[SP-F6] <<Calming the Soul>>

[Azide 0]

Azide seated himself on one of the rocks at the top of the Waterfall of the Sage. He shifted around uncomfortably for a few moments- the rock was of course, wet. "Do I really have to sit here?" he wondered. "Maybe I could just meditate under a nice tree somewhere. Or better yet, I could actually go out and do something." He sighed, shaking his head. He knew that wouldn't do, and that the waterfall was the only path forward. Sucking it up, he made himself as comfortable as he could manage, then closed his eyes. "God, if I slip and fall..." he muttered. He began willing himself to concentrate on what the quest had told him to. "My fears and insecurities?" he thought.

[Azide 0]

He let the sound of rushing water drown out the noise of the outside world, allowing him to focus on what lay in the depths of his mind and soul. "What am I scared of, exactly?" he wondered. He slowed his breathing, and added to it a certain rhythm and regularity. He inhaled deeply through his nose, then exhaled fully through pursed lips, repeating the process in a constant cycle. "Well, I do have a slight fear of falling off of this rock and dying." Though that was true, he knew it was more of a cheap confession with little substance. It was far too basic and removed of a worry. He knew he'd have to look a little deeper. Azide continued his breathing exercises, getting the feeling he'd soon grow bored of sitting and breathing for god-knows-how-long .

[Azide 0]

Azide allowed himself to relax a little, and eased the tension of his muscles, knowing the threat of slipping remained a constant thought in the back of his head. "For this to work, I can't be thinking about too many things at once, let alone stray worries throwing off my focus." He let his palms rest against his knees, then began to visualize an image of pure black in his mind. This was a technique he'd read about once, but he'd never actually tried it. Meditation, it had turned out, had not been an active or even interesting enough activity to hold his interest. Consequently, this would be his first field test, so to speak. He struggled for a while to keep other thoughts from his mind, and to keep the darkness pure and unadulterated. Stray thoughts would sneak find their way through lapses of his efforts, and threatened to disturb his cleared mind. Going about it in a different manner, he began to focus on the sound of the rushing waterfall, attempting to use it as a source of white noise.

[Azide 0]

He felt as if the shift in approached helped, at least somewhat. The randomness of the sounds cleared his mind from any responsibility to discern a pattern, or to make sense of it, as he often felt obligated to while observing. It wasn't a conscious choice- this tendency to overanalyze. It simply happened, as if his mind were on autopilot, and he was simply along for the ride. But the sounds soothed him, and he soon began to picture the image of the falls in his mind. This proved to be simpler feat that emptying out all sounds and images from his mind, while still serving to give him an opportunity to truly concentrate. He continued breathing slowly and steadily, and felt a new calm come over him. In his mind was the sound of rushing water, while his mind's eye visualized the image of it. To him, they were both reminiscent of static, and helped drown out the usual noises and flashes of the mind.

[Azide 0]

Azide felt himself begin to settle into a trance-like state. He felt as if he were slowly drifting away from those flat rocks at the top of the waterfall, and headed for somewhere more removed. The world seemed to drift away around him, until even the image of the waterfall slowly faded into nothingness, though the sound remained. In the darkness, that pitch black nothingness he'd attempted to bring about earlier, he could now spot something in the distance. Heading towards it, he looked down and couldn't help but notice he was able to see his hands and feet. "It's like being in a dream," he thought.

[Azide 0]

As he drew nearer, he could now recognize what it was that he'd spotted before. "That's me, isn't it?" he thought, silently observing what appeared to be a carbon copy of himself standing alone in the darkness. He felt a shiver as the figure looked back right at him. "Can he see me? he wondered. "No, that's ridiculous. This is my mind, after all. There is no he- only myself."

"I can see you, yes," said the figure. It was dark, but Azide could tell that his lips hadn't moved as he spoke. 'It's my mind too, after all. Don't be silly." The figure began to approach him, and Azide reached for his sword, only to find it wasn't there.

Azide began faltering back, uncertain of how to proceed. "Can he hurt me here? At this point, I can't be sure if this is really a trick of the mind, or a simulation run by the game," he wondered.

The shadow continued his approach, chuckling as he did so. He seemed amused by Azide's unease. "Relax. I'm not here to kill myself, I swear." it said, throwing up its hands to imply it was no threat. He grinned in a way that unsettled the player. "Although I do wonder what would happen if I did," it added, placing its hand against the grip of a rapier. It watched as the player tensed up, the drew his hand away and laughed in a rather mocking way. "I'm only kidding."

