Migrating Vale

[Apollymi]

The overseer of her trials claimed she'd done more than she knew. Perhaps at some point, Miki would understand this for herself. But for now, she was confronted by the spirit of the boy who'd died within the Catacombs and the spirit which had been appearing to her since she made her way back to the Migrating Vale. The young boy claimed to want to go back to his body and this made Miki sigh. Even as she watched the green haired lad who seemed to exude warmth and something else maybe? "Iie, I can't do that... you must take steps forward in life... you can't go back to be as you were," the lass said. Immediately after this the lad's face changed becoming demonic and he let out a scream and disappeared into a nearby wall. "Sou ka, it's like that huh? I suppose it wants me to break some taboo and die here too..." she said softly seeming to gain a pretty decent understanding of her purpose here. "So, no rushing death along, that'd be bad. No communing with demons or ritual sacrifice of other Druids, and I guess just waiting for this to finish should tell me all I need to know..." she murmured. She watched this corpse a bit more and noted that it seemed to be decomposing at its own rate. Having speed up a bit after her denial. "Time based I guess, or reaction based. Slower if I make a bad choice, faster if I make a right one..." she mused. Given what had happened she could expect a few more interactions with the little demon boy before her time in the catacombs were done.

Eventually, her eyes would be brought back to the green haired man. "You can't be part of this though, huh? I've been seeing you too much for that to be the case... you seem friendly enough for someone who has been scaring the living hell out of me," she said crossly, making the assumption that he'd either disappear once more or that he couldn't hear her properly. She'd had a tough time interacting with him, and assumed it went both ways. Regardless of the fact that she had every intention of helping him, she still needed to complete this trial to figure out potentially what to do about him. And she'd been doing this under the pretense that he didn't know exactly how she could help him either, and they hadn't been able to speak up to this point so what did it matter? Well, she supposed she'd figure that out while within the catacombs.

[Bloodedge]

The departed had faded away, and the green-haired man seemed to become slightly more tangible as this happened. He had a greater deal of longevity here in this cave, and as Miki spoke, he seemed to be listening. There was little problem hearing her from his plane of reality, even though that clearly was not the case the other way around. Oh well; he still seemed content. Even though their interaction was limited by their existence across separate realms, he was visibly fine simply sitting near the blonde. Her speaking to him warranted no verbal response; there was no point if he wouldn't be heard. He did, however, react to her. Her mention of him scaring her clearly spared remorse in his visage, and in response to this, he lifted his right hand and offered it to her, palm upward.

[Apollymi]

Miki noted that with the other spirit gone, the one who walked with her seemed to be a bit more solid. That was good, maybe it would be helpful in getting him out of the place he was stuck in. Even so, he seemed content to sit with her through this aspect of her journey and if she was being honest, she didn't mind the company. Still, it was a bit of a drag to not be able to properly communicate with him. He seemed at least to understand what she'd been saying and strangely showed remorse at having scared her. "Ah, well, I mean... don't worry about it. I was bound to freak out a bit knowing I could see you when everyone else couldn't..." she mused softly, apologizing for her own rudeness and seeming to forgive any misunderstanding between them. She reached for his extended hand and aimed to touch it, finding it to be there enough to make contact. "I'm Miki, by the way," she offered in passing, not knowing if she'd even be able to hear this lad's name but knowing that offering her own was about all she could do. Her face seemed a bit lighter than it had been, and she offered the lad a smile. Though not the kind of brilliant one she offered Kou, it was still something.

Soon after this, a certain little boy appeared once again. This time, he seemed to be crying. More than that he was upset. Miki prepared herself to deal with whatever thing he tried to have her do, and in between his tears he seemed to want her help. "Please, don't let me lie there like that then. At least, if you aren't going to help me go back, do something about me rotting away there... I don't wanna watch myself waste away," said the lad. Perhaps this was painful for him, watching the outcome of whatever situation had lead to him being dead here. "One cannot rush the advancement of time. Some things have to happen in due course... I cannot do as you ask," she offered the lad. Strangely a smile came to her face. "If you wanted, instead you could... face me. Then you wouldn't have to look," she offered in counter. This was the business person in this lass she wouldn't give in to his temptation, she'd still give him peace if she could. The more evil spirit in question wasn't sure how to react and simply disappeared. Once again his corpse would rot more leaving the girl to simply wait his next arrival.

