Welcome to The Duality of Man, an original animanga role-play that features numerous supernatural creatures. Unfortunately, these various species have distanced themselves because of the war that occurred thousands of years ago, plaguing some with eyes that only see their dualism. While others meddle themself with their differences, two groups fight, each attempting to eliminate the other in for their definition of worldly peace. These two groups of the Terror Response Syndicate (TRS) and the Assembly of Phantoms (AP). With individuals fighting merely over their differences, it brings uncertainty to the outcome of this war.
We happily accept all role-players as long as they obey the rules and are capable of meeting our word count of 50. This does include those who are unfamiliar with this style of role-playing. The staff of The Duality of Man are willing to happily help those who are new to the role-playing world so they feel comfortable on site. Feel free to message the staff if you need help, they can be found here or in the site Discord and will gladly answer questions alongside calm concerns. If you have any suggestions we would love to hear them; guests may use the support board as a suggestion area as well. Should you decide to join, may I say welcome to the site and we all hope you enjoy your time here.
Yours Truely,
The Staff
season
Summer 2022
Heat has broken through into a glorious summer. The snow has entirely dried through the spring, leaving to the brilliance of the warmer months. Terror activity has risen as people are brought out of their homes, leaving the TRS in a position of consistent work. Each are attempting to maintain victory in the endless struggle for power.
With April, an activity check has arrived for members to do! Please post on the AC and tag all your accounts, including WIPs and OOC accounts. Failure to post on this AC will result in your accounts being marked inactive or deleted. Please note, due to a late start, the due date for this check has been adjusted for one time and one time only.
There is no change in the atmosphere of their unlikely meeting; it is just as mysterious and as eerie as it had been moments when she had started becoming trapped by his spells. But Kaylie is not afraid... or maybe not yet. There is more to this man than meets the eye, after all. No sooner had she realized she would have to need to exercise caution around him, ever since this moment of being trapped in a big dark dome.
[break][break]She tries looking around once more, but it's just as it is mere moments ago; a big black dome, with nothing inside but him and her standing only inches away from each other. But the hues change later on, as it seems to have grown a bright purple from behind her; she turns and sees what looks like cracks, but she is never entirely sure what it is right now. Still, she doesn't care about knowing. Everything's already confused her enough.
[break][break]That alien-looking thing still floats in the air like a robot, and she finally hears him speak. The young woman glares at him with an evident frown on her face. "Still calling me that, are we, Mr. Cigs." She inquires, voice rather darkening as her glare at him intensifies. It's starting to not be funny anymore. His next words make her flinch in annoyance. "And does it look like I even care about that alien thing's power?"
[break][break]There is strange matter around him -- Kaylie suspected the matter that seems to form cracks, but that probably is not the case -- and they soon start to liquefy, spilling across the floor of the dark dome. She does not pay much attention to the circle that it had formed; instead, her eyes remain affixed to the man in front of her, as he introduces himself with another name again, this time proclaiming himself one of Hell's Dukes. At this, she smirks. "Ah, is that so? At least I now know you are more than an awful being."
[break][break]But his melting appearance makes her flinch, and for some reason she doesn't even know why. But she feels bile rising up her throat; she prevents it from coming out, however, as this is only minor and not something she would herself to worry about. She doesn't recognize this power at all... maybe perhaps because of a hex, or because he is something else than a Hell creature and all he said about being a Duke of Hell was a lie...?
[break][break]In front of her now is an undead-looking man pointing a finger accusingly at her; she does not even know what crime she has done for her to take the blame. Kaylie knows it is all a scheme, and yet she could not help but feel very, very uneasy with this situation. So despite the sickening feeling forming in her gut, she closes her eyes and forces herself to pop out of the picture. It would have seemed like she had disappeared from where she is standing.
[break][break]But of course, this would not last long; after quite a few seconds the illusion spell would disperse, and it would be now made evident that Kaylie is running away from where the undead Mr. Cigs had been facing her. Everything would have been much more easier if she had brought a tome today, of all things.
[attr="class","boxo-notes"]Pascal, I hope you know that Kaylie knows how to magic her fucked-up self. Also if there is anything wrong with this post, feel free to tell me so I may change it!
The Golden City fell, and with it our lives went up in flames
TAG @kaylie
WORDS 963
NOTES Now this is what you call a late reply. Believe it or not, I can ake this even weirder. Pm me for any questions
The rays of concentrated dark matter began drifting about the conjured dome of darkness in an increasingly frenetic manner. Admittedly, Pascal's ghoulish performance was somewhat improvised on his end, which in turn may divulge his true nature and contradict his earlier pretense of being a demon lord. Despite releasing more magical output than he initially intended, it still was not enough to warrant the grueling imagery of physical decay. Nevertheless, his inadvertently zombie-like performance proved to be critical enough to induce a sense of urgency within the girl. From beneath the obscure tint of his aviator sunglasses was his left eye, weakly emitting a spark of black flame which gradually seemed to intensify each passing second. In such a state, he examined the girl's every response and subsequent action in the midst of his supposed limping. Relatively speaking, Pascal deemed her current reaction to be much more satisfactory as compared to the last.
