------------------------
7 Years Of Bad Luck
------------------------
So, her judgment was not over yet? You think both it and the mirror have grown conceited.
"Conceit? We do not feel such things" The construct responds mechanically.
Does it not feel anything?
"Foolish, emotions are beyond us. We are beings of logic that only follow commands, emotions are useless. We do not forgive, we do not forget, we do not feel." The construct says.
The corner of your lip rises.
So, it still believes it has a right to judge others?
"That is our duty and we will follow it through to the end. Now, take your leave, you have passed." The construct says with a nod.
As someone once said, actions speak louder than words. As your anger rises to new levels, a sun is born inside your being. It demands you consume everything, but, you know doing that will only lead to unnecessary devastation, so, you try and turn your searing rage into something more productive.
Everything becomes clear
You will show these insignificant specks of dust fear.
You're actually quite surprised, from what you've heard, when someone becomes enraged, they lash out in uncontrolled and emotional outbursts.
Unlike before, where there was a feeling of wanting to punch something, all you can feel right now is a cold fire within you. Rather than wanting to burn everything in your path, your rage is more controlled, more tempered, it wants you to devour those that have wronged you.
But first, you have to secure Hesperides' safety.
Calling up upon your reserves of EXP, you find them lacking slightly, so, you turn this world into a worthy feast. The door leading out, the roses, the mansion, the statues, everything turns to ash as you crush, smoother and transform the energy keeping this world alive into free flowing EXP.
This is a feat you can only accomplish in this world, and it's one you won't be able to do again. A world where everyone's thoughts become reality, a place where one such as you can shape the world as you wish.
As the prison that was once Hesperides' home vanishes, you search for any trace of her. Far off, in a black void, Hesperides sleeps. Her soul is intact, but you can see the despair gripping of her.
In a world devoid of sound, sight, touch, taste, smell, and hope, Hesperides begs for salvation.
With a wave of your hand, you rip a hole in the mirror and drag Hesperides out of her isolated prison. You fix up the small cuts and scrapes that litter her soul. She no doubt suffered this from the attack or perhaps something else?
The sound of glass cracking echoes around you.
Before the construct can even react, you send Hesperides into your pocket, you hope that small addition you felt arrive will keep her occupied until you finish here.
"How-" The construct begins to say, but you don't bother to stop and listen to the rest of its useless words.
Searching the mirror, you locate its center. With a tug of your soul, the world twists, bends and cracks.
You and the construct appear before the mirror's core.
The construct bends space and teleports in front of the mirror. With a blink, a thousand other constructs are born and take up defensive stances next to the original.
"Your resistance is futile. While-"
You find the link between the constructs and the core, then, with a twist of your wrist, you shatter it.
For the purpose of your goal, you leave the original's connection intact.
As for the others, they begin to fall and litter the ground beneath your feet, a proverbial rain filled with the corpses of your enemies. It's quite a nice sight, you think.
Still, you can see that both the mirror and the construct still have no fear.
So, in this world of dreams, where anything is possible if you have a strong enough will, you give them emotions.
As the construct summons up a sword of brilliant crimson light, its hand begins to tremble.
It tries to take a step forward, but it finds itself walking backward instead.
"W-Why? H-How?" It says. For once, you feel an emotion in its voice. Yes, the cold grip of fear has taken hold over the construct.
You take another step forward, it takes another one backward.
"W-What is this? It's, it's so cold...." The construct says as it begins to shake.
You raise your hand, it fires a wave of crimson light at you.
Opening your mouth, you devour the energy and taste the fear in the attack. Fear is quite a good spice, you think.
"A-Ah....." The construct says as it tries to calm it's constant shaking.
You-
[][
With that done, you turn to the main intelligence of the mirror.
While you call it that, the fact of the matter is, the construct was far more sentient than this....calculator?
Yes, you'll call it that, after all, compared to the construct who you would classify as a "Scroll", the core of the mirror is more of a "Calculator".
Even if you were to engrave the concept of "fear" on its being, it would be no different than scaring a newborn.
Ultimately, it would be meaningless.
None the less, you've decided that this has gone on for far too long, so, you try and see where the core actually connects to.
Plunging into the equivalent of its "mind", you follow the core's connection to the source of the mirror's power.
What you find is quite surprising, though, it really shouldn't be. You find that the core is connected to a very old and weary soul.
