[SP | F06] Blind-Sighted <<Calming the Soul>>

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

Today Firefly decided to leave Myst at home. She had researched the quest she was going on beforehand but it was confusing. It talked of demons and fears but couldn't clarify an exact type. That these entities are known to change depending on the person who did it. It wouldn't be weird to believe that the models were simply randomized.

The journey to the location was difficult. Without pathways or simple modes of transportation as a result of that, Firefly was left entirely with her own two feet. It took some time to travel. It was as quick as possible thanks to the map proved with the information. The quest notification would pop on her HUD to 'Rest underneath the Waterfall of the Sages.'

Firefly quietly walked into the pond around the waterfall, immediately she would notice that the water made no ripple, sound or feeling on her shoes. "What the-?" This was a sight to see for sure. Without the echo of her footsteps, Firefly closed her eyes and focused on the sound of the water hitting the pond.

Spoiler

Name: Scarlet Firefly, The Blinded Light
True Tier: 2
Level: 18
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 360/360
EN: 54/54

Stats:
Damage: 17
Mitigation: 24
Accuracy: 4
Evasion: 2
Battle Healing: 7
Stealth Rating: -1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Butterfly Cross-Blade - T1 Str. Sword | DMG III
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Emerald Cape - Tier 1 Light Armor Perfect | EVA II; MIT
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - basalt - T1 Trinket Perfect | ACC III

Combat Mastery:
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - ST Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - 

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:
  - Battle Healing R2
  - Light Armor R3
  - Straight Sword R5

Extra Skills:

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
  - Ferocity
  - Precision
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - Starter Healing Potion x3

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:

Scarlet Firefly | HP: 360/360 | EN: 54/54 | DMG: 17 | MIT:24 | ACC:4 | EVA:2 | BH:7

Edited July 3 by Scarlet Firefly

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

When Samantha opened her eyes she was in a dingy hallway with moldy yellow wallpaper. The black spots upon the wall ushered in the churning of her stomach. One singular light-bulb lit up the hallway allowing her to barely make out the silhouettes of door-frames and knobs. "Hello? ...?" The girl called out timidly to no response. Her footsteps quickly became the loudest sound just above the creaking under her feet and the soft pattering of rain against the roof.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashed leaving the girl stunned. Flashing lights sent her into a panic. She felt blessed to be able have a chance at sight but there were some things that were just awful to see as well. Samantha would quickly jolt back upwards when she heard the distinctive sound of a creaking door. What crawled out nearly stopped her heart. A featureless, deformed creature crawled out from the doorway clinging onto the wall. Its thin, sharp nails latched it to the wall. The joints connecting it's arm to it's shoulder, and many other places, did not sit correctly. They bent in ways that made Firefly hurt just seeing. It's face had nothing but smooth blackness, like a shadow manifested into life. Nothing could match the chill it sent down her spine as it slowly reached for the one light source in the hallway. Just before its hand curled the glass into pieces.

"̶͓̰͎͇̙̊̐̾̚Ť̶̪h̵̡͎͉̰̲̀̓e̵̡̧̧̼͎̋͋͝r̷̦̻̽ͅĕ̵̺̬̝̑̈́̄͂ͅ ̵̮̆a̸̜̗̫̼͂ŗ̵̖̜̲̈́̈͒̏̾ͅę̴̩̲̳̖͊̋̌̏ ̴͕͎̦̓̑͌s̵̤̳̫̎̌͠ơ̸̢̟̇̌̃͘m̸̨͍͓̤̞͊̉̍̑̂ȩ̴͖͍̼̚t̵̡͔͔̫̿̆́̓ͅẖ̴̍i̵̗͔̝̍̔̎͊n̶̛͖̬̘̎̔̕͝g̴͈̃̌̓͒̈́s̷͙͙̆ ̵̛͙̱͇͎̋̄i̸͖͎̰̗͉̔͛̎ṅ̸̬̦͛̕ ̷̡̤͍̫̦̅̈́́͝ṭ̵͍͚̎̆̄̉h̷̡̹͐ị̷́͠s̴̭͖̾̂͠ ̷̠͚͚̥̈̄̀͋͠l̸̡̛̦̤̘͒̄̊͘í̵͎̕f̴̼͌̋͋̉͠ę̶̦͉̀̎͂̒͘͜ ̸͙̪̫͉͖͐͐̂͆y̵̡̳̎ö̴̹͇͔ư̵͈͇̫͔̌̊̑͝'̵̣̿̀͘d̴̫̏̆ ̷̙̤̌̆̽ṟ̶̢͙͒͑̿̉̽ͅe̵̩̻̹̟̍͘ạ̶̢̨̝̫͆ļ̵̱̣̜̬̌̄̃͘̚l̸̰̉̑͠ÿ̸̛̺̲̠͕̯̐͛̿ ̸̖̳̈r̷̙͙͙̝͈̍̍̀̀à̷̱̳̻̙̔̐͊̄ṱ̴̛͗̈́̚h̴̡̙̻̆̈́̃ė̴̡͓̪͔͒͘͘r̵̞̣̍͛ ̵̻̺̗͊̄̑̀̕n̴̨̡̬̙͓̆̈͂̀̕o̷̭̾̄t̴͓̎̇̂̃͠ ̵̢̔͂s̶̢̭͚͍͍̔̅ë̴̹͖͙́̏e̵̢͐̌̚.̸̫͍͖̬̩̄̽"̸͓̓̾͒͂

