Orichalcus: Another Realm

Seal of Orichalcus

In the dark only one thing can be seen slowly moving across the desert. One step at a time. Metal stomping echoes throughout. The magick veins pulsate through the metal figure. A set of armor covered in ancient runes.

"What the-!? What IS that!?" Lying in wait, bandits watch from the sides.

"It doesn't matter. It's intruding! We gotta take it down!" One of the bandits hop up from behind the sand dune, unleashing a blast of flames. The fire crashes into the armor, however, it seems unaffected. It turns and looks at the bandit with glowing eyes. There's a moment of silence. Certainly this would mark the end of this bandit's life. But it wasn't the end. The armor turns back to its original direction. It continues onward. One step at a time.

The others stand, baffled. After a short moment, one of the leaders shouts out to them. "What are you doing!? Stop standing around and KILL HIM!"

A barrage of spells hit the armor. A mix of fire, sand, ice, and pure magick is flung in the armor's direction, but it continues on silently. It's unaffected.

The armor continues along, completely unhindered as it walks through the door stopping its path. Breaking into the Bandit King's hideout, he continues onward. Walking up the steps, he finds the king sitting there. "So you finally found me, did y-" STOMP. "H-Hey! It's rude to interrupt my evil monologue like-" STOMP. "Just who do you think you are!?" STOMP. With increasing panic and worry, the king blasts a death cloud into the armor. Surely that would stop him. STOMP. Unaffected, the armor continues one step at a time until directly in front of the Bandit King. "What the hell are you!? You can't just-" Stopped mid sentence, the king's face is suddenly held by the gauntlet of the armor. The hand flashes and emits a bright light. A generator starts up as the Magick is visibly being sucked out of the king. He lets out a scream in terror.

The armor drops the king to the ground. He turns and begins to walk away as slowly as he came. Looking on in horror, the Bandit King is speechless. He thrusts a hand forward, but no Magick springs forth. It is gone. Instead, it is replaced with a glowing seal on his head. The Bandit King is no more. As he lets out an agonized cry, the Seal of Orichalcus speaks. "Target eliminated. Mission accomplished."

Libra

"Hm...Interesting." Libra looks through some new information regarding a destroyed town in Alibab.

"Crystal has returned, sir." Libra's butler, James, bows to him as the elevator door opens. A woman wearing a torn, red and black business suit along with broken sunglasses walks in. Her clothes are covered in dry blood and wounds can be seen throughout her body.

"Here, I got your stupid brat." Crystal shoves a young child in front of Libra and James. She stumbles a bit.

"Now, Crystal, we must be respectful to our guest." Libra calmly turns his gaze from Crystal to the child. "Welcome. Please, try to calm down. You've nothing to be afraid of. I promise I will take good care of you here. This will be your new home." The child seems frightened by all that has happened. "I'm sure you have a lot on your mind." Libra turns to his butler. "James, please show the child to their room."

He nods. "Of course, Master Libra." He takes the child gently, by the hand, and leads them out of the room.

Libra looks over at Crystal. "You know, your recklessness is why I'm running low on Light Magick in the first place."

She looks down, seemingly disappointed in herself. "Yes...I...I know. I'm sorry."

Libra smiles. "Do not apologize. I understand you still have much to learn. That is why I have set up a special training mission for you."

She looks up. "Training?"

"Yes, with a new member of our team. I'd like to see how the four of you get along." Libra walks over to Crystal and unleashes a soothing light from his ring, hovering it over her wounds to heal them.

"Four?"

"Yes. The Seal, The Ancient, and The Assassin."

"...And The Demon."

Libra places one hand on Crystal's chin and lifts it so she looks at him. "The Beautiful Mage. Do not look down on yourself for who you are. You should embrace it and be proud of it."

Crystal smiles slightly before pretending she didn't. "I guess so." Libra finishes healing her and she steps away, looking out Libra's large window with a view of the city. "Libra...Why...Why did you help me? Back when I was an orphan?"

