Lore:Novum

Matthew: >.> Okay....you two ready to go?

Nora:If they aren't already it won't be long. Let's go.

He runs to he entrance of the college and goes in.

Matthew simply shrugs before running after Nora.

Van: Let's go. *follows matthew*

The group enters the main hall of the campus where red fleshy veins pulsate along the walls, pumping darkness to further corrupt the surrounding buildings. As they climb up a wide staircase of debris, they see that the hall is blocked by a wall of flesh attached to it a throne of darkness where a dark gray Estris sits. Her eyes now simply solid black with wet streams of ebony flowing from them. A weak whimper of a cry can be heard echoing throughout the room.

Nora:Sis...?

Estris croaks out a weak plea for help and tendrils restrain her head and bind it to the back of the chair, as she had been sulking. At the horrific sight Nora begins to cry and run towards her. As he approaches, she extend her hand to him and he goes to take it when someone else runs through the doors they came through, his black and blue-trimmed cloak whipping due to the outside wind. The face of the wearer is mostly obscured by a dark blue scarf, but reveals the eyes, which are an extremely deep and entrancing shade of blue. The eyebrows hint towards a dark hair color.

:Stop! Don't get close to her!

At this, Nora turns and a spectral roar is heard, shaking the foundation of the building. At that second, a deluge of tendrils stab through Nora rapidly, his body going limp after the first few stabs. Afterward, his leg is grabbed by a tentacle and he is thrown forcefully into the ground, blood emptying from his mouth. Zero, Van, and Matt are disabled by adhesive fluids that rain down from veins that are severed by the force by which the tentacles stabbed into Nora earlier.

:Dammit, demon!

He runs past the others as the possessed Estris invokes a torrent of dark energy to flood into the room. Just as the darkness enshrouds the room a burst of light dispels it. She rises from of her throne as she is stabbed by a blade of light. Another displaced roar is heard and she morphs into a messy conglomeration of serpentine forms with several malformed head, but one large, true head with a dragon's head. It eats the newcomer before its transparent black body glows and begins to burn, forcing it to spit him out and through the roof.

The beast pursues him, crashing through the remaining ceiling and flailing tentacles at the boy in blind rage. He uses magic to absorb damage from the first strike and upon landing on the appendage, jumps from it to others that aren't moving much to blast the monster in the face with a large sphere of light that sends it into the courtyard where it stays grounded.

The cloaked photomancer descends and conjures energy blades as Estris breathes out a slew of elementals while trying to impale her opponent with elemental spikes. In response the elementals are cut down as the energy blades produce waves of light that easily kill the minions with each swing from their wielder who also gracefully dodges his way around the earth magic employed by the dragon-like form. The dragon roars and charges at him and, being surrounded by walls, the boy jumps from the one he is backed into and cuts his way through the dragon's body to escape the impact of the charge.

She crashes through the wall leading into the hall where the others are at, the head reverting to Estris's original form and the body dissipating. As this happens the stranger walks in and cuts down the flesh blocking the part of the hall from the others as Estris regains consciousness. When she speaks it's clear that there are multiple voices at work with her speech.

Estris:How did you...*coughs blackened blood* rune magic...
:You gave me the opportunity to stab you during the dispelling of your darkness, first strike always wins. ^ ^ As for the rune magic, I'm sure you'll find out about that when you are exorcised from this poor girl's body.

The assailant stabs blades of light through her arms and legs to keep her bound to the ground as he turns and heals Nora with a brief blast of energy. As Estris' energy wanes, the goo that landed on the others disintegrates.

Nora:Why did she do that? Or all of this?
:She came into contact with a demonic ethereal being and his sword, Plague. Apparently she has some blood relation to his mortal self, because only those related to Zera could've lifted the seal on the path leading to the accursed vault we left him in. Anyway, I suppose you all should come with me, we need to get this thing out of your friend before she succumbs completely to its power.

With that the cloaked stranger turns and stabs her through her Hex-core(in the chest), and a great deal of darkness is released and Estris' eyes normalize.

:Are you with us?
Estris:Uh...yeah...what's going on?
:You're possessed.
Estris:-.- Yeah, I get that. I mean why is everything so...gross?
:Well that's what happens when you get possessed by the ruler of the netherworld. >,> *the blades of light burst into energy and fade away* I trust you can stand? If not I'm sure your brother'll help you.
Estris:Eh? He's here? *looks passed him, getting up and staggering Nora before hugging him* Oh, I'm sorry this all happened, I was an idiot....
Nora:._.u It's fine, it's fine...now I think we really should go so that we can get you some help. Right?
:Right. And if anyone was wondering, my name's Azure.
Nora:Because of your eyes? They're really pretty. ^ ^
:-.- Really now, we gotta go. C'mon. *leaves and Nora follows*

Matthew: That was....strange.... >.> *Follows Azure and Nora*

Nora:Hm? What was strange?.?
Azure:Now normally we'd be teleporting there, but my house is pretty far away. Plus your sister's Hex doesn't work anymore. We'll just have to walk there and stay at Inns or whatever along the way.
Nora:Hehe, inns. They aren't called that anymore. ^ ^
Azure:-.- Wherever you stay when you don't have a residence nearby.

