paixaorpg | Heart of Darkness [Completed]

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Heart of Darkness [Completed]

Character(s): Urd, open
Content: Urd wanders aimlessly through Paixao...and something's not right.
Setting: Niflheim, moving into the city
Time: Week 25, late night
Warnings: None. Creepiness? Maybe sadness. :(

The silver gates of Niflheim glittered in greeting. Even this late at night, an ever present line of natives waiting to gain entrance into the city waited, but for one, there would be no waiting. This one wasn't new.

The citizens of Paixao had long since learned to let Urd come and go when she pleased -- they had no way to stop her, of course. So as she made a slow, unhurried journey between the gates and past the line of people, no one protested. In fact, no one spared her a second glance.

She headed down the winding roads of the town, her head down, her hair hanging over the top half of her face.

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Even though she had borrowed one of Yuna's dress spheres, Starr still had a tendency to do things later in the evening and at night. Yuna had let her borrow the white mage sphere again, and she had gone out to find some food, and also to see if she could gather some information. With this outfit, the natives still ignored her, but didn't outright glare at her anymore.

She kept the hood up as she wandered, heading back towards the place she was staying while in the city. She was getting ready to turn down the right street when she heard something strange in the back of her mind. She turned down a different road, searching out the sound.

It was a static noise...she would normally run from that, but underneath it was the sound of a tango. Passionate and elegant...a professional dancer would be envious of it.

Something was very, very wrong.

Urd stood in the center of the mostly empty street. She didn't move or react to anything around her...she just stood, her head lifted to the false light of the city's moon. Face blank, she could have been a statue for all the life she appeared to have.

Starr came to the next intersection, looking each direction before seeing the woman standing in the middle of the street, just staring up at the top of the domes. The out of focus music was coming from this woman. Starr adjusted the hood a bit and tightened her grip on the staff that came with the outfit and walked a bit closer.

"Excuse me..." Starr said, as she got a bit closer, the static starting to get a bit overwhelming, but the Music was still there, that's what mattered. "Are you okay?"

Turning her head slowly at the sound of someone addressing her, Urd stared through Starr. "Yes," she said quietly, evenly. "Everything is fine." Her eyes were distant, unfocused and dead. Wobbling slightly, she brushed past Starr, heading aimlessly down the nearest alley.

Starr took in a breath when she saw the woman's eyes. They were totally blank, and she wasn't even sure there were pupils. But, it was dark, and she wasn't one hundred percent sure. She watched as the woman brushed past her, looking like she had been out drinking. But, she knew that it was something more.

"I can't say I believe you." Starr said quietly, following the woman towards the alleyway. She had the staff still, and her journal was hidden in the cloak somewhere, in case she needed to call for help.

Urd continued to walk, staring ahead. "Oh," she simply said in response. She stopped suddenly as the alleyway came to a dead end. Blinking without comprehension, she stared at the wall for a few moments. "...this isn't the way."

No. It wasn't. It was a dead end, and Starr had stayed at the entrance to the alleyway. Pulling out her journal, she recorded a quick message on the network, trying to find someone who could tell her something about this woman. A few minutes later, there was a response.

"Hey, is your name Urd?"

Urd turned and tilted her head slightly, watching Starr record her message on her journal. At the question, she blinked and began to hover, her hair and the cape of her outfit billowing. "Yes," she replied after a moment's hesitation, as if she'd forgotten. Then she slowly began to rise up into the air.

"This isn't the right way."

Upon receiving word of Urd’s location, Genie was quick to make his departure from the Elysian Fields and back into the city. He was not sure how he had missed the goddess when he’d passed through Niflheim’s ice gates before, but the thought that she had returned through them gave him some form of comfort. That must have been why he had failed to find any trace of her departure from the battle; she had simply walked away opposed summoned a portal. Well, obviously not ‘walked’, but used a far more standard method of abandonment then that of her attacker. This was a good sign. At least, he hoped it was.

The girl he had spoken with over the journals, and ultimately discovered Urd’s whereabouts, did not sound particularly scared. Not as though her life were in any means threatened. There was no doubt concern, but also rather notable confusion. Why was this?

He could not help but fear the condition he would the goddess in while he flew what felt like a maze of alleyways. Every dead end led him to another, proving equally as frustrating as worrisome. Growing all the more anxious with each wrong turn he took, he began to dispersed duplicates of himself, each emerging from the trail of smoke which he left behind him. At each intersection they scattered, searching for any sign of Urd or the girl until-

“Urd?”

Levitating behind Starr at the entrance to the alleyway, Genie peered in with hope. His duplicates could be found doing the same from behind the alleys corner. The light which he emitted proved more than enough to brighten the alley, a cool blue reflecting off the buildings which enclosed them.

Starr seemed surprised when Genie arrived, but not too much so. She'd Heard him coming, the noise coming from the woman being replaced with a theme she hadn't heard before. Catchy though. She was more surprised by the multiple versions of the glowing blue dude.