"It was the right thing to do. You were just a poor child. Everyone turned their backs to you and treated you like a monster. In a way...it reminded me of myself. I didn't want you to feel alone. So I decided to take you in."

Crystal smiles as she looks out the window. Her eyes fix on the lights of the city. "Thanks, then, I guess." She wipes away her smile and turns back to Libra. "So I'm off on another mission tomorrow?"

Libra nods. "Yes. Nothing too difficult. Just a simple trek through the mountains in search of some ruins. I forgot something when last I went."

"Rest assured, I will retrieve it for you."

"Good. Now go get some rest. You'll be needing it."

Crystal nods before heading off.

Libra watches her go. He turns and looks out his window. He lets out a short sigh. "So close and yet so far. At least we haven't met much resistance. I hope it stays that way. The sooner we seal away Magick, the sooner we can stop the next calamity..."

Talia wakes up for the second time a bit after dawn.  Perfectly still, she opens her eyes, remembers what's going on, and takes a deep breath.  She starts by flexing each individual toe, then rolling her ankles, then stretching her calves.  She finishes with the muscles of her face, practicing several exaggerated expressions.  Finally, her lungs burning, she lets the breath out and starts breathing normally.  She springs out of bed, winces as she overshoots the rug and lands on the cold stone, then quietly pads to the bathroom to start getting ready.

She takes another quick bath, brushes her hair, and changes into her freshly laundered outfit.  She's glowing, refreshed and ready, as she approaches the elevator.  She puzzles with the controls for a moment before managing to summon it.  She steps in and realizes she has no idea how to summon the others for the mission, and whether it's OK to go straight to her new boss' office.  She settles for going to the ground floor and looking for someone to help.

Libra

Waiting for the others to show up, Libra sits in his office. His top mages stand before him in a line. Crystal Sang: The Blood Demon. Her blood magick and demonic store of mana makes her one of Libra's strongest direct fighters. Aeon Magus: The Mage Time Forgot. A master in time magick, Aeon can make seconds go by like hours and can make hours go by like seconds. His skills in freezing time make him a valuable ally for any team. The Seal of Orichalcus: The Ultimate Weapon. A living suit of armor built by the ancients. It's ability to seal magick away is unrivaled. And...where is that illusionist?

"Apologies, sir. I found Miss Talia wandering lost on the ground floor." James, leading Talia into the room from the elevator, keeps a straight face.

Libra smiles, seeing Talia. "Good morning, Talia. I hope you've enjoyed your stay here. You'll need that rest for your trip."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to die. HA!" Crystal smacks Talia on the back.

Aeon gives Crystal an odd look. "...You are strange." Crystal glares back at him.

"Now you two get along. The four of you will be heading out to the ruins to retrieve something I left behind." Libra looks between them all. "I assume you all know that I discovered Aeon within ancient ruins? Well it seems there was someone else within those ruins that we were meant to release." Libra takes out a transcription and translation of some ancient runes. Looks like he wrote it all himself. "According to what we found, both Aeon and his counterpart hold the key to stopping the calamity together. We need both of them in order to achieve our goal."

Aeon nods. "Maybe if we find them, I'll get my memories back..."

"We can't say for certain, but...that is a possibility."

Crystal sighs. "This is a lot of work for some calamity. Are you sure this is doing anything?"

Libra looks at her. "Patience, Crystal. Magitech wasn't built in a day."

"I know, I know. It's just annoying that there's no visible change."

"Change will come in time. Now then..." Libra addresses the whole group. "I assume you all know your mission. retrieve the other mage sealed in time and bring them back here. From there we can work on the next step in stopping the calamity." He turns to Talia. "And if you succeed in this, I believe I have a special job for you."

Libra

"Sadly, if that is the case, you will have to force them to come along." This seems to dishearten Aeon. "However, I have hope that is not the case. If they recognize Aeon, then I'm sure they will come willingly."

