Forum Thread

Ashen

---

The body of a young man simply stayed where it had been placed, not able to move. Being thrown around inside the building had, quite honestly, done absolutely no good for his back, while being kicked had simply disabled it. He knew, with bitter disgust, that if he tried to bring himself to a defensive position, he'd only end up killing himself. So he stayed, his breathing labored, unable to do anything other than what he was doing, and, as he was about to discover, talking.
"Thanks a lot!" He called, his voice screaming 'sarcastic'. The newcomer seemed rather troublesome, but supposedly 'on their side', so Ashen wouldn't attack. A flash of movement caught his eye, so he stared at it, the beast prowling in the darkness, the spider about to pounce. And, as he realised what the being hidden on the ceiling was, he gasped, his eyes wide, before heroicly fainting - from fear, injury or tiredness, it couldn't be said, though perhaps it was a mix of all three.

Mysterious Entity

---

A beak, then a tail, a set of feathery wings, and they couldn't hold it any more; they laughed. They placed their hands on their 'knees' to stabilise themselves as the unstoppable laughter continued, the volume and pitch constantly shifting. Once finished, he sighed, pretending to wipe away a tear.
"My, my. You ex-heroes certainly know how to make an entrance!" They chuckled, straightening their tophat, which, miraculously, had managed to keep it's position in their head. "Perhaps you could enlighten my Butler about it someday. Speaking of," they said, their eyes scouring the ceiling. "Feuro! Stop frightening our guests!" They scolded, shouting into the gloom of the ceiling.
It was after this moment that another two legs appeared - exactly the same as the last, though they varied in size. A black and white flash, a thing dropping from the ceiling, and he was there.
Now, let it come to mind that Feuro Windle was by no means a monster; he thought of himself as an ordinary man, doing ordinary, humane things, though, of course, he was almost the polar opposite. From the waist up, he was purely human. His pale skin heavily contrasted his startling amber eyes, which seemed rather small compared to the rest of his features, though they had large bags beneath them. Wrinkles cast deep lines into his long, thin face, while his few, dwindling hairs stood proudly atop his head. His chin receded into his neck, as pale as the rest of him. The rest of his body was presented in a black, fine silk suit, which fitted him well, revealing his sickly skinny form.
From the waist down, though, his jacket gave way to a large, black, smooth sphere, connected to which were eight long, black legs, each of whicg was covered with hooks. It became apparent to the group, then, that this person was a hybrid - half man, half spider. They did not yet know whether he was a threat, though.
"Please, master. I humbly request that I be called Windle," he said, in a voice as silky as the Web he weaves.

Thalia listened to Stephen and Goliath’s exchange, She really didn’t want to get on Goliath’s bad side. But what was happening in the building was also a lot to process, especially with her blindfold. There seemed to be two ‘Enemies’, but she couldn’t be quite sure yet. Based on the vibrations on the floor, and her hearing Ashen’s gasp she could tell something was wrong with him. Her scarf slowly unraveled and wrapped around Ashen, it picked him up off the floor and brought him back to Thalia. She put him on her back and wrapped her scarf around him and her waist, to keep him secure. “Don’t give out just yet, I still have some questions for you later” she said to Ashen, even though she knew he was unconscious.

---

Stephen

The man stare the fist in front of him. He listened to Goliath's explanation, half ready to just slam his head into their fist if he actually tried to attack. His stupid grin wa still on his face as he stared down Goloath. It seemed a little ridiculous, but he kept his thoughts to himself for now. Stephen was taken aback by the sudden poke. Bringing a hand up to his chest he snorted. "Seems a little-" He cut himself off from another witty remark when Ashen passed out. "Oh dang, is that my fault?"

He certainly hadn't been expecting the weird creature thing to speak, but without a doubt he knew which side he was on. It was likely the ex-heros that gave it away. He watched as Feuro, Windle? Dropped from above. "What the heck do ou want." He growled, staring at the two figures.

Callen

Callen jumped when Ashen fell down. "Oh, gosh dang! Is he dead!" He finally exclaimed. He wanted to make sure that Ashen was okay, but when the stupid spider thing dropped down he let out a hiss. His muscles while tensed or a fight quickly reacted in a different manner as he stumbled away from Windle. "What!" He was in shock a little bit, his heart racing. He quickly drew in breaths, trying to slow down his pulse so he could actually breathe.

