The shrine reminded her a lot of the one back in Blackthorn City, except this one had been worn down; and frankly, she hadn't expected to find an ancient shrine here at all. Still, the assassin seemed to be one of many to visit, and that it would soon be here turn to ring the bell in proper. Like she'd been taught however, Kyrenai acted solemnly once she drew near, as did the young Deino at her side--her latest capture, and currently in training.

She had no idea yet which potential she held, but maybe getting a blessing from this Draconid shrine would aid her in uncovering that. Kyrenai hoped so. If the past came back to haunt her, she'd at least wished to be ready for it.

Deino learns DRAGON HAMMER

Not his first rodeo in an otherworldy realm? Curious. But she wouldn't ask him about it while they were still on the move, she'd rather keep her wits and focus about while traveling; the assassin could question Kazimir later on, once they'd found a suitable spot to set up camp. The path to the waterfall was winding further up ahead, like a steep mountain pass. It did not seem traveled a lot, but it was goable at the very least. Kyrenai kept her pace going, eyes up ahead while Kazimir slowly but well started disappearing in the corner of her eye, until he'd fully left her sight. She wasn't about to question the why-- perhaps he needed a private moment.

Yet when she realised how far he'd gotten behind, and the amount of distance between them, she slowed her pace as well, glancing over her shoulder to see Kazimir having stopped dead in his tracks, back faced towards her. "Oi, you coming?" she asked, only to frown when he retorted about her having heard something. The assassin only shook her head. She'd been paying attention to her surroundings, but hadn't heard anything at all.

"Heard what exactly?" she questioned, hand resting on her blade. Although doubtful, missing a sound could've been a possibility. But the way in which her partner just wanted to pick up the pace instead, climbing up the path at twice the speed they'd been going at, Kyrenai frowned. It seemed as if something had spooked the man... but what could've possibly done that? More questions to ask later on--- for now, she walked on with him.

The closer they got to the waterfall, the stranger the water seemed to be; there was a rather stark difference in the middle of the waterfall compared to the top or bottom. Far darker, as if it was hiding something behind it. Very faintly she thought she spotted something else, but the mist and water splashing off extending rocks made it hard to be certain. "Hey, Wynter, I think there's something behind that waterfall. Right about the middle, do you see it?" she softly nudges his arm, pointing at the strange object she made out behind it.

The longer she looked however, the clearer she started seeing it-- was it glowing?

"... actually, I'm going to give it a closer look. Feel free to join me if you want!"

Sprinting the last bit towards the base of the waterfall, Kyrenai gave the wall a glance to mentally outline the path she could take and started climbing. The way in which she was just swinging and tossing herself from extending rock to the next ledge made the ascend look easy, but she was glad the surface wasn't as slippery as she'd first thought it to be. She'd give Kazimir a glance to see if he was following or not before disappearing behind the waterfall, into a small cave barely able to hold six people. But the strange circular structure she found behind it, glowing and cracked, was something she'd never seen before.

Cautiously, she got closer to inspect it.


Kazimir Wynter , Serena Malcolm , onyx straub , genesis aria fox

Tldr;
- Finds Kazimir's behavior kinda sus
- Spots something strange behind the waterfall, suggests checking it out
- Personal Prompt: use assassin skills (ongoing) ~ Makes climbing the waterfall look like childsplay
- Prompt 02: examine the broken seal to the east, found behind a roaring waterfall.

Sword be broken, but damned she still was.

Rather than to find release of her plight, or rather their remembrance, the grip of the corpses' hands only grew tighter. They multiplied, and for every pair that joined their wails of sorrow started echoing through her mind; pleading for a mercy she never had bestowed. Cursing her. A sole few dared whisper they understood, but the voices that spoke those words were warped and twisted, nigh demonic.

Yet what truly drove her to her knees was the sight of a torn face, its chilling voice a mere whisper in her ear despite the words it spoke.

"You promised..."