[Azide 0]

Azide forced himself not to stand down, and planted himself firmly against the ground to look the imposter in the eye. "So what are you? A manifestation of another part of myself, perhaps? Or maybe even a monster created by the system to pose as such?"

The shade chuckled again and shook his head. "Don't be so melodramatic. You're in no position to throw any accusations there, understand?" He walked right up to the player and held his gaze without the slightest bit of hesitation. "I'm just a friendly fellow here to help voice your fears and insecurities. Nothing more, nothing less." It shrugged. "It's as simple as that, really."

[Azide 0]

Azide felt chills as the shade stared into him unflinchingly. But now was not the time to back down, and he had no real means of defending myself. "It's not as if I have any hand-to-hand combat skills in this game. It'd be best to just play along for now." he decided.

The shade nodded its head slowly at him, looking pleased with himself. Literally. It placed a hand on his shoulder, then patted him on the back. "Smartest thing you've thought all night. That's right- you can't harm me here. So it'd be in our best interest to work together on this. Here, there exists no difference between thoughts and words. But that only means we'll be completely honest with each other, isn't that right?"

Azide nodded slowly. "That works both ways. Now tell me what you're going to tell me so we can hurry this up."

[Azide 0]

The shade laughed impishly, and it was only now that its red eyes became apparent. They almost seemed to flicker about in the dark, taking on a life of their own. It wouldn't be much of a stretch for one to mistake him for a demon, on a darker night at least. It brought a hand up to its head and fixed its hair, then looked back at the player, wearing a wide smirk. "Always so impatient, aren't we? That's fine, I get that. I really do!" It began to pace around him slowly, stopping everyone so often to shift directions. ''You're scared of amounting to nothing, aren't you? That your name will be forgotten, and you'll be another footnote on the page of wasted potential?"

"Try again. What you're saying isn't exactly specific to me, true or not." Azide countered.

The shade seemed to disregard him, and continued. "You say you want to unite the lower-leveled players, but one only has to ask why. Could it be, an attempt at staying relevant?"

Azide shrugged. "My intentions are fair enough as it is. What I accomplish is more important than why. Besides, I'm sure you're more than aware it's not a simple Napoleon Complex at work in this case. But I forgot cherry picking your examples was back in style."

"Oh please, I'm sick and tired of your bantering. But on the other hand, I'm just getting started," it added, stopping to stare into him once more.

[Azide 0]

"You're worried about what's happening in the outside world right now, aren't you? Or rather- worried that it's going on without you? I'm sure you know that all of your peers and classmates are moving on. Maybe you even resent them for it inside." The shade appeared to be taking a bit of joy from all of this, as if it could just barely keep itself from breaking into dance. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Azide feigned a yawn and rubbed his eyes. 'Are we still warming up here? I thought you were going to say something interesting. Maybe I'm a little worried about my future in the other world, but I've accepted that for now I should worry more about this one. Maybe you didn't get the memo."

The shade raised a brow, as if interested by the player's resistance. "So would you rather talk about that *other* thing you've started thinking about lately?" It gave Azide a sly glance, taking satisfaction in seeing the player's conviction wane for even a moment. This was what it lived for. It laughed dryly. "Don't worry- we have plenty of time to talk about that later. But in the meantime, are you really willing to kill another player?"

"I am," Azide answered curtly. He'd been visibly taken aback by the shade's earlier comment, but didn't let it get to him. He closed his eyes and began to clear his mind. "I'm no bleeding-heart. I'll do absolutely whatever it takes to get results."

"Oh, is that so?" asked the shade, flashing its killer smile. "Maybe not yet, perhaps." The shade quickly drew Atom Slicer from its sheath, then charged forward- aiming to stab its target straight through the heart.

[Azide 0]

Azide heard a distinct sound coming from the darkness. Even with his eyes closed, he recognized it as the sound of Atom Slicer being drawn from its sheath- a sound he'd heard countless times before. Moments before the blade could reach his chest, he willed his mind to dispel the illusion, and opened his eyes back to the sight of the waterfall. He moved a hand to his chest and held it against his heart, feeling how quickly it was beating at the moment. "That was just a little too intense for me. Maybe this is why I never liked meditation." He leaned down and cupped the water from the falls and washed his face, only to find a familiar one staring back at him in the form of his reflection. Normally this would be nothing out of the ordinary, but in this case, the face staring back had coal-black hair and devilishly red eyes. Now, it had been a while since he'd gotten here, but he doubted these changes had occurred within the span of his little trance-like state. Instinctively, he reached for Atom Slicer, relieved to find it was still on him.