The countenance displayed by his young female subject insinuated symptoms of nausea. Thankfully, Ms. Pigtails over there was not of the Elven race, which could have been a real shame. As for Pascal, his pointed pose appeared to have stiffened in place in the midst of his sluggish, heavy steps, ultimately stepping out of the sizable large hex circle of his own design. With his rather out-of-place sunglasses teetering in place as a result of the lich's groggy movements, he wordlessly heeded the girl's irked replies with typical indifference. At least that was the case until the girl's sudden disappearance. In a fleeting moment, Pascal's debilitated movements came to a standstill. Unfortunately for the now panicked young subject, the lich's long-lived eyes deciphered her maneuver. Having dismissed all uncertainties, he resumed his enervated march in the now seemingly deserted dome, cognizant to the fact that the dark matter comprising the said dome will prevent the witch from escaping either way.
In time, the blackened flame-like substance emitting from his left eye aggravated to a point where the sunglasses were no longer capable of concealing it. Which a resounding crack, he retracted his outstretched arm from its pointy pose and persisted in aimlessly roaming forward, which unwittingly worked to his advantage considering that her illusion spell wore off seconds afterwards, revealing the young woman to be retreating before him. At long last, an adequate response from his temporary plaything. In a rather curious manner, the otherwise straight-faced Pascal flashed a slight grin prior to exclaiming loudly in a series of distinctive languages. "Quid.... faciam?" he eerily uttered prior to halting his tracks. He then cried in a similarly uncanny manner, "EINEN... KRIEG... FÜHREN!” Subsequently, he betrayed his zombie-like pretense by swinging his attention back towards his so-called '4th Seal of Volos' in one fluid motion, with both arms spread towards its general direction.
Suddenly, a bright teal light engulfed the outlining strokes of the hex circle, illuminating the nearby radius in its glow. Mere seconds after, the luminescent light faded and in its place was a hauntingly majestic-looking beast. It vaguely resembled an oversized equine creature sporting a pale blue fur, taller than Pascal himself in terms of vertical height. It possesses three decently-sized claws instead of hooves and startlingly enough, its head area was devoid of fur and flesh, therefore exposing its smooth, glossy white skull along with its razor sharp teeth and arguably elegant-looking ram horns. Its seemingly empty eye sockets and every other orifices of its skull emitted a most peculiar cyan glow. Pascal, maintaining his inadvertently contorted posture, called out to the creature "Αἰσχύλος" to which it immediately lowered its head in response. Before long, Pascal dropped the pose and in turn, gestured casually towards the girl's general direction before voicing out his command "διωκέτω!"
In mere moments, the alien-like beast sprung forth in pursuit, sprinting at a speed that rivals that of a lycanthrope's, easily overtaking the helpless human girl as it dashed out in front of her. As for Pascal, the smile on his face was now palpable as he resumed his zombiefied stroll towards the girl. "And so came forth... a pale blue horse... Hail to Aeschylus... guardian of the 4th seal..." Pascal declared as he hastily cast his sunglasses to the ground in a most casual manner, unintentionally crushing it under the weight of his next step in the meanwhile. As such, the unnatural spectre of blackness marring his left eye was now bare for poor Ms. Pigtails to feast her eyes upon. Interestingly enough, Pascal's tone following the girl's decision to try and flee showcased more emotion than usual. In consideration for his subject's well-being, and stomach of course, the ancient lich significantly lowered the output of his nauseating aura to a most minimal degree.
In time, Pascal would have at least arrived a few meters away from his young female subject. She has done an excellent job at playing the straight man so far, yet she has arguably brought this upon herself by not abandoning the eccentric man while she still had the chance. Any attempts at retreating would have been fruitless considering that Aeschylus would have effortlessly overtaken her anyways. With the torrent of black matter perpetually flowing from his eye, the lethargic Pascal shot the girl a sharp stare prior to his subsequent set of inquiries. "Now girlie.... here's what'll happen..." he stated, reverting back to a more casual tone. "I ask you a question...." he declared before slowly strolling closer towards her whilst once again pulling out his smartphone. "Depending on the answer... you may... or may not have a reeeeally bad time..." he asserted. In truth, however, the lass would have to fuck up abysmally if she truly wished for a bad time. After all, Pascal himself was definitely not having a bad time at the moment.
She thought she'd gotten away. She thought that the illusion had taken him away. One more spell and she'll be out of here in no time. One more attempt of breaking away from this stupid sphere and she'd go about her daily life. Kaylie would pretend that none of this even happened. Magic is certainly undeniable... Kaylie practices it herself. It would be hypocritical to say she did not believe in it. And it would be hypocritical to say she is not seeing Mr. Cigs in this form right now.
[break][break]Kaylie runs away and the illusion finally dissipates; only when she turns her head to catch a glimpse of the deformed man does she catch him turning his head to her too. Her shoulders stiffen and her eyes widen, but she turns away, and looks at the path ahead of her. There must be an exit somewhere. There must be. She won't be trapped in here for all eternity, no, she certainly would not want that, she certainly would not allow that--
[break][break]A glow of teal light passes by from the corner of her eye, and she slowly turns to see what it is; but she almost regrets ever being curious of what it is, as she stops and looks at the abominable creature right before her with shaking eyes. The creature is the very definition of a literal "night mare" and the blue fire of Hell combined; its head lacks fur and is thus formed with just a skull, and it all just looks rotten, so rotten that Kaylie could barely even keep looking at it. Kaylie swallows her own saliva and turns to look at Mr. Cigs.
[break][break]She feels absolutely cornered in her position. With the terrifying man in front of her introducing the blue horse with a name she can't pronounce (said horse is blocking her too, as well), she slowly backs away from their direction and turns back and forth around them. But no, she's not just about to give up so easily. She's not just about to go back down in a fight. She will attack if she needed to.
