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Entry tags:
☁ 001 | Under an Endless Sky
Who: Lyria and YOU
Which: ( Opened ) Passive + Interactive Dream
What: Lyria is experiencing a dream she's had many, many times before.
Warnings: Dark themes including slight mention of torture and imprisonment.
** [ OOC Note: Anyone is welcomed to interact with either parts of the dream, be it the passive or interactive! Should you choose to be apart of the interactive, you will have the option of appearing as your younger self or remaining the same. That is entirely up to the player! ]
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The sound of arguing opens the dream. At first there is muttering coming from an echoing room, and as the vision clears, the scene opens to a vast building of looming towers and dark infrastructure. The voices seem to be getting louder— more demanding.
Three figures stand prominent here, along with a line of soldiers blocking the entrance and exit. The man standing in the room overlooks it from above on a large pedestal, while a woman, her face hard, stands at his side.
"Go on, do it again."
"Stop this, Captain Pommern, she's had enough—!"
"—I said again!"
There is a flash of light from the man's hand, and a young girl screams from below, barreling over and cradling something at her chest. There is a sudden commotion of armor clattering, but eventually the noise goes quiet when Pommern raises his hand above his head, threatening to activate what appears to be a floating crystal cased within a tube. "This is for the Empire, lest you forget! We need these powers! Now, if you please..."
The girl on the ground hesitates, but wordlessly struggles to her knees. She turns her attention to the woman above, who only nods slowly yet solemnly. A frown appears, but eventually with the reluctant coaxing, the small girl will begin to close her eyes.
Suddenly a bright, omnipresent light suddenly glows from her chest, nearly encapsulating the previously dark room. The image of the girl is shown clearly now, as long blue hair appears mangled and unkept at her sides. She seems shuts her eyes tighter, extending her arms out in front of her, and through her sobs she mutters:
"Come forth and grant your power to me... Ifrit!"
The ground beneath her quakes, and as the light begins to dissipate, a large flaming beast appears at its center. Its chest bellowing with fires only to let out a hideous roar that shakes the entire room.
Lyria is seen to be struggling for control underneath, her hands trembling and eyes fluttering with a fresh new layer of tears. Eventually, exhaustion gives in completely just as the flames of Ifrit begin to lash out onto the floors and ceiling. The summon's body flickers with her consciousness dwindling, and soon completely fades out of existence as her body tumbles to the ground once again.
"Huh!? That was it!? Wake her up, we aren't done here!"
"Lyria? Lyria...!!"
And slowly... everything becomes dark.
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[ Darkness.
A cold, barely lightless room greets you as you step into this dream. Glancing around you quickly discover there is nothing to this place; no doors, no furnishing cept a small cot lying on the floor, and only a small square cut out from the ceiling with the night sky in full display.
There is a death-like silence here. The kind that crawls against your skin and slowly takes control.
And on top of all of this, you cannot seem to move from this place. Attached to your ankle is a cold, hard chain connecting you to the floor.
This place isn't without its visitors though, for seated a small distance away is Lyria. Her knees tightly pressed against her chest with arms wrapping around herself protectively. She doesn't seem to notice at first, as her eyes as cast upwards, staring up at the stars above.
Whether you are in the cell next to her, or perhaps in the same one, you soon you may realize ( should you have met Lyria in this world ) she seems younger, her features depicting a child no more than ten years old.
Eventually her gaze breaks away from the stars as she looks towards you, lifeless and void of emotion. When she speaks her words are soft, almost a whisper: ]
Who... are you?
Which: ( Opened ) Passive + Interactive Dream
What: Lyria is experiencing a dream she's had many, many times before.
Warnings: Dark themes including slight mention of torture and imprisonment.
** [ OOC Note: Anyone is welcomed to interact with either parts of the dream, be it the passive or interactive! Should you choose to be apart of the interactive, you will have the option of appearing as your younger self or remaining the same. That is entirely up to the player! ]
The sound of arguing opens the dream. At first there is muttering coming from an echoing room, and as the vision clears, the scene opens to a vast building of looming towers and dark infrastructure. The voices seem to be getting louder— more demanding.
