Forum Thread

"Oh, it's just where you belong." Andreja beamed, always happy to torture some poor, unfortunate soul. Honestly, she was doing her a favour! This girl and her angry quips and her coathanger shape was asking to be teased. The nail which stuck up got hammered down. Coathanger and Meat Shield seriously needed to learn some self-preservation, and Andreja could totally teach them.

Andreja was possibly deluding herself about the existence of her own survival instincts, but hey, she'd made it this far, so maybe delusion was the way to go.

"To clarify," she added, noticing the girl had turned her attention to another unimportant worm. "You're Coathanger, right? Because of the way your clothes fit. Since you're skinny. Snake skinny."

But oh- Coathanger wasn't listening to her. Andreja's eyes trailed curiously over the person she was talking to. Meat Shield's gang? That was weird.

The girl who was too familiar with Meat Shield didn't seem to like Air-Conditioner/Coathanger. Which was fair, Andreja was in full support of that. But Coathanger... Andreja felt a strange smile spread over her face. Oh, Coathanger liked someone.

"Air conditioning!" she crowed, sensing attention had strayed from her. "Ha! I like you. You have my permission to court Meat Shield. He could use someone like you. Maybe you'll finally be the one to pull that stick out of his ass."

Laughing to herself, feeling confident in her ability to piss people off, she turned to Coathanger's l'amour. "You wouldn't happen to know a girl named Chizu, would you?"

---

Miyasaki sighed.

"I don't know. Reach the top? That's always been my plan. You know how it is."

His smile was hollow, empty.

"Crush everyone else underfoot and reach the top with whatever means necessary."

He then laughed quietly, shaking his head, his facade of stoic calm breaking for a moment.

"And you're wrong. Black is absolutely my color."

--

"AC, huh? Nice to meet you."

Seraphina smiled, absently wiping off the specks of blood on her hoodie, humming quietly.

"That's a really interesting name, y'know? I don't think i've ever met anyone with a name like that. How odd."

She laughed cheerfully.

---

"Crushing everyone, wearing black, any means possible... It's still stupid." She laughed fondly, her eyes pausing on his smile. "You like to pretend to be the villain. We've been over this. You.... you can't fool me." Alaire leaned in and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger for a moment. "But black does hide he bloodstains. A little vicious, were we?"

She knew him better than she knew herself, could see the worry between his eyebrows, the stiffness in his shoulder. Alaire was in tune with every subtle shift of his emotions. They fit, perfectly, achingly. Sometimes, she hated it. Other times, it was all she could do not to pull him close and hold him in her arms. If she could save him, would he want that? He always complained about he was so, so tired. Maybe it would end if they reached the top. But neither of them had ever even seen the final floor. Alaire sighed melodramatically, putting her thoughts in order.

"Believe me, chit." She said, turning back to the blue haired gremlin. "I've tried. No matter how hard I yank, the stick isn't budging." Alaire smiled flirtatiously towards no one in particular. "Seraphina is new, and doesn't have our knowledge. As for Chizu... I may know them, but not by that name. I know, well, a lot of people I shouldn't."

She had long confessed to herself she enjoyed being at the center of interesting things. Alaire was like the sun, pulling everything into her orbit, and bathing it in warmth and light. Miyasaki used to call her that, back when he remembered.

She missed the early days.

---

AC blinked twice, the rapid motion shocking her. "Listen here, angel bitch. You are the last person to comment on someone's appearance. I'm a whole head taller than you, and it isn't even funny. My name is AC, two letters, nice and simple. Don't wear it out. And please just shut up, because if I hear you speak again, it will be all too soon."

She looked back up at Seraphina, a softer smile on her face. "It's not- I mean, I wasn't born with the name. But it fits better, y'know?" Oh sure, that was smooth. Better. What a stupid choice of words. She forced herself to take her hands out her pockets, unclenching her fists from around her knives.

Seraphina was so... happy. AC wanted to know why, to ask her why she smiled, to ask her what she was running from. We can run away together... she thought, before squashing the thought. Oh god, had she been quiet too long? Was it awkward yet?

