For roughly the entire day, a steady downpour drowned out all other ambience throughout the countryside. Creaking wooden wheels and clopping of horse hooves were the only other source of ambience except for the irregular crackle of thunder. A sturdy fabric overhead sheltered the passenger and driver of the carriage, as it continued onward. It was rare for the Adventurer's Guild to supply such transportation. Normally most accepted tasks were to be carried out by an adventurer's own means of travel — usually by foot.
"It's not everyday the guild seeks me out personally and provides the transportation. So forgive my intrusion, I must ask, what is so special about this village we are headed to? Besides, well you know, the whole people going missing part or scattered body parts being found situation." Both arms were kept crossed against her bossom to prevent any wandering eyes, as the carriage continued to traverse on the bumpy stretch of terrain they were currently on. This man worked for the guild, however, she personally did not know him; it was best to keep things as formal as possible. The last thing she needed was a perverse comment from her only means of transportation; she'd smack the stupid out of him if need be, and walk the rest of the way.
Keeping focus on the road and his control of the horses, the man nodded his head. "Fine observation lass. You are correct this is no ordinary village. It is one of the premier suppliers of jewlery for the Principality and most of Hendon Myre. We're currently a little short-handed, so Karakas suggested you were the right dragon lady for the job. Kinda curious though, what kind of Shaman travels without her staff or beads? Not that I'm an expert of exorcisms, just seems like you have your work cut out for you. Don't wanna make it any harder for yerself, ya know?"
With one eye twitching so repeatedly, it almost gave the impression the Blazing Flower was performing morse code. "Dragon lady...? I, I...." That boiling temper of hers wanted to burst out. Did Karakas really just send her to go get rid of some spirits because he was short-handed and thought her fit because she could conjure a dragon?! Did these mainland Aradians even know the difference between the Nen she commanded and a Shaman's spiritual energy?! Both palms of her hands repeatedily rubbed her face out of frustration. Jin was off doing whatever it was a male Nen Master needed to do after becoming a Radiant Lion. And here she was, riding off into a f***ing nightmare with only herself and her Nen to dispel angered spirits. If only she went with her gut, declined this offer, and awaited his return. There were other means of recouping their finances after weeks of unpaid travel in Mirror Arad.
Deciding to change the topic, the driver glanced at her for a second. "Fine lass such as you has to have a prince charming. Does he work in the guild as well? Wonder if I've seen 'em before."
Glancing back at the man, Lunmei thought for a second. Question seemed innocent enough. Maybe. So many conversations started similarly innocent only to go south very quickly. Already feeling her mood sour, she decided to lighten things up a bit while also letting this man know he wouldn't want to piss off her or the man she loved.
"Indeed he does," she started with a peppy smirk. "Do you recall when the Moonlight Tavern needed to renovate for a week after Suju New Year?" Pausing she awaited to see if he recalled said incident. Upon seeing him nod, she continued. "He was the one that left the Back Alley king riddled in stitches and multiple concusions." Not one to brag about her own accolades, Lunmei left out the part where she joined in when Law's girlfriend, a female Brawler, was left with almost similar injuries.
Eyes temporary widened before he let out an impressed whistle. "That was the two of you? It looked like a Berserker went on a damn rampage in there. S'ppose what you'd except when people from Suju get in a bar fight." A split second later he realized this might come off offensive. "What I mean, your lot are tough as f***in' nails. Can't believe your man was resilient enough to shrug off Law's dirty barrel special."
Chuckling a bit, Lunmei waved a hand of dismal. "No offense taken, though I appreciate the effort. Most Aradians who speak actual obscenities never have the mind to correct themselves." Holding index and middle fingers to her lips, the Blazing Flower fought the urge to burst into laughter. Instead, she nodded with a snarky countenace. "Jin was far too pissed and full of adrenaline, hurling a barrel that smelled like sh*t and rotten eggs only pissed him off more. He payed for it afterward though. Couldn't see straight for a week and smelled like death and an outhouse had a lovechild."
Sitting cross-legged on a mattress that's seen better days, a young woman with bandages on her head and arm cried silent tears. Such tears must have stemmed from her injuries, right? Wrong. She's been on the receiving end of many powerful attacks by monster and human opponents; physical pain was nothing new to her. Sure, the recovery process had a tendency to reignite aches and bring discomfort. Truly, the initial cause of the cuts and bruises was the worst part. After that? Well, it was just a matter of sucking it up and pushing yourself forward.