Pop.

Edited July 4 by Scarlet Firefly

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

In the darkness, I fumble my hands on the dirty, moldy wall desperately searching for one of the several door knobs I had seen just seconds ago. The fear was making the image I attempted to recall like acid dissolving through steel. The scratching of nails against the wall accelerated my heart-rate to a very uncomfortable pace. My mouth was beginning to feel dry as I gasped for air in desperation to escape this creature's domain. The posterized image of the creature's hand caressing the light bulb in it's hands was the only thing my mind could show me. I needed to run.

"̶̣̟̣̳̃̈́͋̽W̵̮̭̚h̴̜̫̀͑a̵̦͛t̷̝̮̏'̴͈̙͑͑̿͑͘ͅṣ̴̢̫̾̀͌͘ ̸́͋̀̏̚͜t̸̳̺͕̘́̀͗̈̇ḫ̵͇͚͊ẻ̸͚̹̞̟͉̚ ̵̧͍͎̉̀m̵̮̳͖̪̈́͐̎̎͘a̷̧̧̠͗͂͜t̸̫̟̬͈̔͛̄̓͝t̶̨̯̔e̶̺̝͌͊̅̔͌ŕ̴̡?̵̧̛̱̳̹͑ ̵̨̮̪͍̎̐̚A̴̡̰̮̲͂r̸̮̂̊ḛ̶̻̉n̶̪̺͚̈́͆͋͆'̸̜̘̥̿̅͂̈́̚t̸̡̺̘͒͜ ̸̃͐͋͜y̸̰̻͐̒̂̊ͅo̸̡͋̉̑͗̍û̷̡͇̈́ ̴̻̹̞̰̦̉̒u̵̡̹̘͇͋ͅs̵̡̱̳̮͑̒͆̿̓ͅe̶͖͑ͅd̷͎͖͎̈́̒̈̃ ̸̞̉̓ẗ̷͇̻́̓͐͌o̸̮̿̈͂͜ ̶̱͇̳̯̻̉́t̵̯̞̟̪̣́̃͝h̵̖̊̍͝͠͝i̷̧̨̫̦̫̐̽̈͘s̸̛̺͍̖̯?̵̧͚͆̚͠"̸̟̝̙̦͝

I swear I could feel it's warm breath on my face but how could I be so certain now that disbelief had plagued my memories. That thing COULDN'T be real. No way-. Wait! The Witch Light! I reached for my belt where the make shift Glow Stone could provide some relief. It flashed on. A once-featureless face now bore a smile just inches in front of my face. My shrill scream made sounds I could never reproduce.

Butterfly Cross-Blade tore the shadow in half. It faded like a puff of smoke before her eyes, leaving a chill colder than ice down her spine.

---

246835 | BD:3+4 = 7 Hit! (17x15) DMG!

