RuneScape Forum Archive | Fall From Grace

Jul

2020

Serene End

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"Ha ha," the light chuckled mockingly, watching on as no other body moved. "Is that it, then? How do you expect to stand up to thousands if you stand down to one?"

Raphael just stared down, looking down upon the beaten Telvern as the young man floated just off of the ground. "That's enough, I think," spoke the voices like it were referring to a single entity "Go on, finish up here. You have more important things to do."

After hearing them speak to him, Raphael's feet fell back down upon the hexagon-tiled earth. The puppet of the light began walking over to the genius, his footsteps clapping against the floor in a hollow, metallic echo. Telvern slowly began rising, planting his fastened fingers into the solid ground.

The burden was like doing a single push up while bearing a mountain upon his back, Telvern's face twisted crudely to the pain. Raphael stood over top of his uncle, dropping down onto his right knee. Telvern was just a few inches off of the ground, not even bothering with his legs at the moment. His face slowly turned upwards, dauntlessly peering his steely brown eyes upon the familiar-faced being about to kill him.

And as quick as lightning crashing down to the earth's surface, Raphael's left hand zipped towards Telvern. His hand fastened extremely tight around the genius' throat, lifting Telvern up to his knees. He could no longer allow air into his lungs, Raphael had begun suffocate him. Telvern choked sharply, his hands gripping around Raphael's arm, his body struggled with all effort to break free.

But Raphael's grasp was akin to an anaconda, strangling the life out of the genius. Telvern's head intense with incredible pressure, his face beginning to go red. His lips quivering like they were afraid to speak, his eyes widened as he felt his windpipe slowly get crushed, narrowing by the second.
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08-Jan-2015 17:12:33

Jul

2020

Serene End

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Was this the end? Was he content with going out this way? He very slowly but steadily seemed like he began to accept the defeat, knowing that he was incapable of doing anything about it. His mind receded from this accursed reality, this hell. His body forgetting about the pain, lifting beyond it, recollecting about those days beyond this agony and hatred. He settled down in his thoughts like the perfect house to start a family, his mentality growing with a smile.

Just as this began to play out, the pounding of footsteps echoed throughout the room stole the attention of the master, the dominant light at the center of the room and of this massacre made out to be a game. Their several sets of vision ripped from this commanded asphyxiation, scanning the room to find the creator of this noise.

They saw her then, her just standing there. A woman clothed in black cassock, one of deathly pale skin and gleaming, callous eyes. It was Lamia-possessed Libitina, holding herself poised and commanding, staring down the seemingly omnipotent light before her. The orb of light seemed intrigued, curious as to why such a look in this woman's eyes was so... familiar.

Her left hand clasping with unconditional protection upon that pendant, that stolen pendant that belonged to her. The small bit of the thin cloth that held the pendant to Daevarro's neck stuck out in between her fingers, a very subtle, faint red glow emitting from her hand. Her vermilion, glowing irises jarring, cutting a wide path through the somewhat dark atmosphere.

They had taken on a sudden rush of hatred, clouding up with anger and fury. But it wasn't enough to budge her, her body held there like it were a statue. The light, having taken notice of this woman's appearance, beamed with heavy focus upon her, though she remained unfazed. "Soter, arise," the a thousand tongued being ordered in a shout. "Kill her!"
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08-Jan-2015 17:13:36

Jul

2020

Serene End

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The voice's command like a defibrillator, injecting life into the seemingly lifeless. Soter's body suddenly resurrected, drawing breath into his lungs, animated with vitality. He quickly rose up from its hexagon-shaped grave, his horribly injured body oozing with those white and golden embers of magic.

The envoy back upon his feet, dashing as fast as he could towards the woman in black. The Neheztelian goddess awaited him, standing there tall and prepared. She knew she had no time to waste, the threat of losing Telvern's life put out in front of her like the timer of a bomb. As Soter rushed towards the declared enemy, he reached across his body and fastened his hand around his blade.