[break][break]Mr. Cigs speaks again, and she is left staring back at the completely black eye he now harbors. She smirks uncertainly and crosses her two fingers behind her back. "Heh. Hehe, yeah, sure." Were the only words she could say, eyeing the older man intensely. "Take it away. I'll answer the best I could."
[attr="class","boxo-notes"]I actually had a hard time writing this up ;o; but here it is, anyway!
The Golden City fell, and with it our lives went up in flames
TAG @kaylie
WORDS 627
NOTES PM me for any questions.
Hook, line and sinker...an ideal young specimen ensnared into Pascal's wager. In accordance with his affected persona, it took the lich a fleeting moment pondering as to how the actual demon lord, Belphegor would have behaved in such circumstances. Although the girl might have understandably overlooked his sudden change in demeanor, Pascal himself felt ambiguous as to whether or not such feelings were genuine or merely just a tribute to his favorite demon lord. For the sake of his spontaneous undertaking, he would henceforth cast aside his default identity of a modern-day researcher in place of Belphegor, for the time being that is. As such, he effectively filled his mind with notions pertaining to debauchery, self-indulgence and avarice, despite knowing full well that such ideas were merely hyperbole spouted by fearful humans millennia ago, he did meet the actual demon after all.
Shifting the smartphone behind his back, he clandestinely began tapping through its screen a couple times whilst surveying the girl's body language. Literally trapped between a freak-of-nature and a supposed demon lord, the young subject Alice Blue began exhibiting clear signs of trepidation despite her struggle to conceal that fact. She may persist with the bold and nonchalant attitude yet Pascal was ascertained the act for what it was, a defence mechanism. As the soul of Belphegor seemingly possessed him, the smirk on Pascal's lips gradually widened. If Pascal's antics were truly convincing enough, then the girl would undoubtedly be on survival mode, ready and willing to risk her mind, body and soul at a moment's notice. Before Pascal realized, this simulation of his own design may have already crept its way into his psyche...
His slouched posture slowly contorted back to an upright position whilst he nodded in delight. Before the alleged Belphegor incarnate divulged the entire facade, he shall witness the girl embrace the numbing moment where her primal instincts compels her to gamble her life away. Pascal could suppress it no longer as he snickered, the blackened flame shrouding his left eye intensifying even more. Hastily pocketing the smartphone in his inner coat pocket, his pale grey face shifted its gaze away from the hapless young subject as he sauntered to the side. Aeschylus grunted and followed immediately after, its clawed hooves cackling by the floor of dark matter as it corresponded with Pascal every move. The pigtailed young woman would have found the two of them encircling her in unison. "Five seconds... to answer..." Pascal croaked out.
In the midst of his menacing stroll, Pascal procured the small white marble from his coat pocket and held it aloft in between two fingers before flashing it closer for Alice Blue to feast her eyes upon. "It shall be launched upwards... its parabolic trajectory... unknown..." Pascal stated ominously. "It would be... in your best interest... to get the answer correct..." he further added in a most threatening fashion. As such, Pascal halted all movement to face the girl. In the meanwhile, Aeschylus instead darted close to the girl, its flesh-deprived head perhaps a tad too close for comfort to Ms. Pigtail's face. Clutching his hand to a fist, he retracted his arms prior to ultimately asking the girl a rather unusual query "Will it... or will it not shatter?" Regardless of the girl's reaction, a wide grin adorned the lich's pallid face as soon as the question had been asked.
Before long, five seconds had passed and without warning, Pascal's hand flicked upwards, propelling the white marble several feet overhead. As to whether or not it actually shattered upon impact with the ground... remained uncertain. The girl's fate rested entirely upon Pascal's unholy hands either way. All monkey-business aside, the objective of the setup remained; to observe, to analyze and to gratify oneself.
To have a ghoulish horse and a rotting demon king circle you as if you are their prize is certainly not the best feeling. It would render feelings of fear and insecurity, feeling so unsafe while in the hands of two Hell-given specimen without knowing what could and should be done in such situation.
[break][break]But Kaylie isn't buying all of this shit anymore. She glares at the horse and his equally hideous summoner, eyebrows furrowed and hands about to curl into fists. This has become quite a lesson, and Kaylie is sure she had learned something today.
[break][break]( if you see a strange man hunched in the middle of the street and fixing his bag without a care in the world, leave him alone. otherwise, you'd find yourself trapped in a strange sphere and will be seeing a demon horse and hearing the declarations of an apparent demon king without ever getting out of the sphere at all )
[break][break]She hears him state a time limit and she turns to Mr. Cigs, a small white marble finally making itself evident between his two fingers; he flashes it closer for her to see even though the distance from earlier was fine enough. His next words are as clear as day even with how undead he may be. But she nods, crossing her arms, whilst staring at the white marble. "I'm ready," she mumbles under her breath; half meaning it, half not.
[break][break]That fleeting question leaves her wondering as well; she doesn't see the slasher smiles emitted by the lich, as she is too focused on the white marble to pay any attention to him. She doesn't show any nervousness as the marble jumps from his fingers and is about to launch to the ground. Of course, she has her answer. With a sigh, she closes her eyes. Doesn't grin. Doesn't smile.
[break][break]"...It will shatter."
