ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 23, 2019 6:52:20 GMT -5
A soft smile crept on to the man's face as the Vagabond reassured him that everything was ok. They continued to what Yuto thought looked like some sort of massive storage area. He couldn't tell what for. As he looked around the lab he noticed a long computer that looked like it hadn't been touched in a while. There were other things in the "lab." Older tables, a sphere looking device that looked inoperational. 'This place is so...futuristic. Was it always here?'
“The work I do is hardly science. There will be no recordings of data, odd computers or hook ups or anything like that.” Yuto listened to the man's explanation of his practice. “Essentially, I am going to examine and explore your heart with my own energy.” It was an interesting concept, probing one's heart using your own."Not something commonly practiced, I assume." Yuto was impressed. Necessity was indeed the mother of invention'What brought the Vagabond to think of this?'
Yuto looked up at the ropes and binds that the Vagabond gestured towards. "Huh, so that's the type of stuff you're into. That's cool, I don't judge." Yuto smiled at his own joke. This entire trip had been a bit serious, so he figured he would try and lighten the mood any way he could. "Anyway, I'm ready. So, strap me in and I guess I'll see you on the inside. He smiled at the Vagabond. "One obvious request though. I have no clue what you're doing or what my heart looks like. Please take care."
(No problem man.)
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 23, 2019 18:55:01 GMT -5
The joke was slightly lost on the Vagabond, who chuckled loudly to act as though he had understood the reference. His mind was busy with the task at hand, a distracted look about him as he fiddled with the straps to secure Yuto within the gate. At the man's request, the Vagabond stared a blank expression, his eyes a dull matte that had no light in them at all. "Of course." Focused, the man felt the pressure of what he had to do. His first approaches to this had been violent, but world hearts had allowed him to find another means into a heart and explore its state of being. Making sure Yuto was properly secured against the large wall within the Gate, the man flashed a 'peace' sign at his subject. "First, I will simply examine the state of your heart. Nothing dangerous about it."
It really was a harmless inspection. For now, the Vagabond merely wanted to glimpse into the man's heart to assess the state. It would be unwise to simply being tampering with the darkness inside of a persons heart without knowledge of its state first. "Close your eyes. Still your mind." The man reached out with both hands, placing them on Yuto's chest as he closed his own eyes. Darkness began to emerge from the vagrant's hands, surrounding them as he pressed them against his subject. "Don't be afraid." The gate surrounding Yuto, though inoperable, began to seep in darkness as well. Surrounding the man who rested against the vertical table, darkness seeped forth and wrapped around the two. "Steady yourself. We both know this feeling." His voice was steady, his eyes closed and breathing calm as he spoke to Yuto.
"We aren't afraid of the dark." Then there was nothing. Only darkness.
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 23, 2019 21:15:25 GMT -5
'Just an examination? Sounds like a good place to start.' Yuto listened to the Vagabonds words as he pressed his hands to Yuto's chest. A familiar sensation washed over him. 'It feels like that ocean.' It was an unsettling feeling, but he remained still as per instruction. 'There's nothing to fear.' He repeated this in his head as everything faded to darkness.
After what felt like a few minutes, Yuto opened his eyes and observed his surroundings. He let out a long whistle. "So, this is my heart?" He looked at the surrounding area. It was an abyss of blackness. 'But, how am I able to see?' He looked down to see what he was standing on. It was a stained glass panel of glass with what looked to be a recreation of him on it that seemed to be emitting light. "Trippy." The man swept the blonde in his hair behind his head and continued to look at the glass he was standing on. It was a rich purple with both Scala ad Caelum and the Realm of Darkness taking residence behind the glass version of the man.
"Very trippy." He looked around for the Vagabond. A surface this size, where he could stand at one edge and see all the way to the other, the man couldn't be hard to find. "Vagabond, you around?" Yuto hoped calling for the man would do something. Anything, really. He was Yuto's ride out.
Yuto decided to wander around the glass area in an attempt to both find the Vagabond and kill time.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 24, 2019 4:57:09 GMT -5
From the black, a voice echoed to the vagrant. "Vagabond, you around?" The man with disheveled hair rose a hand above his eyes, shielding them as he squinted awake. Currently he was laying upon the stain glass platform that depicted Yuto, framed by multiple worlds that showed the mans history. Sitting up, the Vagabond was grateful for the jacket around him as he pulled it tighter, pulling the hood up to shield his face from the light emitting beneath him. Forcing himself into a standing position, the vagrant fought a wave of nausea as he lifted his left gloved hand to his heart. "We are here." Looking around, the Vagabond wondered exactly what lay in store for them. How similar are our hearts...? The thought lingered in the researchers mind as his voice croaked out, echoing across the vastness.