Pulling it out of its scabbard, he had arrived to confront the enemy he knew very well. It didn't matter if she wore a different face, those eyes were distinctive, unable to be replicated. Soter knew exactly who it was behind Libitina's face, could feel the powerful, lofty aura radiate off of her. Just a presence that was so unfathomably dark, so hateful, so spiteful.

Readying his sword, Soter was prepared for the fight as commanded. His bolting rush finally meeting its end, appearing just before her, Soter made his first strike. He swung his sword from his upper left to his lower right, clenching it with both of his hands. The goddess simply stepped back, avoiding the strike altogether. She watched as the blade sailed by her, seeing as Soter left himself wide open.

The fight was not meant to be, a terrific blow would be delivered before even its true inception. So quick was its motion that not even Soter the Savior had a chance to react to it, an overpowering punch delivered to him. The thundering body blow slamming truly and indiscriminately, the woman in black's left hand drilling into the center of Soter's trunk.
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08-Jan-2015 17:14:36

Jul

2020

Serene End

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So overwhelming was the strength put behind that punch that it made Soter's body out like it were as light as a pillow, blasting him off of his feet. His armoured body darted backwards, gliding like an arrow across the room. Given the small, confined space, the electrifying blow easily put Soter into the wall. He crashed even more heavily into the wall than Telvern, the wall caving in slightly.

The newfound air in his lungs forced outwards, his face clenched in suffering. He plummeted back down upon the floor, broken shards of adamas following him down. His front smacked hard against the metal floor, the sting of the intense, crippling body shot so great that it was uncertain that his nerves could ever recover.

After distributing the successful attack, the woman reeled her body back. She stood back up and straight, calm and composed. Her stern, resentful eyes look outward, turning towards Raphael and his master. Her legs then became animated, walking tall and confident towards the young man as he choked out the genius.

"Grr, useless..." the voices reacted to Soter's failure, harshly bashing him. They then saw as Lamia began to make her move, their presence growing alert and urgent. "Raphael, forget about him for this moment! Behind you, kill her!"

Hearing as the speakers of his every action make another order, Raphael's hands suddenly let go of his target's throat. The pressure released, Telvern's coming to peace with his departure all in vain. His elation to finally draw breath again, no longer able to feel as Death slowly cradled him in its cold, welcoming embrace.

Telvern's body and face tightened up, his front hunched over into the floor. His hand reaching for his throat, feeling it as it stung horribly. It felt as though Raphael's hands were still there, bound to his neck like a collar. But finally was he able to feel as air found its way back into him again, inhaling and exhaling in an intense, violent, uncontrollable fit of wheezing and gasping.
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08-Jan-2015 17:16:00

Jul

2020

Serene End

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His body so utterly depleted of everything it had, it still couldn't keep up. It needed to rest, so riddled with pain and exhaustion. It forced itself into shut down, even if Telvern might have not wanted it to. His vision blackened, his consciousness faded, his fight to get back into some sense of normalcy ending for now.

Raphael rose up slowly, digesting the command given to him by his master. His ears listening to the steadfast pace of the person behind him, deeming them not too much of a threat. His body then ascended from the ground, floating just off of the surface. Lamia still chose to approach him with a walk, watching as his left hand gathered with energy.

Within a moment's notice, Raphael's body quickly twirled around. His left side now pointed towards Lamia, his left palm exposed to her. A beam of energy then ruptured from his hand, speeding directly for the goddess. Its incandescent body bursting with vivid blues, its head swirling with power, it quickly took aim for Lamia.

Stepping towards this beam like walking headstrong towards an oncoming train, seeing her world grow brighter by the nanosecond, Lamia was ready. She disappeared then, fading away distorted like a wind-blown blur towards the left. The beam ran passed the place where she was standing, heading straight into a wall.

An eruption of profound light engulfed this place, bits of adamas getting sent across the room as they ran away from the blast. When the explosion of energy ceased its existence, it left behind a large body of smoke and a heavy scattering of broken adamas. It had blown apart the wall that it had hit, the adamas had acted like skin.
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08-Jan-2015 17:18:09

Jul

2020

Serene End

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Beneath the adamas revealed the true wall, exposing a wall that was akin to the floor. It was made of that strange black metal, wearing a pattern of hexagons that resonated with energy. Raphael took notice that he had hit nothing, that woman that he saw no longer there. He then felt something drawn to his back, a presence of a person. He knew it had to be her.

