Jun 4, 2023 17:57:50 GMT -5
Post by Majin Liari on Jun 4, 2023 17:57:50 GMT -5
Freedom to come and go, to walk through dimensions as one would a door, had changed Liari's outlook on Hell. Yes, it was still a brutal dimension in which hundreds of millions of souls were dumped here on the daily to be tortured, ridiculed, and ignored for eternity... but she could leave... and they could not. In a way, that made this place no different from any other. What had made this place so terrible before were the things that lurked in the shadows... and the fact her way out was contingent on a sentence. Things were different now. Her body was her OWN again and her soul was no longer bound to this place. What was more, she could brush aside dimensional barriers as if they were but a surface of water, walking into and out of different universal structures with different laws and regulations just as easily.
...This, the majin judged, was true freedom... And yet, Liari found herself drawn back into prison once again. Despite having picked up on the Lightning Shower Rain's general concept rather quickly, Earth and Hell were somehow... different. In Hell, Liari had so much more magic to draw upon, an external source of power to act as a... crutch of a sort. The dimensional barriers on this side, one might say, were MUCH EASIER to stretch and snap, to SHATTER into those billions of glass-like-shards. When she had tried this on Earth, to practice bending and breaking reality... She couldn't. It was like trying to grab hold of a snake lathered in soap, or a majin who REALLY didn't want to be touched: Liari just... couldn't... get... a GRIP! She could FEEL it there, just at the TIP of her finger! She could even FEEEEEEL it drag against the pad of her fingertip... but like a wet match, it just wouldn't take!
That was why she came back here. She was certain she could learn how to make this work on Earth EVENTUALLY... but why wait? Why wait when there were people on Earth that wanted her head? She had her head blown off TWICE already! She had at least TWO attempts on her life (counting Zaks'... explosive reintroduction) and one endangered her family directly! No... Until she had a weapon in her arsenal capable of BURNING these pests from her life, she would need to focus on training.
"Back again...?" Janemba prompted curiously, manifesting behind Liari. "...And I was certain that this time, you would have left us for good." "Us," Liari assumed, referred to the involuntary denizens of hell.
"...I need your guidance on this." Liari stated flatly, business-like, turning to face the demon and locking eyes with him. "This place is much closer to magic than Earth is... In fact, I think the dimensional barrier between worlds is much more... fragile here than anywhere else."
"Noticed that have you?" Janemba noted with clear, perhaps even genuine amazement. "Most beings don't even know they are somewhere else until they are told. Yes, as what might now seem obvious to you, the Afterlife is a... nexus of a sort, somewhere all beings of all types go when they inevitably die off. The barrier must be weak so that their souls can not only pass through but are drawn here for processing. It is, as the humans might describe it, 'as the path of least resistance.'"
"Yeah, Yeah. That's all cool and all," Liari grunted, bemused by this tangent. "...But I need to find a way how to use your technique outside of Hell. I will NOT live here forever and it is too useful AND unexpected NOT to use." Liari had expected some kind of pushback, annoyance at LEAST for her daring to interrupt the demon lord... But he simply smiled. Geez... did anything ruffle this guy?
"Of course, it is." Janemba agreed smugly. "...And, if you would believe it, the secret to mastering a technique such as this is not exactly the result of incompetence... but inherent ability."
"What do you mean?" Liari asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. What did he mean by that?
"Your connection to this realm is limited," Janemba said. "You are at your most powerful and versatile here, yes, and you have great magical potential relative to most mortals," Liari took note of how his pseudo-compliment implied she was still FAR behind him. "...But those tools are not... 'fine-tuned' to rip open dimensional walls in the manner. In fact... I can only think of two who actually achieved this... one of them on accident." Janemba's eyes seemed to drift off a bit, as if recalling a distant... DISTANT memory. Liari looked at him oddly. When was he going to get to the point?
"I can open portals on my own." Liari observed dryly, the impatience bristling over her tone of voice. "...And I can attack through them."