[attr="class","boxo-notes"]boi, i hope you forgive me for this equally late and short rep ;o;
The Golden City fell, and with it our lives went up in flames
TAG @kaylie
WORDS 701
NOTES Yes, you can be confused even more now XD
Little by little, Subject: Alice Blue began to exhibit symptoms of tangible dread. Pascal's thoughts briefly darted off, the actual demon lord he was currently impersonating would have reviled him should he see this as the lich was technically slandering his already blackened reputation with this overblown farce. So far, the girl's reception to Pascal's spontaneous wager had been relatively tame. Despite evidently being in possession of magical abilities, she is seemingly not one for risk-taking, a quirk which the authentic Belphegor would have sneered at. A rather plain and straightforward response came from the girl, prompting a now dissatisfied Pascal to launch the marble upwards. Ms. Pigtails here may have understandably overlooked such a slight detail yet it was indeed the same marble from which Pascal utilized for his summoning hex.
Perhaps it was Pascal's error to even suppose the likeliness of this particular individual being bold enough to retaliate violently or to at least persist with their defiance in an earnest manner. Then again, only a nominal portion of his previous subjects exude the satisfactory amount of boldness to actually ignite Pascal's curiosity. Conducting this venture with an obviously unwilling participant is naturally much less stimulating than a foolish participant lying on their knees due to a reckless disregard for their own well-being. Moments before the marble collided with the conjured floor of dark matter, Pascal casually rubbed the socket of his magical wreck of an eye before exhaling deeply.
The very instant the marble came into contact with the field of dark matter it did not shatter into fragments as the hapless Ms. Pigtails may have hoped. It instead morphed in a most idiosyncratic manner, disseminating along a narrow radius. It promptly contorted into offsetting spheres, lines and curves until coagulating to form a hex circle. The chaotic black matter emanating from Pascal's eye sockets noticeably mitigated in its intensity whilst the lich's uncharacteristically expressive countenance shifted back to its typical impassiveness. "Beeeep..." Pascal dispassionately croaked in his pathetic imitation of a quiz show buzzer. Not even sparing the young woman a glance, Pascal instead limped closer to his minion, Aeschylus and began stroking its lower jaw. "Correct answer is... it morphs into a hex circle... Subject Alice Blue's answer is fundamentally incorrect..." Pascal buzzed on further.
Before too long, Pascal redirected his gaze towards the girl. "You have... chosen the most improbable option... you have chosen poorly...". Immediately afterwards, Pascal procured a vial of blue liquid from his inner coat pocket, the contents of which he speedily ingested before nonchalantly dropping the vial to shatter onto the ground. Consequent to his drinking of the peculiar liquid, Pascal's form and skin complexion appear to be gradually revitalizing whilst he slowly approached the girl. Correspondingly, Aeschylus took the opportunity to corner the girl from behind. "Woe to you Major Harriet... my deepest condolences for your soul's well-being..." Pascal claimed as his hands slowly began reaching out to her-
From the clutches of his now vibrating left, free hand was the loud blare of Pascal's ringtone... curiously enough, a late 1970's hit. As he had anticipated, the call came through. Pascal did not have any intention of harming the girl physically, especially considering how docile she was as compared to the self-satisfied facade she exuded earlier. Pascal promptly held the phone to his ears, whilst nodding repeatedly and feigning ignorance all the while. "Que veut dire?" Pascal inquired to whoever is on the phone whilst Aeschylus took the liberty in keeping the girl in place. "Ah...oui oui, merci beaucoup..." Pascal then ended the call shortly before subjecting Ms. Pigtails to his deadpan stare once more.
Before long, Pascal sighed in an attempt to showcase bewilderment. "Kurwa... I appear... to have committed... a grave error" He claimed shortly before raising a hand and snapping his fingers. Just like that, the whole dome of dark matter dissolved into oblivion along with the black glow ravaging his left eye socket where a similarly black gaping hole was present. Their near surroundings revealed itself to be an open alley near the back of a warehouse, snow blanketing the very ground they stood as the snowfall apparently intensified in the midst of their strange undertaking.
It doesn't seem like he's amused with her answer. Kaylie is not the slightest bit happy with what she had just said, either, but then again she does not have the slightest bit of time to care about whether or not her answers to Mr. Cigs' questions are correct or not. The only thing she will ever be worried about is how to get out of her without Aeschylus catching her and Mr. Cigs possibly taking a hold of her soul, if that even is possible. But for the time being, she remains disinterested and would not mind the outcome.
[break][break]Kaylie looks at the white marble and raises an eyebrow, but only then do her eyes widen slightly once she witnesses that it does not shatter at all; it distorts into different shapes until finally, it becomes a hex circle like the one she was shown earlier. She should have known, but then again, it's no strange feat to incorrectly answer a question simply because you have missed a very crucial detail into choosing the right answer.
[break][break]Her attention is diverted back to Mr. Cigs and she hears that pathetic imitation of a buzzer in a quiz bee... it almost makes her want to cup her ears, but this irritation is conveyed only through the twitching of her right eye. He points out that she's answered incorrectly and she simply blinks, eyebrows furrowed yet still interested to know what he is about to do next. From behind her, the ghoulish horse keeps her in place like a prick it is, and she looks back at it momentarily with a glare before turning back to its owner.