Scarlet Firefly | HP: 360/360 | EN: 54/54 | DMG: 17 | MIT:24 | ACC:4 | EVA:2 | BH:7

Whispering Voices(?) | HP: 0/80 (255-5) | DMG:85 | MIT:5

Edited July 3 by Scarlet Firefly

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

Quickly, Firefly grabbed hold of the door knob closest to her and began to panic as she fumbled with the immovable door. "Let me out! I don't wanna be here anymore! Cancel the quest, please!" The girl cried.

Ț̷̥̩̑̎̈́͘ḧ̷̡̯͎͚͈́̑ề̴̡͐̆ȑ̴̘̣̦̿͝ę̸̹̈́ͅ ̵̗̞̲̈́̈́ͅi̴̲͖͑̈́͋̇s̵̿̾̎̀͜ ̴̳͈́̎̔͘͜͝n̷̮̰̫͍̑̀ȍ̴̡̗͒͘ ̶͕̥̽͊̏e̵̘̝͙͚̠̿͊̿̔͝š̶͔̋͘c̴͉̉̍ǎ̴̧̭̬͉͙̓̄̄p̵̟̣͖͍͛̈́̓͒͝e̴͚̦̭͒͋͗̈͘ ̷̘͛̔n̷̤̋o̷̬̩̜̩̞̒͌w̵̦̲͕̉͋́̊́ ̶̣̜̩͕͖̓̽S̴͔̪̈́̀͒̅͝ä̵̡̰̩́͗m̶̮͙͈̈́̔͠͝ą̵̢̖͉̬͂̌̀͘̕ņ̴̫̑t̸̽̀͜h̴̤̑̍̇́̔a̷̧̍͐͠.̵͎͆́ ̴̫̮̓͐Y̴̝̤͔̙̏̓̌͝ơ̷̼̗̈́͝ṷ̵͚̞̒͛̈r̵̘̟͔̟͓̈́̑͋ ̶̡̻͚̱̐̄̅͐̚f̴̨͓̂͠e̵͙̙̋͌̂̓̉a̸͓͎͖͑̐̽r̶͎̞̅͌̂̽̕s̷͓͔̟̱̹̅̚ ̶̠̦̠̟͂͋̚͠w̶̻͉͒i̵̙̟̬̥̰͒̓̔l̵̜̑ḷ̶̘͍̫̭̃ ̸͚̝͂̕c̴̨͑̇͝ơ̵͈͔̼̖͍̓͘n̶̪̖͍̻͕͐̀ṥ̷͕̠̯̓̔ư̴̛͎̆̍͝m̴̡͉̫̯̑͒̋̇̕e̸̡̻̥͊̿͝ ̷̝̻͍̬͊̾͠ỹ̵̯̥̎̓̈́͘ͅo̵̱̤͉̥̻̒̑͆̍̚ú̴̡̹̒̚͘͝.̸̝̩̪̲̊͒̒͜"̵͕̲͘

The voice echoed through the hallway. Soon her attempts to open the door turned into a loud bashing as rammed her shoulder and foot into the wood. Splinters sprinkled against her skin as the door gave way. The light momentarily blinded her so she closed her eyes and hit the ground.

When she opened them once more, instead of being assaulted by the darkness the opposite consumed her vision: Complete whiteness. The strain on her eyes was so powerful she had to squint to keep them from burning. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the new environment but she barely had time to sit still. Footsteps trailed behind her...

When she turned to face the next demon that plagued her, a visual cacophony of colors overloaded her sense. A kaleidoscope of rainbow colors forced her eyes shut but the sound of it's footsteps was sending her into a panic once again. With her eyes covered, she struggled to swing the Cross-Blade with a single hand and somehow she found her target. The dissipation sounds it made was telling of its fate. And yet somehow... she was terrified that she never even got the chance to see it.

---

246995 | BD: 2+4 = 6 Hit! (17x15) DMG!

Scarlet Firefly | HP: 360/360 | EN: 41/54 | DMG: 17 | MIT:24 | ACC:4 | EVA:2 | BH:7

Silent Voices(?) | HP: 0/120 (255-6) | DMG:114 | MIT:6

Edited July 4 by Scarlet Firefly

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

Amongst the mess of fear that was overwhelming her from all angles, Firefly felt like she could barely catch herself up. Sight was becoming just as much a bane as it was a boon. Several times she attempted to remove the blinder from her face -- Her arm specifically -- but every time it ended up back where it was.