So no, these tears were not from the aftermath of battle. It was because her efforts went unnoticed, at least, in her eyes. The man she professed her love for just weeks ago on Mount Thundermine. She endured all this to save his life. By no means was she looking for praise from him. Far from it, really. No, she only wanted to see him smile and feel his embrace. Instead, those ever-hardened brows of his furrowed every time she met his eyes. She could never understand just how overwhelming his self-loathing could get when reminded of his failures or inadequacy. Failures which reverberated in his very soul, due to his traumatic childhood experience.
All she wanted was his company, while recovering in this ramshackled shelter in North Myre. Instead, he went out on his own, away from their allies, to investigate further into the abandoned city. At times she could sense the sporadic pulse of Nen unique to his body. Had she felt it similar to that moment two days ago, there's no doubt the brunette would leave this shelter and go to his aid even in her current state. Letting out a sigh composed of depression and worry, she reached for a canteen of water left by Jeda earlier.
Unlike her counterpart, she found herself wishing there was some alcohol nearby to drown her sorrows. It seemed to help other adventurer's with their heartaches. Before long, her eyes began to flutter. Though her mind was fully awake, her aching-body was taking over. The rest she tried to fight against won. Still sitting cross-legged, her head slowly tilted downward — eyes shut and mind drifting into the dreamworld.
2 Days Ago
This was nothing anyone expected. How foolish they were. Just when Lunmei and her comrades backed the sickening villain calling himself the Mad Piper into a proverbial corner, the tall and lanky mad man played them his song. Fists tightened, Lunmei glanced from shoulder to shoulder. Were they going to fall victim to his song like the people of North Myre? So far she didn't feel any different. Perhaps it was naive they didn't rush him, yet doing so could leave them open to an unexpected attack from a mesmerized party member.
Just when she was going to return her attention to the piper, believing his plan failed, the female Nen Master heard an all too familiar voice. A series of intense shouts rang out one after another in quick succession. Eyes widened as if she just saw a ghost, the brunette feared what she was about to see after turning around. Sure enough, it was as she dreaded. Fanned out around him, she watched as the rest of the party positioned themselves to retaliate after her counterpart's unrelenting assault.
Unlike the rest of the party there was something only she could sense; a secret only she knew amongst them. Jin's cursed tattoo — it was going to kill him. Under the Mad Piper's control, he was showing no restraint on how much Nen he commanded through the ink and discharged — part of why their comrades were so overwhelmed earlier. He was prepared to die to protect the lanky man. Speaking of, the bastard grinned from ear to ear before the rodents he also controlled blanketed his form and scurried away as a giant circular mass of repugnance.
Baron was already racing towards Jin. Capensis was loading and aiming his firearms, while Jeda's holy prayer's bolstered his allies abilities. No, they don't understand. They were prepared to engage and attempt to incapacitate the male Nen Master, but doing so was going to cause irreversible consequences to his body due to the Nen Tattoo. Biting her lower lip followed by letting out a curse in her native tongue, the soon to be Blazing Flower quickly improvised. Possessing the greatest agility amongst her party, she jolted towards the others. With one graceful flip, she landed before Baron.
"S T O P !!!"
In unison with her demand, she let out a mighty roar sending shockwaves of Nen all around her. "Go find the Piper. Put a stop to him and I will fend off Jin. I have no time to explain. Just, please, trust me. The faster you guys search the faster this will be over with. I will be fine." There was a silent exchange of stares. The silence lasted all but a moment, before the long raven haired man came charging. "GO," she pleaded to them. Reluctantly, they fled. It was just them now: Nen Master vs Nen Master.
Except, this was not going to be much of a fight — let a lone a spar. Smiling to herself, the warrioress with the spiky bun anticipated his next move. If they had known what she really meant by fend off there was no chance she would have been left alone with him. This was going to be a one-sided affair and she knew it. "It's okay Jin; it's only me now. You don't have to go all ou-"
It was foolish to think removing everyone else from the equation would lessen the ferocity of his attacks. A last second Nen Guard negated the mythical creature created and hurled by her counterpart. That second was all he needed to close the distance between them. As soon as her luminescent bubble shattered, she found the man she loved upon her. This was about to be the most reckless thing she ever did in battle. Then again, people did reckless things when in love. Avoiding the Nen Spirals that orbited his frame, making sure hers did not hit him as well, Lunmei positioned her arms underneath his and managed to land a reverse bear-hug on him. Attempting her best to do so, she converted the bear hug into an amateur full-nelson hold.