The figure materialized over the water, and charged forward at him. "Whether there or here, there will be blood. Preferably yours." It swung at him, but missed and landed atop of the flat rocks where Azide had been meditating. The two carried out a series of swings at each other, with Azide managing to either dodge or deflect each strike by a hair. Meanwhile, the shade had taken two slashes and a stab, but showed no signs of slowing down.

ID: 7872

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 5 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Shade) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Rapier) + 1 (SP's) = 3

Azide HP: 17/17 (-0)

Shade H]: 14/17 (-3)

[Azide 0]

Each combatant continued with a barrage of swings in all directions, though as before, few managed to make their mark. The lack of room on the rocks combined with their slipperiness limited the two to more restrictive maneuvers, leaving leaps and rolls off the table. Consequently, the favored evasive actions became deflecting with their respective swords, as well as leaning and stepping out of the way. Even still, Azide had managed to slip through his doppleganger's defense twice, before stabbing it through the chest.

The shade chuckled and grabbed the player's sword with one hand, making sure he would either stay or risk losing his only weapon, then thrusted his own blade forward. Azide winced as he felt cold metal slid between his ribs, but managed to pull himself off before more damage could be dealt. He clutched at his wounds. "No matter how temporary, they hurt regardless."

ID: 7874

BD: 5 (+1 acc) = 6 (Hit)

MD' 8 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base)

Damage taken (Shade) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Rapier) + 1 (SP's) = 3

Azide HP: 16/17 (-1)

Shade HP: 11/17 (-3)

[Azide 0]

"Is that right?" mocked the shade. "Should I go a little easier on you?" It laughed and spun its rapier in its hand, really playing it up for something that was losing by such a large margin already. The shade ran forward and swung its blade at him, but missed as the player maneuvered his way out of its range.

"Maybe if you're trying to die," Azide remarked, catching his balance before he slipped off of the rocks. He quickly regained his footing, then deflected another of the shade's strikes, sending its sword momentarily out of the way and leaving the creature wide open. Azide stepped forward and slashed diagonal across its chest, leaving a long and thin red gash across its body.

The shade still showed no sign of being phase, and instead continue walking forward once it had regained its balance, and even grinned wildly at him. "You think killing me will get rid of all that haunts you? It won't. It cackled, before leaping recklessly forward.

ID: 8018

BD: 5 (+1 Accuracy) = 6 (Hit)

MD: 4 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Shade) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Rapier) + 1 (SP's) = 3

Azide HP: 16/17 (-1)

Shade HP: 8/17 (-3)

[Azide 0]

The shade lunged forward, catching Azide by surprise and knocking him to the ground. It pinned him against the stone and pressed its blade against his chest, then continued applying pressure to it. "If you think I'm being reckless, don't be surprised. I can't die just like that- falling off of a waterfall." It shook its head and laughed. "No, you can't kill me, Nouel. But I can kill you." It pressed down harder on its sword, sending the cold steel painfully through the player's body, making him wince.

"I don't believe you for a second," spat Azide. "You've been careful up until now, and that wasn't for the hell of it. You're not invincible- just careless." He could feel the water rushing against his hair, as his head was situated at the edge of the rock. He gasped as the shade pulled the blade out and stabbed it into him once more.

"You don't have to believe me. Just die." It plunged the blade in deeper, twisting it a bit and watched as the player squirmed. It pulled the blade out slowly, planning on dragging out the process for as long as possible.

Momentarily free from the blade, Azide managed to shake the creature off of him, forcing it to steady itself before it stumbled off of the slippery rocks. He forced himself back on his feet as fast as he could manage, then swung his blade at its head, but missed as the shade ducked underneath.

ID: 8020

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) = 2

Damage taken (Shade) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 14/17 (-2)

Shade HP: 8/17 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide easily deflected an attempted counterattack by the shade, then landed a direct blow against the creature, slashing it in the area that it had stabbed him. "En garde," he thought with a slight smirk, well aware the creature could hear him. He swung Atom Slicer for the creature's head once more, but merely managed to graze its cheek with the tip of its sword, leaving a thin red line.

The shade continued to show no reservations about the sort of damage it was taking. But then again, perhaps it didn't actually care. It seemed to be a creature of whim, and continued to fight the losing battle.

ID: 8021

BD: 5 (+1 Accuracy) = 6 (Hit)

MD: 1 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0

Damage taken (Shade) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Rapier) + 1 (SP's) = 3

Azide HP: 14/17 (-0)

Shade HP: 5/17 (-3)

[Azide 0]

The two combatants continued their little duel on the rocks, letting the sound of metal ring out only to be drowned by the roar of the waterfall over which they fought. Sparks flew, and most definitely not in the romantic sense. Both parties continued to deflect and parry the other's swings and thrusts with equal effectivity, with neither one willing to hand off the momentum to the other, nor to give up any ground.

