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sylusmistress · 1 month ago

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Run Kitten... Run

Chapter 1: King of the Wanderers

Five days, three hours, forty-five minutes and twenty seconds. That’s how long you’ve been searching through the dense woods outside the N109 Zone looking for the man that has been dubbed as King of the Wanderers. Originally you didn’t have plans to take on this mission, especially since you are still dealing with the grief of losing your childhood friend Caleb and your Grandma Josephine, but Tara insisted that getting out and working in the field would do wonders for your mental state instead of sulking around the office and letting your mind drift off to a dark place. Now after being out in these woods with little to no rations left, a broken tent, and the burning desire to take a five-hour long bath, you have made a mental note to chew Tara out when you return home and to never take her advice ever again.

“This is fine… this is fine… When I return to Linkon City I’ll take an extravagant bubble bath and then I’ll cook myself a feast meant for a king and eat it all by myself.” In a desperate attempt to keep your sanity from slipping you mumble softly to yourself to keep your mind distracted from how alone you feel out in these woods. The comforting autumn sun is beginning to set and with your tent being on its last leg (literally) you are dreading having to spend another sleepless night outside under the moon and stars. Although you thrive in social settings, you’ve never been much of a social butterfly and under different circumstances you would relish in the idea of being alone with your thoughts and no one to distract you. But after five days of silence besides the occasional monologues you speak out loud to yourself or the shrieking whines of low-level wanderers you’ve slayed, you are in need of communicating with someone or any living creature besides yourself.

Turning your head to the side you notice the fluttering of black crow wings as they soar through the charming blue sky and land from tree branch to tree branch until it finds a comfortable sitting position. Considering that the file you were given for this mission explicitly stated that this wooden area was desolate besides the presence of wanderers you are somewhat confused about the presence of a crow. But you aren’t someone that is willing to disregard a blessing as you scour the woodland ground in search for any fallen grains or berries you can offer to the nearby bird.

With a handful of unidentifiable berries that could possibly be poisonous if consumed by a human you carefully walk up to the birch tree that looks as if it’s been growing in the same spot for hundreds of years and hold your cupped hands up in the air like an offering to an ancient god. “Psst… Psst… hey there birdie. Would you like a snack? I’m not sure if it’s very tasty but my name is Y/N, and it is a pleasure to meet you.”

After your cheerful greeting an uncomfortable silence befalls between you and the black crow that stays silent while eyeing the pitiful offering in your hands before letting out a disgruntled cawk and flying to another tree branch to sit upon. Squinting your eyes at the bird that blatantly disregarded your offering, your irritation grows as you toss the mystery berries down onto the woodland ground and wipe your hands on your pants before turning on your heels to begin your journey once more. “I swear when I get back, I’ll give Tara a piece of my mind… ‘Go on the mission,’ she says… ‘Fresh air will help get you out of this mental funk,’… blah, blah, blah. I feel worse now than when I was at home in my bed.” Another hour of you grumbling to yourself and trekking through the woods passes before you feel the Aether Core in your heart begin to rapidly thump and buzz in your chest. The sensation is unbearable and feels dangerously close to a heart attack as you let out a loud shriek and almost fall into the dry patched woodland ground before steading yourself against a nearby oak tree.

“W-W-What is happening?” Fear and panic begin settling in as you try to do your best not freak out, but your mind is swirling with different possibilities as to what could be wrong. Quickly you begin undoing the top four buttons of your shirt to expose your sternum as your eyes try to locate what could be causing you immense distress.

“A-Am I wounded?” Narrowing your eyes with circumspectly precaution at your flesh, you ensure you haven’t somehow been struck by an invisible wanderer and when you decide you aren’t dealing with any external damage you try to focus on what you are feeling internally and attempt to give yourself a self-diagnosis. “I wish Zayne was here. He would know how to fix this... whatever it is…” You whine breathlessly to yourself before taking three big deep breaths and settle your beating heart enough to focus on other breathing techniques Zayne previously taught you before departing for your mission.