[break][break]Only then does she start feeling uneasy once Mr. Cigs pulls out a vial and drinks up the strange liquid inside it. "H-Hey, what the hell was that--" She tries to intervene, but she had come to late; soon his skin begins drawling back to normal in contrast to the zombie form he had taken to scare her just a while ago. She knows she shouldn't be worried, but him seemingly with the powers of alchemy it still sets her off to be cautious with him. His words make her feel more than uneasy, but she shakes off the fear before preparing to attack with all the magic she has left.
[break][break]She feels Aeschylus from behind her again and she whips her head to the horse with bloodshot eyes. "I swear to Akari, if I'm going to die here, it because of you and your fucking zombie master--" But she does not finish her sentence, forced to stare at Mr. Cigs as he declares 'woe to her soul'-- mana gathers around her tiny fingers and she prepares to strike, biting back a scream--
[break][break]But then a 1970's hit plays and suddenly all fear is replaced with the urge to just laugh at him. She simply watches as he takes out his phone and responds to whoever is calling him, before telling her of a mistake he seems to have made. What happens next, however, is something unexpected, but something she had hoped to happen: the dome disappears and she is finally able to step on soft, squishy, snowy ground; she looks around and is presented with the back of a warehouse alley, a place she was not familiar of.
[break][break]She surveys the surroundings for a little while before smirking and turning to Mr. Cigs. "I guess we both made our own errors today, hmm?" She states, voice quite triumphant.
[break][break]Suddenly she starts wondering where that demonic horse is, but that even is beyond her.
The Golden City fell, and with it our lives went up in flames
TAG @kaylie
WORDS 645
NOTESNyahahahahaha
The experiment was nearing the concluding phase and the subject, sufficiently analyzed. Honestly speaking, results were somewhat lacklustre as subject Alice Blue's reception proved rather unexceptional in the end. Various theories circulated within Pascal's train of thought. Explanation 1: The subject is inherently stoic, either congenital or acquired through experience, as evidenced by her relatively levelheaded demeanour in spite of being thrust into otherwise outlandish and life-threatening situations. Explanation 2: Subject possesses the mental capacity to accurately perceive Pascal's motive and the mechanics behind his powers, which in that scenario, implies her cognizance of him being a lich. Explanation 3: Subject exhibits an apparent disregard for life, culminating in her unhealthily apathetic disposition towards situations that would typically confound a healthy, rational person, therefore insinuating yet another case of clinical depression.
The moment his phone rang out, what little hints of urgency and terror she displayed was immediately banished. Nevertheless, Pascal half-anticipated such an outcome considering how current millennials typically scoffed at any form of art originating before the 21st century. Pascal could have sworn that it was not too long ago when the song was such a hit.... At this point, almost the entirety of the unnerving tension built up would have been nullified, in consideration of the girl's passive temperament throughout their exchange. As soon as the hand was raised in preparation for the dispelling of the dome of blackness, Aeschylus fleetingly dashed towards the newly conjured hex circle and disappeared concurrently with the dome. Once again, the young woman's reaction turned out rather... unsatisfactory, although Pascal could honestly care less by now.
Regardless, a brief yet definitive final test was due for the hapless girl whether she liked it or not. After all, she had to be 'properly' compensated for having accommodating him in this leisurely venture. Pascal was reduced to casually stretching his back, causing resounding cracks to emanate from his spinal cord. Before redirecting his gaze towards the pigtailed subject, he hastily withdrew a stick of cigarette from his coat pocket upon realizing the lack of nicotine within his system. After unhurriedly lighting and inhaling said cigarette, Pascal's gaze then flitted towards Alice Blue's general direction, more specifically, behind her where a small congregation of four individuals dressed in black waistcoats were approaching, one of them carrying a sizable steel briefcase. Pascal then waved towards the group of three men and one woman, two of which remained behind the girl whilst the others headed towards Pascal's side.
Tall, dilapidated looking structures appearing to be abandoned storehouses surrounded them on both sides while located a few meters behind Pascal was a wide opening leading towards the back portion of an old warehouse. The skies began darkening and weather conditions slowly easing up, though the propagation of Pascal's cigarette smoke does not appear to be ceasing any time soon. Ultimately, Pascal heeded the girl's concerns and explained "Allow me... to express my... sincerest apologies Miss... hmmm miss-...". In the midst of his pondering, the young-looking scrawny man beside him leaned forth and whispered. "Ah yes... Miss Kaylie Silas, that is your name is it not?" Before Kaylie could even react, Pascal lowered an open hand down towards the refined-looking woman to his other side. "You have... been exposed to information... generally obscured to the general populace.... eventuating in your 'complicity' per se..."
As such, the woman began procuring something from her inner coat pocket... "As Mea Culpa... for the trouble caused... I now bestow upon thee, Kaylie Silas-" Before long, the lacquered wood texture of a pistol's grip, specifically a magnum 357 has been placed in his open hand. Immediately afterwards, he pointed the gun towards Kaylie, wearing his typical impassive expression in the meanwhile. After a couple seconds, he awkwardly faced his female aide. "Qu'est-ce que?..." he queried in a hushed voice. "S'apprêtant à la tuer... non?" the woman replied calmly.
Kaylie does not truly know if the place she and Mr. Cigs have ended up getting into is a truly safe place. For one, the tall buildings that served as abandoned storehouses loomed like towers in the skies, thus obscuring her vision from any street she may get out of. Mr. Cigs seems to have no intention of helping her get out of here at all, she figured -- why would she think that of a man who'd tried trapping her in a sphere for all eternity? -- so she may have to hypothesize the correct paths to freedom once she is done with business with Mr. Cigs.