[Bloodedge]

The male shook his head with a smile and closed eyes, thinking nothing of Miki's rebuttal. His approach was frightening; he could see that now that it was brought up. Alas, he was quite rushed at the time. Her introduction came as she took his offered hand, and though he could not audibly return the favor... he could do something. He hesitated to offer his identity, but... perhaps it was fine for this one to know that dangerous name. She was, after all, somehow connected to him across the dimensional gap. With this in mind, and with much consideration given, his lips parted. Exaggerated movements of the mouth ensued, syllables separated enough to leave ample room for reading his lips.

En-

Ki-

The final syllable could not be offered, as there was a return from the darker spirit in this cave. The green-haired one phased out, but he knew this was coming. The final syllable wasn't mouthed at all, until the other spirit disappeared so he could return to visibility. At that point, he offered the last part of his name.

... du.

[Apollymi]

It seemed they were on fair terms now. Moving on, after offering her name, she started to receive one from this spirit. Strangely, he seemed a bit apprehensive about giving up that information intially. It made Miki wonder if it was for some specific reason. Still, he seemed to come to terms with it, mouthing his own name though there was a brief interruption while she chased off the spirit of the fallen from this place. 'En-ki-du. Enkidu?' she thought. There wasn't anything familiar about it. But... what if it was important in a way she didn't realize? "Sou ka, nice to meet you. It's really strange that we can't really talk, but maybe, it will get better after I clear this place..." she mentioned with a smile. "I want to help you... if I can. It has to suck being all alone and not really being able to reach out," she offered, knowing well herself the complications that came with loneliness. She didn't repeat his name aloud, taking it as one of those confidential pieces of information. She didn't want to potentially endanger him, she also didn't know what kind of enemies he faced nor why he was attached to her particularly.

It was time again, the cool of death approached once more and she saw the young boy druid standing before her once again. He was doing as she suggested and facing her, such seemed to be cementing his place in the Underworld but apparently he wasn't quite settled yet. "I mean... I could tell you my name, Tir'gon. You could call it outside and help me rise again. I mean, you'd have to sacrifice a single other person, but would that really be so bad?" the boy questioned. Which made Miki's left brow raise a bit. "I mean I know what I want to do, what's one listless life compared to mine?" he asked wanting to now earnestly. "That isn't a decision for me to make. I'll perform the proper rights when your body is ready. I'll leave you an offering but I will not... exchange your life for one unknown. That is against the natural order..." she told the lad, tears streamed down his face and he disappeared again. When this happened Miki sighed. "I wonder how often they expect me to tell a little kid I won't help him. It feels unnecessarily cruel..." All the same the lad's body was almost just bone and just below the surface of his flesh there was a jewel glowing a strange green. One which corresponded to the color her Mana appeared to be.

[Bloodedge]

There was no reason to believe this girl would do wrong with his name. At the rate she was going, she'd soon enough discover it anyway. Hearing that she was so willing to help him be free of the Underworld he was so clearly bound to, he seemed shocked. Had she actually heard him earlier? Perhaps she had, or perhaps... it was simply her way. The latter held at least some amount of truth; he could feel it as he looked at her. A smile found its way onto his face, and then, he began to fade again. It was the other spirit's turn once more. When the spirit which desired a return to this world vanished this time, he could return, albeit less clearly than he had the previous times. He even seemed to inspect his own hands, noticing that his time was beginning to dwindle again.

[Apollymi]

Miki seemed to be in wait. Her most recent run in with the lost boy's spirit was saddening. But there was a simple light in this, and it was Enkidu. Apparently, this lad found it in himself to smile, when she mentioned her willingness to help him. She really hoped that she could, given what he had to be going through. Speaking of, he seemed to be fading once more, not wholly but still he was less solid... less real than he had been before. "Are you really far away? You fade in and out a lot, but I figured you'd be a bit more solid here..." she said looking at him. It would be really bad if he faded completely before they got the chance to properly talk. But knowing his name, and feeling deep within the fiber of her being that there was nothing amiss with him and knowing that he was more alive than dead, she'd definitely want to help him out of the Underworld at her earliest convenience.

And then just as suddenly as he'd disappeared the Druid Child appeared before her again. This time, crying once more, inconsolable. Grieving? "Why me? Why do I have go? It's so scary I shouldn't have to go, I just don't want to face something like that alone..." he exclaimed. Miki looked at this child and had nothing but compassion in her heart. She hadn't the slightest clue what the proper way to address this situation was, but he'd get a fair bit of honesty. "Listen, sometimes, there are things we must face alone. There are paths that only you can take... and you grow from those journeys, just as you grow from the ones you take surrounded by friends. If you tarry any longer... you might never find out what awaits you. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do... is take that first step, " she said softly, speaking from a host of personal experiences. Her hand met the top of this little boy spirits head when she was done speaking and strangely the dark cloud that surrounded both him and his body dispersed with the contact. He looked up at her with water glistening in his eyes. He nodded his head twice and began walking away this time knees high as if he had purpose. "Alright, I'll be brave and face this next path." And with that he disappeared from her sight from the last time. She knew the lad was properly at rest, when all that remained of his body was bones and that glowing green gem she'd seen before. The gem itself would soon be within her hand, seemingly drawn to her magic. His bones on the other hand were a different story.