One. Inhale. Two. Exhale. Three. Inhale. Four. Exhale. Repeatedly you mentally repeat the simple mantra to yourself until you feel your heartbeat return to its normal pace. Peeling your eyes back open, you gently run the tips of your fingers over your exposed flesh and slightly wince when you press down on where your Aether Core resides. It has been years since you’ve experienced such a sharp and distressing ache around your heart, and you begin to theorize that exerting yourself during this mission in combination with losing your loved ones the week before might have been too much for your heart to handle right now.

Regardless of what you may theorize, your inability to back down from a challenge is one of your biggest strengths as well as your biggest weakness and so far, your track record as a rookie Hunter has been spotless with no failed missions. Ignoring the logical voice screaming at you in the back of your mind to turn back around and schedule an appointment to visit Dr. Zayne, you decide to take one more deep breath before rebuttoning up your shirt and carrying on through the dense woods.

Unlike the previous night’s trudging through the woods, it seems that luck is finally on your side as you come across a clearing where the trees aren’t as dense, and the shining moon is shining down enough light to let you see your surroundings clearly without a fire. Using your hunter watch to scan for any possible metaflux levels, you determine that even though this area is out in the open it is a relatively safe location before finding a tree stump and plopping down next to it with an fatigued sigh.

Utilizing this moment of peace, you continue using your hunter watch and reread the file that was assigned to you for this assignment. It was previously estimated that it would take around four days to complete the journey and find the King of the Wanderers, but worry is starting to set in. You’ve been out in these woods for five days and the only wanderers you have encountered so far have all been low level cases that barely pose a threat to anyone. Additionally, it states that this land is void of any life besides wanderers and your mind drifts back to the presence of that rude black crow you met earlier. “Something about this whole mission seems off… but I can’t pinpoint what it is…” While replaying the events leading up until now a thought crosses your mind that maybe Jenna made a mistake but you quickly clear that idea from your mind. As leader of the Alpha Team, it is unlikely that someone as competent as Jenna would have made a critical error that could result in you possibly dying a tragic death out in these woods. Right?

Letting out a disgruntled sigh you lean your head back against the tree stump and close your eyes momentarily as you begin thinking deeper about the mission you are currently on. At the moment you are hungry, physically and mentally exhausted, have little to no food rations left, you aren’t sure if you experienced a heart attack earlier and need to meet with Dr. Zayne as soon as possible, your tent is of no use, and above all else you are unable to sleep the night away because every time you drift off to sleep you have flashbacks to the explosion that killed Caleb and Grandma Josephine.

You are a prideful woman, but the longer you allow yourself to weigh the pros and cons of the situation you have been placed in you are beginning to feel yourself give in to defeat just this once. Dragging your hands down your face you wipe away a lone tear that seemed to have escaped your right eye before looking down at your hunter watch and hovering your finger over the communication hub. With just a click of a button you can call for backup and be extracted from this mission in less than twenty minutes. “I tried… I really did try…” With just one… simple... click…

The momentarily feeling of weakness quickly vanishes when you press the button, and nothing happens. Wiping your eyes once more you sit up with your back straightened and your senses now on high alert as you start frantically pressing down to request for backup. The more you press the button the more your hunter watch seems to glitch until it eventually fades out to an unresponsive black screen. “Fuck!” Immediately you remove the watch from your wrist and check to see if the device has died from low battery percentage. Swallowing a nervous lump in your throat when you see that the battery and inner mechanisms of the watch are all working properly. There is technically nothing wrong with the device, but you feel your skin prickling with fear knowing that there must be something or someone nearby interfering with the connection.

Because of your intense hunter training you can momentarily get a grip on your fear and pull out one of your hunter firearms from its holster before standing to your feet and getting into a defensive position. Focusing all your senses on your Evol you attempt to seek out any enemy energy that may be lingering nearby but the moment you do this you feel your heart start rapidly beating once again. Wincing at the pain that building in your chest you decide to stop trying to use your Evol before you unintentionally cause irreparable damage to your heart.