Matthew: Okay.... Thanks for the help back there, by the way. >.>

Van: Oh well. A reason why you're carrying me?
Zero: Master can not walk as he has said.
van: ._.u that was because of the goo, you idiot. Whatever, just keep carrying me.

Azure:Yeah. You all probably would've died if my dad didn't make me go out and stop this thing from destroying the city. He said it'd be good experience for me or something. >,>
Nora:So what was up with that magic? It was really cool! ^ ^
Azure:Eh? Oh right. I can't really show it off or anything. It was runic magic...it's kind of like ammo for firearms, it's limited in supply but is very powerful. All spells have different durations and things like that.
Estris:Aw that cute. ^ ^ Your friend get a new robot?
Nora:Huh? Oh yeah, he made a new one.
Estris:Hope it doesn't become a stalker like that other one.

Matthew: Doubt it at the rate she's going.

Van: Don't remind me of that, Estris... >.>

Matthew: As I said, man up.

Nora:So Estris....um, how do you feel right now?
Estris:Terrible. This voice in my head won't stop bitching. -.- It isn't even talking to me, it's talking to some other thing.
Azure:Probably the sword or the owner. They had a history of being at odds with each other. Liekly an argument on the topic of blame.
Estris:Why do you talk funny sometimes?
Azure:I don't really comprehend where your curiosity arises from, we're speaking the same language, are we not?
Estris:>,> Yeah, but like right there, you're speaking it in a more formal way than we are. Are you from one of the god families or something?
Azure:Ah, no. We're just naturally wealthy. We may be as strong as one of your "God" families, but we do not utilize hex-cores for our craft.
Estris:Well a hex-core isn't what make a god family a god family, it's their aristocratic status and general power, regardless of what they use to obtain it.
Azure:Well then yes I suppose my family falls under the criterion...
Nora:What's with all those layers of clothing you have on? It isn't really cold out or anything.
Azure:...well I....um....I went to Zera's Manor before coming down to the city, yes. As you know, it is unbearably cold up there.

Matthew: Hmm, besides being cold, what else can you say about that place?

Van: it's creepy as hell. Something about old buildings just creeps me out to no end.

Matthew: *Shrugs* Eh, I kinda find old buildings relaxing to be in. The silence relaxes me.

Azure:Well it makes me uneasy to stay there too long, but I usually have to trek there alone. There's messed up furniture, the place is falling apart. Blood on some of the walls from petty fights there. I believe there are some ghosts inhabiting the basement, the dead experimental abominations of its original owner. Well, he referred to them as his "pets".

Matthew: I see... I never read or heard about this Zera, I take it he's everything that the world stands against?

Van: I've read about him in some old texts. They said he had a habit of destroying towns and practically razing hell.

Azure: If you define destruction as something that never has a positive side effect, he is the worst being to've ever walked the planet. In some case though, destruction isn't a bad thing. However, just because he occasionally destroys something that should be destroyed does not give him a pardon for raping countless women and murdering entire kingdoms for his pleasure. He took whatever he wanted because he was powerful enough that he could. Those who were strong enough to stop him were normally female, and most of them became his sex slaves, more or less. There were a few males who fought him, most died, one stood by and watched. The one who just watched him destroy everything went by the name of DUSK, and is also inhabiting this young woman's body.

Matthew: That bad, huh? <.<

Van: hehe, there you gp, Estris, we find four more in you and it's a part inside you. ^ ^

Estris:Yeah, I definitely don't want any more idiots arguing in my head. One won't stop asking why they didn't rape me in the vault and the other's just asserting that he's better than the other and that's why they didn't do it. I might go mad if I have to deal with this for much longer. >,>
Nora:Don't worry, we'll fix it soon. ^ ^ So who's your father, Azure?.?
Azure:His name's Serus. Although due to Lorithia's purge of the Old World he's been residing in a female body. Just refer to him as a "he", or he'll become infuriated. I don't know why, he just gets mad about that.

Van: Awesome, now I can make jokes about him being a woman. ^ ^
Zero: <.<