Roberia desperately tried to get the boy up, while the ebony beast slammed the earth with its forelimb, causing a slight vibration on the ground, increasing in magnitude with each step.
R : "Katachi!!" (No good! He's still dizzy...)
The beast slowly approached the two humans before it, staring at them intently. Roberia turned to glance at the monster, only to have it roar in her face.
"!!!▅▅▂▄▂▄▄▂▅▃▂▅▂▃▃▅▂▅!!!"
R : (That thing seems seriously angry... I've never seen a monster like this before. What the heck is this thing? Whatever it is, that thing is definitely looking this way, at us.)
Roberia peered at Katachi, who was still lying on the floor, too dizzy to recover anytime soon.
R : (Not good. He's unable to move at all. If I leave him alone, he'd most definitely die. Looks like I have to hold out until he can get to.)
Jumping to the right, Roberia picked up a good and solid chunk of rock, and hurled it at the beast. It collided with the side of its... 'Head', and the beast turned to face Roberia on its left.
R : (I have no weapons... I can't hope to face it properly in a fair fight. I have to hold out until Katachi comes to!) "Come on, you big, smelly louse! This way!"
"!!!▂▄▂▄▄▂▂▃▅▃▂▅▂▄▃▅▄▅▂▄▄▅▂▃!!!"
The beast, taunted by her words, let loose a mighty roar, and leapt at Roberia.
R : (The legs are angled, and the body is wide. That pattern and way of jumping means that it wants to crush me underneath it. I should retreat backwards first and see how it reacts.)
Roberia somersaulted backwards forcefully, and planted her palms on the floor. Rhythmically, she rotated her inertia around her wrists, and spun her feet around her body before keeping her legs together and carrying her own momentum to her right.
*Cozy's Notes : A standstill backflip into a 4'o'clock? Damn. She really is acrobatic. And that one's not an average-distance backflip neither. If you haven't done gymnastics or tried the pommel horse before, let me just say this - That is extremely hard, and if not done carefully, can break your wrist and destroy your hand entirely if you can't balance your weight perpendicular to your hand supporting your body. Don't try this at home kids - If there are any kids reading. I doubt it, but I'd rather play it safe.*
The beast belly-flopped onto the soft grass, and the earth shook with another forceful impact, blowing away the leaves and twigs beneath it. The beast eked its head to stare at Roberia, before roaring once again its otherworldly cry.
R : (! It paused for a moment there. It reacted to me dodging that attack somehow? Most creatures I have met don't pause or hesitate like that. That monster can think?)
Roberia reached down, and picked up a small twig to use as a weapon.
R : (I don't know how tough its hide is, and this twig probably can't do much... I still have to lure it further this way, until Katachi recovers. Curses! If only I had my own weapon!) "So roaring's the best you can do? Seems to me your bite is inferior to your barking!"
"!!!▄▄▂▄▄▂▄▃▅▃▂▄▃!!!"
R : (The shoulder is lowered, and retracted. It's a swiping motion.)
The ebony wyvern swung its massive wing at Roberia, in a huge sweeping motion. Having sensed it beforehand, Roberia leapt into the air, and thrust the twig at the beast's wing.
R : (It's not much, but let it do something, please! Maybe let it feel some sort of strength over my inability to hurt it! If only that was my sword, so help me!)
The twig turned into a greatsword as it rubbed against the beast's scales..
Specifically, it turned into the very greatsword she had started out on her journey with, the high-quality sword made of reinforced iron, a much tougher material than the classic laevinstone sword she used for hunting animals. The very same sword, that Katachi had sealed onto the floor at the end of their first encounter.
R : (A sword?! The twig turned into my sword?!) "Wha-!?"
"!!!▂▃▄▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▄▃▂!!!"
*Cozy's Notes : ... Oh boy. That cry doesn't sound good. In your case, it'd be 'look' good, since you're seeing what is supposed to be the sound and decibels.*
It ripped out from the blade what comprised its left wing, staring at the 'wound' that had formed on it. But the miraculous regrowth at the wing made the attack seem trivial, pointless. With its attention snapped back at Roberia, the beast's eyes turned into a burgandy, deep red, and the strange, living mass that was supposed to form the eyes spidered out from the eyehole and covered most of what its head was supposed to be. Pink pupils formed from where the amber circles once were, and the beast menacingly glared at Roberia. A strange, ominous feeling emanated from the beast.
R : (Its eyes ... What just happened to that thing?! Did I hurt it with this twig- I mean, sword- Twig? Sword? Twigsword? What's going on?)
*Cozy's Notes : IT'S ENRAGED THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON TO HELL WITH THE TRANSFORMED TWIG AND GET OUTTA THERE GOOD LORD DON'TCHA PLAY MONSTER HUNTER*
The beast's menacing new form rushed at Roberia, with a unexpected alacrity.
R : (!! Fast!! Too fast! I can't dodge it!)
Swinging her weight down, Roberia hid behind her twig- Sword, now impaled deep into the ground. The beast ran its massive body right across the sword, trying to crush Roberia under the sword and its weight.
R : "Kh!" (Heavy!)