"Portals are not the same, even in principle, to what the Lightning Shower Rain entails. You are merely... stepping through a barrier, opening a small path and closing it behind you. With this..." Janemba demonstrated by quickly tracing a line with his hand, a long green shimmering streak following his finger. The streak would suddenly SHATTER the moment his finger broke off its trajectory, sending a MILLION shards around the outline of Liari, OBLITERATING the landscape behind her with a million hyper-destructive projectiles!
"...You are shattering dimensional barriers in a certain direction. Essentially, you are stretching reality to its breaking point in such a way that it only 'snaps' in the direction you aim it. And here, in Hell, it is at its easiest to break these dimensional walls."
"...So what...? Am I just stuck using it here? How's that going to help me?" Liari complained! Janemba's smile only widened.
"Come here." The demon commanded, beckoning at her with his hand. Cautiously, Liari would step forward, the remon then reaching out and placing a hand on top of her head. He would then raise his other, extending his pointer and middle finger and placing it on her forehead!
"What are you doing?" Liari asked.
"...I am... giving you a gift, you might say." Janemba answered vaguely! Suddenly, Liari's eyes widened as a SURGE of dark ki FLASHED through her system! Her eyes flashed yellow, her body consumed in black and purple aura, her signature SKYROCKETING... before dropping in an instant! Liari GASPED in shock and WHIRLED away from the demon... who let her go, the majin noted. "There. Your potential is expanded."
"Wh... What did you do!?" Liari roared, raising her fists defensively!
"Why, I did what you asked... I gave you the ability to strum the strings of mortal reality." Janemba answered innocently. "You might say I... put a piece of Hell in you. Now, you may touch the strings of reality just as you can here."
"WHY!?" Liari roared louder, feeling violated! "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST TEACH ME-" Suddenly, Janemba's hand CLASPED around her jaw, snapping it shut! Liari's eyes shot WIDE with fear and anger, the majin throwing a sharp PUNCH at Janemba's head... which bounced RIGHT off his headpiece futilely.
"Don't ever think for a moment I won't kill you for such insolence." Janemba rumbled... before THROWING Liari to the ground. "I did so because it served my purpose. YOU serve my purpose. Now get out of my sight, girl... before I kill you here. Your callow utterings disgust me."
Liari's eyes shot wide... and in an instant, she disappeared. Janemba... then grinned. He had done more than just... allow her to use his technique... He only hoped that when she found out what, Liari would be beyond her pathetic attempts at redemption.
WC: 1279
Liari learns ULT: LIGHTING SHOWER RAIN!
...This, the majin judged, was true freedom... And yet, Liari found herself drawn back into prison once again. Despite having picked up on the Lightning Shower Rain's general concept rather quickly, Earth and Hell were somehow... different. In Hell, Liari had so much more magic to draw upon, an external source of power to act as a... crutch of a sort. The dimensional barriers on this side, one might say, were MUCH EASIER to stretch and snap, to SHATTER into those billions of glass-like-shards. When she had tried this on Earth, to practice bending and breaking reality... She couldn't. It was like trying to grab hold of a snake lathered in soap, or a majin who REALLY didn't want to be touched: Liari just... couldn't... get... a GRIP! She could FEEL it there, just at the TIP of her finger! She could even FEEEEEEL it drag against the pad of her fingertip... but like a wet match, it just wouldn't take!
That was why she came back here. She was certain she could learn how to make this work on Earth EVENTUALLY... but why wait? Why wait when there were people on Earth that wanted her head? She had her head blown off TWICE already! She had at least TWO attempts on her life (counting Zaks'... explosive reintroduction) and one endangered her family directly! No... Until she had a weapon in her arsenal capable of BURNING these pests from her life, she would need to focus on training.
"Back again...?" Janemba prompted curiously, manifesting behind Liari. "...And I was certain that this time, you would have left us for good." "Us," Liari assumed, referred to the involuntary denizens of hell.
"...I need your guidance on this." Liari stated flatly, business-like, turning to face the demon and locking eyes with him. "This place is much closer to magic than Earth is... In fact, I think the dimensional barrier between worlds is much more... fragile here than anywhere else."