Its edges are corroded and tainted beyond recognition, clearly, the soul is already on its last legs. No amount of effort on your part can save it, no, not as you currently are. Perhaps Talitha will be able to do something once she's grown in her healing abilities?
Still, you have a choice now.
--
The Most Important Choice Yet
------------------------------------
With this turn, something just doesn't feel right, so, you decide to play passively and set down cards that might protect you.
Surprisingly, you're the only person to play a monster. Using its effect, you heal Blake for 1 LP.
She turns her head, smiles and thank's you.
With a nod, you take out some canned tuna and give it to her.
"My, my~ How am I to win with these odds?" Felicia says with a smile as she places all her cards in the magic zone, Blake isn't far behind and places all of her cards down as well.
"Like, how did you manage to only draw magic cards?" Weiss asks with narrowed eyes.
Blake shrugs.
"Luck?" She replies lazily.
"Well, I believe your luck is just about to run out. I activate-" Felicia begins to say.
"No" Blake shakes her head.
"I'm sorry?" Felicia asks with a raised brow.
"I activate "The End Of All Things". It lets me deal damage to one player equal to the number of magic cards on the field that I discard. I only need two." Blake says with a lazy grin.
"Oh? well, that's a lucky draw, but I activate-"
"No. I activate "Leviathan's Call". Now you have to destroy the card you were about to play." Blake says with a lazy yawn.
"Wow~ You're quite lucky, but still, I have "Prayer Of The Forlorn"and that means that-"
"Nope, I activate "Behemoth Of The Deep", now we both must guess what effect Mordin's next card will have. The one farthest from the truth can't use any more magic cards this turn." Blake says with a smirk.
"You..... Did you plan this? From the beginning, was your goal to ascertain Mordin's victory?" Felicia asks with narrowed eyes.
"Perhaps~" Blake says teasingly. Her small and furry form does make it look quite cute.
*Sigh*" Well, it looks like it doesn't matter who guesses correctly, Mordin has a 2 Pow monster that will take one of us out of the game. If your goal is to have him win, his attack should easily end the game by taking me out of it" Felicia says as she looks at you.
Ah, you didn't even get to play your magic cards.
At any rate, you-
[]
------------------------------------------------
Hello, Mr. Solus, Sir, Have A Nice Day, Sir
------------------------------------------------
With everything inside the mirror finished, you take a second to relax.
You look toward the construct and think about what to do with it.
While a part of you wanted nothing other than having it suffer for what it did, you know that it wasn't "the right choice" as Ruby would say.
Really, you're quite certain most other Solus would have simply erased the construct from existence or something along those lines.
From the information you were granted at birth, you know most "Adult" Solus have around two common reactions to someone attempting something similar to what the mirror just tried.
They would either try to teach the construct a lesson, after all, compared to them, the construct might as well be a bumbling baby that hasn't even taken it's first step yet!
The other common response would be to pay no attention to something so below them and simply destroy the mirror and perhaps the world to silence the annoyance.
While there are other common reactions that you've learned from the information, the most common ones are those two.
Annoyance or amusement, to be honest, you tend to fall on the amusement side of things. You can't really help it, new things are exciting and amusing to interact with.
At any rate, you inform the construct that you've usurped control of the mirror from the old soul within.
"W-What?" The construct says as it looks at core.
Yes, you've given a bit of your power to the old soul. It should be able to survive for much longer now, though, you've made certain that the mirror is now under your control.
You'll be giving out orders to the core and to it. Should it have an issue with this, it can kindly fill out a complaint and leave it in the complaint box.
"W-What?" The construct asks with an extremely confused tone.
A complaint box, your place of work has one. It's really quite an ingenious way to learn about anything that might be troubling your employees!
With that, you wave your hand and a nice little box appears in your hand.
Slowly walking forward, you place it in the constructs hands. Even though it shakily accepts the box, you still see the confusion on its featureless face.
Ah! There is no need to fear you anymore, you won't be attacking it unless it attacks your friends.
"I... What?" The construct asks.
Hmm, is it perhaps stuck in a loop? You know that even someone like you can fall under such spells, after all, Ruby did not like it when it happened with Penny.
".....What?" The construct asks. While it still trembles a bit, it's quite clear that it has calmed down somewhat. Perhaps it has figured out you won't be killing it?
As for its new task, well, that's simple. It should keep the mirror safe and its inhabitants happy. As long as their "happiness" does not conflict with what the "Ruby" from your memory would accept, it should be fine.