From out of the corner of your eye you spot a looming shadowy figure dressed in a black leather jacket with red and white thorns decorating the material, a black sweater, a pair of black leather pants, boots, and gloves to finish the look. If you weren’t so busy mentally planning what your next move will be, you would have appreciated how put together this mystery man’s monochromatic outfit was. Because it is now close to midnight, the moon that sits high in the sky cascades down a spotlight to show you the man approaching has a build that is larger than life. His messy silver hair flies down over his forehead allowing you to only catch a glimpse of his bright red eyes. Living in Linkon City you’ve come across various types of people with features that could be classified as ‘abnormal’, but you have never met anyone with eyes as red as two twinkling rubies. While taking in his sharp facial features for a split second you swear that you can see his right eye glowing but when you blink it seems your imagination might be playing tricks on you because of how exhausted you are. “Well, well, well… What do we have here? A scared little kitten that seems to have lost her way?”

Tightening the grip on your weapon you hold it out in front of you and glare at the man before you with a vicious intent in your eyes. Despite your stature and appearance, you are a top ranked rookie hunter for a reason and based on the information given about this mission no one should be in these woods besides – “I am not lost and do not call me ‘kitten’. My name is Y/N, now, who are you and what business do you have out here?”

The man before you simply stares at you with his piercing red eyes before quietly chuckling to himself and in the blink of an eye positions himself in front of you while directing your firearm to point directly at his chest. “It seems that you are scared like a kitten, have claws like a kitten, and dare I say you are as feisty as a kitten. Are you sure I shouldn’t call you kitten?”

All the fear you previously possessed is now replaced with the irritation you felt earlier as you do your best to keep a poker face and not show an ounce of vulnerability in the face of a possible enemy. There was no physical description on what the King of Wanderers would look like but there was a note in the file that stated once you meet him you would know in your heart who you are dealing with. When you initially read the file, you didn’t think that you would physically be able to feel in your heart how dangerous the man standing before you is. “You did not answer my questions, and I am not fond of repeating myself. I am a skilled hunter from Linkon City, and I will ask you once more, who are you and what business do you have all the way out here?”

With an amused smile plastered on his face the stranger standing before you tightly grasps your hand that’s holding onto your firearm and hovers his finger over the same trigger you have your index placed on. Again, your emotions are all over the place as your irritation now migrates to a bottomless pit of confusion. You aren’t sure what kind of man you are dealing with, especially since it seems that he is silently telling you that he feels that you holding a gun to his chest is not at all threatening or even worth acknowledging with words. “When Mephisto told me that you lacked manners I assumed he was exaggerating.” In one swift movement the gun that was held tightly in your hands is effortlessly disarmed and tossed carelessly to the ground as red and black energy tendrils appear out of nowhere and wrap around your wrist, leaving you immobilized and in a state of shock. “I’m sure whatever profile the Hunter Association has on me lists my name as ‘King of the Wanderers’, but I prefer to go by Sylus. As for my business out here, well… This is my domain, Kitten. And you are trespassing.”

The moment the words ‘my domain’ and ‘trespassing’ leaves from his lips to your ears you feel your mouth go dry and your head starts to feel light headed. Something about all this still isn’t adding up to you and you let out a soft groan when you feel the red and black tendrils tighten uncomfortably around your wrist. “Your domain?… L-Let me go!” Wiggling around to free yourself from the energy bondage you feel another batch of tendrils wrap around your neck and your ankles, forcing you to stay completely still. “I-I said l-l-let me go! Y-you are under arrest, and I need to bring you in for questioning –”

Your pleas fall on deaf ears as Sylus stares at you with an unreadable expression and tightens the hold on your body once more. Not enough to kill you but the tightness is enough to leave a bruise in the morning... if you make it until the morning. Closing the distance between the two of you the air becomes thick enough to cut through and you watch as his face momentarily contorts to one of displeasure before returning to his stoic expression. For the second time tonight, it appears that his right eye is glowing but the intensity of it this time around is a lot more obvious, and you are sure that you aren’t just seeing things because of your exhaustion or the current predicament you find yourself in.

