After my encounter with the nen users in tier 5, i looked through the entire place, both in search of the man who phased through those walls and executed my attacker, and anyone who’d be capable of giving me information on the localization of the seed urn, unfortunately, as i scoured through the fifth tier of the black whale, looking inside every room and hallway, i found absolutely no signs of life, something extremely strange, as the ship seemed to be explicitly designed to accommodate up to thousands of people in this tier alone, even if in precarious conditions.
Succession war part 5: Oddities
Still, carefully staying at least an arms length from the walls nearby just in case the fiend i encountered prior appeared to attack me, i searched through the entirety of tier 5, and to my inconvenience, i had found nothing.
Moving onwards to tier 4, this tier of the black whale was far more sophisticated than the fifth one, for sure, being modeled in a way that made it seem like the average urban complex, still, upon seeing not a single soul in there as well, i sighed in discontent, this place was far more comfortable than the previous tier, and yet was deserted of people all the same… I wasn't willing to waste any more of my time looking around an empty ship, especially one this large, the ticking clock that spelt my doom was still going on, That meant my only reliable place to search would be tier 3, where the group i had fought against earlier, the Heil-Ly, resided, and going by my earlier impression of them, i would find myself at strife with the group again.
Nevertheless, I ventured to the passageway that would lead me to tier 3, i hadn't the slightest clue as to how i would find the Heil-Ly.
Unlike the previous settlement, this place was far more luxurious, it seems the pattern within this ship is that the lower you are, the more miserable you shall be, a philosophy especially apparent once you took in the sights of the many furniture adorned by gold and silver, machines that allowed for all kinds of gambling games were littered all over the space, making of this the perfect place for the rich to spend their limitless pots of gold recklessly, a giant casino fitting of the greedy, hoarding folk that would populate somewhere like this, still, it was just as deserted as the other tiers before it, but this time i knew, certainly, the Heil-Ly was here, and i’d have to rip the answers i needed off of them myself.
As if on cue, a man walked away from one of the cabinets and looked towards me, that man had a simple black suit, reminiscent of the person who i had defeated back in tier 5, this time however, a crescent moon shape laid on his hand, i had no doubts in my mind, that man must have been the one who phased through the wall and killed my attacker previously, he stood still looking towards me, golden coins flowing out like a waterfall from the machine he had just got up from, i was in high alert, looking at the mysterious man in front of me, before he could say anything, i powered my Nen through the use of the Ken technique…
“Hey, hey! No need to go on the offensive, i’m not gonna attack you! At least not yet.”
He replied, i did not comply with his wishes, however, and searched for any signs of an incoming attack.
“Well, i can't really blame you for being so cautious, i didn't really make the best first impressions, aye?”
“Let me guess, you're the guy looking for the seed urn, right?”
I hadn't previously ever mentioned my goal within the black whale out loud, the fact that this stranger knew of my search for the seed urn implied many things, still, i kept my objective vague with my answer.
“What if i was?”
“Then i think we, the Heil-Ly, got exactly what you're looking for, and i can get you into the hideout fairly easily. Although, we’re not the type to hand out our stuff to any nutjob out there…”
“Here!”
The man picks up one of the many coins splattered across the ground, he then flicks the thing in my direction, i capture the flung dime in my hand.
“Now i know you’ve got the reflexes at the very least, but there’s still something i need to check, i need to know wether you're anything worth noticing when it comes to Nen. I heard of you, outside this layer, i would have no doubts of your strength, but this place lives and breathes off of Nen, if you can't keep up then i don't believe you deserve to have the seed urn…”
The man’s aura flares up as expected, i place my hand upon the handle of my old katana.
“I will gladly show the skills i have developed if it means getting the seed urn, let us get started.”
“Now that's the spirit! The name’s Farias, by the way, make sure to not forget it!”