"Heh, that wasn't too hard. Who knew I had some Grappler in m-" Clenching her jaw, the dragoness tried to keep her hold firm the moment her counterpart began trying to shake her off. Eventually one of them would have to give in. Thankfully the only thing he was exerting was physical strength, and not Nen through his tattoo during his struggle. However much time she could keep this up was a plus for his body. Second by second, the muscles in her arms began to burn hotter and hotter.
This was not going to last much longer and she knew it. In no world was she going to physically overpower a man twice her body weight with submission holds. This was simply not her fighting style. Question was, just what the hell was she going to do? Releasing him and creating some distance was an option, though not one she intended to choose. She needed to stick to him like a web; the less need for him to conjure up Nen and hurl projectiles the better. The only other option that came to mind was to attempt to knock his lights out. That she could do, however, there was doubt in her mind of this method. He was currently merely a puppet for the Mad Piper. Even if she hit the back of his head hard enough, would it really do anything?
Before she could mull over her options in such a short amount of time, Lunmei found her feet spontaneously off the earth. Oh no. Like a desperate animal, the male Nen Master hunched his body forward savagely. By now her arms were so sore from his persistent struggle, that such a maneuver flung her off his frame with ease. Skidding across the terrain, she did her best to get to back on her feet quickly. Instinct took over next. Tightened fists held at her side, the female Nen Master siphoned in the energy from mother nature to construct a glistening globe around herself.
The very second this was done, her counterpart roared and threw a mighty electrical barrage of projectiles her way. "Jin!" Eyes widened in horror, Lunmei allowed her barrier to burst. There it was again. His life-force began to fade in and out at an irregular pace due to the amount of stress put on it by that cursed tattoo. Bursting forward like only a woman in love would do, she swirled out the way of a charged Nen Shot. Next Nen Spirals were hurled at her, which she failed to avoid. The dazzling yellow balls repeatedly bounced against her, yet she did not stop. Jaw clenched once more, she took two more steps.
"HAAAAAA!!!!" Shakily, she lunged at him with an outstretched arm. It was as if time stopped. Her gloved hand interlocked with his bandaged hand. In a selfless and reckless act of love, Lunmei began to use her natural means of drawing in Nen and redirected it into him. Smiling, she muttered through a wince. "I've been hoping my common sense would rub off on you, but instead I've been influenced by your reckless-tendencies."
Even in the mindless state he was in, she spoke to Jin as if he were there. Partly in an attempt to see if she could get through to him, the other half just trying to keep it together. In response to her actions and statement came only a fierce swipe with his free hand. Bracing for impact, Lunmei tilted her head downward. Like herself, her counterpart's punches and kicks were imbued with the power of Tiger Flash. His version, a massive luminescent tiger claw, came crashing down on her skull. Then came another, and another.
Although her footing staggered here and there from the blows, the dragoness's grip remained iron-like with his — almost to the point of breaking each other's hand. Even still, she kept the Nen flowing into him; his single lifeline from Death's doorstep. On top of pouring all the Nen she could to steady his body, this dangerous grip was keeping him from doing anything else but Tiger Flash swipes. Not that this was any act of mercy to her. Those massive paws were just as devastating of an attack as most of his move-set. It was as if saying getting hit by a martial artist's weaker hand was better than their dominant; it still hurt like hell and did plenty of damage, especially unguarded and striking repetitively.
"Not sure how much longer I can keep this up."Each word was an uphill battle — barely above a whisper. Braced for another electric smack, Lunmei paused momentarily then continued. "If you can hear me my beloved, don't be so harsh on yourself when this is over. I..." Just as his arm was winding back for yet another strike, the life came back to his eyes. Meanwhile, the lights in hers went out. They've trained many times over the last year. Their most competitive bout coming after they returned with new strength from the Tower of The Dead. All of that paled in comparison to the beating she took today. The beating she endured for his vitality.
Present - Early Morning
Closed eyelids fluttered open and her head jolted up. That was no where near pleasant. What an awful recollection to be reminded of by her mind. It made sense considering how recent it occurred and where her thoughts were before drifting off. Didn't make it any less horrible. Letting out a deep sigh like the night before, the Nen Master glanced down at her hands. The canteen was gone. Figuring she may have dropped it in her sleep, Lunmei turned her head from left to right. That's when she finally picked up on something.