---

Deimos Crane

---

The wolf shifter’s hackles immediately raised as a blur of a human, his lips peeling back from his unnaturally long canines as a deep warning snarl, more lupine than human mind, became all but audible as the newcomer…entered the already tense atmosphere. However, when it became clear that the newcomer had no ill intentions, his anger quickly simmered to disgruntlement. Why on earth they hadn’t bothered to show up on time, Deimos wasn’t sure, and with all the arrivals staking their claim on this earth, it was beginning to make him wary. He could see, immediately, that he was a mere pawn to be played in this shadow’s game.
WIP

As Sen sighed, she slid down the wall. She put a hand in her pocket, and sighed when she felt the cold metal of her knife. She lifted her hood up, hoping and praying nobody would talk to her. She grumbled and turned her music off. As she stayed quiet, she pushed herself up, her long black hair blowing slightly in the wind as she began walking. She just let her body take her wherever, not really caring. Her face showed no emotion and she stared towards the ground.

---

Goliath heard the hiss of something new, followed by the whispering of his own Sins, the snort of the ghostly horses all around. After another moment, Goliath called out. "Entity. Whether you be sir or madam, I request an answer to the current predicament. Whether you provide it or your Windle does, I care not, so long as no cause for violence in set forth. As of now, my Sins and Horsemen are position for the rapid ascent of myself and the neutralization of anything hostile posthaste. However, they will be called back to my person in exchange for a name and an explanation." His voice was loud, and caused unearthly whispers to spread through the area. A small scurrying creature was seen in the dust, a mouse. A split second after it neared where Pestilence had last been seen, it make a miniscule shrieking sound, flesh simply evaporation and leaving a bare skeleton behind. "The Omega-Pestilence that my rider wields is dangerous, but can be neutralized by a simple will of thought. Please, Entity, make there no need for any threats, violence, or otherwise. If this is an elaborate trap set by the governments of our areas, there will be fatalities that I'm sure nobody would want. If it is not, then I'm sure now would be an excellent time for an explanation." At that, Presence stepped forwards once, twice, three times, each step two to three times larger than a normal man's.

Mysterious Entity

---

Something similar to a scowl crossed the figure's face as it eyed Goliath, three white pupils showing, before being lost in the void of the beast. Perhaps this upset manner was turned to a more enjoyable one, though it couldn't be told, as the entity seemingly lost all sense of form and shape, turning into some sort of large, ominous storm of amputated animal limbs, growing in size until it near enough filled the ex-heroes' visions. Two oversized, fuzzy red eyes were visible, staring into the souls of the unfortunate.
"Do not mess with me, hero," they snarled, spitting out the last word as if it were toxinous. Just as suddenly as they had grown, they returned to normal, their tophat will perfectly balanced stop their head.
"Now, Feu- I mean Windle," they said, having lost all trace of their past monster, "would you please fetch the general and the witch? They requested to see the subjects before they.. Disappeared," it chuckled, again glancing around the group, snickering again at the demonic girl carrying the shirtless boy across her back with a scarf.
"Of course, Master," the spider-human hybrid said, pronouncing each word with a heavy English accent, before bowing and scuttling back into the safety of the hidden corridor.

Goliath's pride seemed to flare, his body stretching itself to become larger than it should have been. "When I tore him to pieces I felt something that I rather liked. Vengeance. I realized how much I'd been missing as a hero. In all honesty, I'd say you're naming of 'hero' is now a poor one. I realize what I am, that I harbor all Seven Circles within myself, that the Sins and Horsemen are not all I can force into existence! To be a villain... It seems undesirable, regarding the scrounging and poor bounty... But to think I might be a thing of hellish vengeance appeals to me more than comfort and casual living." The giant's voice had grown in power, echoing across the room with ease. It was clear he cared not what the entity did next, but that he was expecting to be attacked. It also seemed he was preparing himself for something. His muscles were as tense as a steel cable, bracing for something. The whispering from the Sins had started again, growing nervous. The presences revealed themselves once more, all facing Goliath. Their warnings and worries flared in his mind. The mounts of the Horsemen were frantic, attempting to rear up or run. The Essence of the blades disappeared, and the swords were sheathed. Death spoke, in English now. "Presence.. If you attempt to unveil your full potential power without the correct summons or physical preparation, it will tear you in two and swallow you." Goliath tensed himself further. "Death, I am well prepared, you Harbinger. All my life has been devoted to physical preparation." Death seemed to hesitate. "You are correct... I simply worry for those who may become..." Hidden eyes burned a freezing hole in each of the other heroes. "Collateral."