[break][break]...Speaking of Mr. Cigs, they aren't getting done here at all and Kaylie soon realizes this.
[break][break]She wants to tell him that she'd be on her way now, but Kaylie is stopped from saying anything once she sees him smoking a cigarette again. Seriously, this man... doesn't even care about himself. But then again, who was she to mind another human -- undead person's -- business? The smirk disappears from her mouth and she watches him with sullen eyes. Honestly she wished he could just stop doing that and make his lungs rest from all the smoke. Her health is at stake as well... but then again, was he even to care of stranger's welfare?
[break][break]Sooner than not, she sees from the corner of her eye a group of black-clothed people approaching the scene, and eventually she turns with eyes wide, rapidly turning their head to each of them. The men have stopped behind her while the only woman approaches Mr. Cigs and gives him... something. Something Kaylie is too tired to even describe in her head, as she's too busy glaring at Mr. Cigs again to care for some stupid thing.
[break][break]"Now what the fuck are you planning..." She grumbles under her own breath, sparing a glare at the man's new bodyguards. She hears Mr. Cigs offer his apologies, stopping in search of a name to call. "Apologize for what?" She impatiently asks, blue eyes clearly irritated and growing tired of this matter at hand. Kaylie has endured his grotesque tests with that dome, isn't that enough to keep him satisfied?
[break][break]...Indeed, he doesn't seem to be, because at his next statement, her whole name is mentioned... with a special 'Miss' at the beginning. Her eyes widen and she clearly does not like this turn of events; her fingers curl into fists and she glares at him straight-on. "Excuse me, but holy fuck?" She grunts under her breath, looking at the man who'd bent over to Mr. Cigs, presumably to tell him her name. "How the fuck did you know my name when I haven't even said a single word to you? I don't even know you guys exist in the first place!"
[break][break]Inside, Kaylie is freaking out. No one knows her name unless she tells them or shows them a placard with her name on it. So far, Alice Blue had been the norm for her and the strange man and she had been fine with that. But him now actually having known her name, all from a thug she hasn't even seen once this morning? Sometimes she'd just wished that her meeting with this guy was all a joke.
[break][break]What she hears next makes her shiver. Kaylie, exposed to this information? She wouldn't play dumb on that part... she did bring it upon herself to interact with him in the first place, so it's her to blame for that. But she wished she could just go back in time to change events-- a day where she does not care about a homeless hobo in the street-- a day where she'd be home with Zoraya and spending time in the library with her boyfriend-- just a regular normal day with nothing happening at all--
[break][break]Next thing she knows, a gun is pointed at her face and all she could do is stare at it in shock.
[break][break]Kaylie does not hear anything else from the mouths of her company. Her end is pointing at her straight in the face and there is nothing she could do about it. There are no tomes to aid her in her escape-- nothing in her vicinity to set her free from this mess of an encounter--
[break][break]Unless--
[break][break]She closes her eyes and prepares for the shot.
[break][break]And all the while, her real clone backs away and tries to run for the path where the man's new company had appeared.
[attr="class","boxo-notes"]Z-ZENOCCHI YOU MEAN ALIEN--
The Golden City fell, and with it our lives went up in flames
TAG @kaylie
WORDS 712
NOTES Zenon Is sorry. here have a small sum of 5 million! XD
This turn of events was... unanticipated, so to speak. Perhaps he was partly responsible, granting his followers considerable amount of liberty to operate on his behalf. Neither he, nor Kaylie could have foreseen that the one forlorn spirit meandering aimlessly at the public library where the girl worked at would end up being one of Pascal's old associates during World War I. Such were the obstructions of an ancient, mythical affliction that induced the most crestfallen and despondent undead beings to instinctively flock to him. Pascal is undeniably not a gregarious individual, quite the opposite in fact. Statistics and Probabilities were always a subject of interest for the eccentric man. Such topics lacked the mandated universal laws that absolutely nullified any room for discourse, yet were still legitimate enough not to be considered pseudo-science. It steers clear from the monotonous calculations associated empirical and predictable methods, rendering it erratic and arguably, irrational.
Needless to say, not even Pascal's venerable wisdom and intellectual abilities could possibly perform the necessary algorithms to predict him so blatantly pointing an antique pistol at Kaylie. Pascal was quite certain of the fact that he instructed his female aide, Delphine to hand him a pre-written contract instead of a deadly weapon. She supposedly assumed that he wanted to... silence the young subject. Whilst still aiming the gun's barrel towards Kaylie, the unsaturated blue of his eyes blankly stared at the smug-looking Delphine. "Je plaisante... allez-y, Docteur Legrand...", she added after which Pascal promptly pushed down the gun's barrel and glanced at the three out six bullet chambers loaded in the cylinder, the others being empty. Pascal then locked the revolver's frame and wordlessly redirected his gaze back at Kaylie. "Non non non Delphine... c'est 'Monsieur Tarento'...", he corrected her in the meanwhile.
Having a myriad of different surnames was obviously becoming quite a strain, yet that might have been for the best considering that he would have long been tracked by the interpol otherwise. Regardless, Delphine's shenanigans inadvertently resulted in more conclusive results regarding Kaylie's character. The fact that the girl was relatively collected during his earlier theatrics involving dark magic and otherworldly conspiracies yet instantly trembled upon the sight of a gun's barrel was a testament to her skeptical beliefs. Perhaps she was not as dauntless or depressed beyond reason as previously thought, leaving only the second explanation as most conceivable theory. Kaylie's countenance and tone of voice ultimately exuded her palpable fear, quite a satisfactory response if Pascal must admit. Nonetheless, as tempting as Delphine's suggestion of wagering the girl's life was, Pascal was simply not in the mood, certainly not after a reaction like that.
