Apr 3, 2023 13:42:19 GMT -5
Post by Majin Liari on Apr 3, 2023 13:42:19 GMT -5
...Liari awoke on the glassy floor of hell, wincing as the jagged edges of disturbed, petrified earth dug into her cheek. Her vision blurred like a failing television, shadows and shapes touching her eyes first... then slowly color bled in to fill in the blacks and whites. Somehow, the vaguest, smallest piece of her had hoped that she wouldn't find herself here again... here... in this wasteland of colors. She watched as a cloud-like jelly-bean hovered harmlessly overhead, its glassy surface reflecting the exhausted, sunken eyes of the majin. She couldn't even remember how many days it had been since she'd been PULLED DOWN into this place. Maybe a month...? Or close enough to it, anyway. It was hard to keep time when all your mind and body SCREAMED for rest.
"Unconsciousness," as Liari had discovered, was NOT "rest." Every time her body gave way to exhaustion, every time she felt her mind slip out from under her, every time her vision faded to black... she ended up feeling WORSE when she woke up than she felt before! It was almost like escaping one hell... and waking up in another. What was more, "Unconsciousness" was NOT like "Sleep." Sleep was either a dream that lasted a minute, or a moment of black from which you slowly awaken. Liari's... "naps..." They went ON and ON. It was almost like every second she lay there, her body desperately trying to repair itself, she was aware on SOME LEVEL of everything going on. Her senses, like her body, were splayed out on the ground in front of her, functioning just enough to keep her wounded, weeping mind active... but not enough for it to send meaningful commands. There she lay, almost like a slug on the floor, wincing as her body woke up to its discomfort along with her...
...And then that power touched her senses again... and almost IMMEDIATELY, she LURCHED up to her feet! That sickening, INFINITE (as far as she could feel) POWER flooded her nerves as the figure of Janemba fractured into existence from nowhere, cubes of his being manifested with perfect, precise placement as if assembled by the universe himself! His deep, yellow eyes locked onto the terrified majin's silver ones, him walking up to her with a small, half-satisfied smirk on his face.
"I suppose congratulations are in order." Janemba stated, reaching a hand down towards the majin! Liari flinched away, recoiling a step. Janemba's smile grew wider. "I can count on one hand the number of beings I have encountered that even had a chance of learning my techniques. Even fewer have actually succeeded the way you have." Janemba would once more reach for Liari, this time resting his hand upon the top of her head. Again, the majin winced, expecting something... HORRIBLE to happen! Maybe he would RIP into her mind again, filling it with that ungodly wail! Maybe he would SQUEEZE her skull like a sports-ball and HURL her over the horizon again! Maybe- The majin opened her eyes, surprised to feel that... the demon's hand simply rested there... almost in a soothing gesture! While his face was still twisted in that sharp, angular grin of his... he wasn't hurting her. Yes. And "Yet" WAS the keyword.
"Consider this the final part of your training, girl. We are going to see just how effectively you can make use of my technique in combat."
"C-Combat!?" Liari sputtered. This was the first time, the majin realized, she'd actually managed to speak to the demon since they'd met. "But... You're... stronger..."
"...Indeed." Janemba confirmed, Liari feeling his signature dip from OVERWHELMING... to simply ridiculous! At least now she could feel the boundaries of his power but... he was STILL SO MUCH STRONGER than she was! "...I will attack you... and you will avoid me by teleporting as you have done to escape your prisons. Do this... and the next phase of your training will begin."
"Next phase..." Liari mumbled... then YELPING, feeling Janemba's fingers CLAMP into her head!
"Do not concern yourself with what you haven't earned. The test begins NOW." ...And as Liari had feared, she was FLUNG towards the horizon!
"YAAAAAAH!" She screamed, her form FLASHING RED as the air nearly ignited against her skin! She almost felt as if she would be TORN APART from the sheer of Hell's atmosphere PULLING against her accelerating body! Gather all of her power inwards, Liari let out another YELL as she FORCED herself to stop, her body SNAPPING into place, forcing an agonizing ACHE to flash through her bones! Liari huffed and puffed heavily... before realizing that... she couldn't sense Janemba's energy! She blinked, then started looking around frantically, afraid he might've been hiding it! She KNEW IT! SHE KNEW HE WOULDN'T PLAY FAIR! SHE.... Wait. Janemba's power disappears when he's teleporting so... he was on his way...?