"Noticed that have you?" Janemba noted with clear, perhaps even genuine amazement. "Most beings don't even know they are somewhere else until they are told. Yes, as what might now seem obvious to you, the Afterlife is a... nexus of a sort, somewhere all beings of all types go when they inevitably die off. The barrier must be weak so that their souls can not only pass through but are drawn here for processing. It is, as the humans might describe it, 'as the path of least resistance.'"
"Yeah, Yeah. That's all cool and all," Liari grunted, bemused by this tangent. "...But I need to find a way how to use your technique outside of Hell. I will NOT live here forever and it is too useful AND unexpected NOT to use." Liari had expected some kind of pushback, annoyance at LEAST for her daring to interrupt the demon lord... But he simply smiled. Geez... did anything ruffle this guy?
"Of course, it is." Janemba agreed smugly. "...And, if you would believe it, the secret to mastering a technique such as this is not exactly the result of incompetence... but inherent ability."
"What do you mean?" Liari asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. What did he mean by that?
"Your connection to this realm is limited," Janemba said. "You are at your most powerful and versatile here, yes, and you have great magical potential relative to most mortals," Liari took note of how his pseudo-compliment implied she was still FAR behind him. "...But those tools are not... 'fine-tuned' to rip open dimensional walls in the manner. In fact... I can only think of two who actually achieved this... one of them on accident." Janemba's eyes seemed to drift off a bit, as if recalling a distant... DISTANT memory. Liari looked at him oddly. When was he going to get to the point?
"I can open portals on my own." Liari observed dryly, the impatience bristling over her tone of voice. "...And I can attack through them."
"Portals are not the same, even in principle, to what the Lightning Shower Rain entails. You are merely... stepping through a barrier, opening a small path and closing it behind you. With this..." Janemba demonstrated by quickly tracing a line with his hand, a long green shimmering streak following his finger. The streak would suddenly SHATTER the moment his finger broke off its trajectory, sending a MILLION shards around the outline of Liari, OBLITERATING the landscape behind her with a million hyper-destructive projectiles!
"...You are shattering dimensional barriers in a certain direction. Essentially, you are stretching reality to its breaking point in such a way that it only 'snaps' in the direction you aim it. And here, in Hell, it is at its easiest to break these dimensional walls."
"...So what...? Am I just stuck using it here? How's that going to help me?" Liari complained! Janemba's smile only widened.
"Come here." The demon commanded, beckoning at her with his hand. Cautiously, Liari would step forward, the remon then reaching out and placing a hand on top of her head. He would then raise his other, extending his pointer and middle finger and placing it on her forehead!
"What are you doing?" Liari asked.
"...I am... giving you a gift, you might say." Janemba answered vaguely! Suddenly, Liari's eyes widened as a SURGE of dark ki FLASHED through her system! Her eyes flashed yellow, her body consumed in black and purple aura, her signature SKYROCKETING... before dropping in an instant! Liari GASPED in shock and WHIRLED away from the demon... who let her go, the majin noted. "There. Your potential is expanded."
"Wh... What did you do!?" Liari roared, raising her fists defensively!
"Why, I did what you asked... I gave you the ability to strum the strings of mortal reality." Janemba answered innocently. "You might say I... put a piece of Hell in you. Now, you may touch the strings of reality just as you can here."
"WHY!?" Liari roared louder, feeling violated! "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST TEACH ME-" Suddenly, Janemba's hand CLASPED around her jaw, snapping it shut! Liari's eyes shot WIDE with fear and anger, the majin throwing a sharp PUNCH at Janemba's head... which bounced RIGHT off his headpiece futilely.
"Don't ever think for a moment I won't kill you for such insolence." Janemba rumbled... before THROWING Liari to the ground. "I did so because it served my purpose. YOU serve my purpose. Now get out of my sight, girl... before I kill you here. Your callow utterings disgust me."
Liari's eyes shot wide... and in an instant, she disappeared. Janemba... then grinned. He had done more than just... allow her to use his technique... He only hoped that when she found out what, Liari would be beyond her pathetic attempts at redemption.
WC: 1279
Liari learns ULT: LIGHTING SHOWER RAIN!