She treated this child to a special burial, prepared him a funerary mound within the walls and poured a small amount of the Atlantean Sea Spirit as a Libation for the lad. "There, I did promise to see you off properly. Maybe I shouldn't have given a kid his first drink in the afterlife, but... it's part of the journey," she said offering a smile. It'd only taken a moment, with her skill to accomplish this but she'd felt compelled to keep her promise to the lad she'd helped through his death and somehow she felt lighter for it.

[Bloodedge]

Indeed, he should have been a bit more solid than he was. He wondered if the other spirits in this area were reaching out to Miki, and thus had an impact on his own connection to her. He did suffer a weakened link when the previous spirit appeared, but that didn't explain other times. Overall, the bond had been growing stronger up to this point, but there were more recent fluctuations here and there. Odd as it was already, there was an additional oddity in the form of... nothing changing at all during the Druid spirit's final appearance. The one called Enkidu didn't fade, nor did he solidify during this appearance. It truly was something worth questioning, but there was little time now. Miki had completed another trial, and her overseer wasted no time before opening a path to the next. She could exit the Catacombs through a simple tunnel, leading out to the absolute depths of the Migrating Vale's forests. Enkidu gazed along this path before shifting his gaze in Miki's direction again. As far as he knew, he could simply follow her... for the moment.

[Apollymi]

At the end of her cleansing of the small druid boy, it seemed that there was only one path left for her to take. A sigh escaped the lass, as she saw it. "Alright, here goes nothing..." she mused to herself aloud as she always seemed to do in the strangest of movements. As she walked down this new path she noted that Enkidu was still with her, that was a bit strange, but she supposed he'd been popping up several times before now, so him showing up here was not really that surprising. "Yeah, just gonna march down to the creepiest forest I've ever seen," she murmured quietly to herself. "It's all good though, I have a nice friendly ghost on my side~" she mused happily. Still this forest was something worth being more than a bit afraid of, though she tried to be optimistic.

As the path continued, the unearthly cold of this area seemed to settle in, and she heard a strange noise. A clicking sound. Or rather more like a chipping. What she heard was someone or rather something using a pickaxe to hammer away at something stone. Upon reaching the area she came to a stop and bore witness to something which was a horrible sight for any who called the Migrating Vale their home. A hooded being used the pick axe to chip away at a large rune stone. Each time he hit the Runestone, an echo was heard and the fabric of reality seemed to shift. Miki saw it then a doorway to the Underworld being carved from a once active Runestone, in the middle of a desecrated Runestone Circle. "This... is... wrong." that was all Miki could say.

The creature beneath the hood didn't seem to notice her at all. No, it kept working, kept moving, unable to see life until it was right upon him, but unable to properly enter death. It'd been enticing random passerby Druids closer, feigning injury to sacrifice them on the stones and break them. Seven stones were broken with the blood of dead Druids only to have the last one being used to carve a portal. Strangely, it would be here, that something strange would happen and she'd be the most capable of talking to Enkidu. And this would become ultimately obvious as the last chip was made and the doorway created by the rock fell open, a downward curving path into the deep dark Underworld. A cheer from this undead being as his head tilted back and its hood fell away, revealing a skeletal visage, sunken red eyes and almost no skin. This being was barely humanoid, a strange evolution called a Shade. A person who had bound their essence to a singular point keeping it away from their body but using it to animate their corpse was performing the manual labor necessary to dig a path to the Underworld. Shades were intelligent creatures, who didn't keep their Soul Stones on themselves, they hid them away so that even if their bodies were destroyed they could simply call them back together.

[Bloodedge]

One had begun the journey, but two would be taking it in unison. Enkidu traveled alongside Miki, taking interest in the amount of elation she seemed to have due simply to having a companion... even a silent one. In this very basic way, they were very much kindred spirits. He recalled a time in which he, too, was happy just to have someone alongside him during trying times, or even a journey without risk for either person on an individual scale. It wasn't for the exact same reason, but the results had not changed. At the end of the day, they were both people who showed a very different mood when alone, versus in the company of others during the process of accomplishing a task.