The longer you are wrapped in his energy manipulation Evol and stare at his glowing right eye the more you begin to feel the Aether Core in your heart causing you agonizing pain in your chest. Compared to earlier, this pain in your torso is enough to bring tears to your eyes and you feel as if you just want to claw your heart out to rid your body of this insufferable pain.

With a curious expression Sylus tilts his head to the side and watches countless tears fall from your eyes. Because he has total control of his Evol he is one hundred percent sure he isn’t squeezing you tight enough to bring tears to your eyes and wonders why you are crying, but the moment you begin screaming loudly in pain a sudden surge of discomfort can be felt in his glowing right eye. “What the fu–” Blinking rapidly Sylus momentarily loses focus and almost drops your body down onto the woodland ground before refocusing his concentration and holding you within his energy tendrils again.

“It seems this little kitten is hiding a secret,” This time instead of holding your body tightly, Sylus ensures that his tendrils feel like a gentle caress against your skin. There is something familiar and comforting about being wrapped in his Evol energy, but you can’t place your finger on what exactly is so familiar about this. Nonetheless, you don’t have time to mentally shift through the varying theories in your mind as you start to feel yourself slip into a state of unconsciousness while your heart continuously beats as if it is going to burst out of your torso.

One. Inhale. Two. Exhale. Three. Fuck. FUCK! Cursing to yourself internally you attempt to use the methods from earlier to calm your heart back down but no matter how hard you try your heart insists on beating faster and faster. The pain at this point is too much to handle and you can no longer keep your body from drifting to a place of unconsciousness as your eyes grow heavy and your throat finally begins to feel the effects from all your blood-curdling screams.

Throughout your whole ordeal Sylus keeps his eyes on you until you are silent and breathing heavily while in a state of oblivion. Just like you, he feels there is a familiar energy about you that he is unable to pinpoint, and he wants to know the answer. He needs to know why the longer he stares at you and the longer he embraces you in his Evol you feel like… home?

While in a temporary coma, his eyes drift from your face and down your body until they land on your covered sternum He is tempted to reach out to touch the covered area when the sound of his two minions breaks him from his trance. Staring up at Luke and Kieran, Sylus pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a disgruntled breath already mentally preparing for whatever nonsense the duo is going to put him through.

“Sorry we are late boss! Mephisto led us down the wrong path!” Luke pauses his explanation for him and his twin’s tardiness as he looks down at your body that’s comfortably laying in a tangled web of Sylus’ black and red tendrils. “Ooooo! Is this the pretty lady that useless bird told you about?”

Ignoring Lukes inquiry, Sylus looks down at you once more before lowering you down onto the woodland ground and glaring at the bubbling duo with a stern expression. “Make yourselves useful for once and carry her back to the base.”

Behind his crow mask Luke squints his eyes and places his hands on his hips. “But Boss… aren’t you the one with super cool powers?”

After tonight’s events Sylus can feel his patience growing thinner and thinner by the second and the last thing he wants to deal with are his two minions that often need to be threatened from time to time to complete simple tasks. “If either of you value your lives you will do as I say and bring this kitten back to the base.” Without another word he cast one last look at your sleeping form and one more lethal glare at Luke and Kieran before disappearing into the darkness.

“Boss sure is in a grumpy mood tonight. Oh well, come along kitty.”

“Luke, she’s not an actual kitten. And be quiet before you wake her up.”

“But look at her and how cute she is while she sleeps. Just like a kitty cat… I want to pet her.”

“Luke!”

Luke giggles as he gently picks you up and places you over his shoulder like a delicate sack of potatoes before looking over at his frustrated twin. Even though they both wear masks that conceal their faces and emotions, Luke can tell that Kieran is rolling his eyes at him while Kieran can tell that Luke has a silly grin plastered on his face. “Okayyyyyyyyy. Back home we gooooooo.”

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lndslorepuzzler · 2 months ago

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World Underneath: With Light

01: A More important Matter: Tara has taken on a bet with her supervisor, Andrew, that she can get notoriously asocial Nero go to go a team-building event. She's pretty sure she's got him convinced, when his "unwavering worship of Lumiere, the legendary hunter," manages to ruin her chances.