In a flash, his hovering body spun around, his glowing eyes turned now to what it was that was behind him. He readied his right hand, clenching it into a fist. As he turned around, his fist came swinging in for a punch towards whoever was behind him. He saw her, the woman in black stepping towards him.

His bolting hand coming for her like a hammer, her step drawing her closer to him. But it also moved her slightly to her left, a motion that barely allowed her to avoid Raphael's punch. His knuckles just skimming by her right cheek, her eyes seeing this chance that she had patiently awaited. He was left bare, exposed, now any action could now be taken.

Raphael then felt something, something literally reach out and grab his face. The woman's right hand latched itself upon his visage, practically glued to it. Her fingers tightly fastening upon his head, making sure she does not lose grip. An exclamation point sparking out in their minds, the orb of light watched on helplessly and desperately. "No! Raphael, get—!" their voices furiously dashed, but then its harsh, criticizing sound ceased.

The moment her hand was firmly grasped around his head, time just stood as still as a photograph. Raphael's body paused, solid and frozen like a glacier. Libitina's body as well, her hand bound to Raphael's head. The two ensnared in this position, one floating while throwing a punch and the other with their hand upon the other's head while avoiding that punch.
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08-Jan-2015 17:19:27

Jul

2020

Serene End

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But it wasn't just them like this, in fact all things stopped. The orb of light with a voice of a thousand was speaking as woman in black's hand took hold of Raphael's head, and they've suddenly stopped halfway in like it was left unfinished. All those down upon the floor of this room stopped breathing, the smoke pouring off of the wound in the wall paused in the middle of the air, the tension in the air vanished.

Raphael began to feel something strange, as if his consciousness faded from this time-paused place. His consciousness then snapped into another place like he had just woken up from a slumber, like that assault upon his allies was all just a nightmare. He took one sudden gasp into another place, a sharp breath that echoed throughout this space for a century.

His head wearing an uncertain, perplexed expression that looked from place to place, scanning his environment. He found himself now in a strange place, one as blank and white as a fresh sheet of paper. All around him was infinitely empty and white, there was no other side, no ceiling, no floor, nothing was around him. It was hollow, hollow and deathly silent.

There was not a sound, and if there were, it came from him. It was then that he looked down, seeing if he could find himself. And Raphael could, seeing his own two hands, arms, torso, legs, feet, all of his body. How odd, Raphael found, this world that he had himself in. His legs then began to move, walking off forward. "Where am I?" he mumbled to himself in confusion, his footsteps booming all around him.

" Eefdin Ihroltem, " his ears then suddenly heard a woman's voice reply to his question, a question he thought would only be heard by himself. He was reasonably startled by this voice, his head quickly shuffling all around to find its source. "More precisely, eefdin Ihr lína Amoté -- within your own mind."
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08-Jan-2015 17:21:18

Jul

2020

Serene End

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"..."Within my own mind"?" he quoted the voice's words, utterly bewildered. "What do you mean? Who are you!? Show yourself!"

At the corner of his left eye, he began to see a figure of some form appear. Raphael quickly twisted his body, making his front face that source of being. He saw there as a phantom appeared, a strange, ethereal, partial-body apparition floating before him. Its image was quite difficult to decipher, being nearly invisible, but there were a few features Raphael's eyes could make out.

He was able to see the spectre take on a feminine shape, which would support the sound of its voice. The figure's body appeared nebulous, cloud-like, especially so towards its contours and the ends of its legs and arms where it had no feet or hands. Upon its head, it had long, thin, wispy hair, floating above and around its head like it was without gravity, like it was underwater.

Some strands did cover the front of this airy being's head, concealing its face. Though, after a moment or two, he determined that this apparition did not have a face. It did not even have a single facial feature, not a nose, a mouth, nor even a pair of eyes. But even so, even without eyes to stare or a mouth to speak, Raphael could feel eyes upon him, hear as lips moved to make sound.