"How perceptive of you." A voice cooed behind her! Before Liari could turn around, twin fists CLAMPED upon either side of her head! Liari SCREAMED as her head was nearly SMASHED FLAT by the blood-red fists of the demon, one eye clenching shut from the SHEER AGONY, the other... nearly popping out of its socket! "So what will you do now?" Janemba asked, the slightest twinge of malice in his voice. "Will you struggle in futility...? Or will you escape...?" ...The only answer he received was more screaming. Janemba would release his VICE-LIKE clamp on Liari's head, the majin GASPING in relief... only for an elbow to CRASH into her spine, nearly BREAKING HER IN HALF as she ROCKETED towards the ground! Liari CRASHED into the glass-like earth HARD ENOUGH TO BOUNCE, the ground cracking and SHATTERING for a MILES around... but not giving way entirely... WHICH ONLY MADE IT HURT MORE OF COURSE! Liari whimpered softly, tears bubbling up in the corners of her eyes... She was in so much pain... She was so WEAK! She... she might just die AGAIN and who knows what THAT'D do to her! Glancing over her shoulder, she caught sight of the demon extending a finger towards her, lightly tracing it in the air as if he were doing so across a whiteboard! Where the paw of his finger touched, it left behind a shimmering green residue, waving in the air like a stagnant current in the air.
"This is your last chance, majin. Succeed and survive... or fail and perish." Liari gritted her teeth and tried to focus, the sound of glass shattering REVERBERATING everywhere around her! A million shards of energy... DIMENSIONS HAILED down upon the spot where Liari had laid, peppering it like a 50-caliber machine-gun with EXPLOSIVE ROUNDS, reducing the ground to SWISS CHEESE where it had struck.
"Well. Perhaps you aren't a failure after all." Janemba smirked, glancing over his shoulder. Liari, sluggishly, began reassembling behind the demon a cube at-a-time. By the time she was whole, blood was trickling down the corner of her mouth, her breastplate hanging limply from a single, barely function strap, her eyes faded as if drifting on the edges of unconsciousness... but she was alive. Janemba turned to face the majin, catching her... as she gave way to the darkness.
"I expect to get my time's worth out of this one..." The demon muttered, lowering himself to the ground and dropping the majin at his feet. "...Perhaps she will even be a suitable vessel."
WC: 1236
WEEK THREE DONE! CUBE-FADE LEARNED!
"Unconsciousness," as Liari had discovered, was NOT "rest." Every time her body gave way to exhaustion, every time she felt her mind slip out from under her, every time her vision faded to black... she ended up feeling WORSE when she woke up than she felt before! It was almost like escaping one hell... and waking up in another. What was more, "Unconsciousness" was NOT like "Sleep." Sleep was either a dream that lasted a minute, or a moment of black from which you slowly awaken. Liari's... "naps..." They went ON and ON. It was almost like every second she lay there, her body desperately trying to repair itself, she was aware on SOME LEVEL of everything going on. Her senses, like her body, were splayed out on the ground in front of her, functioning just enough to keep her wounded, weeping mind active... but not enough for it to send meaningful commands. There she lay, almost like a slug on the floor, wincing as her body woke up to its discomfort along with her...
...And then that power touched her senses again... and almost IMMEDIATELY, she LURCHED up to her feet! That sickening, INFINITE (as far as she could feel) POWER flooded her nerves as the figure of Janemba fractured into existence from nowhere, cubes of his being manifested with perfect, precise placement as if assembled by the universe himself! His deep, yellow eyes locked onto the terrified majin's silver ones, him walking up to her with a small, half-satisfied smirk on his face.
"I suppose congratulations are in order." Janemba stated, reaching a hand down towards the majin! Liari flinched away, recoiling a step. Janemba's smile grew wider. "I can count on one hand the number of beings I have encountered that even had a chance of learning my techniques. Even fewer have actually succeeded the way you have." Janemba would once more reach for Liari, this time resting his hand upon the top of her head. Again, the majin winced, expecting something... HORRIBLE to happen! Maybe he would RIP into her mind again, filling it with that ungodly wail! Maybe he would SQUEEZE her skull like a sports-ball and HURL her over the horizon again! Maybe- The majin opened her eyes, surprised to feel that... the demon's hand simply rested there... almost in a soothing gesture! While his face was still twisted in that sharp, angular grin of his... he wasn't hurting her. Yes. And "Yet" WAS the keyword.
