1155/Overlord Diaries: Castle

Overlord Diaries: Castle
Date of Scene:	20 February 2024
Location:	Dusk Boundary
Synopsis:	The newly awakened Shogun Mogura and his companion, Overlord Maou, begin to explore the Shogun's Castle in the Dusk Zone! As well, an unexpected third... Who has mutual interests! A shocking twist ending that no one anticipated
Cast of Characters:	Kano Watanabe, Natsu Oukanno, Keaka Hoshiko

---

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    The Torii gate sinks back into the earth, with Shogun Mogura on the otherside of it, along with Maou. Where are they? In some huge, traditional Japanese room, with sliding doors, wooden floors, tatami mats, those tripod-torch sconce things in the corners that somehow don't manage to quite illuminate the surroundings with a physical murk consolidated in the center of the space like a crouching creature of some sort. There is also an unexpected addition.
    The ten-foot tall samurai turns his gaze upon the intruder, as black energy flows around him, pressing outwards with tangible pressure. "The domain, of shadows; citadel unending, fortress of dusk; your footsteps violate." He sounds angry. Does he ever sound not-angry? No one knows yet, but he definitely sounds angry.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "They shall rue the day they crossed paths with their future ruler! How dare that archer deposit this foreign chemical upon me! His interference cost us the chance to acquire a new ally, and now--" Overlord Maou is ranting as she tries to figure out how to carefully apply her Dark Energy to destroy the slime without damaging anything else. Eventually, she just realizes her own power isn't going to hurt her, and blazes with black flames that scour the substance from existence. Then she turns, swirling her long, black, high-collared cloak, to look upon the intruder.

    "Well, well. The other Villain on the scene. You thought yourself priveleged to ride our coat tails to safety? Be glad! We are understanding and forgiving towards our own kind, and we will all succeed more often through cooperation. This trespass is already forgotten." Then she looks to the giant samurai to affirm that statement.

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Clarthas is wiping the ink out of his eyes. "Where are we?"

    Sarida responds in the tinny voice of a Device, again using that dry, expository tone. <"We're deep in Abstract Space -- and the 'Dusk Zone'. This area seems to be some kind of pocket reality, which is why you still need your eyes."> Clarthas nods.

    He takes a look around once he can see again, eyes sweeping over the room, and the flickering torches, and Shogun Mogura. He bows. "You helped me escape those heroes. Are we not on the same side? I am Clarthas Anode. Uh, do I need to say it in a poem? When in Mid-Childa... What was it, again?"

    The crystal 'eye' on his gauntlet swivels to him, and then back to Mogura.

I am your wet, distorted understanding of a greater thing than you can see:
I open wide the gate to final shores.

I name myself an ember's child; a ling'ring troth, a fading flame; when I am named, no longer say:
blue-white blaze in a scaled sky, and rose aurora shivering.

    The name-poems of Clarthas Anode spoken, it now introduces itself: "And I am Sarida."

I am starred with blades and wicked thorns: This rough-hewn, blade-edged metal crown of ancient, storied Ninuan.
a spirit-seizing vision is unfurled.

    "...Yeah, those." Clarthas nods. And then the demon lord lady says they're forgiven anyway. "Thank you." He turns to bow to her as well. "We must work together. Heroes are very good at amassing great forces and smashing your plans at the most critical point. So, uh... just what is your particular objective, anyway?"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Shogun Mogura does not audibly respond or give a visual indication that he has agreed to forgive the trespasser. "Words scrawled, inside a skull; with quill of dove, soaked in blood; recited by ghosts." is what he finally says. He then folds his arms and turns away, apparently having decided after the introduction by Clarthas and Sarida that he has washed his hands of the matter. He is turning slowly, looking around the room. Feeling out his surroundings. For some reason, he can feel that there's many more rooms around him.
    And... For some reason... He thinks that he can...
    The Shogun raises one hand and gestures in a loose wave. The sliding doors slam open, and then the doors of the room beyond that, and the room beyond that, and the room beyond that, in sequence, all the way into the distance, where the darkness becomes too deep to see. This realm... He controls it? It feels like it's connected to him. Almost like an extension of his body... Or his mind? There is some connection.
    He makes no attempt to explain any plans to Clarthas Anode or Sarida.
    He is busy mapping his new domain to his brainspace.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Maou reacts to Clarthas' introduction and question with a fixed smile. Then she says, "I am Overlord Maou, and my companion is..." She turns to look at the Shogun. Did he introduce himself back on Earth or not? She doesn't remember him doing so. New henshin, maybe doesn't even have a name picked out, though she can guess at how the magic is forcing her best friend to talk like that, the same way it's doing to her. "Familiarizing himself with his new domain. I underwent a similar process upon discovering my own territory." Then she looks back to Clarthas and his talking eyeball (I know it's not actually an eyeball probably, shush), and says, "I trust that you can understand the need for confidentiality when having just made an acquaintance, particularly about any plans, fabled or true."