"Um, yeah." She nodded, punctuating the statement with a nod. Er, Mr. Regressor, Miyasaki. You said this was like a game. What's next?"

---

"..."

Miyasaki's cold facade was back up now, hands in his pockets , quietly.

"Humans are easier to kill."

he nodded quietly.

"Anyways."

he turned to AC, enough to look her in the eyes.

"From my calculations, we wait. Just a minute or two."

---

"Yeah, i get it. I had a friend like that too, ran away from her past. No need to explain yourself to me."

Seraphina smiled cheerfully.

---

"If humans are so easy to kill, than what about-" Alaire stopped, sighing. "Never mind, darling." She turned away, physically hiding her emotions.

"Stupid Winged Creature." Alaire scowled, hurt.

---

"Thank you," AC said to Miyasaki.

"Running from-? No, I'm not running! It's just a shitty name. Like worse than air conditioning. It was ugly, so I left it behind." She crossed her arms, watching Alaire curiously. For a moment, she had wanted to explain everything to Seraphina. But that was... stupid.

---

And then, just on cue, the angel reappeared, flickering into existence almost unnoticeably.

The angel unfurled its many, many wings, peering down at the corpse- ridden field, a wide smile across its' face.

He cleared his throat, before speaking, his voice ringing in the heads of each and every persn.

"Hello, hello! I seems you've completed the first trial eh?"

---

Alaire ignored it, staring at the ground. She hated making eye contact with the Winged Creature. She frowned, hugging her arms to her chest.

---

AC looked up at it, bemused. "Yes...?" She whispered, unsure what she agreeing to.

---

Without waiting for an answer, the creature laughed.

"Of course! Anyways, I see we have a few special ones!"

Flickering out of existence for a moment, the angel reappeared next to Miyasaki, smiling brightly.

"The Monarch of Death himself, what a pleasure!"

Miyasaki swung his baseball bat, but the creature simply blinked back into its positon in the sky.

"Are you guys ready? We're going into the starting village, now! A little bit of peace for ye weary travellers, yeah?"

---

Alaire shot a worried glance at Miyasaki, disliking the being's attention. Yet she supposed in a sense that made her a queen. She stood straighter, preparing for transport.

---

AC was confused at the angel's words. "The Monarch of Death, hm?" She muttered.

---

The angel clapped cheerfully, before snapping.

Suddenly, the terrain changed, swirling and shifting.

and they landed outside the gates of a'village', which looked more like a sprawling, expansive city.

Seraphina proceeded to double over and dry heave.

"yeah. little bit hard on the stomach."

Miyasaki shrugged.

[rewrite later]

---

Alaire smirked, fiddling with her player store screen. She knew exactly what to do, scrolling until she found what she was looking for.

[Enhanced Movement Speed(C)]
[27500 coins]

Checking to make sure it had all gone through as expected, she checked her status window. Alaire would upgrade the skill later when she had funds to spare. For now, her base speed with the initial multiplier could outrun nearly anything on the first 30 floors.

Quote from Status Window

[Alaire Atlas]
[19 Years Old]
[Not Quite Human]
[Strength 10 | Dexterity 10 | Intelligence 10 | Charisma 10 | Luck 10]

Inherent Ability-
[Regressor's Stopwatch(EX)]
Turn back time upon death. 621/1000. Transfer some things back in time. Allow early access to the [Player Store]. Retain 5% of coins upon regression.