"Consider this the final part of your training, girl. We are going to see just how effectively you can make use of my technique in combat."
"C-Combat!?" Liari sputtered. This was the first time, the majin realized, she'd actually managed to speak to the demon since they'd met. "But... You're... stronger..."
"...Indeed." Janemba confirmed, Liari feeling his signature dip from OVERWHELMING... to simply ridiculous! At least now she could feel the boundaries of his power but... he was STILL SO MUCH STRONGER than she was! "...I will attack you... and you will avoid me by teleporting as you have done to escape your prisons. Do this... and the next phase of your training will begin."
"Next phase..." Liari mumbled... then YELPING, feeling Janemba's fingers CLAMP into her head!
"Do not concern yourself with what you haven't earned. The test begins NOW." ...And as Liari had feared, she was FLUNG towards the horizon!
"YAAAAAAH!" She screamed, her form FLASHING RED as the air nearly ignited against her skin! She almost felt as if she would be TORN APART from the sheer of Hell's atmosphere PULLING against her accelerating body! Gather all of her power inwards, Liari let out another YELL as she FORCED herself to stop, her body SNAPPING into place, forcing an agonizing ACHE to flash through her bones! Liari huffed and puffed heavily... before realizing that... she couldn't sense Janemba's energy! She blinked, then started looking around frantically, afraid he might've been hiding it! She KNEW IT! SHE KNEW HE WOULDN'T PLAY FAIR! SHE.... Wait. Janemba's power disappears when he's teleporting so... he was on his way...?
"How perceptive of you." A voice cooed behind her! Before Liari could turn around, twin fists CLAMPED upon either side of her head! Liari SCREAMED as her head was nearly SMASHED FLAT by the blood-red fists of the demon, one eye clenching shut from the SHEER AGONY, the other... nearly popping out of its socket! "So what will you do now?" Janemba asked, the slightest twinge of malice in his voice. "Will you struggle in futility...? Or will you escape...?" ...The only answer he received was more screaming. Janemba would release his VICE-LIKE clamp on Liari's head, the majin GASPING in relief... only for an elbow to CRASH into her spine, nearly BREAKING HER IN HALF as she ROCKETED towards the ground! Liari CRASHED into the glass-like earth HARD ENOUGH TO BOUNCE, the ground cracking and SHATTERING for a MILES around... but not giving way entirely... WHICH ONLY MADE IT HURT MORE OF COURSE! Liari whimpered softly, tears bubbling up in the corners of her eyes... She was in so much pain... She was so WEAK! She... she might just die AGAIN and who knows what THAT'D do to her! Glancing over her shoulder, she caught sight of the demon extending a finger towards her, lightly tracing it in the air as if he were doing so across a whiteboard! Where the paw of his finger touched, it left behind a shimmering green residue, waving in the air like a stagnant current in the air.
"This is your last chance, majin. Succeed and survive... or fail and perish." Liari gritted her teeth and tried to focus, the sound of glass shattering REVERBERATING everywhere around her! A million shards of energy... DIMENSIONS HAILED down upon the spot where Liari had laid, peppering it like a 50-caliber machine-gun with EXPLOSIVE ROUNDS, reducing the ground to SWISS CHEESE where it had struck.
"Well. Perhaps you aren't a failure after all." Janemba smirked, glancing over his shoulder. Liari, sluggishly, began reassembling behind the demon a cube at-a-time. By the time she was whole, blood was trickling down the corner of her mouth, her breastplate hanging limply from a single, barely function strap, her eyes faded as if drifting on the edges of unconsciousness... but she was alive. Janemba turned to face the majin, catching her... as she gave way to the darkness.
"I expect to get my time's worth out of this one..." The demon muttered, lowering himself to the ground and dropping the majin at his feet. "...Perhaps she will even be a suitable vessel."
WC: 1236
WEEK THREE DONE! CUBE-FADE LEARNED!