Speaking of tasks, Miki was upon yet another. The final leg of her journey in the Migrating Vale, saw to it that she faced a Shade. Enkidu remained at range during this encounter. He wasn't far from a Shade himself, though one created by circumstance of the world, rather than at the hands of another directly. How would Miki handle this situation, he wondered. He knew her path would determine his own, but this seemed to be his first chance to witness part of her journey from beginning to end.

[Apollymi]

Miki did enjoy having someone else along with her, for various reasons. Not the least of which was that in her normal life, her old one, she was often left completely alone. Most people wouldn't approach her because she was an idol and famous and the ones who did weren't usually the types she wanted to deal with. The only people she had regular contact with worked for her, now she was managing to make friends ones who weren't on the payroll and ones who she could have equivalent exchanges with, and there was something about this she found utterly satisfying. Too bad she didn't have a lot of time to think about the happiness of this situation. Right at the moment there was a Shade and making sure it didn't do, whatever it was planning was quite important.

"Right, Shade in the forest, breaking down the barrier to the Underworld. Definitely going to need to fix this, on all fronts..." she said aloud but in a quick whisper to mostly herself though she fully acknowledged having someone else along. Attaining the Soul Stone of this Shade was the most important thing she could do. Getting it would stop it from being able to use it, and it was rumored that holding the Soul Stone of a Shade made it yours. She didn't have any intention of using such a creature, but potentially it would give her the ability to cleanse it quickly and deal with the dimensional gap to the Underworld. "Alright, I'll just Snatch his Soul Stone. Still, if I do it without knowing about where it is, he'll feel the brush of my magic and I'll lose the element of surprise," she murmured. "I'll need to draw some attention get him to move like he's protecting it, then I can take it directly," she concluded with a plan of attack which left her slamming one fist into her open palm. "Yosh! Show time."

A sharp whistle escaped the girl's lips, thrown slightly off of where she was. Immediately after, her spear weapon began to fly through the air, as if she was pinpointing something to the left of the creature. It looked up from its celebration and moved off to the back of the Circle of desecrated Runestones. As he moved around he seemed to be aiming to protect a specific body. An Miki watched from behind a tree with narrow eyes. "Sou ka, that makes sense, he hid it on one of the bodies. No one is going figure a Shade would hide his soul stone on a corpse..." she mumbled slapping her forehead with her open palm. Still there was more to be done. She moved her spear around, having it whiz through the air as the Shade got distracted trying to defend itself with a magical barrier Miki smirked lightly. "Fox Assault..." she used the attack which was more supplementary than an actual attack and felt the magical pull of something rather intense. Within a second a glowing red stone was in contact with her hand and the shade simply stopped moving completely. Her own calming nature stopping it from fretting as her spear returned to pillow form. "Technical CC is a pretty big fucking weakness if you can get it off him. It's like Pick-pocketing a Briarheart in Skyrim," she said the tension in her shoulders relaxing. 'I'm really lucky that worked... if it hadn't it would have known exactly where I was. Maybe I should have added Presence Concealment to this build...' she thought absently as she approached the creature.

It was still now. Its whole body apparently stuck because of what Miki had done taking hold of its Stone. The one which corresponded to it, was still hanging around its neck and glowing a violent magic. "Hush now, we are almost done here..." she mused. Miki reached up and placed her hand over the creatures heart, pulsing her Mana directly into it, and also into the stone in her other hand. Doing both of these things simultaneously began the process of cleansing this creature. But given the restored and new affixes to her Mana, her Purging of this creature would occur at a much faster rate. An almost instanteous pulse caused its body to glow white and then turn to dust as its Soul gathered within the stone and its body was released from its half-life state. His body aimed to collapse but Miki arranged it in funerary form. She'd be doing with with every body present, but there were other problems like the still open portal to the Underworld. "I wonder... can you talk to me now? I mean I should probably figure out what I need to do for you, before this portal is closed..." she asked of Enkidu. She'd work while they conversed but she did need to figure out how to help him, likely before she closed this portal, if she could close it.

[Bloodedge]

Enkidu was in for quite a show, it seemed. To be more specific, he was able to see the reason there was a connection between Miki and himself, beyond her identity as a Necromancer. After taking the time to discover where the object she sought was hidden among potential targets, Miki showcased the ability to grab the object she desired at range, and bring it to herself. Enkidu's eyes widened. He had an... understanding of this technique. Though unlike his own, he likened it to a trap of sorts which produced a cage.

... A cage.