Libra chuckles a bit. "I would not be too concerned about provisions. As you can see, money is no object." Libra reaches over his desk and places a small, metal card in front of Talia. More magitech? "This card connects directly to my bank account. You see, we have more efficient ways of spending money here in Newtonia. It's a little complicated, but all you need to know is that if you ever need to buy anything while you're here, just use that card." He then leans back. "Of course, you can't use it outside of Newtonia. Sadly, there are few other cultures that have taken to our efficiency. But it should get you all you need in terms of provisions. After all, you shouldn't need more than you can carry." He looks over at Aeon. "Aeon has made sure to prepare the necessary camping materials, haven't you?"

He nods. "Yes, I have, sir. It's all stored aboard the airship."

"Excellent. And there's no need to be so formal, as I've told you before." Libra turns back to Talia. "In terms of locals, you don't need to concern yourself. Nobody lives in the mountains and few ever travel there. They are very dangerous, after all. Plenty of A Rank monsters and a confirmed S Rank sighting only a few months ago. I'd be more concerned with the monsters than with the slight chance you run into someone."

Inners

"Plans...!? Plans!? I-I don't...!"

Wait, I can't tell him I don't know what I'm doing! I'm supposed to be the Great Sage! Gah, I didn't think any of that combat training would ever actually matter! I only ever wanted to study my magic! Dammit!

"The plan is to...to..." Inners seems at a loss for words. He frantically looks around, thinking on what to do.

Meanwhile, Ken is helped up by Catherine. She fires a flaming arrow at the Launcher Wolf, but it seems the arrow clinks off the wolf. Ken gasps for air and then speaks to her. "Its armor...It's too thick for us to pierce. We can't...hit it from the outside." He coughs a bit, spitting up some blood. Not a good sign. "...It's...hard to breathe..." He coughs again. It sounds like his lungs were hit. This isn't good. He needs medical attention quickly or he might not be survive.

The Launcher Wolf turns to Catherine and Ken, looking almost like it's grinning. It kicks back one of its back legs a couple times before charging forward, sharp claws ready to strike! "THE PLAN IS NOT TO DIE!" A wall of pure magick blocks the strike, but quickly shatters as the claws come into contact with it. Ken and Catherine are spared, but only momentarily. The beast snorts in front of them and lets out an annoyed huff.

Alright, we need to think of something quickly.

"CATHERINE! Take Ken out of here! I'll keep the Launcher Wolf busy, just get him to safety!" Inners begins to run forward, toward the Launcher Wolf.

This is the stupidest idea I think I've ever had, but there's no time to think! I don't have a choice...!

Inners jumps in the air, creating small platforms the exact size of his feet to run up and slam a magick katana into the cannon. The Launcher Wolf roars and begins to thrash around, distracted by Inners on its back.

I-I guess I found a weakness...!?

Inners is quickly flung up into the air by the thrashing beast as it aims its boulder cannons at him.

Inners

Suddenly saved just in time, a portal opens up beneath Inners and flings the boulder right back at the Launcher Wolf! It lets out a short yip in surprise as Barry catches Inners and holds him in his arms. "AAAAAAA- Oh, I'm not dead. You can uh...put me down now."

Inners gets to his feet in time to notice Catherine and Ken disappear into another portal. Kelly calls out to Inners, telling him the caravan is alright. "Just make sure Ken is okay! Otherwise Kaguya will kill-" He's interrupted by the loud stomp and roar of the Launcher Wolf.

Actually, looks like I have bigger concerns right now.

Inners turns and finds that his ally, Barry, is no longer standing there and is instead a gigantic wolf. "HOLY-" He's interrupted once more as Barry speaks to him.

THAT thing is Barry!? I really don't have time to question things. Let's just...hop on!