Three figures stand prominent here, along with a line of soldiers blocking the entrance and exit. The man standing in the room overlooks it from above on a large pedestal, while a woman, her face hard, stands at his side.
"Go on, do it again."
"Stop this, Captain Pommern, she's had enough—!"
"—I said again!"
There is a flash of light from the man's hand, and a young girl screams from below, barreling over and cradling something at her chest. There is a sudden commotion of armor clattering, but eventually the noise goes quiet when Pommern raises his hand above his head, threatening to activate what appears to be a floating crystal cased within a tube. "This is for the Empire, lest you forget! We need these powers! Now, if you please..."
The girl on the ground hesitates, but wordlessly struggles to her knees. She turns her attention to the woman above, who only nods slowly yet solemnly. A frown appears, but eventually with the reluctant coaxing, the small girl will begin to close her eyes.
Suddenly a bright, omnipresent light suddenly glows from her chest, nearly encapsulating the previously dark room. The image of the girl is shown clearly now, as long blue hair appears mangled and unkept at her sides. She seems shuts her eyes tighter, extending her arms out in front of her, and through her sobs she mutters:
"Come forth and grant your power to me... Ifrit!"
The ground beneath her quakes, and as the light begins to dissipate, a large flaming beast appears at its center. Its chest bellowing with fires only to let out a hideous roar that shakes the entire room.
Lyria is seen to be struggling for control underneath, her hands trembling and eyes fluttering with a fresh new layer of tears. Eventually, exhaustion gives in completely just as the flames of Ifrit begin to lash out onto the floors and ceiling. The summon's body flickers with her consciousness dwindling, and soon completely fades out of existence as her body tumbles to the ground once again.
"Huh!? That was it!? Wake her up, we aren't done here!"
"Lyria? Lyria...!!"
And slowly... everything becomes dark.
[ Darkness.
A cold, barely lightless room greets you as you step into this dream. Glancing around you quickly discover there is nothing to this place; no doors, no furnishing cept a small cot lying on the floor, and only a small square cut out from the ceiling with the night sky in full display.
There is a death-like silence here. The kind that crawls against your skin and slowly takes control.
And on top of all of this, you cannot seem to move from this place. Attached to your ankle is a cold, hard chain connecting you to the floor.
This place isn't without its visitors though, for seated a small distance away is Lyria. Her knees tightly pressed against her chest with arms wrapping around herself protectively. She doesn't seem to notice at first, as her eyes as cast upwards, staring up at the stars above.
Whether you are in the cell next to her, or perhaps in the same one, you soon you may realize ( should you have met Lyria in this world ) she seems younger, her features depicting a child no more than ten years old.
Eventually her gaze breaks away from the stars as she looks towards you, lifeless and void of emotion. When she speaks her words are soft, almost a whisper: ]
Who... are you?
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She felt her feet resist at first. They were heavy. Unmoving. Should she go what would happen should she go she was scared— But before she could let the thoughts fully consume her, her legs were quickly pushed forward towards the cell door.
Further commotion spread throughout the hall as more guards began to file their way into the narrow hallway separating them from the exit. But she didn't think, all she could do was run as fast as her legs could carry her to try and keep up.
The hand that was so firmly around her hand, while slightly painful, felt secure. Lyria had never felt this way before.
Finally, shakily, she will tighten her grip around the hand. Slowly beginning to drop the small barrier in her mind. ]
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Which way?
[He can take a guess, but if she knows the way, the better. It might also help her think about something else than the clamor of the guards.]
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With each step she would leave this place behind. ]
Uh, it's- [ she tries to remain calm and control her breathing while looking around. She knows this place, she knows where it is!
Eventually, Lyria will point past him in the direction they are heading. ] -it's that way! The furthest door to the left!
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[He swings his arm to send loose another wave of ice as more soldiers appear, freezing their legs and arms in place as they rush past and towards the door.