This was a being with intelligence, a being he could commune with. Raphael took one strong foot forward, stomping down as a sign that he was fed up. "Who are you?!" he questioned quickly as though in a panic. "What is going on!? What happened to Telvern, Calvin, and Shinon?! What happened to me!?"

"Relax yourself, child," the female-voiced apparition responded, trying to ease Raphael's anxiety. Its voice took on no abnormal appearance, speaking like it were a normal being made of flesh and blood. "All shall be yours shortly."
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08-Jan-2015 17:22:53 - Last edited on 23-Jan-2015 11:58:50 by Serene End

Jul

2020

Serene End

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Hearing the surreal figure attempt to bring to him comfort, Raphael knew he had to do as it suggested. His face mirrored that mindset, trying to best process the situation and all the information he had. He took in one big heap of air, exhaling all of his uneasiness and tension. It took a half of a minute, but Raphael seemed ready for it now. "Who are you?" he then asked, his voice far more steady and controlled.

"I am Lamiaquil'a, mother of the Neheztelians and the goddess who governs emotion and the heart," she answered, addressing herself fully and properly.

"Where am I?" Raphael let out another question. "You said, "within my own mind," right? What does that mean?"

"Precisely that," Lamia returned. "We currently stand inside the confines of your mind, inside your very being."

"So, where are the others?" Raphael asked, shuffling his head. "What's going on with them?"

"They are safe," she assured him. "The place reflects not your world outside, but yours within. 'Tis a prison, and you its only resident. You've the key to this cage, granting you the ability to make this sentence last as briefly or as longly as you will it to be."

"Okay, so..." he tried to assess, attempting to grasp Lamia's words. "This isn't the real world, but my world, right?"

"Indeed," she confirmed.

""Last as briefly or as longly as I will it..."" he then quoted her words that she provided to him. "So, can I stay as long as I want?"

"Yes," the goddess affirmed. "Contrary to the world outside where there is such a frail thing as time, in this world, there exists not such a cruel concept. This conversation may last what feels akin to hours in this place, but if you desire it so, it could all be held within seconds in the actual world."

"All right, I think I understand," Raphael believed with confidence, nodding his head. "So, what is going on? What happened to me? I remember drawing the Elder Gods in, and just... blacking out. Now that I stand here, I feel... I don't know..."
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08-Jan-2015 17:24:58

Jul

2020

Serene End

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"The thieves have taken possession of you, have turned you into their weapon," she told him.

"The... thieves?" the silver-haired young man repeated, bemused. "Wait, are you saying...?"

" Igja, " Lamia replied, confirming his words before he finished them. "They who claim themselves the Elder Gods of legend are but mere usurpers, thieves. Now that I have stood before them, this much I know for certain."

"How did they obtain such power?" he asked.

"They stole it," she stated. "they wrongfully took the power and the life of someone. Someone their eyes were not meant to see, their minds not meant to even acknowledge the existence of."

"Who?"

"That I am uncertain of," the goddess returned.

"I see," Raphael pondered, crossing his arms. "So, after stealing this power, did they then just call themselves the Elder Gods and took complete control?"

"So it appears," she seem to agree, almost like she herself did not know the true answer. "Recalling the past, I remember hearing such strange tales of the Elder Gods appearing suddenly many centuries ago, starting just after Queen Ersa Barn passed. 'Twas a time when the minds of the Solasúians were still quite infantile, despite having existed for many years prior."

"So, how much of what they've told us is true?" Raphael handed the goddess another question.

"I lack any doubt in the belief that they intended only to manipulate you," she addressed his question. "However, 'twould be unjust to declare all of which they have said as deceitful. Igja, their summary of Dias and their statement upon the world's condition was without error."

"So, what's next?" the silver-haired young man sought.

"I must attend to the thieves," Lamia replied.

"How?"

"By killing them," she gave a very forward answer without the slightest hesitation.

"And what about me?" he asked in a quick breath. "What can I do to get back?"
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08-Jan-2015 17:26:42

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