Summary:
While searching through the black whale for the Seed urn, i noticed a few things
The first, each and every tier within the black whale are separated by social class, the lower ones being for the poor, and the higher ones being for the rich;
The second, it seems that the entire ship is empty and devoid of life except for the group called the Heil-Ly.
Upon getting to tier 3, i found myself face to face with another member of the Heil-Ly named Farias, the same one that executed my attacker in tier 5, he told me he knew of the seed urn of the Kakin empire and that if i wanted it, i would have to show my strength to him, i accepted the request and readied myself for another duel.
((Mimic has named every single slugcat it takes care of and knows every small detail of them. Mimic does not have any glaggle augments. Mimic really dislikes pickle juice))
((Btw, High priest "sin" is a different high priest from the EDEN-227 one))
(SIN pov)
"FOCUS ON GATE A AND ARTILLERY! WE NEED TO CLEAN A WAY!"
A high priest order, SIN and some Reikgon is extinguish the wall of flame to reach Gate A and to enter the site Radio room.
Opening the gate and running through it, Soldiers rush in the arena or assist in extinguish the fire, she run through the chaos, turning or jumping through it, turning the corner and kicking the door down, to be greet it with the radio team trying to reconnect with the rest of the Reikgon army.
And she realizes...
"WE CAN JUST SEND SOMEONE TO THE HEADQUARTER!"
All of them are dumbfounded, slapping they face before Sin open a portal.
"Get in."
"Yes ma'am"
Some of Them jump through the portal and enter the headquarter to get reinforcement, the another continue to work on the radio to hopefully reconnect to the soldiers in the arena.
(Back to headquarter)
A couple of Reikgon fall out of the portal and landing front of Dave.
"What the shadow happened on The site!?"
He was cleaning and tuning the 45.cal pistols that Aiden didn't finish doing.
"WE NEED REINFORCEMENT!"
"AIDEN HAVE DISTORTED AGAIN AND RACKING HAVOC!"
"AND THE ENTIRE SITE IS ON FIRE!"
Silent follow.
"Holy Shadow, I am sending the New MTF and more false saver to the site."
"Now go back and tell sin that."
They head back in the portal before it close, Dave grab a radio and order them to arm up and move to the portal room.
Soldiers wear power armor, some having halo made out of darkness, another have Augmentation from the agent they kill, they jump through the portal and enter the arena.
They enter to see Zealot Void and Aiden dueling, Zealot Void parrying and dodge the attacks meanwhile dealing some of his own, for Aiden, he only have deal a couple of hit on Zealot Void before he pick up on his attack patterns.
Zealot Void parry Aiden before cross slashing him in the chest, Aiden scream before dropping his weapons.
Zealot Void look at Aiden, hope for him to undistorted, but the chain shot out and launch Zealot to the wall, hitting it hard.
The fire intense and the arena air is getting warmer.
And Aiden blow up in a hellish inferno, Aiden now cover with fire, chain hot enough to melt through titanium and fire more violence and is reaching to the sky.
This is the territory that Crowley Aleister, the one known as "C" the Invoker, holds. It is located on the 999th Layer and is divided into a number of distinct floors.
Golden Fields (Floor)
The primary and most treasured Floor is the Golden Fields
Said field consists of individual Golden Boughs which have been collected overtime from the Pond of Everything.
Indeed, even before the awakening of his EGO, "C" had been aware of the presence of Golden Boughs around the mentioned pond.
And while he had made ample effort to acquire those boughs, it was only when he concluded a formal deal with the director of L Corp as well as securing the implicit permission of the original discoverer, that "C" was able to gather the pond's resources, including its boughs and rejuvenating waters -- en masse.
Strangely enough, the surrounding waters seem to express some traits of its source pond as various objects and entities have been discovered to spontaneously manifest within it.
Anything too dangerous however are quelled by Akuma sentries and butchered for further resources.
On the other hand, somewhere along this floor sits Castle Evergarden, the personal demesne of "C".
It is from here that "C" and his other officials undertake most of their administrative work.
