Kahli was feeling faint as Princess glared at her with those menacing, wide fony eyes that seemed to be using some sort of overpowered [skill] or something on her.
[You are taking damage]
Kahlin started to feel the damage she was taking. It was like a painful stab in the heart, along with the strange bubbling and pressure in her head. She felt like her legs were getting weak, like she wouldn't be able to go on soon.
[Your STM is getting low]
Damn. So not only was Kahli under the influence of some strange attack from Taubitha's fony, but her own attacks would soon cease, and Taubitha would soon no longer be stunned. That was bound to make things even messier. What was Kahli to do? What could she do? If the fight hadn't already started, then Kahli might've been able to lie her way out of this mess with [Tale Teller], but as it stood, it felt like she was trapped. Like there was no action for her to take, no choice at all.
----------------------------------------
Kahli wished she could sigh as she awoke in the void. There floated the big jellyfish, looking as bulbous and imposing as ever, if not even moreso.
Welcome again, Kahli, to the very same place you've always been. Yes, a very warm welcome back to the endless void of infinity and timelessness.
Kahli hated when the jellyfish's thoughts boomed in her head, but at this point, it was almost a welcome respite. She was glad that she was no longer under the influence of Princess' attack, though she still felt a little weak. She was very grateful for [checkpoints] at this time.
Yes, funny thing about that, is that there is no time, thought-spoke the jellyfish in its trademark, smart-alec fashion.
Do you have any idea what was happening to me, back before I hit this [checkpoint]? thought Kahli.
Oh, ohohohoho! A question for the big jellyfish, eh? thought-continued the jellyfish.
You've been consistently adamant to me this whole time that you're not really a big jellyfish and that the jellyfish form is just one you've assumed in order to prevent your true form from, and I'm paraphrasing here, but in order to prevent your true form from blowing my mind. And now here you are referring to yourself as a jellyfish in the third person? Which one is it, mister jellyfish?
It's none of your business how I refer to myself, or what number of person perspective I use to implement said referring, respnded the jellyfish. Regardless, I'm just absolutely tickled that you're looking for my input on something. You've been so down on me, so exclusionary, that it seems a real treat that you're genuinely interested in my opinion.
Yes, mister jellyfish, well, it honestly felt like my head was going to explode or something. It was the strangest thing I've ever felt, to be honest, other than all the phantom hand itching I've felt since Omar lopped off my hand of course. So, since you're always waxing on and off and on and off about how much you know about things, I figured I'd ask you about it, in hopes you might actually know something.
Wow, talk about a backhanded compliment - or, more like, just a verbal backhand without much compliment. Regardless, yes, I think I have an idea what it might've been, thought-spoke the jellyfish. See, I think what was happening to you was that the fony was sapping out all your STM so that you'd run out of it faster.
Then why did my head feel like it was under so much pressure?
I don't know, I've never had all the STM siphoned out of me like there was a straw stuck in my system, Kahli, and I hope to never change that fact.
Kahli sat there in silence in the void for a moment to take in the jellyfish's response. Then, she resolved to look down and start experiencing her available timelines. After all, this would probably clear up whether the jellyfish knew what it was talking about or not fairly quickly.
[Scenario one]
Stolen story; please report.
Kahli stood there, staring back at Princess. And then, she had a thought. If it seemed like she had no choice at all, then maybe she really didn't have one. Maybe every moment in her life had just been leading up to this moment, and this moment was the moment. What moment, exactly, was that? The moment wherein she recognized her true power.
Of course, Kahli wasn't certain what exactly her true power was. Really, she had no idea what even would be a true power. She had a system now, and that included powers, right?
Kahli started to have regrets. She started to regret not choosing more combat-based [skills]. Why hadn't she made herself more of a fighter? She'd instead skilled herself into, what, some sort of a strange time-traveling liar? What sort of a benefit of a [skill] was that? She really didn't know, and wasn't sure she really could know. Regardless, one thing seemed obivous in the moment - and that was that, Kahli felt locked in introspection. In fact, she felt locked in general. She could barely move! And that was when she noticed she wasn't moving at all, and she wasn't seeing much, either.