"This is your heart, Yuto." The power of darkness was terrifying indeed. It could enthrall one to madness, or allow one to seek shelter in the residence of hearts. There was something lurking within, the Vagabond felt it in his bones, his nose flinching as he sniffed the air. It is here... The stench reached his nostrils, though faint. There was indeed more than met the surface in regards to Yuto's heart. The hooded man turned, shoving his hands in the steel blue jacket pockets as he rocked back and forth on his heels. "Lead the way~"
Bowing slightly, the vagrant motioned for Yuto to take the lead. It was his heart, after all. "I'm merely here to observe."
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 24, 2019 12:31:57 GMT -5
"We are here. This is your heart, Yuto." The man looked around for the source fo the voice and saw the Vagabond not too far off. "So, this is what it looks like. Neat." It seemed to be an accurate recreation of his overall experiences up to this point. The Vagabond had instructed him to lead on but Yuto had no idea where to start. This may be his heart, but this was the first time he's seen it in person.
"Well, let's start at the beginning, I guess." He focused. If his heart held the memories of the worlds and places he went, then it should be able to recreate them. That was his theory anyway. He turned to the edge of his heart and went to take a step off. Instead of falling, as was his fear, his foot met a stained glass platform. Looking down, Yuto noticed that there was an entire path of these platforms leading to what looked to be a structure similar to the one the two men were currently on. "Well, I guess we're going this way then." He turned back to the Vagabond and motioned for the man to follow.
As they walked the path, Yuto couldn't help but voice a concern. "Is there anything I should be worried about?" The man didn't mind surprises, but if there was something in his heart that posed a threat to the two men, he'd want to be ready for it. They reached the top of the path and stepped onto the new circular platform. It was white with tall pristine buildings and clear skies. His heart was showing a depiction of his home. 'I did say we were starting at the beginning.' The man looked around for anything of note. He noticed a rather ornate door that wasn't there on his first pass over the area. He approached the door with caution. "Where do you think this leads?" He looked to the Vagabond for an answer. His talk of dealing with hearts, maybe he had seen something like this before. That was what Yuto hoped anyway. He was basically flying blind right now and any form of direction would be more than helpful.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 24, 2019 23:01:47 GMT -5
As the two continued across the platform, the hooded man took mental note of the stain glass staircase that led to another space similar. Interesting... This was his first time delving into a person's heart. With the Heartless, he simply attempted to draw out the darkness of the tainted heart. All of his attempts at that method had failed, resulting in the specimen dying during the process. Other than that, the Vagabond had only dealt with world hearts, which worked very differently. That was more of a feeling, an ebb and plea for balance to be restored. "Is there anything I should be worried about?" The two walked across the path. The hooded vagrant was distractedly staring at the gaping darkness surrounding them.
"Hm...Well, I suppose that depends on how much darkness is in your heart." The vagrant was wary, keeping his hands at his sides for balance. Reaching another platform similar, he noticed that this one depicted an image of somewhere the researcher had never explored. I wonder where this is? Yuto's voice broke the silence, causing the hooded man to jolt and look up. Was that door there before? As Yuto neared the ornate door that had somehow appeared without either noticing, the hooded man followed and examined the large door, peeking around its sides. "How odd..." The door stood still in space, seemingly leading to nothing. "Where do you think this leads?"
"Further into your heart." The vague answer was the only one he had at the moment. It would have to suffice. They were now swimming in grey area. The hooded man shrugged, seemingly carefree as he slid his hands into his steel blue jacket pockets. "Open it~ We won't find anything else out, standing around here."
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 24, 2019 23:52:55 GMT -5
"Open it~ We won't find anything else out, standing around here." The man had a point. They wouldn't find anything out just standing around doing nothing. Yuto turned to the door and pushed it open. A bright light shone for a moment as the two were transported to wherever the door led. Yuto blinked a couple of times, allowing his vision to adjust. When he could finally see clearly the man checked their surroundings. They were on the roof of a snow white building with various sheets being hung to dry and a large castle off in the distance. The man walked over to the edge of the roof and looked to the street below. It was empty. No one to be found anywhere. He continued to survey the area and stopped midway. 'There's no way.' The man motioned for the Vagabond to follow as he jumped from the top of the building.
He led the way for a few houses before stopping in front of a two-story building with a blue and green striped awning. "I can't believe it." Yuto stood in front of the building in shock as a smile started to form on his face. After what felt like an eternity, he ran into the building, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Upon entering, however, the man looked around only to realize that the first room was as empty as the street they walked to get here. Yuto ran up the stairs and checked all the rooms, tears starting to fall. All of them empty. He wiped his eyes and returned to the first floor.
"Sorry about that, man." Yuto motioned to the couch for both of them to sit. "I forgot our situation for a second. But, where are my manners? Welcome to my house." He forced a smile and made a grandiose gesture sweeping the entire room. "The world, if you were wondering, was called Daybreak Town." It was nice to be back to the way the world used to be, even if only in his memories. "I'm not entirely sure where to go from here, but it seemed like as good a place to start as any other."
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 25, 2019 10:25:21 GMT -5
As Yuto opened the door, the Vagabond shielded his hooded face with a raised arm. The light was bright, far too bright for his liking. So...he still has this much light? The Vagabond shuddered, wondering how a single heart could live in such conflict. He had an exception to the rule. How was this guy doing okay? Curiosity struck the vagrant to his core as he followed the man through the door.