---

Thalia had a chill go down her spine when the thing looked at her. That was no easy feat, as she didn’t get intimated easily. That wasn’t the only thing that was making her nervous, she could sense something else. It was Goliath, he was going to summon something. Something that shouldn’t be here, she could just tell from it’s slight presence. “Goliath, stop it now!” She demanded while walking closer to him.

---

A loud wheeze sounded from Death, a slight rattle from Famine, a snarl from War, and a hiss from Pestilence. The Sins all started to raise their voices. Then, all of them launched towards Goliath at breakneck pace, their bodies and horses becoming liquid like and flowing around in the air, forming elaborate shapes and symbols in a sphere around the massive man. The slight presence Thalia had sensed began to grow stronger, and a dim blue glow was shining in every crease of Goliath's body. Goliath began uttering words in a strange language, comparable to Latin but clearly not. A word was repeated throughout the mumbling, though. 'Hush.' Voices overlapped with each other, those of the Sins and Horsemen combined. "Back away, girl..."

Thalia frowned, “Goliath, listen to me. There isn’t a threat right now, this is not the time for this” she growled while ignoring the voices. She inched closer to him, “If you don’t stop, then I’ll make you stop” she said to him, her voice was growing more irritated. She had previously laid Ashen down, to keep him out of harms way. She took a deep breath an untied her blindfold, placing it in her pocket. She extended her hand out, touching one of the symbols circling him.

---

The symbol flared bright blue, a corresponding symbol lighting up on the nape of Presence's neck. The man growled, scratched at the back of his neck, muttered his own words to her. "This beast is a clearly a threat to us, girl. It has shown us that. You have interrupted my summoning, so I'll have to start again. If you can't understand that-" Goliath cut off, whirling around and meeting Thalia's eyes. He blinked, once, twice, three times. Felt something change around him. He made to reach out and grab at the girl, but found himself unable to.

Thalia had done it, he looked in her eyes. The world around the two of them started to shift, clouds started to swirl and blocked Goliath’s view as the landscape changed. The clouds soon dissipated, and he found himself in a room of sorts. The ground was made out of clouds, and the space around them was filled with clouds as well. Objects like chairs and tables floated around. This was her power, her own world, and Thalia was nowhere to be seen.

---

Goliath caught his breath, then immediately let out a roar of fury. Launching himself across the room, he struck one of the floating objects, hoping to annihilate it and every other object in the room. In his mind, that includes the room itself.

Anytime something was destroyed, it just came back in the room. Thalia revealed herself, she was floating a few feet away from Goliath, “Destroy them all you want. They’ll just keep coming back.” She said to him. She was sitting in the air with her legs crossed.

---

Goliath whirled around, then launched himself up into the air and towards Thalia. His eyes were deeply bloodshot, and his fists were clenched tight enough to turn themselves white. He seemed to be on an impact course for Thalia, his inhuman jump sending him arcing easily through the air.

Thalia sighed, as Goliath made impact with her she just dissipated into a cloud. She reappeared a bit away from where she originally was. “It’s no use doing that. You’re in my world, I control everything in here.” She said to him. Goliath then teleported back to the ground where he was originally. “So let’s take a breather” she said with a yawn.

---

Goliath stood still. "Is this your mind or your world? Am I trapped in the mind of a fool, or imprisoned in the house of youth's short minded glee?" Presence drew his fingers along his bare upper half, highlighting symbols that glowed with eleven different colors. "And where is my physical body? Destinarat purgandis mentibus praepositam, peccatorum, submittere" A few seconds passed, and the Horsemen and sins slowly appeared, glancing around. They were clearly expecting an immediate forces dismissal by Thalia, so each pair of empty eyes fixed on her.

Thalia started to walk around in the air, a glass of wine appeared in her hand. “Since I know we aren’t enemies, I’ll share some details with you. This is my own world, your physical body is here and outside if that makes sense. Although you’re in a trance like stance in the real world. Anything that happens to you here will happen to your body in the real world.” she explained while taking a sip of wine. “Like I said before, I control everything in here, which means you won’t be let out until I let you out” Thalia said as the glass of wine disappeared.

---

Goliath growled a low note, then spoke. "How do you know we're not enemies? I killed a man because he referenced the past. You've trapped me here unable to depend upon anybody in the physical world to defend my body. I'd say you're in dangerous waters if I find myself harmed in the real world." A moment of silence. "You said anything that happens here happens to me in the real world?" The wheels in Goliath's mind started to speed up, and the Sins and Horsemen started to chuckle.