As a stream of smoke gushed from his nostrils, he casually spun the gun's bullet chamber and in one fluid motion, shifted his aim towards Delphine's direction. Without warning, Pascal then pulled the trigger just as the gun's muzzle pressed against the woman's torso... click ... "Well... today's your... lucky day...", Pascal proclaimed prior to dropping the gun, making it unclear as to whether or not he was addressing Kaylie or Delphine. Then again, it was not as if a gunshot wound to the abdomen would be particularly grievous for a reaper such as Delphine, he’ll simply have to others heal her after all. Curiously enough, the woman was utterly unfazed, the madwoman was actually grinning... Pascal might have to look out for this one. The lich then wasted no time in withdrawing the piece of document from Delphine's coat pocket himself.
Pascal held the contract aloft for Kaylie to behold. "5 million euros!... for compensation...", Pascal announced suddenly. If his theory proved correct, then there was a high probability of subject Kaylie clandestinely plotting her escape even as her eyes remained shut. The young man situated on Pascal's other side then handed him a fountain pen on the other hand as the lich slowly strolled closer to Kaylie. "...in cash...", he added as he casually nodded towards the man in black carrying the large silver suitcase beside Kaylie. Receiving Pascal's signal, the man quickly faced Kaylie and revealed the contents of the case, €500 notes visibly stacked the surface of the case's interior up to the brim. Before too long, the man shut the case and Pascal handed the contract, written entirely in Italian, towards Kaylie. "Again... I... thank you for... partaking in this 'experiment'...", he uttered prior to also handing her the pen and pointing towards the portion of the contract that needed signing.
"All that is left... is your word... not to disclose information regarding our 'existence'... just a friendly suggestion eh?"
Almost there, she's almost off to her escape... with an illusory clone replacing her and standing where she had been before -- an emotionless girl with a ghoul's gun pointed at her direction -- she prepares to take multiple steps toward the exit of the alleyway. She has no problems with a gun pointed at her face, but she refuses to leave unfinished responsibilities and be gone from this world without saying goodbye to her few loved ones. No, Kaylie is certainly not going to let a single bullet kill her right now.
[break][break]She hears conversation from the madman and his female companion going on; she refuses to look back and instead focuses all her time and effort trying to carefully walk out of the path. But the language they are speaking is different, something Kaylie notices immediately as this is how Mr. Cigs has sometimes talked to her in these events. Any moment now the illusion will certainly disappear, and they would know she is trying to escape from them any time soon--
[break][break]But Kaylie does not expect the sudden gunshot and she stops in her tracks, carefully turning her head and staring at the ghoul with wide eyes. For the upside, Mr. Cigs had probably decided shooting her is not worth it... then came the clicking sound and Kaylie does not expect this from him at all. Who knew he could be this cruel, threatening her with a half loaded gun... she sees the woman grinning, however; this only creeps Kaylie out more, finding her the most unsettling woman in the planet. Perhaps she may have wished for Mr. Cigs to actually shoot her.
[break][break]Kaylie turns and is about to leave, but she hears Mr. Cigs and stops yet again. Why am I always distracted by this guy when I should be avoiding him right now... She shakes her head with a sigh, disappointed with herself. Sometimes people always is about to tell you something interesting and there is no choice but to listen to what they have in mind, all to stave off your curiosity.
[break][break]Indeed, the mention of five million euros makes her stop and turn to Mr. Cigs in disbelief. According to him, it was all compensation, but then again, it may only be just another sick test formulated by him and no other. Kaylie decides to play with the game anyway, and sooner than not she dispels the illusion, but a secondary Kaylie -- her own self -- takes the illusions place, and soon she was back in front of Mr. Cigs.
[break][break]Too much money can make you greedy. But Kaylie simply wants to know why he's giving off such a large amount after that experiment. "...Wow. Thank you... I guess."
[break][break]Raising an eyebrow, she reluctantly takes the pen and looks at the contract. Hearing his suggestion, she nods with a small smirk. "You have my word on that." Kaylie would not want anyone else to get in danger simply because they happened to meet this guy in the street in some random occasion. Writing her signature with shaky hands, with forges the contract and waits for something to happen next.
[break][break]"...Now can I leave?"
[attr="class","boxo-notes"]Z-ZENOCCHI YOU MEAN ALIEN--
The Golden City fell, and with it our lives went up in flames
TAG @kaylie
WORDS 689
NOTES;Congrats on your "NOT" 5 Million Euros!~ XD
As much as Kaylie wished to flee the premises, it would have been nigh implausible considering the presence of reapers in the scene. In fact, Pascal could perceive the whereabouts of a few spirit followers in their incorporeal form lingering nearby both him and Kaylie. She soon dispelled her illusion, finally uncovering her actual location and earlier scheme to circumvent Pascal and his unofficial posse. Pascal could always count on younger people to try and seize the day, a prospect which definitely withstood the test of time. In the end, the opportunity for materialistic gain was almost always the game changer for these mortals. It was actually quite fortunate that the incentive of "5 million Euros" enticed her enough to abandon her attempts at escape.