Looking around, the Vagabond gathered himself as the blinding light faded, revealing the world around them. Standing atop the roof of a building, the hooded man was able to gaze around and gather himself. "I can't believe it." Yuto seemed in awe, leaping from the building. Following closely, the vagrant followed his subject to the building with a colorful awning. As Yuto burst through the door entrance, rushing up the stairs, the Vagabond slowly entered, looking around in the doorway. Though the man had rushed onward, the vagrant could hear the loud footfalls of Yuto rushing through the rooms above. Closing the door behind him, the Vagabond walked to the foot of the stairs as Yuto returned, wiping tears from his eyes. This must be...
"Sorry about that, man." Yuto sat on the couch, the Vagabond following him into the living room and onto the furniture. Just as that wandering vagrant had pieced together, this was indeed Yuto's home. Before that place. Leaning back on the couch, the Vagabond crossed a leg and put his hands behind his hooded head. It seemed even in buildings, the wandering man preferred the shadows to the light of the world. "This is indeed baffling..." His voice seemed distracted, as he was lost in thought. "To think...such a convincing environment can be conjured by a heart." It was nothing like what he had experienced in his previous studies. This was certainly something of note.
"This is still your heart, showing itself in ways we can understand it." The Vagabond explained aloud, his shrouded gaze scanning the area. Everything seemed normal. Yuto's light, his home roots, was certainly strong. Everything seemed normal, albeit empty. "I suppose the heart can't conjure people, though..." It would certainly be advanced...though perhaps it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Everything was just so empty here, though. Looking around, the Vagabond continued to think aloud. "So far everything has been empty. I'm curious if that's the hearts limitation or not..." The man had a callous way of talking, very 'matter of fact' like. There was a feeling settling in his stomach that he didn't like. It feels kinda like that one place... Where was he thinking of? Somewhere he had explored memories, belonging to both himself and others. I think that place had a castle, too.
He was curious about what else lurked in Yuto's heart.
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 25, 2019 18:11:41 GMT -5
The matter of fact way the Vagabond spoke about the functions of the heart made some sense to Yuto. Reconstruction of memories, while fantastical, didn't seem like something that a heart couldn't do. 'Considering the fact that I kept mine after what happened.' There was a thought. "I think I know where to go next." The man stood from the couch and walked toward another ornate door that had replaced his front one.
The door swung open to reveal the area of his heart they were at before. The stained glass recreation of his home under his feet. Turning to his right, another stained glass staircase that led to the platform of their next destination. A short walk and they were on a black platform depicting a shoreline with a night sky. As he expected there was another door, similar to the first, waiting for the two. "Ready for a walk down memory lane?" The question was for himself as much as it was for the Vagabond. If his heart was able to accurately recreate his home from before he left, multiple hundreds of years ago, then this place should be no different.
Opening the door, the two were transported to the shores of the Realm of Darkness. "Best place for finding answers would be where the questions started, no?" Yuto scooped some sand into his hands. 'It seems so real.' He had to admit, he held some resentment towards this place. It cost him everything. That was what he felt anyway. He walked over to a stone large enough to sit on and plopped himself down next to it. He had preferred the feel of the beach for whatever reason. It was closer to what made him what he currently was.
"Ya'know, I ended up going for a swim in that." He pointed to the ocean, a smile starting to form on his face. He couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation he was in when it happened. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I would've been able to get my friend and me out if something hadn't thrown me in." He looked toward the Vagabond. "A necessary evil if you ask me." Saving his friend. That was his current theory as to why he remained himself. The pure want, no, need to help someone other than himself. 'Is that what it was? Is that why the darkness didn't take me?' The thought only widened the smile on his face. His willingness to basically sacrifice himself for the well being for someone else, that sounded like something he would do.
"So, any ideas? Theories? Overall opinions or questions?" The Vagabond's input would probably be invaluable, especially in something like this.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 26, 2019 7:31:26 GMT -5
Yuto seemed at a loss for what to do, lifting himself from the couch and leading the Vagabond back towards the entrance of the building. Instead of the home's normal door, it had been replaced by another ornate door that had seemingly came from nowhere. Curious... This whole experience was odd to the hooded vagrant, who hardly had any recollections of a 'home', having lost meaning in the word years ago. Returning to the original stain glass platform that had led them there, the two noticed another glass staircase that led to a taller pillar higher up in the distance. Walking across the thin pathway over the gaping darkness, the Vagabond grimaced from the shadows of his hood as he felt the stench looming ahead. Ah...so here it comes... They stepped onto the other platform, the pathway from earlier disappearing. Yuto didn't seem to notice or care, walking up to yet another door.
