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CYRUS
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Cy crashed on his back and formed a crater in the wet ground like a meteorite. He laid in a loose fetal position. Oof. Bad start. Whiskers landed gracefully on Cy's stomach and knocked out what little air remained in his lungs. "Get. Off."
They took a moment to recover and study the Shrine's labyrinthian walls. Didn't take any damage, and my Ryoku's maxed out? And my arm actually feels fully healed, now.
“What do you think we should do?” Cy asked. “That’s a pretty rough rule they gave us.”
“Well, naturally, I think Katarina should be the one allowed to leave.”
“Honestly, I’m shocked to hear you feel that way. What? I mean, given how you treat her all the time.”
“Speak for yourself,” Whiskers said, his high voice thick with scorn. The hell did I do?
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What I have done to her is nothing compared to what you have.” Whiskers walked ahead of Cy with his tail high in the air so Cy could see his furry ass. What does he mean what I’ve done to her?
“Look, I’m just saying—you’re her Familiar. You could be nicer to her, is all. She wants your attention, and you give more of it to Jules—”
“At least I’ve never killed her. And I never will.”
Oh… Guess the gloves are off now that you and I are finally alone. Cy perked up.
“Is that screaming?” Cy whispered. “Sounds like it’s getting closer. Let’s go follow!”
“You idiot, that’s Rukia and Katarina. Don’t you recognize her voice?” Whiskers lowered his belly to the ground and curled up into himself a little.
Cy ran around the corner and left the feline behind. He got closer and closer to the screaming, but stopped in his tracks when the song began. The melody contorted and shifted his desires. It built up the crescendo of a tragedy. It caused him to long for something, some missing piece, though he couldn’t figure out what it was. But what was it again? The song promised him things he’d long forgotten. Ah, of course—the hopes of meeting my parents.
> [Quest Reminder: SSoaSS is still available.]
At the first thought of his parents, Cy instinctively resisted the song’s pull. He used his full mental strength to push the music from his mind, to tune it out, and continued his search for Rukia and Envy. I have to find them, keep going.
The song had transitioned into something else entirely, from a tragedy into a hero’s journey.
Who am I looking for again? Who am I chasing? His mind filled with two silhouettes. No, not my parents. The silhouettes merged into one, then details of a man's face clarified in his mind.
That's right. Magnus Tharlsson, the Alter.
> [New Quest Available: Alternate History]
>
> [New Reward Available for Alternate History: Insights into becoming an Alter.]
>
> [Alternate History — 3 Quest Objectives ADDED: Uncover the secrets of Magnus Tharlsson. | Uncover the secrets of The Painter. | Uncover the secrets of Davy Jones.]
Cy stopped again, resisted again. “Whiskers. Do you hear that song?”
“Thank Salvos you stopped,” Whiskers panted. “No. Are you going crazy on me? It seems like you’re going crazy on me.”
“It’s a wonderful song, but I don’t know. I feel like I can’t trust it.”
“Wait—What’s that?” Whiskers’ sharp, vertical pupils grew wider and rounder.
“You hear it, too?” Cyrus asked excitedly. “The song about Magnus?”
“No, I don’t hear a song.” Whiskers' nostrils flared out. They were soaked. “So strong. I smell… No, it couldn’t be, could it?” Tails lifted even higher, he stalked away from Cy.
“Smell what?”
Whiskers whipped around. His veins seemed to pop out through his fur.
“Catnip.” Whiskers leapt high onto a wall to sniff out his prey. He turned around to survey the walls—
Whiskers jumped off all fours, high into the air. His fur frizzed out, and his eyes popped from his skull. He landed back on the ground by Cy’s feet, and he booked it in the opposite direction from whatever had spooked him.
That pussy ran so fast that its ass was practically in his shoulders with each stride.
A Grave Hag stumbled across the bend. Finally, a proper fight. Cy dug his feet into the mud. The Hag lashed out its tongue, which Cy easily dodged once. The second time, he sliced it clean off with his sword. The Hag scratched and clawed at its mouth. Cy rushed in and beheaded the creature in one swipe.
> [Pang! Curved Swords increased to Level 29.]
When Cy cleaned the thick, black blood from his blade, the song resumed. This time, it echoed through the walls. Cy followed it, in the opposite direction Whiskers had fled. He stumbled after only a few steps and lost his footing. He looked down and realized he was shin deep in water. When did that happen?
He eventually came to an open area. Up high on a pedestal, with two curved staircases leading up to it from opposite ends of the maze walls, stood the singer, like a minstrel singing at a church choir. Eyes closed, it clasped its hands in some form of prayer. Envy laid on a stone tablet behind the singing Siren.
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I was right not to trust it, and my instincts still carried me to the source. Now that I’m warmed up from that Water Hag…
“Hey,” Cy shouted to the monster, “why don’t you shut the fuck up? That song doesn’t work on me as well as you’d hoped. I am a master of illusion, after all.” It ceased its song and snarled at him. “And unlike these idiots, I actually know what I want. It’s crystal clear, in my mind, every day. And no one—”
The Siren growled sharply, almost like a hiss, that continued through Cy’s speech.
“—can give it to me except for myself. And right now, you’re just the next thing in my way to achieving—"
CRACK!!
"Oh shit. Come on!"
A dark figure emerged at the far end of the clearing from a hole in the maze's wall. Stone crumbled when it put its hands on the structure, and fire engulfed the enraged lunatic. It howled wildly at the sky, and then at Cy.
“Hey, Jules.” Cy sighed.
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Cy dodged his friend's fireball. The sheer heat of Jules’ flames evaporated the water’s surface, which now rose to Cy’s waist. This pool is really slowing me down, but doesn’t seem to be stopping Jules—or Wrath.