[The Way of the Charismatic (S)] [Charisma gets a permanent 2 point stat buff. when using charisma, all other stats (except strength) have a chance to increase anywhere from 1-3 skill points]

Skills-
[Enhanced Movement Speed(C)] [When activated, speed increases 1.5x]

Transferred:
[Interpersonal Perception (Passive) (B)] [The ability to perfectly sense people’s emotions (not the reasons, but whether they are concerned, excited, in love, etc.) and whether or not people are telling her the truth (but not what the truth is if they’re lying)]

Items-
[(Unnamed)(F)][A blade the size of your forearm][q:1]
[The Key of Hermes(?)][Must be combined with a lock to provide any effect. Obviously.][q:1]
[A piece of gold][Shiny metal used as currency][q:(112500)]

---

AC found herself next to Seraphina, and after catching her breath, brushed her hair off the girl's neck smoothly, tying it back. She'd taken care of enough sick friends in her life to know how to deal with nausea. Hold their hair, brew some tea, get a trashbag. Sometimes, coping with it was simply mind over matter. The more one dwelled on their nausea, the more nauseous they were likely to feel. AC suspected this was artificial meddling from the angel.

"Seraphina. Focus on the earth beneath your feet. Deep breaths." She slipped into the role of supportive friend so easily. It was eerie.

---

Shieta trailed behind the group, and didn't pitch in the conversation. There was no reason to, plus she wasn't the type to interject either way. Furthermore, it seems like there are a few... Veterans that seems particularly used to this situation.

Shieta held back the urge to vomit as she tried to adjust her body to her new surroundings. It looked... Like a ordinary village? Just like the typical beginning villages you'd see in those typical RPG's, that was exactly life sized version of those.

Harmless.and innocent.

just like those angels

Shieta frowned. Something didn't feel right, or was she just paranoid?

---

Ayran sneered.

He wiped off the remaining blood on his cheeks with the back of his hand. The blood has long dried itself on his skin, and the metallic smell lingered beneath his nose. No matter how long or often he bask under the lost lives of these creatures, he still couldn't get used to the nauseating smell of blood.

With his head slightly dizzy, Ayran observed his surroundings with vigilance. His grip on his pairs of blood stained scimitars was forever tight.

In the corner of his eye, he could see the big group of bigshots. The group included the merciless first place, as well as many other remarkable individuals.

Getting along with them would definitely proof to be a positive for him.

---

Amongst the sparse group taht remained after the slaughter that was the first trial, there were some who were very obviously Important, from the way Miyasaki's gaze fell upon them. A man with light brown, standing tall and straight, a black suit splattered with blood, knuckle dusters gripped tightly. A blonde teen- maybe 19?- stood beside the man, hands shaking, a camera hung around his neck. two people, one a boy with blue hair, and the other a relatively short girl with bright pink hair.

And his gaze fell upon one last person, a girl with long, black hair, and bright red eyes, clearly shaken, hands shaking around the hammer in her hands.

Miyasaki stared at the gates, sighing.

Wordlessly, he moved through the gates.

[Player Miyasaki has entered the [Starting Village]!]
[Congratulations, you are the [1st] person to enter!]
[1 free stat point has been given.]

[You scored the highest in the previous trial!]
[3 free stat points have been given.]

--

Seraphina calmed down after a moment, getting back to her feet, back straight, smile tight.

"O-okay. I'm good now."

---

"Chit?" She tilted her head to the side. "What's that? You can't just call me that and never elaborate..." But the girl wasn't looking at her. Not anyone, really.

Andreja frowned. The girl, in that brief moment, hadn't even taken a minute to look her over. Just a quick glance, a quick quip, and then off to more important people. As though Andreja were some mere insect, or a pebble to be briefly studied then chucked off for the next curious passersby.

I will not be ignored. Her jaw set. You've made an enemy, 'chit'.

"Ah, maybe I will." She smiled, noticing that Coathanger was looking at her now. Now that was a fun girl to play with. Andreja liked her! She was just so.... huffy, you know? It reminded her a bit of Chizu and how much that girl could yell when someone spilled just a few crumbs on her bed! Eventually, Andreja had just made it a habit to gobble down some saltines whenever Chizu left the room.

And how red Chi-Chi's face got! It kept swelling and getting redder and redder. The first time Andreja called her a rooster, she thought it might explode.

Chizu...

Huh. For some reason, Andreja was having a hard time remembering that red face.