"Ready for a walk down memory lane?" The man's voice caused the Vagabond to scan the image of the floor they stood on. For a moment, his heart paused. Ah. That place, is it? He should have known. Yuto had mentioned the shore earlier at the lab. It should have went without saying it would have had some meaning to his heart. Damn...I wasn't thinking clearly... Shaking his head a bit, the man remained silent as he followed Yuto through the doorway. His breathing halted for a moment.
The faded and worn navy shoes on his feet sunk into sand, purple and fine, all too familiar. All around them, a shore was cast in eerie moonlight, a dark sea crashing against the sand. Around the shore were an assortment of large rocks, leading to different pathways that would lead one deeper into the Realm of Darkness. "Best place for finding answers would be where the questions started, no?" The air was stale, leaving a bad taste on the tongue. The smell was invasive, overpowering most of the Vagabond's other senses. I hate this place. Yuto's heart had crafted a convincing visage, as everything about the place seemed real.
There's no blood on the sand, though... That thought alone aided the Vagabond in grounding his mind as he followed Yuto to a nearby rock. This time, the vagrant chose to remain standing as his friend rested, thinking aloud. Are there any Heartless? He kept his hooded gaze wary, listening to Yuto talk of necessary evils and the act of saving people. Crossing his arms a bit, the Vagabond snorted loudly as he turned his head. "Nobody can save anyone other than themselves." It wasn't a heated statement, but one he said as though it were very 'matter-of-fact'. Pointing a finger at Yuto, the hooded man suddenly had a humorous tone, the finger wagging back and forth to a melody only he could hear.
"Don't be so selfish with lives~" Shaking his head a bit, the Vagabond waved away the conversation with a swish of his hands. "I am curious though..." For a moment, his voice drifted off, almost as though he were distracted by something, gazing off in the direction of the sea. "Why your heart brought us here..." This was meant to be simple observation, but there was something that felt off to the Vagabond. Indeed, this visage allowed the vagrant to witness to some extent the darkness within Yuto's heart, but it didn't give him any information on what that darkness was doing...what its impact was on the heart it now resided in.
Crossing his arms in thought, the hooded man looked over at Yuto. "When you accepted the darkness...what changed?" He shook his head a little bit. "Er...hm...I guess, I mean...what exactly happened?" He himself had a peculiar situation happen here at this shore, one that drove his very existence to this day. It seemed that Yuto's friend had escaped with him, however, he had not lost his heart to the darkness at all. If Yuto had allowed the darkness to enter his heart, was that different than a Heartless turning someone else's? There were many questions he had to look into. Pointing at Yuto, he finally found the best way to phrase his question.
"How are you alive? Wouldn't taking in that raw darkness kill a person? Or at least turn them into a Heartless?"
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 26, 2019 9:24:40 GMT -5
"How are you alive? Wouldn't taking in that raw darkness kill a person? Or at least turn them into a Heartless?"It was a valid question and one that the man often asked himself. "Working theory? I told you, someone needed me." He shrugged and stretched his arms over his head. "That, and the fact that I refused to die here. I figured if this place wasn't going to pull punches, why should I?" Yuto didn't think it was all sheer force of will, but it was the best explanation he had.
"As for what changed; the only thing I've noticed, aside from the new abilities...well, my eyes used to be a solid brown." Yuto looked the Vagabond in the eye, making sure he saw the golden coloration around Yuto's pupils. "Anything beyond that is why we're here." He never felt any different after his dip in the ocean. Granted, he didn't really know how to tell these types of things. He wasn't trained in the ways of the heart or how they worked. Yuto traced a finger through the sand and looked toward the sky as he racked his brain for things that may have changed for the worse. Nothing. "Ya'know, this happened not that long ago for me. I don't know any of the long term effects."
Technically, he was gone for almost two millennia. While that was true, he had only been back a short amount of time. 'A month, maybe two?' He couldn't tell for sure, nor did he really try to keep track. "Gonna admit, hearts are kinda confusing." Everything looked so real, yet it wasn't. He noticed that the more he thought about what happened, the less it seemed like what happened was a bad thing. "What if darkness isn't inherently bad? I mean, it helped me and my friend get out of here." Yuto didn't realize he said that out loud until the statement was already out there. Even still, that fact didn't bother him. He had been able to use his darkness to help people. 'Could it just be up to whoever uses this power to choose what they use it for?' It was an interesting thought, and one he attempted to voice to the Vagabond.
"Do you think that it may be us humans that give this power such a bad rap?" He looked over to the Vagabond. "I mean, yes, the heartless are bad and go around stealing hearts, but that doesn't mean the power they use is inherently bad, does it?" It was a genuine question. If it could be used to help people, how bad could it really be? "What do you think?" If anyone would be able to weigh in, it would be Yuto's hooded companion. He looked to the man for his answer.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 28, 2019 1:17:46 GMT -5
Yuto's answer, or rather lack thereof, was rather disheartening to the researcher. He himself had little insight on the intricacies of hearts. Though he had dedicated his time and study to such things, the Vagabond knew he had barely scratched the surface. As Yuto spoke about the changes and his own opinions on the matter, the hooded man crossed his arms, deep in thought. Hm...so the will of the heart played a major role, it seems... As a byproduct, it appeared that Yuto had certain fundamental abilities of one tainted with the darkness. This balance didn't seem necessarily harmful to the man, who's heart seemed in tact and whole so far. Looking around at the shore they stood on, the hooded vagrant pondered this new discovery.
