hand. There is slight confusion for a second, but she soon puts her focus back on the one in front of her.
"Who -- What are you?", she queried.
The unusual mouth of the being somewhere between Human and Monster contorts into a smile.
"I am a Shadow. The True Self."
The girl seems unfazed by the statement and the wicked-looking smile, even as she answers back;
"So, you're claiming to be me?"
The monstrous woman chuckles.
"The true version of you, yes. It looks like this will work out in my favor as well. You've barely had a chance to work anything out, hence your unstable form..."
With a flick of her wrist, she conjures dark flames in her hand.
"I'll use this opportunity to set the dynamic between us. I will be taking care of things from here on."
The looming figure approaches the colorless girl, set to attack. A dark claw is then swiped at her, still coated in flames. But it is matched by blade that cuts through the flames, clashing against flesh and carapace.
"Like hell I'll let you decide something like that."
Slowly, the girls memories were coming back. Yes... She still had important things to take care of. She needed to find her friends. She needed to help them.
This monster was in the way. It growled at the attack it had received.
"You little brat... You will submit!!"
The battle started in earnest after that. The larger woman continued to utilize claw and flame, and the girl used her smaller stature to keep her distance, and she used her sword to ward off oncoming attacks. Between the two, the obvious advantage went to the larger fighter.
She was faster, but she couldn't rely on that being enough to win this fight -- it wasn't like her opponent was slow. Which was showcased perfectly as the monstrous stranger lunges forward, dark flames now erupting to give an even greater forward offensive.
The girl dives back, but her opponent has a larger stride. But then she has an idea; she had to go for it. With her free hand, she makes a motion as if throwing something, and as she did so, she perceives a card forming and then flicking straight through the flames. She didn't have to wonder if it had made it through.
Seemingly she had missed her target, but just as the claw covered in flames is about to grab the girl by the face... She vanishes, reappearing behind and above the larger woman. And she slams her free hand down into the stranger's back. Her own energy surging into the form of wind compressed into a sphere. The space that they fought in rocked from the force, and the woman is sent crashing into the ground.
The stranger rolls over, but it is too late, the girl has already landed atop her -- she continues to establish her dominance in this space. She points down at the monstrous woman, and chains form and wrap around it, and then pull taut against her form.
A monstrous roar escapes from the stranger's mouth, and it struggles against the chains.
"Don't underestimate me!!"
It is able to partially break free from the chains, and sits up. But that only grants it enough time to see the girl conjuring two more cards -- she falls through one card placed at her feet, and appears in the card above it. This fall is repeated several more times, picking up a staggering amount of velocity.
The monstrous woman tried to prepare more of her dark flames to counter the attack it realized was just coming, but it was too late. Just as the girl fell through the card one more time, the other card she would be coming through moved, and angled to face the stranger.
The girl shot forward wind gathered into the palm of her free hand again. She slammed it square into the chest of her opponent, and the monster is sent rolling and skidding across the ground -- but even more importantly, the color that originally made up it's form had faded.
The girl was absorbing energy left from the monster's wake, and by the time both of them came to a stop...
"You lose."
The girl stated, now wielding a shining blade pointed at the monster.
It growled and once more tried to gather up those dark flames, just as before. But the girl only sighs and points down again. All across the woman's form are beams that crash into her and pin her down, the flames are extinguished, and it can only stare up at the victorious girl.
"You might have won now... You might have taken my power...
But you won't be rid of me that easily... I'll get you one day..."
It uttered these words as it was dragged away from the girl, the world around them changing to that of a carved stone interior -- then a massive gate is formed, and slammed shut. It locks, and the stranger's red eyes slowly shut, as though the presence were receding fully into the darkness.
The girl then awakens in darkness. But then the shell covering her splits and cracks. Light pours inside, and she moves her hands, tearing away the shell. She finally pulls herself free.
A pale girl with red hair. Her eyes snap shut from the blinding light, but slowly they adjust. She looks every bit the picture of an Arcana...
"So the Magician has finally awakened.", uttered the approving voice of a woman. Far more sophisticated than the one that the girl had spent all this time talking to.
The pale girl's eyes then open. And this is what throws all in the room for a loop...
For her eyes did not glow red.
They held an unmistakable blue glow.
"The... Magician?", the girl spoke, her voice a little hoarse from lack of use and thirst. She tries to focus on the person she hears. Even though the room was dark, it might as well have been broad daylight compared to the darkness that the girl was in before.
But her vision slowly comes into focus, aided by the vague shape approaching her, and the leaning in front of her.
"Yes. We have a great deal to discuss.
But let us start with something for you to drink."
She smiled as she spoke to the disoriented girl, then adding;
"And perhaps some clothes are in order as well."
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