Yet, with the huge mass and sword pressing against her, Roberia did not feel as much pain as she had imagined. The beast, gliding across the forest ground into a clearing, demonstrated its lightweight body and ability to fly.
R : (That roar of wind... It was swooping at me. It flew... Is it a bird?)
The beast landed onto the plains, and slammed all four limbs into the grass. With another foreign, otherworldly roar, its form changed further.
It grew in size, and strange tendril-like stems formed on its wings, elbows, head and back. It grew to a size that doubled the trees' height. And its clear red eyes with pink pupils had the spidered cracks resealed, forming a fierce, determined look. It pushed off the ground with its forelimbs which have folded in and formed a mighty pair of wings, and stood on its hind legs. The beast had become a strange, gargantuan-sized version of another bird.
R : "!!!" (It... It changed into a giant hawk!?)
The beast had transformed into a giant hawk, except the beautiful, black skin with little star like glints replaced where the feathers would usually be. And it roared once more, with its wings outspread, ready to attack Roberia.
*** ***
Katachi opened his eyes, and tried to regain his sense of balance.
K : (... How nostalgic. I remember spinning like that on my free time, mimicking the water wheels and enjoying the warm sun while lying on the soft, moist moss, unable to move...)
His eyes kept rolling to his left, still dizzy from the vertigo.
K : (But, that girl, Roberia... She sounded worried, panicked. And those roars were nothing I'd ever heard of. I need to get up...)
Katachi struggled, and tried to get up, but his right arm and leg kept moving while the left side of his body fell asleep, causing him to topple over when he tries to get up.
K : (... Dizzy... Ugh, I have to get up.)
Katachi tried once more, and this time, he planted his right hand and foot on the ground properly, allowing him to push himself up to a kneel.
K : (... Uch. My insides feel a bit weird, like, it's spinning within myself... I wish there was a better way to recover from this. The insides of my stomach are churning. I feel like vomiting...)
*Cozy's Notes : You don't think a follower of Segus would suffer from something like that. I mean, come on, it's Segus, for crying out loud. He's a legend, and for good reason. I'll cover the Segus backstory soon. It's coming after the November 7th one-year anniversary celebrations & lore.*
Katachi clenched his stomach muscles, and distributed his weight across his palms.
K : (*deep inhale* *exhale*... Hoo... Okay. My mind feels clear now.)
Looking up, Katachi saw Roberia hiding behind a gray object, as the gigantic beast glided above her.
K : (What is that thing? I've never seen a creature like that. Skin that looks like the night sky, four legs, sprawled like a lizard?)
Katachi tried glancing around, to examine what had happened while he was still recovering.
K : (... That part of the ground has no leaves. That sort of pattern looks like the beast attacked that place, blasting the leaves away. I felt a breeze while I was down, but from my position, that must have been a really strong blow if I could feel it from over here...)
K : (? There's a sort of house or something over there?...)
The house-like structure at the bottom of the cliff he had probably rolled down from caught his eye.
K : (I don't think it's time to worry about that... Roberia's still fighting that thing.)
Katachi ran over to the two, his hand on the book to his side and his head lowered slightly.
*** ***
The sound of footsteps came from behind her after the deafening cry.
These fluttering steps most likely belonged to the boy that had laid on the ground just now. Roberia increased the grip on her tw- Sword, and turned back to see the small demeanour of a black-haired boy running out towards the open.
*Cozy's Notes : input soundclip here that sounds like FWHOOSHHHHHHHHAAAH. The -AAAH at the back makes it more realistic, like the vacuum from the flap sucking in the nearby air forcefully. It'll make the entire experience that much more realistic.*
But, before they could even communicate or formulate any sort of plan, the beast fanned its wings hard, and an intense gale blasted the both of them backwards violently.
*** ***
The roar of wind hurled at them deafened their ears, such that a ringing sound stuck snugly at the back of their heads. It helped in a sense that it clears their head such that they can focus better, but it also means they are now insensitive to attacks they can't hear.
*Cozy's Notes : Since, y'know, their hearing's temporarily disabled and all.*
K : (!! We're flying backwards! I better return control to our bodies with solid footing! 恒定! Constant status - Roberia! Constant status - Self!)
The words formed on their bodies, as they were sent toward the cliff at frightening speeds.
In its truest essence, they were thrown back, indeed - But it was not powerful enough to knock them back all the way towards the cliff. However, the word Katachi had placed set their status to 'Constant', which meant their bodies were thrown back much farther than it ought to have been, right into the cliff Katachi had thought they would smash into - Yet, their backs colliding into the rocky wall proved to be painless.
After their bodies embedded themselves into the wall, Katachi released the Word of Power on them, and they fell naturally. Katachi, accustomed to this method of displacement, got off the wall and recovered immediately.
K : (How's she doing?)
Katachi glanced over to where she roughly landed, to see her falling from an upside-down position a good distance, and landing on her front.
K : (Ouch. That's a rough landing. It must hurt a lot, she'd probably need a while to recover from that.)
"!!!▂▄▃▄▅▄▃▂▄▅▂▄▃▅▄▂▄▄▅▄▂▃!!!"