"As soon as you slip up, you're done for," thought Azide. Although his health was in no immediate jeopardy, he was growing a bit weary. The constant threat of slipping kept his muscles tensed, only increasing the strain they underwent throughout the duration of the fight, along with the mental strain that had come from his earlier attempts at meditation.

ID: 8022

BD: 4 (Miss)

MD: 1 (Miss)

Damage taken (Both) = 0 (Misses)

Azide HP: 14/17 (-0)

Shade HP: 5/17 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide realized a moment too late that he'd guarded sloppily as his blade was knocked just far enough out of the way to leave him vulnerable. Sure, that vulnerability had only existed for a brief moment, that was simply all that it took. He felt his opponent's blade slice cleanly through his side, making it burn like hell. He swore under his breath, cursing himself for making another mistake. "But I shouldn't get too work up. I have this in the bag, it's just a matter of time.'

"Isn't it always?" replied the shade while evading another one of the player's swings.

ID: 8024

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 8 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base)

Damage taken (Shade) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 13/17 (-1)

Shade HP: 5/17 (-0)

[Azide 0]

"I think it's fair to say that I've suffered more than my fair share of your yapping." Azide forced himself to clear his mind once again, so as to cut the creature off from his thoughts. Such a pitiful creature wasn't worth sharing them with. He fended off a few more of the shade's swings and strikes, then easily evaded a sloppily-placed thrust.

As the shade left itself open yet again, it realized was apparently aware of fact and locked eyes with Azide in that split moment. Its eyes showed no fear, and stared back into him, defiant until the end.

Azide plunged Atom Slicer deep into the creature, shoving it all the way to its hilt and pushing the shade all the way to the edge of the rock, leaving it with nowhere to run. "I think my business here is just about finished."

ID: 8028

BD: 10 (Crit +2)

MD: 2 (Miss)

LD: 20 (Col and bonus material found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Shade) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Rapier) + 1 (SP's) + 2 = 5

Azide HP: 13/17 (-0)

Shade HP: 0/17 (-5) [Dead]

*1 material acquired + 1 bonus material (LD 20) = 2 materials acquired.

** Shade HP (17) * 5 = +85 col (LD 20).

[Azide 0]

The shade grabbed onto the blade which ran through it and looked the player in the eyes, looking vaguely amused. "So, is this how it's going to be? So rude of you, Nouel." It clasped its hand weakly around the rapier which now impaled him, straining to tighten its grip around the metal. Slowly, it began to pull the blade out, albeit with no resistance on the part of the player. With a bit of effort, the blade was dislodged, leaving behind a thin red gash that showed no signs of disappearing. The creature took a slow step forward, followed by another. It moved haltingly and deliberately, with a distinct limp. Its breathe became increasingly strained, and the color began to fade from its deep red eyes. "I have to admit, Nouel." It paused, as if trying to find its voice. "I'm actually impressed... with your work. You'll be... fine... in this world. Just keep your demons..." It winced, showing pain for the first time, but carried on. "...in check. Sometimes you have to... confront them. Well done..."

"What? Weren't you trying to kill me just a moment ago?" Azide questioned. "Is it wrong to feel a little remorse over ending things like this?" he wondered. As the shade stood dying, it was as if the creature had taken on a more human essence.

"Maybe," it offered, smirking. It started to fall to its knees, but was caught by the player, who allowed the dying creature to rest against his shoulder. "I was made to... kill you. I wanted to." It stopped and looked off somewhere distant. "Farewell, Nouel." Finally, the creature shattered into an burst of crystalized data, literally lifting a weight off of Azide's shoulders. The player stood there in silent contemplation.

[Azide 0]

Azide stared off into the distance over the waterfall, listening to the sound of the water as it rushed by him and fell towards the rocks below. A part of him wondered what the shade had been looking at in its last moments. What was it that a creature such as it had wanted to see? "If he was truly created from me, it's possible that it shared some sympathies with me. I wouldn't be surprised if some lazy programming restricted its more malevolent tendencies to be active while its health was greater than zero. In the end, it was regrettable." He sighed, letting himself fall onto his back. He spread his arms out and looked up at the blue sky above, then closed his eyes. "I could use a bit more meditation, I think. It's been a long day." And with that, he let himself drift off into a much needed nap. "I'll remember to use this again... someday..."