Setsuna

With her friends persistent encouragement Setsuna accepts the quest off the board in the starting city. The city was bustle with green players skittering about taking care of varied things this morning. It was early with the sunlight brightly shining down illuminating the tan stone of the pathing through the city with a warm glow not a cloud in the sky visible on a blue horizon. Sliding the menu of the quest board open and scrolling it down Shiroe interjects "This one right here Setsuna, it will give you a shop you can mess with while we are not around." a soft smile paired with the small nudge as her friends pushed the youngest among them to a less dangerous fitting in this cage of steel they were trapped within in her protection. A subtle nod from the girl with silver locks on her small stature, Setsuna claims the quest and heads toward the quest marker with her 3 friends in tow to aid her efforts.

Given to Simmone:

Gemini Thread Ends Here

Dropping out of the treeline toward the pack of Gaius, Griswold, and Simmone Setsuna exits the forest toward the falls with a dragging blade. Steady steps with dragging tired feet kicking up some grass and soil she collapses near the group. Gaius rushes to her side and looking to him with dilated eyes offers the gauntlet to him. "Its up to you now, slay that creature so we may proceed."

Ripping the belted plates with each removed strap before it comes free, Setsuna looks and struggles to hold the glove aloft dropping it into Gaius's grip before she finds the side of a tree gracing the perimeter of the falls. The crashing water was calming, Setsuna rests in quiet serenity having just destroyed herself figuratively and physically under the crashing thunder over the forest of memory in the ways the guild leader wanted her to and takes what she's earned.

Setsuna hands Swordsman's Bracer to Gaius

Setsuna hands Cat's Gaze to Gaius

Quest Complete:

1*SP (Thread Completion)

3*SP (Gemini Quest Completion)

1600*Col (Thread 400, Gemini 600, Chest 600)

5*T1 materials

Vanity Katana

Rare weapon #135898a

Rare consumable #135898b

Rare consumable #135898c

[Disguise] Obtained (Gemini Destruction)

With a shattering noise, Setsuna breaks the lock and peers inside. A couple wrapped items, one bigger than the others a bag of coin and a small satchel of materials stared back at her. Claiming them from the box, Setsuna leaves the empty container pillaged and broken.

ID# 135898 results: Loot: 15

600*Col

5*T1 materials

Rare weapon #135898a

Rare consumable #135898b

Rare consumable #135898c

Trailing up the hill with her new blade dragging along the ground on her left side, Setsuna reaches the top of the mountain and takes a seat still visibly shaken from the ordeal. Approaching her from both sides is Simmone and Gaius.

“Are you alright child?” Simmone speaks softly with concern for the small girl with knotted silver hair soaked with rain.

“Damn and I thought you looked bad afterwards Simmone…” Gaius laughs as Setsuna’s eyes find him with hardly a pupil, her eyes darting to his like a viper striking out against an assailant.

“It’s done! This game will pay for what it has taken from me, a price in blood for blood…” ripping the glove off and extending it to Gaius “Take it down, remove its heart and consume the beast so we may move on…”
 

Falling from her solid footing as the shadow breaks to pieces, a promise fulfilled upon its destruction keeping her word intact. Pushing the new katana's blade to the ground like a walking stick to pull herself to her feet, having been spent she started to walk with vague eyes in exhaustion through the pouring rain her hair stuck to her face and her hands-on fire. The blade scraping against the ground under her she stumbles upon a chest and eyes it a bit hesitantly, not wanting another ordeal or to take too much more wasted time. A small box with gold trim and dark weathered wood slightly off-kilter in the soil underneath it, hidden well behind some of the surrounding foliage in attempts to conceal it from prying. Aggressively and impatiently Setsuna shoves the blade into the small space between the boxes lid and turns it, in attempts to knock the top ajar.

 ID# 135897 results: Loot: 20

Leaning down and slowly scooping the katana from the ground, where the Gemini was going it wasn't going to need it. "You are not me..." Taking the blade in hand, claiming it as her own.

"No, we are not the same..." The creature spits back, almost in hesitation looking up to Setsuna as she lords over the beast with her hand placed on the handle of this weapon for which she was not proficient.

"I stand by my word..." Setsuna remarks with soft lace in her words before she unsheathes the blade through the neck of the creature. A head falls to the floor before a shatter of data keyed with the crack of thunder, the weapon dealing little but enough to end the creature's life with its weapon. Blood fed as promised to the beast, she claims its blade as hers. Setsuna was eager to understand why the blade wasn't a mirror of her own assuming that it knew something she didn't.

