Migrating Vale

[Bloodedge]

In spite of what Miki had done for this man already, she continued giving him consideration even when choosing to take her own path through the Underworld. He knew how easily he could simply move on from here, how quick it would be to take his leave of her and go back to whatever place he belonged... And yet, he also knew there was more at work regarding the bond between them. No, he could accomplish something if he remained at her side for a bit longer. In fact, he had a desire to do just that. "Iie," he said with closed eyes, and a gentle smile. It warmed whatever semblance of a heart he had to have such an offer sent his way, and only fueled his resolve to join the proverbial ride. "If you'll have me, I'll go with you. Besides, it may keep you from referencing the game so openly if you have someone to speak privately with."

A simple jest. Beyond these matters, he was offered the chance of departure alongside a mention that he could locate any friends he had. He didn't have any to find. Well... there was one; there had always been the one. Shaking his head, he shunned the notion of looking for that one person. "My friend is fine. I don't know how long it's been, but I know... nothing has happened to him. Let's go," he said, joining her along her chosen path.

[Apollymi]

Miki gave all due consideration to this man, and he made a decision which she didn't outright expect. Her eyes widened when he claimed he wanted to join her. He even went on to make a joke about having someone else along help her keep from referencing the game too much. "Hoh? Hahahaha!~" she laughed aloud and shook her head. "Fine, do what you want," she said rather magnanimously. She would have him along, in truth she'd absolutely enjoy the company but she wouldn't want to drag someone along who'd rather do something else. After his joke, he even claimed that his friend or whoever he could have looked for was fine. He stated this with certainty and it made her smile. "Hai, it's nice to have someone to believe in," she said softly, she was starting to believe in people herself, though likely not in the same way.

Having turned back towards the Gate she was left to study it. Upon placing her hand upon it again, eerie blue fires appeared blazing an inscription upon the fore of the stone. Said inscription let her know what needed to be done to walk this path and it was none too easy. 'To walk the path of Death, you must leave behind what binds you to the world above. Abandon at this Gate, a prize you earned.' What a strange thing to see, written here. She supposed that to travel death required a certain amount of detachment, she was a logical girl so she could also see this as a reason. "Ah, it's a sacrifice puzzle. I can go further but I have to leave behind something important each time, which has to fit the criteria that it asks for. Alright... " she said. Strangely, Miki held attachment to very few things to start with, to give something she earned was simple enough, the Soul Stone she'd taken from Shade outside was a thing she'd earned and not even had the chance to use yet. She sat it atop the podium outside of the gate. The bowl atop it sank under the weight, as if it gained some knowledge of it by placing it there. The gate would glow and then slowly shift open. "Whew, that's a relief. Promise me though, if this gate starts asking for clothes, you won't tell anyone you've seen me naked. I have a guy I like and I don't want him getting the wrong idea about me..." she said in a manner that was mostly jest but still, stepping forward with purpose towards the next gate.

[Bloodedge]

Belief. Yes, it was so simple... perhaps. In all honesty, Enkidu wasn't sure if he believed in his alleged friend, or if he simply had no faith in the abilities of others. It was a fine, blurred line within his subconscious - one he didn't care much to teeter one way or the other. Moving on, he'd been here for quite some time, and knew of the Seven Gates of the Underworld. Keeping close to the blonde lass, he even offered some guidance regarding them. "You've got the lucky one. The last person I saw come through here had a questionnaire," he claimed. Obviously, it was no mere 'yes or no' questionnaire he spoke of; it was something horrendously brutal that time around. Either way, Miki managed to offer the first gate something worthwhile enough to allow passage. Enkidu moved forward as well, interestingly having to give... nothing at all. The gates would allow him passage for some strange reason, but it seemed Miki would have to forge her own path yet again. Surprisingly, Miki's next clause offered directly to Enkidu was one which begged for his silence in the event of a gate requiring her nudity. It was a humorous notion, and caused Enkidu to laugh audibly. "I won't tell a soul, I promise."