    As her armor shifts out of combat/defensive mode, it starts reshaping itself to its new environment. Not quite fully standing-down like it would when totally safe and relaxed, but retracting spikes and additional armor plates. Though, as Maou has implied, she still has several healthy layers of caution about the new surroundings and the new face in their midst. Even so, it's starting to look less like practical combat armor and more like stereotypical villainess overlord armor. Namely, it leaves some parts exposed. Not a lot, but more than one would probably want when going into battle.

    She appears unbothered by it, or at least resigned to it by now.

    "Those words spoken, I do hope that our relationship will grow, and we will be able to aid not only each other, but further like-minded individuals. It is an awfully large cosmos that we dwell in, and one capable of even further growth, by nature or by force." Here she gestures around and looks over her shoulder at the dozens or hundreds of rooms extending out into the 'horizon'. Funny to think of an indoors location having a horizon, but here they are. "There is space enough for many ambitions to be fulfilled."

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Clarthas quirks an eyebrow at the poetic response. Shogun Mogura then demonstrates this is his realm by opening the doors with a gesture. Well, that's to be expected, since he made the gate to this place.

    They turn to look at the more talkative Maou once more. "The future ruler of what, exactly. The Earth? All of existence? Beyond? What ally did they cost us?" He was kinda busy fighting a pirate at the time.

    Can't share plans just yet. But there's room for many ambitions. He nods.

    There really aren't a lot of allies ready to end the world, huh. He must bide his time and learn about this world for now...

    "Well. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance all the same. ...New domain. This is all recent, for you as well?"

    He thinks about this.

    "...Has anyone here actually been active for a long time, or did everything just start recently?"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    "First steps, undisturbed snow; puddles of obsidian, rippling slowly; a jagged path revealed." says the inhumanly deep voice of the giant samurai as he stares into the distance. Then he looks up at the ceiling. There's a lot of space above him. He looks down at the floor. And a lot of space below too. But it's not just empty space. Probably. There's order to it. Segmentation, and separation, with defined boundaries. If those boundaries can be altered, he has no idea yet, but to begin with, he wants to know if transit between spaces is possible. He could try to smash through the ceiling or floor, but... Maybe he can just...
    *flit*
    It's a small, almost imperceptible movement of air, like a ninja vanishing from sight with nary a trace. The ten foot warrior is gone, and the room seems less dark because of it. That pressure is still there now, even if it's emanating from a different direction. From above them.
    Mogura was able to relocate to the next floor up. He doesn't know if he could call it 'teleporting'. He just knows he can change positions with concentration.
    He *flit*s through several more floors in quick succession, and then goes even further, doing dozens, and then hundreds. He has to put on the mental brakes to stop the process once it has started, like an out of control mine cart rolling down a hill. Even if, in this case, he is moving upwards.
    So it takes concentration to stop as well. That is annoying. Maybe there is some trick to it that he has to learn still. He focuses his senses downwards, and immediately knows where the two visitors are. Furthermore, he just focuses on rejoining them, and he is there again, his aura pushing outwards from the center of the room once more. He was gone for maybe a minute.
    So it's faster to go to a specific place than floor-by-floor? Does he need to have visited the place he is going to? Or is it that he had something/someone to lock onto? The instruction manual for his powers is a massive encyclopedia with parts written in code or so densely packed as to be unreadable. It's almost literally a book in his brain.
    Even though he knows what he can do, it's the how he needs to figure out, in a practical sense.
    "Resonating power, gifted stone; new silhouette, thrashing limbs; froth of newborn Demon." he says, sounding frustrated by how he has to talk.
    