He can feel her tiring, knowing how much he's straining what little endurance she might have. But they just need to get a little farther...just a little more...!]
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But they were so close, the exit was right th— ]
Ah!
[ —Suddenly, harshly, a firm hand broke through the thin layer of ice and swept at her ankle, causing her to lose what little balance she had left and came skidding to the ground beneath her. She screamed when she felt the pain of her arm being yanked as Eustace was still managing to press forward, but with that small window- that ever slight delay of their escape- more guards poured through the door as others were climbing back onto their feet.
Two were already rushing at Eustace, using their height as a sort of advantage to lunge and grab for his forearms, while another guard from the side wrestled to disarm Flamek from the boy's grasp. And still yet another, one dressed in fine armor that distinguished themself above the rest, claimed a large great sword at their side and held it out above Eustace's head at the ready. ]
No... [ Lyria peered up horrified at the scene around her, her vision blurring. ] St- stop this...!
[ The faceless guard did little in terms of heeding the warning as their head motioned for a few other guards to retrieve her. Her body was trembling when a few stepped forward, but her attention could only stay focused on the boy in front of her. The one who was trying to save her.
Th- this could end like this... she couldn't let this happen! ]
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[ Clasping her hands tightly against her chest, Lyria shuts her eyes tight as a bright light began to illuminate from the center of her crystal. Quickly and entirely encapsulating the dark room with blinding white.
A loud, ear piercing roar is heard amongst the chaos, as well as the trembling of earth underneath them. There's too much shouting, too much commotion that occurred to fully understand what was happened. One moment there was silence; an audible pause that hung in the air as a large creature, barely able to fit inside the confines of this dungeon floated above him.
A creature known as Leviathan.
The next moment came water, and lots of it. A full, downpour stream of waves that hit the ground and pushed itself forward, sweeping and crashing into everyone in its wake as it forced all in the direction of the exit.
Lyria, sensing what was going to happen, quickly grabs for Eustace and presses herself tightly against his body, bracing for the sudden impact. ]
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Lyria—!
[But just as he tries to call out to her, there's a blinding flash of light from her crystal and immediately he realizes she's summoning. What he has no idea until he sees the blue water serpent rise above him. As soon as he feels the grips of the guards loosen, he wrestles his way free, but it's then that he feels a small body slam into him. Immediately he's knocked to the floor, but he just wraps his arms around her instead, concentrating. Now that he didn't have to struggle against the guards, he could put his complete focus into one thought:
Protecting Lyria.
Just as the waters rush over them, ice erupts around them to create a thick, solid dome around them. It muffles the sound of the screams and water that batters against it, the walls shuddering under the impact of the raging torrents that flood through the halls. But Eustace just keeps Lyria pressed closed to his chest, his hand over her ear so she doesn't have to see or hear any of it. So that all she has to listen to is the sound of his beating heart and be embraced in his warmth.
Until at least there is nothing but silence.]
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This was the power she was given... the reason why she was here...
But she didn't let those thoughts consume her now. The only thought that repeated in her head time and time again- what she whispered and hoped for- was the protection of Eustace. And while her body may not be able to do much in terms of a shield... she knew, at this moment, that his life was something she wanted to keep safe.
Her body tensed with the impact of the waves as hands desperately clasped around him. Her mind was foggy, clouded with the buzzing and the noises and the panic... but somehow, someway, the presence of the boy she was up against made all those noises fade away.
Lyria couldn't hear the screams, couldn't feel the water against her skin... no, only the warmth that Eustace's body gave off was the only sense she could latch on to. It was the presence she focused on as her eyes squeezed closed.
And then eventually no other noises remained. ]
...?
[ Quietly, wordlessly, Lyria will slowly begin to peel her eyes open to realize that Eustace was holding her in his arms. She could faintly begin to feel the brisk air of the ice that formed around them but being in such a daze her eyes could only now just begin to look around with what little visibility she had from cowering into his chest. She's not daring to move, not yet. Her body clinging and almost refusing to let go of him.