[Apollymi]

According to Enkidu, this place had a person pass through who had a much more strenuous puzzle than the one required of Miki. "Sou ka, so it changes based on the people. That's interesting, like those random, if/then scenarios. It makes sense if it's asking me for stuff..." she said aloud. At the outset, Miki probably looked like this world's equivalent of a covetous person. She had a large amount of physical objects on her at all times, both for magical and monetary reasons. If one just looked at her from a data perspective, she would likely appear to be a pack-rat. As such a sacrifice puzzle was good test of merit for potential prizes. She was content to chat with Enkidu a bit until reaching the next gate, noticing that he'd not needed to give anything to cross through the gates. "Oh? No toll for you... I suppose that is understandable depending," she mused.

When she reached the next gate she placed her hand upon it as well. It also produced a podium with a bowl in it and gave her another inscription. This one like the first asked her to leave behind something of value. 'Leave behind something pure.' this one asked. What would she leave in response to this? Mermaid Tears... collected from a crybaby friend of hers, incidentally while they were in Atlantis. Her path would continue in this way with Enkidu along side. The 3rd Gate asked her to leave behind something stolen. She left the shards from the Egg of Eternity she'd taken from Princess Madoka. The 4th Gate, demanded an item from the beginning of her journey. She left behind the Bones of Rathma. The 5th Gate asked for an item which gave her purpose. She left behind her Merchant Stake, which defined her monetary well-being. The Sixth was trickier asking for something which gave her comfort, she left her weapon in its pillow form. Each of these stops had her abandon something which she had in her possession but each item began to be more and more important to her as she descended. At the Seventh Gate she stood before a podium which asked for something strange. 'Leave here, what you value above other things,' Miki began to twirl a single lock of hair around the index finger of her left hand.

There were a few things which came to mind for her, for things didn't really matter too much. Most things could be replaced and things that couldn't be replaced would be useless to anyone else. To leave behind something she personally valued would mean she'd have to leave behind something that had been given to her freely. The first gift she'd received of that sort, or nothing else would work. She knew this at her core, "Alright fine. But I honestly want these back..." she said aloud to the universe at large. The girl then went on to remove her earrings? These were a piece of equipment. The enchantment on them was good but not great, they were made of gold but not a lot of it. They didn't have any godly qualities, they weren't expensive nor anything anyone else would covet. Would the gate accept them? It would, it lowered in slow pace as the girl stood before the gate huffy. "I guess I am supposed to be happy I'm not naked..." she pouted obviously as she waited.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm not like you," Enkidu said, knowing his statement was open to potential misinterpretation. As they made their way to the second gate, he elaborated a bit. "The Underworld can't take anything of mine. I am me, and that's all I can ever be. I don't have possessions, or... anything, really," he concluded.

Onward through one gate, followed by another, and so on. It wasn't until the seventh of these that Miki showed signs of disinterest in giving her offering. It was only natural; no one would willingly offer their most treasured possession if they knew not what they were earning in return. Enkidu had it on good faith though, that she would be able to reclaim said possession, for whatever it meant to the lass. "I'm sure you'll get everything back, even if it's on the way out. And yes... you're not naked," he offered. He still wondered what this girl sought in the Underworld, but he supposed he was along for the journey. He'd find out soon enough.

[Apollymi]

The inner most part of the Underworld was opening before Miki's eyes. And still she was having a conversation with the man Enkidu. She found out from him, that he had nothing of value, no possessions so it couldn't ask him for things. "I'm not sure if that's sad or not..." Miki said only to clarify. "But I mean, possessions aren't everything. I possess a lot of things, and still don't have what I want," she stated. Material possessions weren't everything, and often times, they were part of a greater problem, specifically when coveted. She liked having things, she wouldn't lie about this, but material things weren't what she truly valued. According to Enkidu beyond this point, he was apparently certain that she'd get back what she'd given even if she had to pick them up on the way out. "Hai, that's good. I'd hate to have to reforge my weapon but those earrings, I couldn't replace," she said softly. There was something about a gift, a truly well intended gift. One freely given from the heart with no prior notice in mind, that made the girl truly happy inside. It was one of the things that cemented within her heart how much she enjoyed her partner's company. Her heart ached a bit thinking about it.