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "The identity of the one on the other side of the gateway is unknown, only that he is valuable to our causes. Cooperation, at a minimum, will see returns many fold. But whether his hand will remain extended, rather than holding a knife..." Maou shrugs and smirks. "The future is ever changing, even when it is locked in place. The variables adjust, the lines remain carved, but the rest is all just objects in motion." Then she raises a hand and tries to open a dimensional gateway to her own realm. Her power rises around her, building Dark Energy like the change of the tides as it moves to swallow all else. Mogura's power is stifling for one not resistant to Dark Energy. For a normal person it might be enough pressure to take them to their knees. For the three of them? It only serves as a benchmark for their respective levels of control and energy reserves.

    And Maou's is approaching the same level as Mogura's as she spins a swirling circle of black and red into existence in the air.

    "You originate from Earth?" she asks. "I inquire so that I may phrase the measure of time appropriately. By the terms of Earth's humans, my power has been made manifest for approximately five months, but the power itself is much, much older. Likewise, for my companion." Who still has yet to give a name. Kano must be thinking about it. You can't just rush these things.

    "I believe that there are other powers and other individuals or organizations who have covertly warred, on and off this world, for a considerable length of time. But to what degree, I cannot presently say. I have felt many powers active when on Earth, and I am fairly confident that at least some have felt me in turn. I try to remain undetected and act only at an opportune moment, as a result."

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Mogura leaves and returns -- acclimating himself to his lair.

    Clarthas kind of wants a lair now. Maou makes to leave. "Hey, wait. If we're leaving... How do I actually get out of here? Or is that the way out?" He points to the portal she's making.

    At the question, he shakes his head. "No. I am a former agent of the Time-Space Administration Bureau, disillusioned with the way they limit themselves. Now I help to usher in a new era. If you are... new to power, I offer aid as an advisor, having worked alongside and against heroes before."

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Clueing in, Kano tries to speak again. "Shogun Mogura. Your exit will be provided from my domain." Oh good, that much can be communicated normally. He'll need to figure out what does and doesn't get translated into Extremely Cool Speak. Yes, he still thinks talking like that is awesome. Even if inconvenient at times.
    A torii gate *BAMFS* into existence in a flash of crimson. Compared to the darkness of this realm, the light of Earth shining from outside, whether artificial or ambient, is startlingly bright. Even to Mogura.
    It's somewhere in Tokyo. A dark alleyway or other location out of the way. Where no one is looking or close enough to notice. He doesn't know how he knows that, or how he chose that location. Another thing to experiment with. This is very cool but also very overwhelming.
    "Messages carried, in hawk's talons; arrow loosed, striking naught; a delivered hope?" He was trying to say, how shall we contact each other in the future. Holy hell.
    He looks at Maou, trying to communicate with a featureless intimidating face plate and glowing eyes hovering in shadows his helplessness and desire for help.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    "Your advice and further professional development of our relationship would be welcome. In turn, any aid you require, I would be pleased to hear of and consider the best way to support." Mogura popping in and out of existen--No, that's not it. She can sense his location changing relative to her own, but he's still 'there' the entire time. There's no in-between of being 'not' somewhere, like she would expect of teleportation. But she can't even teleport, so the heck does she know about it? Maybe this is how teleporting works in real life!

    She turns to look up at the newly-identified Shogun, and nods. She focuses back on Clarthas. A magic circle all in black appears over Maou's upturned palm while her other hand continues expanding the dimensional portal. What appears to be a smart phone forms out of Dark Energy in the air above the magic circle, though this appearance is as generic as possible.

    "This magic item will allow us to reach other in the future. I will create duplicates for ourselves as well." The illusory shell of a smart phone covers up some sort of bio-mechanical-looking insectoid-plant communicator. The illusion is for normals and mahou, not the three of them. "Its messages can traverse dimensions." she says confidently. How does she know that? How did she make it? No idea, it's magic, moving on!

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    How shall they contact eachother? Clarthas reaches into he coat and pulls forth a couple of business cards for Keaka Hoshiko of Beryl Holdings, and in return gets... 'this magic item.' "I know what a smartphone is. Used to be, I was the one handing them out to all the newbies..." Wait, it can call across dimensions? Clarthas whistles, "Okay, that's cool. Will it even work in the Dusk Zone?"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano folds Mogura's arms across his chest, deciding to spare everyone the confusion and frustration and let his silence speak for him. He will allow Natsu to collect those cards. He eyeballs the magic item, sensing it is not what it seems. Can Clarthas not see through the illusion? Can he not sense what it is made of? He is not about to elucidate him. Because it would be more poetry probably.
    The Torii will remain until used. Or dismissed. He can make more, so he reaches out a hand to place on Maou's shoulder, to halt her from continuing with her dimensional portal. They're just going back to RHA anyway, right?
    