"My eyes!" Tears streamed down her face from the stress and strain they were suffering. "Agh-! Please make it stop!" In desperation, Firefly grabbed the clothed headband from her hair and used it to cover her vision. She panted relentlessly in desperation to calm herself.

"You are struggling." A familiar voice called to me. Distinctly it was @Morningstar's voice. Despite its appearance, I felt it was still unsafe to remove the blindfold from my face. "Is it so difficult to accept the reality that-"

"Don't you dare use my friends' voices." My voice silenced the other's instantly. The game was messing with me. It wants me to hesitate hearing his voice, playing with my comfort like a toy. "I won't allow you to soil their image!"

"What are you gonna do without your eye-" My sword spoke for me. The blade found resistance.

---

246996 | BD: 6+4 = 10 Hit! (17x15) DMG!

Scarlet Firefly | HP: 360/360 | EN: 14/54 | DMG: 17 | MIT:24 | ACC:4 | EVA:2 | BH:7

Cacophonous Voices(?) | HP: 0/180 255-9 | DMG:170 | MIT:9

Edited July 4 by Scarlet Firefly

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

Silence.

All around me was utter silence. I could not fathom what was coming next. The game was doing so well at picking me apart. Praying upon my new photo-memory, using the light to force me not to see my own fears and mocking my best friends to coax me into fealty. Yuki wouldn't allow this to stop her. It was time I followed her example.

The girl would grab hold of the fabric bound to her face to regain her sight. She was in a bedroom unfamiliar to her. Though it didn't take long for it to become familiar at all. When she pieced together the layout in her head from her memory it was very clear this was her bedroom -- Not her SAO bedroom -- Her actual real life bedroom.

How? How would she be here? How would the game know what her bedroom looks like?! SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HER BEDROOM LOOKED LIKE!

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

Of all the curve ball horror segments paled in comparison to the vision of her own room that she was probably wasting away in right now. Could NerveGear scan more than just the body? Or is it tearing into her memory? But... She didn't have that image. All of this shit was really starting to freak her out.

Footsteps would start to approach from the other side of the door. She immediately went to reach for her sword and found nothing. It's missing. "Stay away! I wont hesitate-!" The door opened slowly, and a woman walked into the room, slowly approaching Firefly. "I-I mean it - stay back!"

The woman's approach did not stop, though. On her back was the Butterfly Cross-Blade that Samantha was missing. "Who are you?" The woman reached out for Firefly's hand, slowly she brought it touch her face. When she took the moment to feel around(an awkward sight to witness that normally she was not privy to) she began to realize. It was her mother.

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

"Mom?" The girl asked in horror. If this was anything like the trials before... Was the game really asking her to kill the memory of her own mother?

The woman spoke, mocking the voice of her mother as Samantha was dreading would happen after the last demon copied Morningstar's voice. "Samantha." Her words flowed as soft and caring as she remembered. "You've been gone for so long, I've missed hearing your lovely voice."

Honestly, she was speechless. Not only from the stunned feeling of hearing her mothers voice but also wishing to deny this thing the pleasure(?) of hearing it. "Y-You're not my mother. I have no idea what you are... but you are not her!"

"...I see. You couldn't even indulge in the illusion for a minute or two." The demon continued to disgrace the voice of her mother. She reached for the Cross-Blade on her back and readied it. 

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

The blade pulsed with light like a firefly's heartbeat, or so how she understood it. Samantha fell backwards on to her bed as she attempted to make some distance. Time seemed to slow to crawl as the blade moved through air towards her. The voice of the first demon rang in her ears.

