it is to her surprise when she hears the priestess laugh, the sing song melody of her voice reminiscent of a bird's call. in the past, sariel had found it grating, having been a victim of the mockingbird. but now it seemed sweet, honeyed words that asked sariel if she had found her answer. she pulls verona to her feet.

"no..." she admits. but her hands squeeze the priestess's tight, and she glances at the priestess with a renewed sense of vigor.

"but i have found purpose."

she turns and walks, the priestess obediently following her as they leave the chamber. the entei may be walking, but it would not wait forever. their journey was quiet, only the sounds of their footsteps echoing through the walls. deeper they went, occasionally pausing to take note of the increasing vibrations, and with each step was the subtle rising of water; shallow for now, but with the primal god's arrival, they may not be so lucky should they waste time.

the entei seemed to be leading them to yet another chamber even more spectacular than the last. it had been some time since she had seen so many of these crystals; and they had never shone so bright before. with their light came darkness—form. upon closer inspection, what amorphous forms that had lived in the crystals were in actuality visions.

tempest skybringer. will of continents. primal seas.

ancient titans.

all these visions of other worlds. of other gods.

in her own vision, she imagines each and every one of them bleeding, dying. for as long as she lived, she would fulfill this creed. a new world reborn; may she one day return to find none of these legendary pokemon in the reflections of these crystals, having wiped their existence from human society. it filled her with hatred, seeing them alive.

remembering her daughter dead.

the crystals slowly dim.

from the darkness materialized another ENTEI, one that which can sense their ill intent. but this entei, as opposed to the one that had guided them, responds with hostility instead of curious benevolence.

the ROAR makes her stumble, makes her heart beat furiously against her chest. was it an illusion like the past, only to disappear after death? perhaps the illusion had only been a prelude to what was to come. the look in the other entei's eyes...she could sense that it was far more intent on murdering them.

she looks back at the entei that had healed them, wondering if it had only just led them into another trap. but it had not shown them any hostility other than the ones they had drummed up in their mind. if it was truly kyle lopez 's ward, should it not embody the hopes and dreams of its late champion?

"if you are who you show yourself to be, ENTEI, then you seek the truth. let us live to see another day, and i shall return the favour twicefold." she says quietly, wary of the hostile legendary.

the illusory entei charges at them, bounding towards the humans at an extreme speed. "priestess, run!" she says. wasting no time, sariel grabs her hand and turns. panic was setting in—a new feeling. for so long she wished for death, and waited. but now she runs, seeking to preserve herself for her new purpose.

will they return to origin, or will they be reborn anew?

[attr="class","poketeam"]

verona santillian kyle lopez

10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.

the waters whisper.

gently, softly: the ocean bleeds into the stone. water drips from the stalactites. her face is turned toward the heavens and she hums a familiar lullaby as they descend deeper and deeper into the cave. one droplet navigates her features and verona follows in sariel's step.

she is disinterested in all that there is now and marvels instead at all that which could be. she only looks again when the crystals match the refrain. the cavern sings to her and verona dares not join the chorus.

each facet of the crystals cuts into another timeline.

another place, another face: verona sees the alternatives. one, in which she thinks she would've seen another future than this. and another, where she sees no future at all. but more than that, there are others ad infinitum. places that she's never seen, worlds that seamlessly overlap with this one, gods and creatures that look just like entei and kyogre but are not all at once. she wonders what should happen if she reaches for one. the image is so sharp that she thinks she may cut herself on an alternative.

her hand retreats from the shepherd as sheep is drawn to water. her touch sends ripples through a mirror. wonder, marvel: human things that she's forgotten.

things she's meant to forget.

her head jerks to attention when the awe is torn asunder by a roar of finality. it lurches and verona fails to move until she is forced. she stumbles, nearly falls and runs still as though buoyed by her command as illusory beast chases on their heels. it is not clear where it is that they are running. only that they were. the two navigate as the earth beneath her feet grows warmer even as the rising sea remains frigid. primal entities are at odds still as they cross the threshold of another cavern.

the unbirthing ghosts cling to her skirts like a child.