"I... Yes, I do feel the connection between you and my master..." The construct says as it warily looks at the core.
Good, then there should be no misunderstandings. It has a copy of your somewhat altered memories, it should know what you find acceptable and what you don't.
While most of the souls trapped inside it are beyond saving at the moment, that doesn't mean it can't make their rest more pleasant.
So for now, it should try and keep everyone inside it happy, no more isolation and "Judgments". Should you return and find that it has done something you wouldn't approve of, you'll have to have some words with it.
"Ah! Yes!" The construct quickly says. It appears it's figured out the order of command already, you do like quick learners.
With that, you order the core to take you to a nice and calm field, and so it does.
In front of you, sitting on a small chair next to a table for two, Hesperides awaits.
"Ah, Mordin.....I.....I.... Thank you." She says with a truly kind smile.
She's welcome, though, you should be apologizing.
*Sigh* "Please don't tell me it's because you couldn't stop its attack." Hesperides says as she shakes her head.
Erm, yes, how did she know?
"It's very cliche and something a lot of people apologize for. You'd be surprised what someone will apologize for, in fact, one time I overheard a man apologizing to his wife about being too good with his hands" Hesperides says with a laugh.
You don't understand.
"Ah, he was quite good at back rubs you see, he could always get get that kink out of your shoulder and....erm, never mind." Hesperides says with a small giggle and a nostalgic look.
Ok?
"So, what do we do now? Since you're here, and I'm comfortable, I'm guessing you won somehow?" Hesperides asks with a nervous look.
You nod.
Yes, the mirror is now under your control and the construct now works for you.
Hesperides nods and makes a sour face.
"I see, well, as long as I don't have to see it again, I'm happy." She says with a reserved sigh.
She won't have to, you're thinking of having her share your body until one of your "companions" or "family" members makes one for her.
"Umm, share?" She asks with a dubious look.
Yes, you'll keep her inside your vessel and allow her to use it for an hour or so every day. While it may not be much, you're certain that having her move around would greatly help in improving mental health and in staving off the boredom.
You thought she might like that option more than having you make a world inside the mirror for her to enjoy until a body was made.
"No! I'm perfectly happy with stretching my legs a bit! Really, thank you" Hesperides says with a smile.
Ok then, is she ready for you to finish the connection? You were very rudely interrupted before.
Hesperides giggles.
"You know, I think being alone inside the mirror has warped my mind a tiny little bit. I mean, should people really be reacting like this after they were just killed?" She asks you with an amused look.
Well, it's never bothered you.
Once more, Hesperides giggles.
"I suppose so." She says with a large smile.
And so, you finish the contract.
[
[][Minor] Random
With that done, you gently grasp Hesperides hand, congratulate her and give her a big hug.
"Hmm, it feels nice. How long has it been since I've been hugged, I wonder?" Hesperides says as she gently falls into your embrace.
"Hey, you said I had a great something granddaughter, right?" She asks as she begins to take her spot next to your soul.
Yes, her name's Ruby and she's quite nice.
"That's, good. It's been a long day, I think I'll take a nice cat nap." she says with a yawn.
And so, she's soon resting inside you. Now, with that done, is there anything else you feel that needs to be finished?
[][Mirror] Yes
-[] Write in?
[][Mirror] No
----------------------------
Opening a door to the outside, you step through it and find yourself resting on something soft.
"Ah! Mordin!" Ruby shouts as she proceeds to try and suffocate you, no wait, she's just hugging your head really tightly.
"Ruby Rose, the perfect assasin~ " Felicia says with a teasing voice.
"H-Huh? What?" Ruby says as she lets go of you and helps you up.
Ah, it seems your head was laying on her lap. You wouldn't mind repeating such a comfortable experience.
So, is everyone ok?
*Sigh*" You're the one that suddenly fainted for an hour, you tell us?" Your partner says with a small glare.
Well, you're feeling a bit tired, but aside from that, you're fine.
"You hear that, Ruby, you cried like a little baby for nothing~" Felicia teases.
"I did not!" Ruby shouts back with a blush.
"So, Mordin, did you perhaps find....someone inside the mirror?" Blake asks subtly.
Ah! Yes, you found Ruby's ancestor!
"Whaaaa?" Ruby says dumbfounded as she looks at you.
At the moment, she's sleeping, but you'll introduce her to them later.