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Maou plucks the cards out of Clarthas' hand with her talon-gauntleted fingers without taking any of Clarthas' fingers with them in the process, and will distribute the second to Kano once they are out of here. Her mind is starting to wind down from the Dark Energy high it has been on, and she's starting to remember who she--he is, and his circumstances. Yeah, they're going back to the dorms after this. This has been... A day.

    "If you are attempting to reach the Shogun or I, yes. It is meant specifically for communicating between the three of us. It will bite if it is used for anything else. Outside of its physiological specifications, you see." She smiles. Then she looks up in mild confusion as a huge hand finds its way onto her shoulder. Oh. Oh, right, they're going back to RHA so she--he doesn't need to open another portal. She looks at the portal as she stops expanding it, despite it now being half as tall as her, and starts weaving it back out of existence. It takes just as much Dark Energy to close as it did to open. Sigh.

Keaka Hoshiko has posed:
    Clarthas quirks an eyebrow. "It will... bite? Interesting." He slips it into a pocket.

    He has those, because his outfit includes a coat.

    "Very well then. I look forward to future collaboration with you." He offers a handshake to each of them, then turns to the newly-provided torii gate and walks through.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    The handshake is stared down by Mogura. One hand is as big as Maou's entire upper body (well, most of it). It would just be awkward. Once Clarthas departs, the Torii 'slams' shut. For a given definition of 'slams' since it's silent and just kind of disappears into the floor without a trace. It's a visually violent dispersal, how about that.
    Another Torii opens to Natsu's dorm room. It's a one-way gate at first, to make sure no one else is present. It becomes two-way once that is confirmed. Once the Shogun is able to bend over almost double to fit with the suddenly very low ceiling, Kano holds out his hand, and intones, "Oculus Obscura!"
    The Dark Energy beacon that his very presence is disappears in an eyeblink, and Kano is standing there in his kendo outfit. He feels... Strange. Like layers of skin were being burned off without him realizing it until just now, even though when he pats himself down, he sees there's no damage. Weird. The change in perspective is also a bit disorienting, but... He's back to normal, so that's normal, you know?
    "Holy hell." he says finally once the Torii has closed. He's staring at the pendant in his palm. A black crystal with a... Clasp? Setting? Whatever it's called, it looks a lot like Mogura's helmet. It isn't obvious unless one has seen the Overlord's helm. Which Kano hasn't, because he was wearing it. But he recognizes it anyway.
    "Wow. That. Was. SO. COOOOoool!" he almost shouts, before remembering they have neighbors probably and he lowers his volume.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu allows the partially-closed portal to just sit there. Oh well. She can come back to it later. Besides, who's going to use it? She 's the only one who has access to her realm, and Kano's the only one with access to his realm. They have to allow each other in! ...Except Clarthas came in without permission, so maybe that's not strictly speaking true. Hm. WELL, there's no extra people in other realm NOW, so...!

    Natsu steps through the Torii, and it closes behind her. She also allows her henshin to dissolve, chanting the trigger phrase. "Oculus Obscura!"

    Whew. Yeah, Dark Energy is a hell of a drug. He doesn't know why he transformed without planning like that and revealed himself to all those heroes. That was really dumb, and against all the cautionary rules he has in his journal, and--And for some reason he's having trouble breathing. His shirt feels so tight. He reaches down to tug on his collar, maybe undo a few buttons, and his hand bangs into foreign objects.

    Natsu freezes. His left hand reaches up to touch his hair, noticing that he can feel it on the back of his neck despite keeping his hair short--Why is it so long? His right hand tentatively pokes and prods at what he is increasingly worried he knows the nature of. Finally, he--she takes off running to the bathroom, slapping at the light switch and staring into the mirror. Her suspicions have been confirmed.

    "Uh, Kano?" Natsu asks in a high-pitched feminine voice. Then she turns to look at her best friend, one hand raised to point at her reflection as she gives a stunned smile. "I... Think my henshin is stuck."