D... did they win? ]
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...It's okay, it's over.
[...For now, anyway. They still needed to get out while they had a chance, but his eyes glance at her torn up feet and frowns.]
I'll carry you the rest of the way, okay?
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Lyria still felt dazed by her surroundings but the hand against her head was a welcoming feeling, and her breath evened because of it. ]
I... is it? Thank you, Eus...— [ Eus? Was what she was trying to say? The boy had never given his name, so she had no knowledge of it. Why did she feel she knew it?
Eu... eust...?
There's a small pain in the back of her head, so Lyria forces the thought away for now. Instead she will continue to cling against the boy, giving a small nod against his chest. ]
... Okay.
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It seems to be the latter, and since she also seems to be in pain trying to sort it or perhaps for other reasons, he doesn't try to correct her. Not yet. Instead he carefully gathers her into his arms and stands—staggering a little.
Ugh. She's so small and as light as a feather, but this child's body...! No, he'll make it. He could switch her onto his back, but he's afraid they might harm her and he wouldn't be able to protect her. So he endures, hoping for his adult strength to kick in as he gains his footing, the ice dome around them dissipating into snow flurries. There they can see the devastation, but Eustace only quickly dashes forward, not wanting to have them linger too long.
And fortunately, this time there is only silence as he runs to the door, sound of distant alarms so far away. When he reaches, he's going to kick the door open and...]
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The next room they entered was empty; completely void of any walls, floors, or light.
The door closed behind them leaving nothing behind- no entrance and no exit. The only thing remaining was the two of them in the middle of this vast and expanding nothingness. Only the sound of their harsh breathing occupied the space.
There were no more alarms. No more fighting. If Eustace chose to walk forward the sound of those footsteps would echo, ringing off of an unknown source. It was an eerie space.
Until another voice shook the room.
The dark, booming and deep voice called from the nothingness- the sound everywhere at all once and centered around no source. ]
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—!?
[The sudden voice startles him enough to stagger, but then he suddenly notices he's no longer in his child form but is now in his adult form. Wary he holds Lyria closer against his chest, a hand protective over her head as he looks around.]
...Who are you?
[Is this a dream or...
......Something else? Is it the cause of her nightmares? Or... He has another suspicion.]
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Lyria lies motionless in his arms, her expression half dazed and resembling someone in a trance. ... But those sharp, glowing blue eyes faintly flickered behind her lashes.
The space shakes again with a low, dark rumble. There was no wind, no sign of weather or temperature in this place, but it was somehow getting hotter.
Two bright, yellow eyes slink through the darkness from above. Their masses huge and god-like.
Their attention focused solely on Eustace. ]
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...
But is that possible?
Glancing down at Lyria and seeing her state only confirms some of his thoughts.]
I should be asking you that... Bahamut.
[Dream or not, Eustace only glares icily at the pair of eyes that loom over him, the heat that started to envelope him dispersing from the coldness he exudes. He doesn't care what he's facing. Lyria suffered because of it, and for that he will never forgive nor stand down so easily.]
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[ With its identity revealed the face of said entity will slowly begin to emerge from the darkness. Only the head- it's sharp teeth and glistening scales tearing away the fabric of this space itself- was shown. It loomed above in a space unknown, the mass giant and nearly taking over the entire area above them.
Its voice shakes the earth. Dark flames spewing from its mouth as it speaks ]
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It makes him wonder how. Is this is just a fragment that came with Lyria or there is more to the dream connection between this world and theirs than they realize? But he wouldn't use Lyria to try and find that out. He has no desire to put her in such a position. Nor does he even think of using this as a chance to find answers—it's clear it's not cooperative so there's no point.
So instead he just continues to stare coldly up at the massive figure, the pressure not unnoticed but he refuses to falter.
He's too annoyed at it to.]
Is that all?
[It just keeps saying the same thing over and over— Honestly it took a lot of restraint for him not to tell the being to shut up right in its face—]
I'm only here to help Lyria wake up before the nightmares hurt her.