Perhaps the final gamble was the fact that Pascal's aides, particularly Delphine, the unhinged reaper beside him, would have jumped at the opportunity to strike an escaping Kaylie down and there was little Pascal could do to stop her. The most he could have done in that scenario would have at least resulted in the girl just barely surviving. Either way, the revelation of Kaylie's illusion elicited a slight chuckle from Delphine, for whatever reason. It might be pertaining to the fact that Pascal nonchalantly retained the same position, contract and pen in hand even as Kaylie's mirage vanished before him. It did not take long for the actual Kaylie to revisit her earlier doppelganger's spot, reaching for the fountain pen soon afterwards. The seemingly substantial proof in the form of literally a large briefcase containing stacks of 500 Euro notes was as persuasive as it could possibly get.
Kaylie begrudgingly signed the contract, having not the inclination, desire or the linguistic capabilities to thoroughly study the contents of the contract which was written in Italian. Furthermore, Pascal's earlier suggestion could easily be perceived as a subtle threat, an instinctive force of habit considering the underhanded nature of his business. "Превосходно...Magnifico... Excellent..." Pascal lazily uttered whilst hastily folding the contract, pocketing it afterwards. Consequently, Pascal's assistant promptly handed the bulky suitcase over to Kaylie. Despite the girl's tangible apprehension with regards to another looming threat, Pascal merely threw away his now depleted cigarette butt prior to waving his a hand overhead. To his signal, his four followers began leaving in their own unique fashion. Two of them vanished in place whilst the other two, Delphine included, walked away in opposite directions.
Before Delphine got too far, she casually threw back a marble towards Pascal, the same white marble which Kaylie wagered her life over. "Yes, yes... you may... the "test" has reached its conclusion...I bid thee... farewell" Pascal declared while holding the marble aloft. Soon after, he tossed it towards Kaylie and her huge suitcase filled with foreign banknotes. The marble performed its intended function and in mere seconds, the marble disseminated into a crimson liquid which soon amalgamated to form yet another hex circle on the snowy ground. "Also, apologies, for I am not Belphegor, former Duke of Hell's 6th circle..." Pascal announced in a blase manner. "I am actually Orcus, The Accursed One... former Overlord of the Undead..." an awkward pause soon followed with Pascal merely scratching his head. "Meh... just kidding of course..." he retorted just as a bright flash of red light engulfed Kaylie and the briefcase.
By then, Kaylie and her monetary prize would have been teleported back to the same street prior to their bizarre escapades. Little does she know of the fact that beneath the neatly displayed sheets of fifteen 500 euro notes was another currency entirely. Excluding the array of Euro notes at the top, the rest of the supposedly "5 million Euros" were actually stacks of Korean Won in the 10000 denomination. It should be noted that one Euro is equivalent to roughly 13000 Won, with each denomination of 10000 Won basically equal to 12 Canadian Dollars. Although a far cry from the promised 5 million Euros, Kaylie did still technically gain around 125000 Canadian Dollars if converted. All in all, this may or may not have been Miss Kaylie Silas' lucky day, kind of.
Truth be told, she does not care about the money she will receive from the self-proclaimed demon lord. All she wants to do is go home, chat a little with Zoraya, then take a nap. Kaylie figures that Pascal is certainly good at wasting time, but even at the slightest realization of this, she does not mind at all. Her expression remains indifferent throughout the final ordeal as she takes the fountain game and signs the paper. Kaylie does not take the time to read through the contents, but a few misleads of the eye has lead her to believe that the language it is written with is not English.
[break][break]With a satisfied nod, Kaylie finishes and places the fountain pen on the clipboard where the contract is; she would have to assume that the man will take it upon himself to retrieve it. She looks at him and shrugs, eyes still indifferent yet one could read in her eyes that she wishes to leave as soon as possible. "Well? I assume this money is real, I would be certainly disappointed if it were fake." She says to him, her voice devoid of any emotion but the statement was meant as a joke. She could not care less; it's not as if she and Zoraya are having financial problems.
[break][break]The reapers around them depart, but she pays them no mind as they leave. The female takes her attention for quite a few seconds, however, watching as she tosses something to the man in front of her. It's the same marble that had almost determined her fate in Pascal's game of luck; she frowns, but does not comment on it. Her question of leaving is answered shortly, Mr. Cigs bidding her farewell, adding statements that are related to his occupation as demon lord to Orcus, until finally denying it all as a joke.
[break][break]She does not see the marble being thrown at her, but she raises an eyebrow and manages one last smile at Mr. Cigs. "...I don't understand anything that comes out of your mouth," Were her last words, followed by a small chuckle. Finally, the red light engulfs them, and now she is not in the alleyway anymore.
[break][break]Kaylie materializes in front of the street where this whole ordeal had started, people sparing her the most shocked and reluctant of looks, wondering how she'd gotten there when she was not there seconds ago. Even she herself seems to dazed with the spell played on her, but eventually she recognizes it as Mr. Cigs. She decides not to think of it for now, instead looking at the case that possibly contains her monetary prize. Kaylie would have to open it once she comes down to the library; she won't be surprised if it were not truly Euros in the case, but she would accept any result either way.
[break][break]It certainly was an interesting turn of events, she thinks to herself. But whether or not this is her lucky day or the exact opposite... even she is not too sure about the answer.
[attr="class","boxo-notes"]So I'm assuming it's the end of the thread, then? This is Kaylie's exit!
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