Inners jumps up and struggles to pull himself up on top of the seventeen foot tall wolf before he helps him up with a little nudge. Now sitting atop Barry, Inners takes a chance to breathe. "Alright, I think I actually have a plan now!" The enemy Launcher Wolf looks about ready to charge once again. "Barry! Can you pin the Launcher Wolf down for me? I just need you to hold it still for a little bit! Kelly! I need you to make a portal inside of the Launcher Wolf's mouth. Just trust me!"

PIERCE

Pierce Long grumbled as his eyes peeked open to his subterranean bunker. The simple thatch mat he laid on provided just enough comfort to sleep, but not enough to enjoy the experience at all. Strewn across the room were maps, maps filed with red marks and arrows, some of no discernible subject but others outlining Fusan with large names like "ECHO" and "JIXXY" loudly jumping from the page in rainbow colors, making them look more similar to a child's toy than anything a revolutionary leader would use. Rustling out of bed into this strange room, he looked around, before his eyes lit up. Digging from a pile of the aforementioned maps in a corner of his room, he yanked out a tattered map, seemingly the same as the rest, with red arrows flashing everywhere and large, green letters exclaiming “DOUGAT”. Smirking, Pierce grabbed a wooden latter, hidden inside the pile of maps. Setting it up against the opposite side of his room, he scaled it and pushed away the roof.

Popping out, Pierce put the piece of fake grass covering the entrance to his hole of a room. Around him, vast fields of nothing but swaying grass. With straight posture and immense speed, the revolutionary rushed off, seemingly in a random direction, displaying a wide grin and scanning over the map.

The head of each main family in Fusan surrounded a long, wooden table in an extravagantly decorated room, with jewels and chandeliers dotting the roof. Waiters buzzed in and out of the room, placing succulent dishes on the table and then rushing away. Champagne bottles popped, and sounds of laughter filled the air. After several hours of this continuing, an old man with a magnificent white beard and mustache stood up. He was quite possible the personification of the sin gluttony, being quite horizontally challenged. Taking a spoon and tapping it on his glass, the room suddenly became quiet.

“Now, I expected that we would have to hold this ceremony later, but we have done the deed! We have crushed whatever experiment was coming to our town, and with minimal losses to our town! Stability has come back to our great city! Cheers, everyone!” he belted out before sitting down to applause.

Pierce walked into town square. This would be his day, the day when the people of Fusan were liberated! However, looking around, he saw quite the strange sight. His comrades, instead of walking around and preparing for war, were instead heading out into the fields! Nobody was doing anything that he had assigned them to do!

“I can see through your tricks, you rich bastards! I know this is some sort of illusion you bought off of the backs of the people!” Long yelled to no reaction except a few people giving looks of disgust. Eventually, after several more rounds of yelling, two guards approached him.

“Are you Pierce Long?” The first one questioned.

“You’re damn right I am! I’m the king of this here city!”

Pierce was on the ground in a second.

Laughter. Giggling. Mocking. Pierce woke up to hear all of this. Opening his eyes, he saw several fancily dressed people looming over him and the vast, dark sky in the middle. Suddenly, they shut up. Pushing himself up, Pierce brushed the dirt off of his shirt. Looking around, he saw a lit up town square with all of the upper class of Fusan chatting with plenty of guards around. Racing his eyes, he saw gallows.

During this time, his company changed positions. On all sides except for one he had spears pointed at him, and the uncovered side held an old man with magnificent white facial hair.
“Why hello Pierce! Glad to see you could make the party,” he sneered. “It seemed like you have failed in your master plan. It was quite stupid, really. While you were sleeping the entire army decided to strike off of the advice of one of your generals. We won the war without you even touching it! I guess you are always the most unimpactful person in any situation!”

Pierce knocked the wind out of the old man. He proceeded to storm out. Miraculously, nobody even tried to stop him.

“I’ll be back!” He declared as he stormed out of the city in a random direction. When the fact that he ran away sank in, the guards could not find him even after an extensive search.

Pierce wouldn’t give up so easily.