"̶͓̰͎͇̙̊̐̾̚Ť̶̪h̵̡͎͉̰̲̀̓e̵̡̧̧̼͎̋͋͝r̷̦̻̽ͅĕ̵̺̬̝̑̈́̄͂ͅ ̵̮̆a̸̜̗̫̼͂ŗ̵̖̜̲̈́̈͒̏̾ͅę̴̩̲̳̖͊̋̌̏ ̴͕͎̦̓̑͌s̵̤̳̫̎̌͠ơ̸̢̟̇̌̃͘m̸̨͍͓̤̞͊̉̍̑̂ȩ̴͖͍̼̚t̵̡͔͔̫̿̆́̓ͅẖ̴̍i̵̗͔̝̍̔̎͊n̶̛͖̬̘̎̔̕͝g̴͈̃̌̓͒̈́s̷͙͙̆ ̵̛͙̱͇͎̋̄i̸͖͎̰̗͉̔͛̎ṅ̸̬̦͛̕ ̷̡̤͍̫̦̅̈́́͝ṭ̵͍͚̎̆̄̉h̷̡̹͐ị̷́͠s̴̭͖̾̂͠ ̷̠͚͚̥̈̄̀͋͠l̸̡̛̦̤̘͒̄̊͘í̵͎̕f̴̼͌̋͋̉͠ę̶̦͉̀̎͂̒͘͜ ̸͙̪̫͉͖͐͐̂͆y̵̡̳̎ö̴̹͇͔ư̵͈͇̫͔̌̊̑͝'̵̣̿̀͘d̴̫̏̆ ̷̙̤̌̆̽ṟ̶̢͙͒͑̿̉̽ͅe̵̩̻̹̟̍͘ạ̶̢̨̝̫͆ļ̵̱̣̜̬̌̄̃͘̚l̸̰̉̑͠ÿ̸̛̺̲̠͕̯̐͛̿ ̸̖̳̈r̷̙͙͙̝͈̍̍̀̀à̷̱̳̻̙̔̐͊̄ṱ̴̛͗̈́̚h̴̡̙̻̆̈́̃ė̴̡͓̪͔͒͘͘r̵̞̣̍͛ ̵̻̺̗͊̄̑̀̕n̴̨̡̬̙͓̆̈͂̀̕o̷̭̾̄t̴͓̎̇̂̃͠ ̵̢̔͂s̶̢̭͚͍͍̔̅ë̴̹͖͙́̏e̵̢͐̌̚.̸̫͍͖̬̩̄̽"̸͓̓̾͒͂

The physical pain was lost on her but the emotional abuse was not. The twisted face of her mother as she plunged the blade into her stomach was like a painting etched into her mind's eye. Her eyes trailed down to the wound. It was the first time Firefly had ever actually been hurt in Aincrad. There was no pain beyond that phantom feeling of discomfort."You will die in Aincrad. Here and now, or later it does not matter." Her health had drained drastically from the wound.

---

For narrative, I allowed the demon to attack first this round.

ID#248477 | MD: 8 Hit! 255-24 DMG dealt.
ID#248478 | BD: 8 Hit! 340 DMG dealt.

Scarlet Firefly | HP: 105/360 | EN: 14/54 | DMG: 17 | MIT:24 | ACC:4 | EVA:2 | BH:7

Familiar Voices | HP: 270/270 | DMG:255 | MIT:12

Edited 2 hours ago by Scarlet Firefly

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

As the blade began to escape her stomach, Firefly watched her HP go further and further down. Seventy-five percent... Fifty percent... Thirty percent...

Panic began to set in as death was coming closer and closer. Her hand suddenly grabbed the sharp end of the sword, and her other reach out to take the Cross-Blade back from her enemy. "No! I haven't finished! I have to know what they look like myself!"

The girl screamed in pain as removed the sword from her stomach. "Do it then! Kill your mother!" It taunted her, still using the familiar voice. If she wanted to live, she would have to do it. However, she would do it on her own terms. The demon thought she had no resolve to go through with it. Honestly, she really didn't believe that she had it in her to do it.

At least, not witness it. The blindfold she used to protect her sensitive eyes would protect her one more time - To save her from the emotional pain having to witness the pained look of death on her mother's face.

[Scarlet Firefly 0]

My vision goes black as the cloth covers my eyes. I can only feel the blade in my hand, and the sixth sense of the presence that joined me in the room. I refuse to attach my mother to this entity, whatever the hell it is.

My blade feels heavier than normal. I can't be sure if its because of the wound to my stomach or the hesitancy to cut down what I last saw as my mother. But it was like the shadowed demon from the hallway had said. I really did not want to witness what I was about to do. Even through the heaviness weighing me down, I had to do it.

"Wait-!" My voice overtook the demon's as I raised the blade and screamed. I didn't want to hear it disgrace that comfort I indulge in. I felt every moment of my blade tearing through the demon.