The will of a heart, huh...? It seemed there was more work to be done. At Yuto's question towards the affinity of darkness itself, the Vagabond considered his answer in a moment of silence. "Anything is bad in excess." His voice seemed loud against the lull of rolling waves. "Darkness plays its role, as does the light. Both need each other to obtain a balance." Holding up both hands, the vagrant had extended both pointer fingers towards the sky as he talked. "If there were too much light, the excessive blindness would fool us all." The man's arms fell to his side. "In total darkness, one can hardly even fathom an idea of anything else existing."
Overall, they were vague statements.
The Vagabond spoke these as though they were reasonable answers, falling silent as he turned to Yuto. "I'm curious about the state of your heart, frankly." His tone seemed almost frustrated, as though someone had struggled over a puzzle for too long without finding a clue to the answer. "If you opened it to darkness, as you have, it is sure to have some sort of affect." The man turned towards the doorway they had entered, curious about what lurked deeper in the heart. "I'm wondering how its balance fairs..." He mumbled off, pondering his thoughts as he made his way for the door.
"Yes, who'd of thought I'd have this much work to do~" The Vagabond sounded happy, making his way through the ornate door, hoping that the heart would lead somewhere with answers.
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 28, 2019 10:56:57 GMT -5
"Anything is bad in excess." Yuto's gaze followed the Vagabond as he vaguely explained that there is always a balance that should be maintained. 'Makes about as much sense as anything else.' The thought still permeated in the back of his mind, however. If he could keep himself from totally succumbing to it, there was a chance he could help people with this power. "I'm curious about the state of your heart, frankly." The comment took Yuto by surprise. Granted, when he thought about it nothing really seemed to be wrong. 'Maybe I'm not so bad off then.' The Vagabond spoke before he could voice the thought. "If you opened it to darkness, as you have, it is sure to have some sort of affect."
Yuto had to admit, it was odd that they had seen nothing that would lend itself to the darkness in his heart aside from the shore they were currently standing on. He stood up and brushed the sand off of him before following the Vagabond to the door. Well, the only way to find answers is to look for them, right?" With that, he walked through the door and back out to his bare heart. Once he exited, he was greeted with a third staircase at the end directly in front of him. 'Odd, there are really only two places that I've been that have had a major impact on me.'
The man walked up the stairs with caution. Upon reaching the top, Yuto took a look around. His eyes widened in realization as he saw that the grey platform depicted the crumbling ruins of his once beautiful home. He was right in only having two places that were of significance to him, but the man never thought as to what it was about those worlds that was significant or how one affected the other. His entire mouth felt dry as he approached the ornate door that stood in the center of the platform. For the first time in the entire time the two men were here, the door looked foreboding and like something that they should not touch.
After a few moments of pacing, and mental debate of whether or not to open the door, Yuto took a deep breath and walked towards the ornate structure. 'The only way to find answers is by looking, right?' With a single pull, the door opened with a dim light shining from it. Stepping through, he found the two men on one of the many docks of his homeworld. As he looked around, he saw that his fear was real. His heart had recreated his home from after he got back from the Realm of Darkness.
The shock of seeing it again after a couple of months of refusing to go back, refusing to believe that it still looked like this, hoping that his friend was doing their best to restore their home. He refused to accept that this was the current reality, but his heart was showing him this for a reason. "Why?" Yuto stood with his fists clenched, staring at what was once his home. "Why is this what my heart is showing us? It's not fair." Tears started to well in the mans face. "IT'S NOT LIKE I WAS THERE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!"
He wasn't, he was stuck in that damned place for longer than anyone should. 'It's not my fault.' The thought echoed in his head. "That damn place. If we weren't stuck there, maybe we could've stopped whatever it was that ended my home." Never in his life did Yuto feel as much anger and hatred as he did in this one moment. He was being reminded of a fate that he had no control over, but on top of that, he was being reminded that he was robbed in even having a choice in the matter. "Why did this have to happen?" Yuto's anger and hatred, unknown to him, was starting to manifest itself into an aura of darkness that was now surrounding the man. He did, however, see that there were dark tendrils starting to climb the walls of the nearby buildings.
"Oh, so holding me hostage wasn't enough? Now you feel the need to start taking over what's left of my home!?" The angrier the man got, the stronger the aura grew, and the tendrils covered a larger area. "Can you BELIEVE this?" The man turned to his acquaintance, the gold in his eyes giving off a faint glow. "Ya'know what? No. I refuse. This is stopping. NOW" With that, he walked further into the ruins of his home.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 28, 2019 13:00:40 GMT -5
As the two exited the shore and stepped back to the stained glass platform from before, the Vagabond noticed a new staircase across from them. That wasn't there before... His interest piqued, the vagrant followed Yuto up the third staircase, coming to a platform that depicted the ruins of a world the Vagabond had sworn they had just seen. Hm...perhaps this is the cost, after all. The hooded man remained silent as Yuto opened the door, stepping into the world that awaited them quietly. It was certainly the world they had been on before, the Vagabond could tell that much by the buildings that sat behind them. The pair stood on one of the many small docks that jutted into the water surrounding this world. Its state looked far worse for wear, however.