Yes, it all made sense! There was a link between them, and that link went well beyond the norm! There was no way Miki would understand it just yet, but he did; he knew where this bond would lead. First though, came the matter of Miki being at the precipice of the Underworld itself, where his true form lay. A soul was beyond this realm, but its placement was in fact, beside Miki. Two planes of existence, overlapping one another, left them standing side-by-side, looking in the same direction, capable of seeing one another, yet very far apart. Enkidu raised his right hand, pointing it at the gate. Through said gate, one would soon be able to see a series of chains moving from the Underworld's version of Miki and Enkidu's location, forward. They could not, however, turn around and pass through the gate itself, as Enkidu found himself bound to Miki's location.

[Apollymi]

Miki looked upon the precipice of the Underworld and saw... chains? That was a bit strange, but having done all the things she needed to do except for the re-establishment of the stones, it seemed like to help her new friend she had to go in. "Oh? I have to just take a casual stroll in the Underworld, huh?" she questioned aloud. "Alright, let's do this..." she said taking each step forward with glorious purpose. Was she scared? Yes, absolutely. Each soft push of her feet as she approached the opening seemed a bit shaky at first. But...

She'd continue to press forward.

Miki was a thorough believer in taking ones own advice. In acting yourself the way you'd want from others. Her leadership style reflected this, but this character she'd made did the same thing. She wouldn't allow a person to suffer knowing they were alive, if a moment of her own discomfort or fear would save them. What was the value of another persons life worth to Miki? Quite a lot it would seem as she crossed the border into the cold dark that was death and started her descent down the path of the Underworld. Guided by chains she headed towards what she assumed was the body of Enkidu. Her first few steps in the Underworld were marked by an understanding of how different his place was to the one outside. "This place is kind of boring... and empty," she said as she stepped through. Small blue lights seemed to show the way, but the more she moved the more she realized that these were simply how the souls of the dead manifested here. They were bound in place lining the walkways, but she couldn't quite see how. But slowly but surely her understanding of this place would become clearer as they went along. Eventually she came to a large gate which was closed and blocked her path. What did this gate need? "Eh? How do I move forward?" she asked aloud, this was the path she walked, she might as well see it all the way through.

[Bloodedge]

Oh, how quickly she decided to delve directly into the Underworld. Enkidu seemed to take a particular interest in her resolve to go forth without hesitation, but instead of mulling over it, he stepped forward as well. The chains seen through the space between realms retracted. As Miki entered the portal, he remained alongside her. Mere moments passed before both of them stood side-by-side in the Underworld, a place seemingly unfamiliar to Miki, yet very, very familiar to Enkidu. She was right; the Underworld was an empty, boring husk of a realm. He'd been here longer than he could remember, and he wanted little more than to be free of it... for reasons which changed on occasion.

Either way, Miki overcame her observations of the realm with an inquiry involving her progression through this place. Enkidu was clearly confused, wondering if there was something else keeping her here, beyond her desire to assist him. With a tilt of his head, he spoke his first audible clause since even touching the Overworld. "Do you want to move forward?"

[Apollymi]

Stopped at the first gate, Miki heard for the first time the voice of Enkidu. Her eyes widened with surprise and she managed not to jump. "Alright, definitely can hear you now. That's a relief, though still a little surprising..." she said turning back and looking at him taking her eyes away from the gate to stare at what was obviously a confused man. He asked if she wished to move forward though and that was something worth pondering for quite a bit.

"Well, I did originally step over with the intention of helping you. Now, I can hear you though so... whatever connects us is probably complete enough for you to be able to leave," she said thinking about it from a game play perspective instead of just a world experience. "I could leave now, I guess but I get the nagging feeling I should go forward. I don't think I can truly finish this path without seeing what is at the end," she said with a slight upward inflection. "I didn't go through this part in the game but gamer brain says following all lore as best as possible will help me overall. And Gatekeepers are pretty clear about seeing situations all the way through and getting abject clarity on things," she mentioned of the current sect of Druids she was aiming to become an adult in. Still she turned around as if she was ready to head back out.

"I don't know how closely we're related in this though. I won't drag you along on what could be a wild goose chase or a potential death trap, you've been down here long enough. I doubt the portal will close properly without interference from below somewhere, so... I'll walk you out first then I'll come back and figure out the gates," she said having this plan of action as one that would be least traumatizing to the man whom she'd come to help. "Besides you probably have a lot of other things you'd rather do, than explore a place you've been trapped in already. Friends and stuff to look for..." she said giving all due consideration to this man. She couldn't hold him up on his own potential journey just to find out truths of this world for herself. No, it was better if she released him to the best of her ability then she'd finish her work here.