"Woah." She said under her breath, staying back at the entrance to the alleyway with the duplicates. She figured the original was down the alley with the woman. He seemed to know her. She'd wait here until she was needed.

Urd halted her levitation at the sound of Genie's voice. Blinking slowly, she lowered her head to gaze uncomprehendingly at the djinn, almost as if she didn't recognize him. "...Genie?" she finally called out, her voice small and soft and empty.

While half of Genie’s duplicates kept their gaze on the goddess, the other half turned to acknowledge the girl. Unfortunately Genie would not be able to properly introduce himself to Starr until later, but for now hoped the greetings she received from his doubles would suffice. Some waved at her, others bowed, and the odd few summoned themselves a hat in order to tip it in greetings. Hopefully he did not startle the girl with so many multiples of himself lingering outside the alley in wait.

“Urd,” he repeated, his voice filled with concern at the sight of the goddess. Without awaiting a response, he rose from pavement to meet with her in the air. Something was wrong. Alarmingly wrong. He lowered his gaze and hesitantly reached to touch her cheek. His hand brushed softly against it, slowly falling to her chin where he gently pressed against it and raised her head to look closer at her face.

What did they do to her?

Instinctively, Urd tilted her head to press her cheek further into Genie's hand as he brushed over her face, eyes drifting closed until he tilted her head up to meet his gaze. Her vacant, shadowed gaze met his unblinkingly. Somewhere inside her, a dull throb protested. The music of her soul, that passionate and elegant tango Starr heard under the disturbing static, grew stronger suddenly. Unfortunately, it was short lived -- a few seconds later, the static consumed the music, even louder than before, as if trying to drown out that brief moment of awareness.

Genie gasped, quickly releasing his hold of the goddess and staggered backward. Her eyes… They were nothing more than a vacant window, reflecting only nothingness. He could feel the cold, dark, and frightful emptiness inside. But what they had shown him, it could not have been possibly true. Empty: this was not what she had become nor to become any time soon. She was more than a mere empty shell. She had to be. Somewhere deep inside, there had to be something left. Something was just holding her back, locked her away. A prisoner in her own body, she could very well be. But lost? No, he refused to think that just yet.

His gaze hardened. Could this have been a result of Darkness? If so, how badly had her exposure been and what had this done to her heart? It was known to consume the hearts over the course of time, but if the damage had been enough to fracture her heart it would surely do so much faster. How long would it be till it was suppressed and conquered by Darkness's influence? And what if he could not repair the damage?

He approached her again, almost cautiously while he reached for her face again. He placed both his hands at the sides of her head, caring little for what protest she might have had, and stared deeply into her vacant eyes. For now, they were the only opening he had at his disposal and if he could somehow look, even for a moment, at her heart, maybe... Maybe he could lift this Darkness that had fallen over her. Genie knew not what awaited him but did not care. With every moment wasted, Urd’s heart grew closer to slipping away.

Edited 2010-10-11 00:17 (UTC)

Urd remained hovering in the air, her quest for...whatever it was she had been looking for apparently forgotten. She tilted her head in what could have passed for mild curiosity as he drew back in shock. When he reached out for her again, she didn't protest -- she couldn't protest.

As Genie took a closer look at her heart, he would see something extraordinary. The journey to Urd's soul was like traveling through futuristic technology, full of complicated emblem-like "gates" and constantly moving runes swirling ahead, lighting the path. But the further he got, the darker it would become, the elegant scenery faded into oblivion until all was darkness. But there, in the distance...a weak light. A pinpoint to guide him.

At the end, World of Elegance awaited him. Yet she was not conscious, wrapped and twisted in the inky black, snuffing out the natural light she gave off as easily as he did. And then it seemed the shadows sensed him, for they oozed toward him, intending to drag him into nothingness.

Had it not been for the illuminate runes which lit his path, Genie was unsure how he would have found his way through the intricate network of different gates to where WOE awaited him. He could see her, only inches away, but by no means found himself capable of reaching her through all the Darkness. Not like this. Already it appeared to have sensed his presence, creeping toward him alarmingly quick. He soon found his own light begin to snuff out by the Darkness while it wrapped itself around his mind, pulling him further into the Darkness he meant to escape. Drawing back in the direction which he had come, he tried to push the Darkness away, at least until his mind returned to his body.

It was bad. Not as bad as it could have been but certainly something Genie did not take lightly. The Darkness had planted itself (or perhaps been planted) in her heart and begun to spread to the point it had confined WOE, leaving both her and her angel detained by the Darkness. But they were still there. They were not lost. Genie felt slightly relieved this.

Releasing his hold of the goddess, he paused as though to collect himself before looking down at Starr. He had not forgotten her presence. His duplicates had long since gone, leaving the woman by herself at the entrance of the alley. “Thank you for finding her. I can take care of her from here. If there’s anything I can do in return don’t keep a genie waiting! Your wish is my command, little lady.”

Genie bowed gratefully before he took Urd by the hand and smiled weakly at the goddess. “Now this is the right way.” he told her. “The right way home.”

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Heart of Darkness [Completed]

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