The beast may have transformed into a hawk, but its mystical roar is not something simply altered by a change in appearance. Something in Katachi's heart beat when the huge, ebony hawk trampled the trees and approached them.
K : (This familiar feeling... ?)
The beast snapped at Katachi, whom dodged the peck just by inches, out of instinct.
K : (Now's not the time to relax... We'll have to outrun or outsmart this thing somehow, probably by hiding in a cave or in a lake or something.) "You missed!" (I have to distract it while Roberia gets back up on her feet.)
But the beast was not as foolish as Katachi had believed it to be.
*** ***
R : "Nnnngh..."
A painful feeling stung Roberia throughout her body. Roberia tried to make her body move, from the sheer power of her will.
K : "You missed!"
She tried to get up, knowing that the boy was now trying his best to distract the beast. The sword in her hand was flat on the ground, and she pressed against the handle and the earth, trying to get her upper half up at least.
As she began lifting her head off the ground, the beast roared once more, and another gale pushed her back - Into the house-like temple at the bottom of the cliff.
R : "!! Bhhah!! *cough, cough, cough* "
The impact of her back and head against the stone, unprotected by the Word of Power, shockwaved through her. The pain was immense, and the dusty air forced into her mouth and nostrils had to be painfully expelled.
(Here lies the shrine of-)
Roberia leaned forward to straighten her back, trying to compress her muscles and reduce the pain.
R : (Ahh, it's painful... my vision's all blurry... But, what was that? 'Here lies the shrine of'? Why did that surface in my head?)
Roberia tried to close her eyes, and brought her fingers to her temples.
R : (Recovery comes first. Grogginess can be cured with an acute pain to the temples...)
She rubbed her temples together painfully, keeping her consciousness ajar just barely.
*** ***
The gust did not affect Katachi.
This is because Katachi had fixated the air before him, forming an invisible air wall before him. A huge golden word formed before him, in mid-air, and that had protected him from the gale.
That same fortune could not be said for Roberia, however.
K : (Shoot! I forgot Roberia for a moment there!)
Katachi turned his head to Roberia for a bit, when the outstretched wing of the beast blocked his sight. The beast, clearly unhappy with the indifference of Katachi withstanding the attack, swung its wing and knocked Katachi back to the opening.
K : "!!!" (恒定! Constant status - Self!)
A golden word formed on Katachi, and he was thrown towards the ground, pushing the mounds of earth aside as he slid across the mud and grass.
Katachi clawed his fingers into the earth, and shifted his feet backwards to assume a balanced position immediately. The golden word on his chest disappeared, and Katachi leapt from the mole-hill to his right - Just barely dodging the beast's swooping talons following up on its wing attack.
The beast slowed its charge and flapped once, its simple movement causing all the trees and leaves to quiver and shake vigorously. Its two talons planted into the grass and soil with an earthshaking force, and it eyed its head around, to stare at Katachi again.
K : "Haah!!"
Katachi gripped the dagger with two fingers and flung it at the beast rapidly, and the slot with the carving was filled up with a patch of gold. The dagger, empowered by the Word of Power, continued flying straight, piercing the beast from its center.
Or, that was supposed to have happened.
The beast, demonstrating its intelligence once again, leaned its body to the left and side-stepped the dagger cleanly. But Katachi, too, had leapt off the ground towards the dagger he had thrown, and caught up with it almost immediately.
He grabbed the dagger and sent it flying at the beast's back, this time the attack succeeding and the dagger piercing through the beast's blind spot, back, chest and all.
"!!!▂▃▄▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▄▃▂!!!"
K : "!? Wha-"
And then... The black skin immolated. It caught on white flames, and burned off bit by bit, to reveal a sort of silver scaly skin beneath, and the hawk-like wyvern had become an enormous white-scaled Firebird.
*Cozy's Notes : IT'S A PHOENIX YO, WE ALL GONN' DIE~!*
*** ***
R : "... Uugh..." (I... I need to get up somehow...)
Roberia tried to boost herself up from the ground by sheer force.
R : "!! Aaahkk!!" (Ahh, my back! It hurts too much! I can't! I can't do it in a go!)
She set herself down on the floor once again, gasping for air and trying to relax her muscles as far as she could.
R : (It's not good to get up immediately like that. If I want to get up, I need to do this bit by bit!)
Roberia slowly shifted her weight to press against the ground at first, and then slowly, after feeling around for a bit, her hand felt a sort of smooth wall to press against and slowly get up from.
R : (Good. I'm close to a wall. I can't see too well with everything being this dizzy, but at least I can feel what's around me.)
She slowly pressed against the wall and got up, still leaning on the smooth wall. She didn't expect, however, for her hand to press against the circular panel on the 'smooth wall'.
(Here lies the shrine of Yvolki, the Bird of Dream - In honor of its selfless protection of Urdythari and Diehl.)
*** ***
*Cozy's Notes : Oh, you think their encounter was random? Son, that ain't even make sense, no~ This world isn't a nonsensical one where something happens because it had to - Had Katachi shared the load with Roberia properly, this would never have happened.
Think - What if they hadn't encountered this monster? The time they saved - What could have happened in that short window? Find out when Herald starts. Look forward to it when it does, yo :3*
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