02: Sleepless Friday Night: Nero takes his dedication to Lumiere very seriously, to the point where he is the head of a Lumiere fansite. There's a poll to determine the top ten hunters in Linkon, and someone is trying to destroy Lumiere's chances of being at the top of the list. At the top of the site is a bad photo of 'Lumiere,' along with an article with a very inflammatory headline. There's a declaration that "the first sin is deception," along with video footage of a flash of light outside a florist; the man who appears there has "a face etched with wrinkles."

Nero takes his role as a 'Lightchaser' very seriously, and is thus determined to see what is actually going on. He ends up using some questionably legal techniques to access the raw footage from the security camera, and proceeds to post a breakdown of the evidence that proves the person in the video is not Lumiere: build, movement, and Evol particle readings.

03: The Introvert Bites Back: The next section of the article is about how "the second sin is pride," and uses the example of Lumiere not appearing at an event; Nero finds evidence that the rumor was spread in hopes of forcing Lumiere to make an appearance; he posts that information and proof.

In his youth, Nero had sent a message that he wanted to meet Lumiere, and received the response, "Instead of looking up to the light, why not become a light that illuminates the world for others?" This is what inspired him to become a hunter.

The next section declares "the third sin is sloth: shocking! Lumiere actually sleeps with Wanderers!"*1 There is a photo of Lumiere napping with a Herte Knave, an Intelligentia type Wanderer. Nero points out that the Wanderer is wearing light cuffs, and that its blade isn't shining, "indicating its Protocore Energy has been depleted."

The next three days last forever, and the negative evidence provided against Lumiere "(crumbles) under scrutiny." Lumiere is accused of hoarding and auctioning Protocores, in addition to hacking hunting leaderboards. The subway attack with the Tezcatlipoca was an elaborate hoax, etc.

During all of these shenanigans, Nero finds that the only common thread he can find is the involvement of one Shen Xinghui.

04: Has The Light Vanished? : The last section of the article contains a few documents (directly transcribed below.)

"...Light Evol has been detected. Evolver's Evol limit cannot be defined. Ant attempts to probe its limit triggers a special neck suppressor, which prevents the Evolver from using their full power. The techies can't explain it. No physical form detected, no scars, and the energy suppression field acts like a Protofield anomaly. After conducting a series of experiments in the lab, the techies finally unraveled the suppressor's mechanism. They boosted its threshold and got a basic understanding of some of its mechanisms."

Immediately following this is a "close-up of someone's throat, the Evol suppressor pulsating as a vicious, constrictive red ring of light. And then, there's a bit of silver in the corner. It's a tassel earring." Nero is so genuinely distressed that his Hunters Watch keeps beeping a health warning.

Shen Xinghui walks into the office and finds Nero; upon asking if he's alright, Nero shows him the photo of the captured Lumiere and announces that Lumiere could be dead. Shen Xinghui suggests he go home, but Nero's Hunter's Watch moves from beeping to giving off an alarm; Shen Xinghui gives him a paper bag to breathe in, and says that Lumiere is probably okay now, but Nero is despondent.

05: A Little Chat: Nero's online persona has been voted onto the 'Top Ten Hunters' leaderboards.

Nero finds Shen Xinghui and tells him that he "figured out one of (his) secrets." Despite Shen Xinghui's obvious confusion, Nero tells him with great confidence that Shen Xinghui is clearly Lumiere's biggest fan. Shen Xinghui doesn't say much in response, but Nero assumes he's right, anyway.

"Pinned by QuantumSocialite Lumiere is a beacon in the darkness, guiding us to forge ahead. And I believe, with unwavering certainty, that his light will continue to shine in the future. Because there's light everywhere."

*1, ....I thought I had words but I really honestly don't.

I really like Nero as a character; a sincere nerd is always nice to see. I also resonate with his reaction to the images and notes about the collar; I, too, was Extremely Distressed to find out that my assumptions/guesses about the collar were correct.

#love and deepspace #world underneath #ref: nero #ref: shen xinghui #ref: lumiere #ref: tara #ref: wanderer: tezcatlipoca #ref: shen xinghui's collar

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