And then they fused with the ghosts that had given her and the other one their final order.

ONLY ONE.



tps8Gygi


tldr;
- Not using the Ghoul Bonus, tis up to fate now
- 20 resolve to 0 resolve (-50 resolve, none matched)

She'd just let the man whistle away as they wandered across The Border; she hadn't spoken much past her introduction and the occassional few words, prefering silence over casual banter. Penny had taken to these lands as well for reasons beyond her ken, but rather than stick to the councilwoman's side she'd opted to explore as well, and to bring back her own findings at a later date.

Yet while she'd originally intended to go alone, she'd been paired with someone else from the League. Only a minor setback, but the man'd proven agreeable company--- potent, too, by the looks of the Urshifu he'd taken along. They made whatever this world was that much more lively; for peaceful as it may seem, she did not trust it. Like for people silent waters ran deep, she too believed that for places, peace only hid chaos waiting to be unchained. It was why she had not called any of her pokémon out to aid their scouting. Why the sword at her side had been shifted ever so slightly so she could access it more swiftly; and the knives hidden across her person had been subtly altered to more accessible areas.

She knew better than to trust the silence of this realm.

Even if the silence was soon broken by the sounds of a roaring waterfall off in the distance. Her gaze followed the direction Kazimir Wynter pointed towards, and she nodded to his observations. Yes, if the water was drinkable that would be their best bet, though she could only hope they did not harbor as much wildlife as the ones back in Hoenn did. They'd just have to be careful.

The assassin just watched as the Urshifu shrugged at her and took charge, a faint smirk playing on her lips. She liked that one already, though she would not say. Kyrenai sped up her pace to walk beside Kazimir Wynter instead, and for the first time since their entry into The Borders decided to make actual conversation with the man, though she'd never let down her guard fully. "Just don't let them catch you off guard. No matter how nice things look, I'd be more comfortable once we've mapped out this location," she replied, not quite as enthusiastically as the blond man. Though the teasing smile she wore as she continued showed she didn't mean it in a bad way. "Though afterwards we could definitely take the scenic tour, I'm sure."



Kazimir Wynter , Serena Malcolm , onyx straub , genesis aria fox

Tldr;
- Has brought her secret stash of knives
- Secretly wouldn't mind touristing, but is too vigilant
- Kyrenai approves of waterfall camping

There's a blonde beyond the face that speaks to them; she doesn't know him, she doesn't care for him either. Not now. Not when the face of billowing smoke renders them a final 'order', if to call it anything at all.

Only one.

She stares at the horror in silence, nailed to the ground in a way she'd only felt like years prior, during a time that had shaped her completely. Eyes close, waiting for it to be over, but when Kyrenai dares peek again she's met with pain. Sharp, undiluted, familiar pain.

A sword protrudes from her abdomen like a proud beacon, the eyes of Enryō looking down upon her ever so coldly. She's yet to sink to her knees, but she feels the ground below her is no longer stable, a mountain of corpses she finds herself on. There's no power left in her hands, and whatever energy she has left is forced into her chest, trying to keep her heart and lungs from failing her. When she looks down, she sees her comrade looking back at her with lifeless eyes, a hand gripping her arm and trying to pull her to her knees.

Enryō's silence of becomes like a pressure upon her. Even when she'd failed, her master had always explained their shortcomings, so they could learn. Yet he had warned;

One day the dead would come to claim them once more.

Such was their fate, as assassins of Enryō's creed. Only one would live, and all else would fall by their sword.

Comrades.

Fellow Disciples.

Their Master.

More hands would reach for her, lifeless bodies clinging to the one that cut them down, hoping to drag her back to hell with them. She wants to fight, struggle against them, but the sword does not let her. Her eyes meet her master's again, and the rage that had triggered her earlier breaks with silent tears. The assassin does not like to be reminded of the truth to her current life, of the sorrow. Of the sins she had to commit.

Her comrades. Her fellow disciples. Her master.