"Why? Why is this what my heart is showing us? It's not fair." Yuto's voice jolted the vagrant from his thoughtful observations, the anger and frustration apparent as he began to cry. "..." The Vagabond looked around, noting how darkness snaked across most of this worlds features, rupturing it to its core. Ah...I get it, now. This is what had happened while Yuto had been away, it seemed. As the man shouted into the empty area, the hooded vagrant behind him simply watched on in thoughtful silence. To return to your world after having been stuck there...only to return to this? Truly, it was unfortunate indeed. Almost sad. Well, there was a certain irony to it. Yuto had just been speaking of how the Darkness may not be inherently bad...only to be shoved into an example of it devouring something close to him.
"That damn place. If we weren't stuck there, maybe we couldn't stopped whatever it was that ended my home." Yuto's voice was full of fury, bitter resentment clear in his tone as he mourned the fall of his light. The Vagabond shook his head a bit, looking away as he crossed his arms. "I don't know about that..." The world was ruptured, breaking apart as the Darkness devoured it. It had gone unchecked for too long, finally laying claim to the world, or rather its remains. "Whatever caused this level of destruction was probably out of anyone's league..." His shrouded gaze fell on to a castle in the distance, broken and in a state of rubble, darkness snaked over it almost as though it were feed. Suddenly, a powerful dark aura began to come off of Yuto, tendrils of darkness snaking from him as the world around them delved deeper into it.
As Yuto shouted out in frustration, causing the aura to only grow more powerful, the Vagabond noticed the world around them quake and rupture further. Aha! I get it now! Was this the part of his heart tainted by the darkness? Was this Yuto's heart showing the Vagabond what lurked within? There was a grimace on the hooded man's shadowed face. This heart was not nearly as balanced as he thought, it seemed. The world around them seemed unstable. If the darkness were to seep out, tainting more areas... At the moment, the damage seemed to be held within the deeper chambers of Yuto's heart. If it were to saturate past that point, spreading to the more shallow areas of the heart, the man would have trouble with keeping himself in tact.
Looking over at Yuto, who currently seemed to be losing his heart to his emotions at the moment, the vagrant didn't feel very hopeful.
"Y'know what? No. I refuse. This is stopping. NOW" Suddenly, the man had stormed off towards the ruins of the city, the powerful dark aura still erupting around him. The Vagabond hastily followed, shouting out after his comrade.
"Yuto, you're so excited! Did something good happen~"
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 28, 2019 15:20:33 GMT -5
"Yuto, you're so excited! Did something good happen~" The question caused the man to stop in his tracks. "Good?" There was a tone of hostility in his voice. "What 'good' could possibly come from an entire world of people who were trained to fight for and save worlds being gone?" The aura around Yuto grew steadily stronger as he continued walking. "I'm going to see where all of this is coming from," He gestured to the tendrils that were covering most of his world. "Then I'm going to tear it apart." The glowing of his eyes became brighter as he made his declaration.
'An entire world of wielders, gone.' He was pissed at what his heart was showing him. If he couldn't take out his frustration on what could have caused it in the real world, maybe his heart would allow him some form of 'stress relief'. Everything would be better after he gave something a thorough beating.
They walked for a while, following the density of the tendrils to try and find a center. After multiple dead ends, Yuto turned his gaze towards the tower. The mass of tendrils seemed to be the densest at that point. A smile crept onto the man's face as he took off running in that direction.
He climbed to the roof of the tower, where the tendrils were so dense they acted as a second layer of the floor under the man's feet. Looking around, the man saw that the entire area was covered in darkness. Tendrils covering the walls and windows. Everything seemed to react to his presence. "Didn't think you'd see me on the inside, did you?" The question wasn't really directed to anyone or thing. Almost as if the darkness heard him, shadows emerged from the floor. "Oooh, playthings!" Yuto stepped forward, his arms and legs slowly morphing into dark clawed extremities and his eyes glowing at the same intensity of the shadows he was making his way towards. The man seemingly disappeared, only to reappear next to his target and immediately rip it to shreds. The more enemies the Darkness tried to spawn, the more fodder Yuto had for his Frenzy.
After multiple groups of heartless were destroyed, the man turned to his acquaintance. His aura now gone and his body now back to normal, or as normal as it could possibly be considering. "Well, that was therapeutic." The man smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "So, if there's nothing else, I think we should probably get out of here." After everything that just happened, he felt a little drained. "Shall we?"