That unmistakable aroma of lavender. He was no where near at the moment. Where was — along her shoulders. Slender fingertips traced alongside the crimson and black Buddhist monk robes draped around her. Unable to help it, tears began trickling down again. This time, however, they were tears of overwhelming joy. No one else hardly saw it, but she did. She always knew he cared in his own stupidly weird way; he just, like her, had trouble expressing it at times. In an endearing manner, Lunmei pulled his robes snugger against her frame.
"Oh right," she murmured. Where was that canteen? It did not take her long to discover it was resting back on the dresser. Curiously, an outstretched hand reach for it. It was refilled. Smiling for the first time since they embarked on this quest, the brunette found herself willingly laying down. This time around her mind was at ease after falling back asleep. Whatever else awaited them further into the vacant settlement, it did not matter. All that was on her mind was how much she loved that tattooed idiot.
Gone was the ambience of merchants, pedestrians, and the like from the region known as West Coast. Even the seagulls were absent. Instead, the sounds of iron boots marching and low murmurs could be heard. All source of activity swiftly migrating to the central barracks that lead to the docks of the province. All of Arad immediately went into a panic upon receiving the news from the Empress of the Principality: Sirocco the Intangible had been resurrected. The entity forever etched into their history books along with the four legendary swordsmen of Arad. To hear she was back sent all residents of Hendon Myre harbored at West Coast to retreat further inland - away from the Sky Tower.
Sitting next to her husband who remained standing, Ryunmei rested clenched fists upon her thighs as Empress Skardi and Karakas organized the parties present. They really were in the thick of things. Ever since their exploration of Chest Town everything kept spiraling out of control; they were just too busy to notice. Glancing up at Jin, her fists only tightened further. How could he still be smiling at a time like this?! Inner peace gained from their individual enlightenment was all swell and all, but there was so much on the line right now. There was a literal column of foul amethyst energy slowly gathering along the lower portion of the Sky Tower, and it was visible right from the docks outside; all they had to do was poke their head outside to catch a pleasant view of Armageddon. Speaking of, as if on cue, the Empress's knight, Robato, alerted them of an major update. Sirocco was on the move once again.
The Apostle's wicked energy could be seen spiraling upwards, creating a reverse waterfall nearing the heavens. A collective glum sigh from the soldiers of the Principality, the De Los Empire, and Adventurer's Guild came out at once. They needed to move quickly and they needed to do it now. Although the apostle's telegraphed movements seemed to indicate her impending victory, the Great Pentacle atop the Sky Tower denied her entry into the realm beyond the heavens - Empyrean.
Hearing what was explained, next resulted in Ryunmei letting out a sigh of relief. The crazed deity bit off more than she could chew. Since her powers were not yet fully restored, the impact with the Great Pentacle not only negated her ascension but dispersed the energy she managed to collect prior. With her husband at her side, Ryunmei followed behind the rest of the advancing party. Coming to a halt before the archpriestess of Lemidia Basilica, they were informed of a most generous blessing by the church. Preparing for the battle to come, Oberith of the Holy Order bestowed upon them one of her church's most precious halidoms.
"Because the Mirror of Light will not be able to bless all our forces, I decided to have you, the advancing party, gaze upon it. Please, relax and allow Lemidios' light to shine upon you."
Silently, the brunette watched the archpriestess remove the cloth from the halidom. As they were told, a blinding radiance engulfed the advancing party of adventurers within the tent. Fighting back the instinct to shield her face and look away, Ryunmei gazed upon the relentless shine with wincing hues. As quickly as the light emerged, it began to fade. Upon the marvelous mirror were all their reflections. Looking at the holy relic in bewilderment, the female Nen Master's mouth temporarily opens in awe as it begins to crack.
Before long the cracks upon the surface shatters, however the shards never touch the ground. Instead, they disappear mid-fall amidst a ray of light penetrating into the tent. Even though one of her close friends from the guild is a man of the cloth, this was truly something out of the ordinary. Honored that Oberith would use such a sacred object to protect them from Sirocco's energy, Ryunmei approached the granddaughter of Magar Rosenbach. Gently reaching for and holding the other woman's hands, a sincere smile is given along with eyes glistening in gratitude. "Thank you, we will put a stop to this and save both Arad and Empyrean from this chaos."