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A low growl continues to rumble the floor beneath him. ]
[ The flames do not dissipate, rather erupt from either side of Eustace. Their distance far, but the heat radiating from its source powerful and growing. It was through those flames that the outline of the large beast's body clung to the shadows, difficult to spot but ever present. ]
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Doesn't matter.
[He could say a lot, but true to form, he's not. Why does he need to explain to a god who does nothing to protect her when she needed it most? Why does he need to prove anything? It's not going to change anything. So—]
Now shut up and let her wake up.
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The loud, ear-shrieking sound pierces deep into the darkness and further rumbles the ground. Fragments from the floor begin to break off and the slits through the broken pieces shown faintly of light.
The space slowly begins to crumble around them. ]
[ Steady cracks appear in the ground where Eustace stood. Dark flames began to rise from them as they wrap around his ankles like vines. Pulling, tugging him towards the ground. ]
[ The flames grow higher now and completely overtake his form. There was heat, but the fire did not burn at the touch. Instead it raged and expanded, choking and taking all the air within the space with it. It was suffocating. ]
[ The implications are different this time. There is something else... another meaning in its trembles.
Through the flames large wings expanded to their full length from the flickering darkness. Another roar, this time more menacing than the last, completely shattered what was left of the ground before the two of them fall and are completely engulfed in darkness once again.
Falling...
falling...
... and then the vision ends. ]
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But then he grits his teeth and pushes back, cold air and lightning crackling around to create a small barrier. The flames press heavily against it, but he just pushes back, determination fueling his resistance. Even if he knows this is the end, he refuses to falter.
Glaring up through the smoke and flames, the words resonate deep within his mind and soul.
This realm cannot hide you.
You are not meant for this world.
You do not belong here.
The implications are heard loud and clear, and were this a few months ago it would have made him waver. If it was a year ago, it would have been more devastating. Would have made him question, doubt, hesitate.
Heartbreaking.
But not now.
Not anymore.
With the rising flames is his own buildup of anger and defiance, and even as the floor shatters—]
Bahamut!
[—Eustace shouts out with all his might, his body tilting back as everything falls apart and his body descends. He then raises one hand up to the flaming inferno above and raises his middle finger.]
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...
Did he really... Meet with Bahamut?
You do not belong here.
The words still echo loudly in his mind as he continues to look down at Tifa, watching her shoulder rise and fall with her soft, steady breaths as he continues to gently stroke her hair and cheek, stopping only when she stirs.
Maybe he shouldn't be pissing off what is basically his world's god, or a part of it or whatever. But what could it even do here? Nothing, clearly. At least one thing is for certain—he is dead set on proving it wrong.
This world or another, the only place he wishes to be, the only place where he belongs is right here. Right by Tifa's side.
And he won't let a giant lizard get in the way of that.
...
Running a hand over his eyes and hair, Eustace looks towards the door and contemplates going down to check on Lyria. Really it's for the best... He knows he's out of the dream, but was Lyria really released?
Frowning a little, he quietly and carefully moves to leave the bed...]
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She felt Eustace's arms around her, the ice that clung to his body and surroundings, how her feet felt and stung. She remembered pushing back through that door, but... nothing. Nothing else followed.
There was an emptiness tight in her chest when she finally opened her eyes and the first sensation that greeted her was the warmth of something else. Her sheets? She shifted slowly in the bed to confirmed, and breathed out a sigh when she realized she was had woken up.
A dream... it was only a dream. So then why was Eustace...?
Eustace.
He was there, too. Small, but still the same person she knew. Was he alright?
...
There's a small bit commotion that can be heard downstairs when Eustace moves to leave the bed. A few whines and wuffs, but soon those noises return to silence and after a few more moments... a small, quiet knock on the door can be heard from the other end. ]
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As he remained sitting on the edge of the bed, he hears the soft the knock and a light smile forms before he stands to walk over and open the door.]
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quietly peeks in here and drops this off-
THIS FAMILY
The perfect found family 🎀