"I don't even want to know. Let's just go." Blake says with a shake of her head.
Quickly running to the mirror, you place your hand on it and drop it in your Pocket.
"You know, some might think you're a kleptomaniac with all the things you take~" Felicia says with a giggle.
You have no idea what that is, but you like the way the word sounds.
In any case, you all quickly move to the beast door.
Inside, you find-
[][Door] A Skeleton
[][Door] A Chest
[][Door] A Beast
[][Door] A Person and A Fading Beast Corpse
-----------------------------------------------
AN: Thank's for reading and voting
Edit: Oh right! It's been brought up to me that the threadmarks are getting a bit cluttered, so, do you guys think i should open up a new thread?
Or should w
Food Or Ruby
-----------------
With Blake having set the field for your victory, you do what she expects and attack Felicia.
"Go Mordin!" Ruby cheers from the sidelines.
*Sigh* "Really, I should have expected this. Clearly, Blake is the coolest cat around." Felicia says with a teasing grin.
Well, to be fair, she almost won. Had Blake not stopped her, there's no way you would have won against her cards.
"My, my, Mordin, while that might have been the truth, I still lost." Felicia says with a shrug.
"And I surrender" [Blake] says with a lazy smile as she transforms into her cat form, her clothes fall to the ground.
"That's cheating! How come I wasn't allowed to do that!" Nora shouts indignantly.
Can she transform into a cat?
"W-Well, no, but it's the thought that counts! Besides, if I could transform, I'd like to be a Sloth! Maybe pancakes too!" Nora says with a very large grin.
"So, Felicia, aren't you forgetting something?" Weiss says with a condescending smirk?
"Hmm, and what might that be?" Felicia asks with a raised brow.
"Your clothes, everyone has gone through it. The sooner you undress, the sooner I can put mine back on" Weiss says as she levels an annoyed glare at Felicia.
"Oh~ You wanted to see me in nothing but my underwear so badly? Why, Weiss, all you had to do was ask~" Felicia says as she walks next to Weiss and gives her a big hug.
"No! Get away from me! I might catch your sickness!" Weiss shouts as she slowly tries to kick Felicia.
"My~ So rowdy~" Felicia says as she begins to take off her outer layer.
"No! Alici- Card- Yan- Ughhh, Mordin! Help me!" Weiss shouts as she tries to call for her teammates but hesitates every time she looks at them.
Ok, you'll grab her with your tentacles.
"NO! NO! NO! I changed my mind!" Weiss desperately shouts.
But-
"No!" Weiss shouts.
Ok then.....
And so, everyone soon begins to laugh at Weiss and Felicia's antics.
Suffice to say, Weiss was soon running around and throwing pillows at Felicia.
Felicia's conservative and snake themed underwear were quite "cute" you think.
A few people mentioned how they thought she'd put on something more "risky" to mess with everyone, but they were quite surprised at Felicia's childish choice.
Personally, you think the childish underwear with little snakes fits her much better. While she does like to play pranks on people, from what you've seen, Felicia is a rather calm and kind person with a childish sense of humor.
In a way, such childish undergarments should have been expected, is it not more of a "prank" to surprise everyone with something completely unexpected?
At any rate, everyone soon returns to an appropriate level of dress and sits back down next to the big round table in the center of the room.
"So, Felicia, I've been wondering, but how do you afford such an expensive looking hotel room? Do you go off and kill people or something?" Cardin asks as he looks around and takes a drink from his alcoholic beverage.
"Oh? Well, like most normal people, I have something called a job~ It pays quite handsomely, and I'm quite good at it. Not all of us can get money from daddy~" Felicia says with a smirk.
Carding growls and asks what she does.
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you~" Felicia says with a wink.
*Tch* "Whatever, you're probably an info broker or something with how you know so much about everyone and what they're doing" Cardin says as he rolls his eyes.
So, all you'd have to do to learn what she does is let her kill you?
"Wow~ You really want to know? Well, since it's you, I'll tell you for free." Felicia says as she lifts her hand and beckons you.
Moving next to her, you wait for her to whisper the answer.
Whispering into your faunus ears, she tells you that she works as a speechwriter. She helps important people write things for presentations and other crucial meetings.
"So, with that done, let's move on to your reward!" Yang says with a large grin.
Oh, right! What do you get?
"You can either get this specially ordered dessert or a very embarrassing picture of Ruby when she was a kid!" Yang says as she holds out a box and an envelope.