"Welp, might as well get down to business..." she said stepping forward, working through her strange feelings. Within this grand center of the Underworld there was a hearth. One which was meant to contain the blazing fires of the Underworld which fueled it, and kept it distinct from the Overworld. But here, the fire itself seemed a bit smothered and beyond that the hearth it sat upon seemed unattended and broken. The runes of it, unclear, obviously from the tampering above. "That's... not right," she said softly. Souls wandered around huddling closer. The Underworld was vast emptiness sure, but what of the fires which warmed the world from within and brought wrath from below? Where was the God of the Underworld? What had been intended? If she had to guess it had been the plan to flood the area with zombies and spirits. To let the Underworld leak into the Overworld and let the spirits of the Dead overtake the living. "Sou ka, that's why it was so easy to get here. And probably why I could see you from so far off... well, aside from any connection between us..." she said softly. There were different runes which needed to be inscribed so she went to work fixing the hearth of the Underworld, because righting the wrongs of the world was her job, even when that path led to darkness.

[Bloodedge]

"I can't either." This was all Enkidu had to say, as far as whether his truth was sad or not. Clearly, Miki had desires which went beyond her material possessions. This little factoid was interesting, and quite obvious since the moment she hesitated to offer her earrings to the seventh gate. Even as one who had no such thing, he still had that human quality which made it clear to him that the earrings were not mere purchases or acquisitions. A few moments of thought, and he decided to speak about this. "I'm guessing it's the same boy," he said in an utmost casual manner. There was nothing else of importance here in the Underworld for him, even though he constantly felt the pull of its influence. He knew what the cause of this was, but at present, it wasn't of any importance. These Runes Miki discovered were familiar to him, but what she spoke of, was quite unclear. "You know about the connection? And what do you mean, that's why?"

[Apollymi]

"Hoh?" Miki managed. She didn't expect anyone to know exactly what motivated them. As such she wasn't really surprised that this man didn't know how he felt about his lack of possessions. Whatever the lad didn't know about himself, he seemed to be pretty decently capable of reading Miki. Her eyes would immediately widen and her face turned an intense shade of red. "I am going to need to be told it isn't that obvious... I'm developing a complex," she said staring at the ground. She couldn't help it, it was very much a problem she didn't understand at all. Of course, she knew of her attachment to the other lad, and as such wouldn't try to deny it, instead she was willing to deflect and hope she wasn't truly as obvious as it seemed.

Moving on and with a heavily tinted face, the hearth of the Underworld. "I know we are connected. I am not entirely sure why, though..." she said with her brow raised, she tried to recall a reason this might be a thing. "I thought it might make itself obvious unless you know..." she mentioned to the green haired lad. Moving right along, she pointed to the hearth. "I am acutely aware of the lack of balance in the world. Which is a very strange thing considering. I was drawn to walk here because there was something down here tipping the balance towards an unnatural event," she said softly. "The flames are being smothered and influenced by dark magic. Death is natural, the rest of this is wrong, but I'll fix it. Then we can leave..." she mused. Writing several runes as she spoke. Each seemed to restore some aspect of this monument though they didn't directly increase the flames they made the artifact itself more stable. "That should do it!" she said standing up, but the flames were still muted. "Hm, what's wrong?" she questioned aloud.

[Bloodedge]

Enkidu hazarded a chuckle upon seeing and hearing Miki's reaction. He wondered if she truly thought it wasn't obvious to anyone else, or that she'd managed to keep her feelings even remotely secret. From what Enkidu could tell thus far, without knowing this person of interest, she was failing to hide anything. "Ahah-... Sorry, but it's far more obvious than you think," he said, cutting short his laughter and holding a loose fist over his upturned lips. "That's not all bad though, is it? It seems like... certainty."