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 28, 2019 15:34:27 GMT -5
He's so excitable! At Yuto's hostile tone, the Vagabond had merely held up his hands in front of him. Once the man mentioned the world truly being gone, the vagrant realized that this must not be a mere illusion of the heart. This had been the actual fate of Yuto's home world. "I'm going to see where all of this is coming from," The man made his way towards the thicker areas of darkness that spread across the world. "Then I'm going to tear it apart." There was a bright glow to his eyes now, one the Vagabond felt uneasy towards. The darkness is gaining strength in him... Perhaps this study would lead to something else, the researcher pondered as he voiced another thought aloud. "Nothing you do here will change anything, you know." His tone was flat, dull, without really any emotion peaking out.
"This is just a recreation of your heart, remember?" Yuto didn't seem to be listening, though, as the man ran off in the direction of the tallest tower. Following him, the Vagabond grunted in effort as he chased his subject up the tower to the innards. Once emerged inside of the structure, the Vagabond felt dread surging up his throat. It feels like that place. The darkness seemed to have run deeper than he had thought. How much of your heart is left, Yuto? The thought thundered through his head as the Shadows emerged. Witnessing the transformation that was overcoming Yuto, the Vagabond was reminded all too well of the Heartless. Beneath the shadows of his hood, a frown sank into his face as he watched the beast like man shred apart his opponents. "Well, that was therapeutic." The Vagabond's stomach turned.
"So, if there's nothing else, I think we should probably get out of here." Yuto seemed drained. Of course he was. The toll the darkness had on its host was surmounting. "You shouldn't be so callous, Yuto~" He was making light of a serious situation. As usual. "You can keep dipping your toe in, but eventually something will grab your foot and pull you under!" The hooded man barked out a laugh, holding his stomach from his own joke. Turning away from the man, the Vagabond leapt out of the tower window, large Darkside arms emerging from his back to catch his fall as he landed on the floor below. Where was that ornate door...? Unlike Yuto, the Vagabond wasn't a local to this world. Turning his head and looking up at the tower, the hooded man waited for his subject to return to the base and would follow him back to the docks they had emerged from.
Just how much more can your heart take? The thought had followed him down the tower.
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 28, 2019 16:57:53 GMT -5
Yuto smiled at the man's attempt at a joke. Humor was subjective, and the Vagabond seemed to enjoy it. 'That felt like more than a toe. A lot more.' He shuddered at the thought as he made his way down the tower. Unlike the Vagabond, his heartless like arms weren't the 'on command' kind. He wasn't even sure how any of what he did happened and at this point, he was too concerned to ask.
Joining his acquaintance at the bottom of the tower. "Glad you decided to wait." The man was being sarcastic, of course, but in his normal 'everything's a joke' way of delivery. In fact, he felt better than when they first got there. More like his goofball self. "C'mon, lets get out of here." He led the way back to the dock and the door that they used to enter this recreation of his memories. He stepped through the door, more than eager to leave the tattered remains of his home.
Returning to the stained glass platform, the man let out a yawn. "Not sure about you man, but I'm ready to head back to the real world." The man walked down a new path that led to the first stained glass platform that they arrived on. The purple recreation of the man's overall heart was a comforting sight. "So, how do we get out of here?" He looked to the Vagabond. The man had gotten them in there, surely he knew of a way out. "I'm pretty sure we saw all we're going to be able to right now." Not that that was a completely bad thing. He had more than enough quality time with himself and was itching to get out.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 28, 2019 18:02:24 GMT -5
As Yuto returned to the bottom of the tower, the Vagabond continued to ponder what he had learned of the man's heart. It seems it is not too far gone, yet... There was still a powerful light in this heart, one that had allowed Yuto to coexist with the darkness he had taken on from that place. The image of Yuto being transformed into a Heartless like creature flashed before his mind, causing the hooded man to grimace. He's already past a safe point, though. Regardless of what the vagrant had learned about hearts, he knew he needed to do something about the state this man's heart was in. "C'mon, lets get out of here." Nodding, the hooded man followed his subject's lead as they headed back towards the ornate door.
"It'd be a shame for you to get lost, Yuto..." It was a mumble, one he hadn't fully realized he had let out. If the darkness could manifest itself to that extent, how deeply rooted into the heart was it? As they stepped through the ornate door back onto the stained glass platform from before, the hooded man looked around him. "Not sure about you man, but I'm ready to head back to the real world." The yawn betrayed the man's tiredness. The Vagabond had to admit, they had done a lot in regard to analyzing the state of his heart. "Hm...I suppose you're right." Taking another look around, the Vagabond gathered the mental notes he had witnessed from their venture. Moving into the center of the platform with a steady gait, the vagrant hunched down and placed his hands on the stained glass surface.
"Let the darkness wash over you..." His voice had grown into a trance like state, much like before. Darkness began to pool from the mans hands out onto the platform, steadily swallowing it as it lapped at their feet and legs. Rising to stand straight, the hooded man turned to look over at Yuto. "Close your eyes, become one with it. It will take us back." As he said this, the Vagabond slowly raised his arms as the dark tendrils continued to snake up his form. Already they had reached the man's chest, branching out to snare his arms before finally engulfing him whole.