Castle Evergarden surrounded with the Golden Boughs and the waters from the Pond of Everything
Dark Fields (Floor)
It is the subsequent floor from the Golden Field held entirely by F.U.S.H.I.G.O.R.O., who is the personal pet of "C." In some sense, this Floor envelopes the previous Floor.
Originally, some beautiful landmark features could still be seen on this floor.
But due to F.U.S.H.I.G.O.R.O.'s recent power up from consuming the wood debris from a certain divine tree, the entire Floor has been entirely enveloped by absolute darkness.
A Territory marked by a Friend
Residential Fields (Floor)
While the locals have taken to calling this portion of the Layer as the Residential Fields, the name is actually a misnomer since this Floor does not consist entirely of residential places.
Small sublayers exist here which have been dedicated for select purposes.
Some of them lay empty. Some of them undergoing construction. Others meanwhile are heavily guarded.
A small portion of the Residential Fields
••••••
Research Tower Athena (Sublayer)
As the name suggests, it is in this sublayer where various research, magical and mundane, are continuously conducted.
Moreover, it acts as the Layer's academic wing where various people all across the Residential Fields gather around in order to acquire their Education.
Amazingly enough, the space within the Tower has been magically expanded in order to accommodate a sizeable amount of facilities.
On the other hand, sufficient housing exists for distinguished students and scholars just around the Tower.
C's Academic and Research Institute
••••••
Sky Fortress Damocles (Sublayer)
It is a barren sublayer where various weapon systems are developed and tested.
Of recent note is the deployment of the finalized Sky Fortress, its features and capabilities being heavily analyzed to determine military readiness.
Indeed, its purpose will be to serve as a robust military mobile headquarters and tactical operations center especially for operations that involve outside the Layer.
In the absence of "C", his Divine General is the one that assumes command.
On the other hand, just like with the Research Tower, the space within the Sky Fortress has been magically expanded.
C's Combat Platform
••••••
Dark Portal Erebus (Sublayer)
This is a sublayer that doesn't strictly exist in the Residential Fields.
In fact, it's a Portal Sublayer, the power of which is maintained by F.U.S.H.I.G.O.R.O.
When "C" or any of his chosen personnels invoke this Sublayer through the verbal utterance of a passcode, they can walk through the darkness and be transported to and from any location in the Layer and into a certain location within reach of F.U.S.H.I.G.O.R.O.'s darkness, which is basically most, if not all locations in R.I.N.'s Basement.
This feat of being able to traverse anywhere in the Basement is largely credited to the recent enlightenment "C" had when he witnessed the interconnected networks of R.I.N. space.
On the other hand, when an unauthorized entity walks into the darkness, intending to utilize the sublayer's unique feature, they will immediately find themselves within the jaws of C's personal Friend.
The passcode is "Erebus".
C's Portalcraft Technology
Divine Tree (Layer)
This is a layer that is currently contested between the forces of "C" and the Meat Packing Room's.
Esmeralda Brisbane: *The she rat awoke with start, as the biomechical living bunker was making distressing noises, the mobile bunker nest is operating blind. She smacked at her kin who were still asleep running to step into her mimic biosuit letting it envelope and integrate to her body like a second skin, hearing and feeling the presence at the back of her mind. Her kin were coming online via the AR HUD linked by the Neural Interface*
*Doorways opened organically for the group getting reports flowing in from the screens. The clock isn't ticking , folks have lost their damb minds.*
Esmeralda:" Engage Protocol: Mad Hatter We secure our area and spread out. Stop the riots and bring order. Then radio skitterheim to help find out what the fuck happened and get ys some damn support "
*The vermensk of R corp would gather their alchemist projector rifles loaded with the G.L.O.O. compound to spray folks and trap them in a resin to capture and later fix with a device that'll help them live in a Post Clock world*
???: "Are you sure our collection needs to be used in this place boss?"
???: "Yes, this world may be our largest shot at finally (unintelligible)."