Indeed, to know one's own desire so deeply without even having conscious awareness... was something Enkidu could hardly understand, but could admire in others. What humanity he had was the fault of his aforementioned 'friend' for instilling it in him. To see others who harbored resolve of this caliber was, somewhat, refreshing. What's more, the girl was here in the Underworld and seemingly working toward restoring its balance - a thing not done by anyone during his time spent here. Odd, though, was the fact that she seemed to be missing something when her inscriptions were made. "What? Do you think it should have done something before you were finished?"

[Apollymi]

The redness in Miki's face didn't seem to be going anywhere, especially with Enkidu laughing at the idea that she wasn't obvious. "I had hoped..." she said almost managing to sound defeated. She didn't really care if she was or wasn't hiding her interest. But she'd hoped that she had been doing an adequate job of it, considering how long it had taken and how much directness was required for the other person in question to get it. He seemed not to, so she figured it was simply hidden. "Certainty doesn't sound bad though... well not in this case. As long as it's not absolute... not like I'm a Sith Lord or anything," she said, once again making a strange reference. It seemed this girl was quite into her nerd culture, though rarely having a chance to be this much of it, ever.

The Rune inscription was finished and she'd expected the fires of the Underworld to return to their glory, but they hadn't. They seemed almost stuck at the smallest possible level they could muster. "Restoring the inscriptions should have returned the fires... there has to be something else..." she mentioned before holding her hand over the flame. Doing so she seemed to pull at it, but the flame itself didn't move. But there was clearly something there. "Hoh? What's that..." she questioned as she used her Snatch Ability to pull at something shoved within the fire. Pulling at it as such gave this magic form. Because she'd used this ability before and it'd been likened to a 'cage' it created one, or rather pulled one from the flames. One which held them back until it was taken up by the lass, an Artifact, crafted by her Magic within the fires of the Underworld, resting in the lass' hand before the fires roared to life again. "That's weird... I guess it's for me," she said time around the flame seemed to start up again and the wandering souls began to disperse, moving about the Underworld, unburdened by its imbalance. "Okay, my work here is done... Shall we?" she said casually turning around to walk away. Knowing that this end was returned to normal it would be mere child's play to return the Rune Stone circle above. And she'd make sure to pick up each and every item she'd left behind. Not the first of which was the earrings she returned as soon as she passed the seventh gate on her ascension.

[Bloodedge]

"Sorry to disappoint," he quipped, still seeming decently amused by the situation as a whole. Moving on to her 'Sith Lord' reference, he found his laughter renewed, though gently enough that he could comfortably remove his hand from his mouth. "I'd sooner say a Jedi, considering," he said in reference to the very same media Miki spoke of. "To say 'only a Sith deals in absolutes' is sort of... well... ignorant, isn't it?"

Soon enough, Miki managed to preserve the balance in the Underworld by taking something from it. No, that wasn't quite right; she created something by interfacing with the Underworld itself. Of course, that very thing wound up being a cage. As if Enkidu needed more proof of the bond they would one day create, which had already been initiated; this item was the solidifying factor in its own right. "Sou... ka. Yes, it's certainly for you. Suba..." He said nothing more, choosing to follow suit on Miki's route to the exit. He'd spent more than enough time here, and though he wasn't worried about the friend he mentioned, he was still keen to reunite.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Enkidu was at least amused by this whole situation, and though Miki would have wanted to be mad, she couldn't be. He was willing to talk nerd stuff with her and that was amusing. She even held an opinion similar to the one he seemed to have. "Ah, well yeah. Jedi have their own problems, bureaucracy being what it is. They could have let that boy have his title, with the self-fulfilling prophecy problem. It would have saved thousands, but no," she sighed reigning in her rant. "That is what happens when people hold onto ideas too long, they get all stuffy and stupid," she said having a very strange opinion about the whole thing. Showing more neutrality in her nature than even she realized. Soon after, she attained a new object, a golden cage she was left to stare at for quite some time after getting it. With no way to currently attach it to her person, she held it in hand while her pillow floated behind her and then she took her first steps out of the Underworld. "Whew, that's a relief." she said turning to Enkidu. Though she'd planned to fix up everything present in this circle, fixing the bottom and fixed the Runestone circle at the top. Beyond this there was just the grass, the sky and the peace of nature. And once they were both across the portal to the Underworld would disappear as if it'd never been there.