Setsuna Obtained:

1*Katana (Vanity/Good Quality)

The strength of the heart required to face oneself has torn from the beast within
Setsuna has faced her other self, slain by her hand
Setsuna has taken her strength to destroy life’s hardships by force
 

With grim eyes piercing blue and yellow along visible between flashes of lightning creating strobes of sight. Setsuna's blade glows blue as the creatures two handed weapon glows yellow. A total reflection but it uses a weapon that doesn't match hers. A flash again, them both but feet from each other before the blackness reclaims, in the dark visage a clash of steel and the sounds of a connection. They stand on opposing sides having swapped positions before the shadow form falls to its knees, immolation claiming its strength along side Setsuna's drawing serrated edge. The creature struggles to turn to Setsuna who takes light steps through the sounds of pouring rain barely audible through the silence.

"Do it, make me my own..." The monster spits looking into Setsuna, a false reflection egging her to take its life.

Sheathing her blade, Setsuna looks to have spared it, but she was just intrigued by the blade laying at the creatures feet.

ID# 135896 results:

Battle: 7+3 Hit!

MOB: 3+4 (Disguise) Hit!

Setsuna: HP: 19/20, EN 1/2, Damage 3, Mitigation: 27, Accuracy: +3, Immolation: 10 Unmiti

Gemini: HP: 0/10, Damage: 5 [BD (9-10): 6-7] Mitigation: 1, Accuracy +3, Paralyze 1 (9-10) [Killed]

“To see them run down before us, it's a treat, isn’t it? We’d like to see every head on a pike, the blood running like a river to our feet.” A wide and sinister grin painted on its face like a demon. “I’ve had it with this game...” Setsuna whispers to the crash of thunder, her hair in cords knotting around her face like ropes as a few sticks to her cheek. “That may be, but I’ll prove the difference between us...IF its blood you want beast, then I’ll gladly provide your own to you when I let it flow from your eyes and mouth like an ocean!” Setsuna finds a fire staring into a cardinal production but at this moment its unclear which is the dark duplicate as she stares back with hyper dilated eyes that seem to give even her ominous half a startle as the thunder compliments the words while her blade is drawn.

“Trust no one, for they will all betray us in the end, why do we play this charade.” Setsuna takes a step forward and takes a weak swipe at the shade who walks back out of range with ease. Her strength to resist faltering under the constant barrage of truths bleeding from a darkened mirror under beating water punching holes through her skin like paper, making it red from the irritation as it does so. “I can…” Setsuna tries to but is cut off “No we can not can we? The blade will find our backs every time, we cannot trust anyone can we?” Setsuna tries to bottle the overwhelming feeling of defeat and strike again at the reflection but without any heft behind the slash. “Stop it, just stop…” Setsuna feels her heart heavy as she fights back the tears matching the raindrops from bursting free from the dam they’ve taken shelter behind.

“We message but they don’t answer do they, no matter how many times we call our cries to fall to deaf ears.” The sinister reflection goads and prods “Shut your mouth, don’t you speak another word or I’ll remove your tongue.” Setsuna spits in a rage with the creature unhesitatingly continuing the spite fueled attack. “We failed them, didn’t we. Struck down with little resistance while we watched them be cut to pieces! We are no better than those we hunt are we?”

Setsuna could feel the truth, like a cold hand wrapped around her neck squeezing the life from her lungs. Struggling for breath with her chest heavy in a panic she turns to the shade fighting through the missing breath. “SHUT...YOUR...MOUTH.” Setsuna was determined to get the words out fighting back the emotion with each exhale of hardened breath under dark and bone-chilling pouring rains tearing away at her skin latching her silver hair to her skin like a tattoo.
 

Setsuna was lost in this bleak hell under the coverage of rain taking away vision past only a few feet in front of her eyes. Paired with a feeling of singularity washing over her as she sat on her rear in the pounding rain, struggling to find the light outside with a thought

What have I gotten myself into... 

An attempt at collecting herself from the ground is taken away as the darkness gives way to a figure. Walking up from the darkness through the rain, a small silhouette of hair of silver breaking in from just out of sight in the flash of dry lightning as it takes steps toward Setsuna where she sat.

“What do we have here?” appearing as a copy of Setsuna in every aspect but what looked like a yellowish black smoke aura and piercing yellow eyes. An echo of a twisted two-tone voice that sounded of a choir, two people speaking the same words.