Her victims.

Rather than pull the sword out, her hands wrap around the hilt and push. The blade in her abdomen breaks, reverting past to present, and wound to scar, hot and stinging like it had been newly inflicted. But it were mere phantom pains. Just like this horror was merely a phantom of her past. She'd already made peace with said phantoms years ago; them haunting her was their right. As it was her plight to never forget the sacrifices made.


KUTOkDzv


Tldr;
- 20/50 resolve + 1x Ghoul Bonus ready (3x failed rolls, matched 95 and 65)

The assassin grasps into nothingness; no throats. No physical way to ban the tension in her body.



"W̷̨͔͚̼͐̉̐̿̆̑̾̈́͟͝E͚̬̞̥̹̪͗̾̽̂̕ Ẁ̴̧̛̪̲̳̣̽̃̌̂̂̌̕Į̵̞̺̜̪͉̤̀͑̀̇̐̂̒͝ͅL̴̛̩̞̙̲̟̫͓̯̙̀͐͊̆̊̏Ļ̡͔̼̙͖̳̼͛́̂̎̇͘ͅ B̼̱͇͎̰̲̈͗͒̏̐̈́ͅR̷̰͈͙̜̠̎͗̊̀̓̍̍̎͞͝ͅĘ̴̧͉͖͔͎̀̏́̀͑̀̓A̤̣̩͈͖̰̐͊̀̋̂̾̉̐͞ͅͅK̯͍̫̰̬͚̗͈͊͂̎́̾̊ Ý̪̯͇͚͙̱̩̮̍̍̎̄̃ͅO̯̯̟̲̬͛͊͐̅̿͡U̷͔͍̲̥͔̗̽͗̃̐́͌́͐͘͢!͖̣͍͎̝̎̿͛̄͌̕͢͝"



"No. No. Nonono. I will break YOU!" she roars at the guardian haunting her, her face frozen in a contortion of fear and rage; her voice frantic in comparison. Kyrenai can feel how the adrenaline's racing through her veins, begging her to put it to use-- kill.

She lunges.

One face becomes many, and although she recognises none, the madness it's pulling from her memories makes her think she knows them. It's fueling the illusion, and she's drawn to its taunt like a moth to a flame, unable to resist. Yet what it triggers isn't something the light of day should witness.

Nor the shadows of a haunted house.



I invoke the hidden power of Azulmas!
1GQsdwde

Tldr;
- Gather 'round children, auntie Kyr's losing her mind
- Roll 1 - C3 // Roll 2 - C2 // Roll 3 - C1 // Roll  4 - C5 (fail) // Roll 5 - C4

Resolve 30/50

The voice that whispers in her ear as she ascends the stairs sends a sensation through her body that she hasn't felt in ages. Rather than chills it feels like someone's stabbing daggers in her gut, twisting the blade so viciously that she has to halt her step.

It whispers again, this time more clearly, making the assassin grit her teeth. Whatever emotion was present has made way for an expression of cheer confusion and fear, eyes wide-spread and pupils narrowed to their smallest being. Her stomach churns again, lips mere streaks on her face in pale white, almost entirely blended into her skin.

"You're supposed to be dead."

"But am I truly, little red?"

The fear in her expression remains, but there's a steel-y rage bubbling in her eyes, her voice a mere hiss at the question the voice poses. Being reminded of this person, what they'd done to her; she hated it. Feared it. It had been her sole weakness, and she'd dealt with it accordingly to overcome it.

"You are." she growls. "And if not, I will kill you again."

Her phantom nemesis only chuckles, seemingly manifesting behind her as it whispers a final few words. The assassin turns on her heels, lunging for thin air-- or someone's throat, if they've been unfortunate enough to have walked behind her.



Tldr;
- Someone she fears
- Kyr's a violent scaredy-cat
- Thanks for the memories
- Mood's gone sub-zero now
- Are we grabbing someone's throat? Find out next post!