"What!! What do you mean! What is it?!!!!" Ruby shouts as she gets up and tries to tackle Yang.
"I could see the dessert being appealing to everyone, but why the picture of her?" Weiss asks with a frustrated look.
As Yang sidesteps Ruby, Felicia answers.
"Well, the second choice was based on who won." Felicia says with a smile.
"What is it, What is it, What is it!" Ruby shouts as she tries to grab the picture out of Yang's hands.
Sadly, Yang uses her height as a weapon and simply holds it at a level that Ruby cannot reach.
"Remember that one time when you were 10 and the pink jellyfish doll?" Yangs asks with a smirk
"You wouldn't!!" Ruby says with a loud gasp.
"Don't worry, it's not [that] bad. Besides, you wouldn't hide something like this from your [boyfriend], right?" Yang asks as she looks at you and gives you a wink.
Ruby turns to you then back to the picture.
"Give me iiiiit!" Ruby says as she tries to jump and grab the picture.
Well, this is a tough choice. Still, you choose-
[][Reward] The Picture
[][Reward] The Amazing Dessert!
With that done, you-
[][Party] Get convinced to join everyone in drinking alcohol
[][Party] Finally get to the costume contest!
[][Party] Accidentally fall out of the balcony
[][Party] Get the door, someone's knocking
[][Party] Accidentally all the alcohol
[][Party] Write In?
+++++++
Exploration
+++++++
----------------------------------------
The Chest Is Totally Not A Mimic~
----------------------------------------
Inside the "Beast" room, you find what appears to be a chest.
Nothing else is present in the room, only the chest, the nice large carpet underneath it and the rather ornate looking chandelier above the chest.
Actually, it doesn't look threatening at all! You're a bit surprised, to be honest. You expected a large Grimm or a combat based challenge, in a way, you're just a bit disappointed.
"Huh, this was a bit disappointing" Felicia says with a sigh.
"Perhaps there is another sign to read?" Talitha says as she swivels her head and looks around.
"Yes, these tests always do have something like that." [Blake] says with a nod.
And so, you all carefully look around the room for a sign.
No one approaches the chest, lest they somehow trigger a "failure", after all, maybe the chest has nothing to do with the test.
Eventually, Talitha [does] find a rather well-placed message.
Looking up at the ceiling, you can clearly make out the words engraved onto the aging stone.
"Trust is hard to gain, but easy to lose. "
"Trust not what you believe, lest you be deceived. In the end, everyone is an animal, and thus a beast."
"Still, only the best of us can rise above our beastly nature and become true sons and daughters of humanity."
"Now, choose what you trust and what you don't."
"The way out is hidden inside the chest, should it be moved, the test will fail. Do not tamper with it and trust yourself."
"Hmm, so, what do you guys think it means?" Your partner asks.
"Oh! I got it!" Ruby says with a wide grin as she pounds her balled fist against her palm.
"What did you figure out?" Felicia asks with a curious gaze.
"The chest is a mimic! We have to somehow open it without getting eaten!" Ruby replies with a wide grin.
A mimic?
"This is a term I've never heard applied to a chest before" [[Blake]] says with a look full of intrigue.
"Ah, it's from a game. Anyways, maybe we should try and surround it and then force the chest open? I mean, it would be easier to keep it open if it [is] a mimic, right?" Ruby says with a wide grin as she scratches the side of her head and lets out an awkward laugh.
Hmm, looking at the chest, you attempt to gather information about it.
[Information DC {[10] / [100|80]}
[Your Roll: |75|+ 30(AWOI) +5 (A Friend Of Murphy's) +1 (OWWWLL) - 7(Gather Information Skill) = |104| Crit! Crit Roll: |57|+5 (A Friend Of Murphy's) +5 (OWWWLL) = |67| 1st Check Passed!]
From what you've gathered, the chest is normal and is in fact [not] a "Mimic". There is indeed something inside, a key to be specific. The chest is also quite heavily protected, any attempt at taking the key out without opening the lid will cause you to fail. Whether you use a semblance, domain or any other supernatural way to open the chest, it [will] detect it and fail you. Simply put, the only way of passing the test is to go up and open the chest normally. Still, you doubt the makers of the test ever acounted for a Solus, so, maybe there is a way you could get around it by using your domains?
Either way, Ruby's plan would still work, though. Nothing is preventing you from having multiple people open it.
You-
[