Setsuna was getting the sense that no matter how hard she tries she won’t be making it up the mountain this way and it wasn’t the intended task from the quest she had undertaken. The idea of retreat danced into her head a moment, feeling a bit small in the gravity of the situation before it was easily dismissed.

Hell no...I won’t be giving up, I am to serve and earn my keep, prove myself to…

Setsuna thoughts paused here. Who had she been trying to prove herself to; The boy who showed interest in her actions? The other members of the guild she’d been so readily accepted into when she was left alone? The friends she felt she failed or perhaps the orange that had taken everything from her to show she still had something left?

Maybe it was a collection of all of these, but Setsuna had not the wisdom to know what was driving her but knew that the force at her back that kept her going was stronger than this storm.
 

The lightning comes within inches of her, as if the gods themselves were standing in her way. Striking the stone where her hand attempts to take a hold, she retracts it and loses her grip and takes another tumble being her 5th. Setsuna’s strength wanes, she wants to keep going but just cant pick herself up and is winded laying in which would become her place of rest at this rate.

Dragging herself up with a shaking frame, struggling visibly as the fibers contained under her skin fight back against her attempts with the overexertion and cold removing the energy from them completely. Setsuna gets her torso up after contending with her body and somehow winning the exchange and manages to prop herself up and take a glance at the clouds overhead again. “Why won't you let me up” Setsuna looks to the black shaded sky in an honest query.
 

Making it about midway the lighting struck closer to her this time as if the cardinal was intentionally impeding her progress for some reason. Some unseen force was keeping her here despite how hard she was fighting against it. Setsuna kept making progress but only to about half mass before the system fought back and forced her back to the base of the climb. Despite the interference, however, Setsuna continued time and time again. For what seemed like a lifetime but an instant to ascend the surface.

The incline of rock torn asunder by the water, riddled with blackened burns from the powerful energies being fired off like bombs around her. Darkened clouds constantly flashing with static darting around from within in static yellow erupting and breathing harsh rumbles that ring through the air. The rain drowns out all in an overshadowing white noise as it bounces off the stone and trees in mass.
 

Digging deep with every fiber of her being, the pain firing through her body dulled by the cardinal it feels like an electric shock tearing through her muscles. Each latch and pull a fight as the entire surface is slick and the player is forced to use all four appendages if she hopes to scale it. Setsuna pulls and sticks, one by one with grit teeth as the word echoes through her head

I will do this…

Grinding her fingertips into each piece regardless of the harm it does, disregarding the firing power it tossed through her frame like lightning mirroring the weather above her. Against the pouring rain that aimed to peel the skin from her back as she fought the elements and continued to climb. Piece by piece, grasp and foot with inhuman conviction especially from a small girl her age she climbed the rough surface with grit teeth.
 

A piercing gaze upward planning the second clamber up its rough surface, Setsuna starts to climb seemingly vulnerable until strength returns. The filth painted to her face seemed to reflect how soiled her soul felt, Setsuna doesn’t remove it as it seems to fit her now until she washes her past clean. Stepping clear of the shattered jagged stones, shoving her fingertips into any crack or crevice she can find along the rough surface. Water making its way down in trails of the liquid a glint of lightning smashing along the peak leaving a charred patch of black where it struck.

Setsuna’s pupils need time to adjust, the lightning causing them to aggressively lose vision for a moment from the difference. Shaking her head to get her eyesight back, the potential hazard doesn’t deter her from trying to progress. Setsuna sinks her hand into another crack of the mountain, clawing her fingertips roughly to latch herself to it.
 

Her feet continue to not find a hold bashing her kneecaps against the rough rock flooring slowly wearing her skin thin.  But each time Setsuna drops she returns to her feet, the crimson trailing down her shin as she pushes herself back to her feet. Persistence in unnatural quantity as the girl continues to fall and stand, beating herself to a pulp trying to ascend the slick surface.

Breaking free due to the weather, a few stones take away her footing and she rolls back to the base of the hill violently with the stones following behind her. “Damn you…” Setsuna coughs the rocks bouncing off her back, peeling herself up from her stomach covered in muck from the pit and the fall. The dirt adhered to her cheeks worse for wear but determined to finish this. A bit of struggle as she fights to get to her feet, Setsuna intends to attempt the climb again.
 

“Screw this place...” Setsuna spoke earnestly against the white noise of the rain, the first emotion to come from the girl in some time. The words flowed like a spark, quick and hot giving her a bit of heat in her lips as they came out. A feeling of singularity taking hold from within the darkness, emulating how she felt inside to her surroundings. Inspecting her hands layered with small incisions from her travel here. Setsuna sees the cuts as a fitting injury like the paths she will have to take and perceives them becoming commonplace on her flesh.