"there is blood in the water."

[attr="class","poketeam"]

kyle lopez sariel duong

10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.

one must imagine the type of destruction a legendary pokemon must bring in its unbridled rage; the entei that chases after them roared once again, forcing her to keep up her pace. around them, the air heats, and she feels SACRED FIRE billowing behind them, crashing onto the walls of the cave they ran through. she looks back to the priestess, ensuring that she was still there, still safe.

surprisingly enough, the other entei had tailed the two, ensuring their safety with moves of its own. regardless of its own intentions, and whether it had accepted her deal, it did not matter now. what mattered now was getting out alive—by any means possible.

and so they enter the next chamber. it is filled with the typical tera crystals, glowing softly, though with no depictions of other universes like the one before. but crystals were not the only thing present in this chamber; there are murals from ancient times. despite the illusory entei on their tails, sariel still cannot help but gaze curiously at the murals around them.

carvings stained with ink stood the test of time; it was an ancient ritual. and there was none so more vivid than the red blood. it ran down from the creature's wound, having just been sacrificed. underneath it laid an orb, freshly covered in its crimson hue.

sacrifice it demands. she understands it well.

a few seconds pass, until she can hear the hostile entei's footsteps echoing down the hall. they had little time to prepare. and so the shepherd releases the sheep, one of pure white fur and pure intentions.

"maria," she whispers. her sheep, who held her heart as much as any other. she holds its head in her hands and stares into its blank eyes. "in witnessing a god, shall we be spared in its presence and our offerings duly received." she murmurs.

she keeps it still as she motions for everyone to move into positions, hiding in the shadows, behind the large crystals that jutted from the entrance.

in her hand is a knife, eager for blood.

when the illusory entei enters the chambers, its eyes first alight on the wooloo in front. vicious it was as it leaped onto the prey animal, ripping it to shreds. the wooloo cried in pain, confused and frantically trying to escape. but it was weak...so weak was the animal against the rage of a legendary. sariel's face contorts into pain, her chest feeling tight against her bleeding heart.

into the shallow waters did the blood drip, the shepard's legacy now stained. the priestess had foretold it after all—

blood in the water.

"COPYCAT."

from the manifestations of a god witnessed, on its last breath came a STONE EDGE. weak as it were, but still effective; the sharp stone cuts into the legs of the entei, thin cones that kept it in place for the finale of their swan song. they lept out from the shadows. an ambush.

a blade glints in the facets of the many universes, and she strikes it from behind its neck, sinking the blade deep into its flesh. where there had been fire before—illusory as it were, was now blood. real in every sense: in warmth, in its thick viscosity.

all gods must die.

[attr="class","poketeam"]

verona santillian kyle lopez

10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.

as the world would have it, pokemon and human work in tandem as partners in all things.

that is their role. their fate, as it is that these creatures would pay for their sins though they were crafted in the image of the gods. and hers, for transgressions made from before she was called priestess. from when she'd only been verona. it is in this way that she sees what they say is the natural order of things.

this unwelcome interloper forces its opposite back.

its urgency is born of an inherent desire to protect that which is weaker than it. it needs no command. it needs only the basest instincts to see this through.

dragalge falters because it has grown too weak. bound to her, as all pokemon are to humans, where they ought seek liberation above companionship.

the shepherd's pokemon too.

this entei, for its life is inextricably linked with a dead champion. why does it still yet linger?

the ground shakes and rumbles beneath her as the waters turn crimson as lamb is conveyed as a sacrifice. she thinks of her own throat as she steps past the threshold as sariel does battle with a god and as the rest of this blighted world rejects their destiny in some meaningless fight for their morals and for their honor. light feet traipse across carved stone, curved altars and a stone that neither glows or hums with recognition for what has been delivered unto it.

she does not recognize ritual of human advent.

she recognizes only what the sea provides her—a toxapex—before the quaking grows. an earsplitting explosion, and the earth swallows them whole.

[attr="class","poketeam"]

kyle lopez sariel duong

10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.