Afterwards, he was swallowed in the darkness, disappearing completely.
He jolted awake, sitting on the floor cross legged in front of the large inoperable gate. Yuto lay strapped to the table, seemingly asleep as his form slumped over. Luckily, the straps had done their job, making sure the man hadn't fallen from the wall and harshly been jolted awake by the cruel ground below. Stretching out his arms and legs, the man yawned as he rose to stand up.
Waiting for Yuto to wake, the vagrant walked over to undo the straps once he was sure his subject was ready. Afterwards, he aided him in lowering down to the floor. Dusting himself off, the hooded vagrant stepped over towards the large sheet of scribbled notes that lay over the old useless computer module. "Rest. Make sure you allow your heart to recuperate. It has worked hard, today." The Vagabond leaned against the abandoned technology, allowing himself a moment of respite as he thought about the task at hand.
"Once you've rested, there's work to be done." His shrouded gaze fell on Yuto once more, his tone dull and emotionless, as always. "Your heart won't last, in the state it's in." It wasn't a state of emergency, as Yuto still had control over the darkness in his heart. What worried the Vagabond was how easily it could be provoked to come out, dominating the otherwise powerful light that shone brightly within him. It's probably too rooted to pull out, though. With world hearts, he had simply began to absorb the darkness from within them, draining most of the dark to allow a proper balance to return. Individual's hearts were different, however, the roots darkness snaked were more powerful. People's hearts were more fickle than world's, more easily corrupted.
Eventually, if Yuto continued to be in a state of flux like that, the Vagabond feared the worst for him.
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ravenheart95
Human
Yo, Socrates, it's a cookie.
Posts: 328
Gender: Male
Age: 22
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Post by ravenheart95 on Apr 28, 2019 22:04:02 GMT -5
He followed the Vagabonds instructions as the darkness washed over him, covering his body completely. The man awoke a small amount of time later to find himself feeling the cold hard floor beneath him. Yuto slowly opened his eyes and let out a small groan. The events that had happened in his heart were intense too say the least. He looked around for the Vagabond, finding his acquaintance hunched over some of the old computers.
Yuto got to his feet and made his way over to the other man. "Whatcha got there?" The Vagabond seemed to be writing something when he made his way over. "Anyway, I'm gonna go rest over by the gate looking thing." He pointed to the red sphere in the center of the back wall. Yawning as he made his way over, the trip to his heart was more draining than he thought. It was an interesting experience if nothing else. 'It wasn't all bad though.' If nothing else, it was nice to see his world the way it was before he left, even if it was empty. The thought that it still existed like that, even in memory, made him feel warm.
He took a seat against the wall and waited for the Vagabond to be finished with what he was doing. Yuto was, however, finding it hard to keep his eyes open at this point. 'What's the harm in a quick nap?' A yawn escaped the man as he allowed his eyes to close and he drifted off to sleep.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 28, 2019 22:52:29 GMT -5
There has to be something I can use! The Vagabond was busy scouring the lab to further disarray as he dug through loose notes, flipped open textbooks and hunched over ancient schematics. There was very little information on stopping the process of a heart in the grips of darkness. At least, without this Keyblade tool he would read every now and again. Keyblade...keyblade...keyblade... The vagrant knew that name from somewhere. Someone he had known mentioned something about them. What was her name...? Did she have one, or simply tell him about it? The memories were all pieced apart, foggy and difficult to grasp. Hm...this could work... There was a loose piece of paper he held, old and ripped, faded and yellowed to the point where the ink was hard to read.
It was one of the report pages he had found. That's right! He had forgotten about the method of sealing darkness into a vessel. Originally, it was meant to assist one in either recreating Heartless, or even crafting their own demonic mechanism by animating an empty vessel with darkness. Seals can be used in a multitude of ways, though... He wasn't sure if this plan would work or not. Looking over the information another time, the researcher wondered exactly why anyone would need to make artificial Heartless. The Pureblood's were frightening enough as it was. It was only because of this report that the Vagabond had even learned the difference between Pureblood Heartless and Emblem Heartless. The discovery had led to him stumbling upon this method.
Whoever wrote this is a genius! There was an extra pep to his step as the Vagabond shuffled across the lab, pausing to either read more or jot down notes on the nearest surface. Much of the lab had been graffitied over with his manic writing over the past few months he had been there. "Hm...I couldn't transfer it out due to how deep it goes..." The hooded man had paused, crossing his arms as he tilted his head towards the ceiling, gazing off in thought. "But I could use that method to limit its growth." Would it work? He had never attempted something like that. He would need to practice, first. Gazing over at Yuto, who had currently fallen asleep slumped against the wall, the Vagabond smiled from the shadow of his hood.
We'll get you set right~ Grabbing a few sheets of loose notes and a nearby empty glass, the vagrant shuffled off into the other room. He could conduct his tests while Yuto rested. For him, there was work to be done.
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