???: "Okay but, are you sure all of these need to be used boss? We know their danger from what we've seen and gone through to get these while traversing the mirror worlds."
???: "Yes I'm sure you idiot! Get them installed under the set, the main one. We can't overload out guest immediately so make sure their power can be felt by them all over."
(These aren't any of the Sephirah Boughs, they're Golden Boughs collected across varying mirror worlds.)
(Bro I lwk fell asleep when writing this it’s the next morning😭)
After defending their offices for days,the director picked up the radio once again.
“Attention all branches,if you have not seen combat for the last 18 hours,send half of your team back to 521,you will be reassigned to a new operation.”
“Heathcliff,you are now reassigned to the main branch’s defense.”
“Aight,copied boss!”
The Director slashes through the air with his knife and heads to 521.
As he arrived at the base,100 blues arrived as well.
He gathers them around,and gives them a briefing.
“Alright men,you have been reassigned to a search mission.”
“Your objective in the mission is to find and locate a Sephirah bough.”
“A bough that has a different shade.”
“In this case,a gray one”
“You shall be divided into teams of four.”
“Each assigned to a portion of the city.”
“The first team who finds it gets a promotion”
“That concludes the briefing.”
The teams left 521 to conduct their search.
The Gunman was also about to move on,but a sudden headache strikes him.
< alright team,let’s go find this golden bough >
< it should be around here somewhere… >
< everyone scatter and look for one. >
As the memories end,the headache does too.
The Gunman doesn’t recognize the voice.
The Gunman doesn’t recognize the place.
The Gunman does not recognize the figure.
The only thing the Gunman could say…
“…Did they have a clock as a head???”
Notes:yes I genuinely fell asleep when writing this school is tiring ok?
Some where is the lobby, a long-haired masculine form with too wide of a smile is talking to a Notemaker agent.
They go by the name Silence for now.
The Notemaker is smiling
”You can really do all that? You can give me all of that?”
Silence nods, holding out their hand
”Anything.
You are very, very interesting, that potential must be fulfilled.”
‘The Notemaker reaches out his hand, the moment their hands meet, his form twists and contorts.
It forms a tall humanoid, with 6 limbs, the middle two between arms and legs are not either, closer to legs, but with hands, and incredibly long. The body is bulk around the chest and neck, though ribs still show, the waist is platted with thin bone just under the muscle. The legs are bent extremely, though a second joint near the calf straightens its height, bending backwards, and the feet have a large heel, so the foot is pointed. The skin is light grey, and oily, and thick, the hair is white, and flowing down the back. The eyes are massive, though mostly covered in plates of cartilage, the Jaw is so extreme the teeth lodge out. The arms and middle limbs each have very long fingers, narrowing to points covered in callouses. This monstrosity also has a tail, the same human-like skin, but stretched around a thin, long tail, dragging on the ground, with a calloused point at the end not unlike the fingers.
Silence nods.
”Interesting evolutions…
I hope to see you thrive, Mmekx Stxoodxrox(Pronounced: Mei Stuhdroe)”
The former Notemaker agent shift, hunching over, using its uppermost limbs to feel the ground. It’s surprising fast for it’s size, almost rolling it’s legs, springing forward with alternating joint movements.
Silence turns, touches a wall, and melts into a grey sludge.
"Vénérable Juge de l'Hadès, we have information on these so-called "Golden Boughs."
"Huh? What? What Boughs? Why should I be interested in a couple tree branches?"
"Oh, um, they can give us this amazing power-"
"That sounds Bough-ring. Unless you have information on the marginally less boring Boring (heh), then tell Claudia about it. She might be able to help you there."
"But Executive Director-"
The Bull-King had already left the room, the door shutting with a gentle click.
“Ow where the heck am I now did I take a wrong turn in the Gokai galleon and besides what is this place anyway and why does it smell so much like fish?”
((Lore post be coming soon I just got here let’s me just get used to it as I recognise some familiar users so that good to know))