> « Water » [₹7,500 // ₹10,000]
>
>
>
> [Pang! Elemental Control increased to Level 30.]
Cy invoked his most trustworthy Rune and flanked Jules with a mini tsunami. He launched wave after wave at him, using the resulting tide to push himself further away from the berserker. Every time he doused the flames, they’d just reignite. Damn, where does this fire come from!?
“Wake up, Jules—None of this is real!” Cy dodged another fireball from Jules.
“Shut up—I can’t hear it when you speak!” Jules punched the air far from Cy, and each one launched a new fireball for him to avoid. At least you can still talk.
“It’s just a stupid song, you moron.” Cy looked up towards the pedestal at the Siren, who had resumed its song. Just need to kill that thing and—
“Shit!” Cy dove below the water to avoid the column of fire Jules shot out from his palm.
“Stop talking, you’re muffling the Sound.”
“I’m your friend, Jules. You’re being weak—”
“You made me weak.” Jules lit his new katana on fire. “You’re holding us back. You’re the one. I’ll kill you before you rot us any further." The gray flames darkened.
Not quite black yet, still some time. I wonder if that old bat knows he’s a Sin, if it even knows what Sins are. If it knows Kat’s one, too. Man, that Siren certainly chose the right one to sway.
Cy swept his blade upward and parried Jules’ katana. The heat and flames singed his arm hair. Cy invoked a few Runes while he attempted to push back Jules.
> « Fire » [₹7,400 // ₹10,000]
>
> « Body » « Cold » [₹6,200 // ₹10,000]
>
> « Resist » « Fire » [₹5,000 // ₹10,000]
The first Script cauterized Cy's wounds. The last one served as a fire retardant against Jules, and the middle served as a flexible bridge between both spells. Cooling his body helped Cy heal faster, but also withstand the heat more as well. With each strike, Jules put in more power, until the fire started to flicker traces of black flames.
Sorry mate, you’re gonna have to die. Good thing I bought those potions. He invoked another flurry of Runes, to combine however he saw fit.
> « Metal » « Arm » « Lightning » « Speed » « Strike » [₹1,200 // ₹10,000]
Cy’s tattoos lit up all sorts of colors through his black and white robes. His eyes turned black to reflect Jules' resolve.
Cy’s Script absorbed all the surrounding metallic ions in the water, from the stone walls, Jules’ sword, and even a little from his own blood. He stabilized them in an instant around his right arm. With inadequate time to solidify his arm in metal as he preferred to do in training, it was enough to both support his bones and generate a static shock as the Ryoku guided his arm to Jules’ neck at a supersonic speed.
Jules lifted his katana just in time to prevent the kill-shot, but the sheer force of Cy's blow, combined with a spark of the lightning magic, sent him skipping across the water to the far end. His path left behind a trail of steam in his wake.
> [Pang! Transmutation increased to Level 29.]
Go back to where you came from, you bastard. Half of Jules’ katana blade spun wildly through the air and plopped into the water between them.
“That’s Siren’s Cove steel for ya.” Cy smiled. Man, that was such a cool line. He looked around, realized none of his friends had heard it, and frowned.
“I swear, Auggie!” a strange voice called out beyond the labyrinth walls. “I hear Merfolk, just this way.”
At least two. Cy bit the cork off of a Ryoku Restoration Potion and chugged it.
> [Ryoku Restoration Potion taking effect now.]
>
> [₹1,201 // ₹10,000]
Just need a few minutes for this to take hold…
“No, it’s the Leviathan’s Song. And don’t call me that.”
You must be Auggie. Cy averted his eyes to the approaching voices, but didn’t dare turn his body from Jules.
“You’re both idiots.” A third voice. Deeper. Older. “The roar of cannons draws near.”
“I hear the endless jingle of a mountain of gold coins.”
A woman’s voice. Sounds kinda… Focus, you idiot. The Siren—She looks concerned. Might be extending her powers, singing to this many people. Wonder what Rank she is?
Four figures emerged from the encircling maze, near where half of Jules’ katana blade landed. They don’t seem to notice the water yet, either.
“Oi!” The woman called out to Cy. “Did you kill those Guards?”
Cy pointed to the Siren. “Think you’re looking for her.” The Siren in turn pointed a long, bony finger to Jules, who had gotten up in the confusion.
“What’s it to you, Maddie?”
Who!?
“Hold on now," Maddie shouted. "You’re the lad from last night! What was it… Julisha?” Cy suppressed a throaty laugh. “Got us all drunk just so you could beat us to the punch, eh? Dirty rascal.”
They seem chummy. Maddie took two steps toward Jules, but the old man raised a hand to her to stop. She obeyed immediately. “Hold fast, Maddie.” He must be their leader.
“If you four don’t mind, we're in the middle of something,” Cy said. He tightened his sword grip.
“You don’t mean—Julisha, did you kill those men? Really?” Better watch yourself, girl.
Dark gray flames assimilated once more. The fire burned so harshly, it incinerated part of his shirt, and the Seal on Jules' chest laid barren, exposed.
“Thorn,” Maddie gasped. Cy waded toward his newest threats.
“I see it," Thorn said. "He must be our next assignment.”
“Auggie,” the first voice said. “What’s going on?”
“It appears to be my lucky day, John,” Maddie said. “A Vessel and a ₹500,000 bounty, all at once.”
How do they know who Jules is? And why do I feel like I know her from somewhere?
“So that’s how it is,” Jules said. “Working for the Maidens.”
“Girl’s gotta eat.” Maddie drew her sword.
“Then you better have a plan to take me alive.”
“Actually, I had something much different planned for you.”
> [Ryoku Restoration Potion effect completed.]
>
> [₹10,000 // ₹10,000]
Ah, just in time.
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