What could she see? She saw red, red all over, a red that was brighter than blood. And in the middle of all that harsh redness, she saw those terrible, beady eyes. The eyes of Princess the fony staring right at her. Right into her, and then right past her, as if her own gaze was but a translucent veil. And then, Kahli felt the pain. The pain like a thousand seams being ripped out of her cranium, like a bowling ball had just exploded in her mind, and then like her soul got set on fire. And then, inexplicably, she watched from a third person perspective as her head exploded, sending chunks of blood in a geyser around the scene.
[You died]
[End scenario]
Kahli would've been shivering if she wasn't frozen in time by function of the endless void.
Looks like you were wrong, jellyfish, thought Kahli with a pained heistance. The scenario had had a palpable effect on her psyche. Princess just exploded my head with her mind. That's really what she was trying to do before I hit this [checkpoint] in time. I'm just glad there was a [checkpoint] for me to hit before I died for real.
Yes, well, I am here to herald you through all of this.
More like, you're here to think at me incessantly and tell me the wrrong things, thought Kahli.
Ouch, haven't you ever thought about my feelings, Kahli? Don't answer that, by the way, I know that the answer is that you haven't.
Kahli hadn't, and she wasn't about to start now. The jellyfish had invaded her thoughts numerous times, and seemingly had also invaded her system and her [skill]. She didn't rightly mind or care about how it necessarily felt.
Big ouch.
Kahli was feeling mental strain engaging with the jellyfish. Additionally, she was absolutely dying to know what else would happen, and what the other scenarios might entail. So, instead of any further talking or arguing with the big jellyfish, she looked down at her big left foot and focused on the second glowing timeline.
[Second scenario]
Kahli felt the pain. It was overwhelming, and worse still, now she knew what it was going to do to her if she didn't act. But how could she? What could she do? Her STM was already so low, she'd have to stop attacking Taubitha, so that's the first thing she did. Then, she summoned up a big rock and kicked it as far away from Taubitha as possible.
And now, it was a waiting game. As the rock zoomed away, Kahli felt the pressure. However, she also had an inkling of an idea. Hopefully, as the rock would zoom back to hit Taubitha, it would distract Princess enough so that the dreaded fony would avert her head-exploding gaze and instead use her energy to explode the rock with laser vision - which would give Kahli time to regroup.
However, there was no such luck. As soon as the rock turned around to head off towards Taubitha, Princess quickly flittered her vision over to it and obliterated it with a blast of lasers. However, as soon as Kahli prepared to dash away, she felt she was once again caught in the fony's icy glare. Princess must've been much higher level than her, and indeed the fony must also have been much faster than Kahli, because it seemed there really was nothing she could do. Slowly but surely, Kahli felt the awful bubbling in her head, and then, suddenly, everything went red.
[You died]
[End scenario]
Kahli was beside herself. Wow. Two scenarios where I die. I... I just hope that my third scenario includes some string of events that allows me to live. Because if not, this whole [skill] is going to feel mighty useless.
I wouldn't call this [skill] useless regardless, Kahli. Needless to say, you've survived some pretty wild odds thanks to this [skill]. Who's to say you won't be able to pull something off again?
Kahli considered this - and it was nice to have the jellyfish impart some optimism her way. It was, truly, what she needed in the current moment in order to feel like continuining through the scenarios. She just didn't like the idea of death, and the fact that two of her three scenarios definitely ended in her dying felt... difficult to reconcile. Still, there was also the hidden fourth option she'd recently discovered - the fact that her prior knowledge of all three scenarios could have a subtle effect on her chosen scenario. Perhaps, even if this third ended in a less than ideal fashion, Kahli could use all of her experiences to sum up into a scenario that would keep her alive. It was her only hope, and her only solance heading into this last scenario.
She looked down at her big left foot, and at the last illuminated timeline. Time to find out what scenario three had in store for her.