Removing herself from the ground Setsuna starts to fight her way through the rain. Setsuna saw it as nothing more than an obstacle to overcome as her feet slid along the smooth stone incline with each attempted step. Exhaling heavily with each step upward as her feet cannot seem to find traction easy.
 

Chilling making her skin almost burn under the temperature difference, Setsuna looks up to the sky trying to picture the events that transpired here as the water pools over her face like bullets. Studying the steps it was as if staring into the depths of an ocean as the locale starts to become consumed by the weather. Setsuna starts to get an insight into her feelings here with one word “trapped…”

The word meant a lot to her as it reflected her own situation here in SAO, brought to a place she was reluctant to be but obliged friends and came anyway for their sakes. The same friends who died here, leaving her alone in a cage with none to turn to other than the boy who she spoke with once. Now she looks to him for what she should do. Without him, Setsuna wouldn’t know where she stood: here or the grave?
 

Moving from tree to tree to the beat of thunder echoing in the distance following the steps left by Simmone through the trees, Setsuna takes care to not disturb the tracks while following them from the tops of leaves and vines. Dropping down and looking to a small rounded impression at the foot of a steep climb, Simmone’s heel marks trailing up as a mirrored pair seem to materialize just a few steps up the hill and trail down. “What in the world?” Setsuna doubles back confused, but plain as day was another pair of them. Inspecting and replaying her interpretation of the events.

“Was standing…” as Setsuna seems to mimic the past, following the steps just slightly askew from actual placement.

“Then…” Setsuna sits next to the rounded press, looking toward the strange prints.

A crash of thunder lights the sky with blackened swirling clouds as rain begins to fall.
 

“I’m getting closer…” Setsuna makes another declaration before pressing on. A sudden flash followed by a grumble of thunder in the distance. “Rain again...Then I must finish this quick…” Setsuna turns from the table and moves on leaping for the next closest branch along the circumference of wood, latching on to it and twirling around it like a gymnast before springing off of it into the treeline eager to beat the storm overhead moving to her in an aggressive approach on the horizon.

Pools of rain collected in footsteps left by another, a collection of water in what appears to be heel marks left by a pair of shoes graced with such. Turning her head and taking a survey of them, Setsuna was sure she recognized the impressions as Simmone’s, taking leaps in attempts to close the gaps to the prints with intentions to follow them wherever they were leading.

The stone shifts softly from the resounding vibration behind her as she jumps down. Setsuna’s feet collide softly with two taps as she spreads herself to soften the landing before she darts off trying to decipher the tide she must take through the jungle of vines and vegetation. The footfalls were numerous but faint with each shift over the large crux of trees bulging from the landscape she has to ascend over like a natural obstacle course which she does easily given her determination.

Setsuna’s hands littered with scratches as she pushes herself through paying no mind to how rough she’s treating them under the lacerations of her turmoil and journey. Dropping down with slowing steps and looking left and right to the clearing between a ring of trees, seeing a table that was disturbed recently with papers layered in dust but the few moved as of late most likely another member of the guild. 

The forest turns to a stone ring of varied pillars crumbling from what have been age or something else taking them under further inspection, Setsuna taking eyes from higher vantage overlooking downward from a nest on top of one of the standing stones. Littered about in fragments a few of them toppled from some kind of conflict that happened on the stonework here, the floor made of similar material, a tanned brick that may have been white once but have since been burned by the sun into this beige coloring. Taking note of them, Setsuna counts the pillars there stands five, three destroyed and two seemingly recent.
“Hmm…” Setsuna leaves the stones where they lie and leaps off of the one she perched on. It shakes and warbles as she hops free. “It could fall at any moment.” a subtle acknowledgment of its instability before turning her back to it and moving forward. 
 

Cleaving past a section of vines aiming to block her progress in a web of tendrils, a light blue art cutting them free to allow passage as she leaps through the available section. Sheathing her blade and jumping through notices something out of the corner of her eye as she hops from section to section. Taking to the ground a couple of soft steps before kneeling down to see what it was. Finding a small pile of leaves disturbed by what appears a scooping hand. “Shiina, no doubt.” A soft whisper from her tiny mouth with the inspection getting a sense of which way she should be heading, using her senses instead of the vague description of the quest or her obscured map removed by the fog of war. A touch of the track with two fingers before a leap to the next root, her lightweight frame moving from perch to perch as she traverses the thicket.