Shaking off the uneasiness, she smiled at AC, "Ah, ah! Don't be ashamed of your height deficiency, it means nothing in comparison to the emotional neglect you must've suffered from your parents as a child. Naming you air conditioning! Tsk." She shook her head. "That name must've been hard to live with, but now you can use that childhood trauma to grow past your current defects. Not literal growing of course, but something close."

It was hard to take the Chizus of the world seriously. Everyone here was so stuck on those silly little things. Honestly, just enjoy life! We're stuck in some weird murder place, might as well make it worthwhile.

"A game?" Andreja pondered it for a second. Wow, these people needed therapy. "Anyone in the market for a shrink?" she asked. "I can hook you up."

"Humans are easier to kill."

"Wow. Not going to unpack that, I guess."

Oh, and there was the biblically accurate angel again! Clearly hitting on Meat Shield. Damn, could they play into his hero complex any more?

"Ooo Meat Shield is lamer than expected!" she said cheerfully, because clearly he needed to be brought down a peg. "Monarch of Death, ehh? I could've sworn I heard that somewhere. My Chemical Romance? Probably. I mean he seems like the kind of emo loser who'd try to plagiarize one of those 'death parade' songs."

Then she blinked. The world around her began to glitch and sway and suddenly she was in some sort of field.

Urp.

Her hand flew up to her mouth, but before she could stop herself she was falling to her knees. She threw up. She could admit that, unlike the rest of these stuck-ups.

"Whhha... thuuh... fu...." she moaned. Her head was still swirling and she squeezed her eyes shut against the piercing light. Swiping at her mouth with a trembling hand she waited for everything to stop spinning.

When she opened her eyes again, she noticed the village.

Her mouth opened slowly. "Oh," she muttered. "Well."

Not a dream then. This whole thing... the magic... the angel... The vomit and the teleportation and the wholeass freaking village proved it. She was really here. This wasn't some long, drawn out hallucination.

She keeled over and threw up again.

---

AC smiled stupidly at Seraphina. "G-good. I'm glad. It wouldn't be good to lose a party member so soon." She was so pretty, it was starting to distract AC. Looking away, she saw Andreja barfing on the ground a few feet over.

"OY, Angel bitch. Get up, you're fine. I swear to god, if you get of that nasty shit on me, I'll-"

There was something about Andreja she couldn't stand. Her face was just so... punchable.~

---

"Miyasaki, darling. Am I staying with you for this run, or should I work on... other matters? I could give another lifetime to my research, neither quite matters to me." She looked up at him, annoyed at the winged one's words. She brushed off her hands, making her screen disappear.

---

Andreja showed Coathanger her middle finger without looking at her. "You suck!" she yelled through the gross taste of her lunch re-emerging. "Go dig a hole and sit in it."

Sniffling, she wiped her face clean and crouched there for just a minute. She took in a deep breath and stood up and- oh-

She swayed from side to side, squeezing her eyes shut against the dizziness which threatened to overtake her.

God what was with this place? And why was no one affected like she was?

---

"Do whatever you want, Alaire. Who am I to control you?"

he chuckled, turning around as he walked, facing her, walking backwards, a bit of a swagger in his walk.

He grinned.

"We're back home."

--

Seraphina put a fist to her mouth, feeling nauseous.

"God, that is- awful..."
--

---

AC unceremoniously grabbed Andreja's arm to steady her, just before she sank back to the floor. "You're so annoying. Can't even stand right. Seriously, what is wrong with you?" AC groaned. "And why do I have to deal with it?" She still wanted to punch her, but decided not to.

For the sake of the party.

That's what she told herself, over and over again.

Why couldn't Andreja be more like Serafina? The other girl even puked neater.

---

"You're right, I don't listen to you. But you've been saddled with a bunch of, er, newer players, and it might be helpful to actually have another regressor with you to teach them. Then they won't die on the first floor. Just a thought." Alaire sighed, surveying their team.

They had a long way to go.

---

"You brought a good one, though. Seraphina Michael Weiss, subject of the 20th floor... What a tragic story."

He chuckled.

"The berserker. I like her style."

---