"Ah, I think I might have done enough adventuring for one day... if this is where we part, do you need anything to help you along?" she asked of the man with her. She'd enjoyed his company but didn't want to keep him from anything else. She also didn't want to send him out into the world without things he might need to make his journey more comfortable. After all, she'd held him up in the Underworld, the least she could do, is make sure he had what he needed upon reaching the topside again.

[Bloodedge]

"It worked out fine in the end, at least. Sort of," he said, recalling a few technical positives to take from the overall situation. The imaginary world they spoke of never had a consistent period of pleasant times, though... but he'd seen far worse. Oh well; it was time to move on. Moving forward was exactly what they'd do, returning through the very gates they had so recently passed to reach the Underworld's center. Soon enough, they reached their starting point, and Enkidu breathed the air of the Overworld for the first time since... Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn't realize how long it had been. He should really get back, but first came Miki offering something he might make use of on his own journey. He could have laughed once again, but he didn't. Instead, he merely shook his head before turning away. "Iie. These hands can't hold anything. We'll meet again, Miki."

No further words needed sharing. Without another moment wasted, Enkidu took his leave of Miki, oddly enough by taking flight. Did he sprout wings? No. He did, however, seem to possess some form of levitation and high-speed movement to escape the Migrating Vale within moments.

[Apollymi]

"Well, sort of is all anyone can ever hope for in those situations..." Miki concluded. It was fun chatting with this lad. And beyond that she'd enjoyed their minor adventure together, even if it had started out as a frightening ordeal. Soon enough though the lad was keen to take off, as she figured he would be. At her offer to supply him with anything he might need he said a strange sentence which caught the attention of the lass. "You can't hold anything..." there was a strange amount of confusion in her face, mostly because she heard that sentence before. Regardless he was off and she didn't want to tarry too long herself. "Ja ne, Enkidu." She managed her last speech before watching the boy take off by some weird method of flight. Still, it was amazing to see, she did hope to run into him again. He was good company.

"I guess it is time for me to get back as well..." she mused. "I'm on my way back..." she said aloud to the overseer who she had faith without question would be waiting for her. Her weapon now beneath her she leaned over it, floating through the forest path she'd taken to arrive. She took in the sights of the forest returned, no longer darkened by evil magics instead the kind of peaceful she enjoyed. And she rested easy as balance returned to the world. She would soon enough arrive in front of the flower once more, that Cage she'd gotten from the Underworld sitting beside her on her pillow as she lowered herself to the ground. She looked towards the flower in the room and announced her arrival. "I'm back!"

[Bloodedge]

The overseer had been waiting. He'd lost track of Miki since her time in the Catacombs, until she emerged from the Underworld with an unknown... creature in tow. Whatever that individual was, it did not belong among the living... yet not among the dead, either. Alas, with Miki soon upon him, he would be able to address the mysterious identity. "How quickly you have grown into your petals, Flower. It warms my heart to welcome your return as one I can call kin. You, my sister who treads the line between life and death, have achieved enlightenment. I wish to know your Truth, and..." He paused, recalling the brief glimpse of a face he had of Miki's temporary companion. "I have a curiosity. If you would indulge me, that creature who accompanied you out of the Underworld; was it the phantom you spoke of?"