Yume awoke in a cold sweat in the morning, beginning to take deep, large breaths as she stared wide eyed at the cracked wall beside her. Yukai, already awake, rushed over quickly to Yume and covered her mouth. "Shhhhh!" he whispered, "You'll wake the others." Her eyes turned to Yukai as her whole body began to shake. She nodded to her brother as tears began to drip down her face without so much as a single blink. Grabbing Yukai's hand, she pulled it from her mouth, clutching him tightly and bringing her other hand to her own mouth. She stood up quickly, dashing out the door with her brother in hand. "W-wait up, Yume," his voice trembled, "Where are you taking us? What are you- Let go! I can move myself you know." Irritated, he tried to remove her fierce grip to no avail.
"Monsters come," she spoke between breaths, still running at full force, "Pray...we need to pray now, bro." As the fear began to dissapate from her face, Yume's brow furrowed, a look of determination overtaking her little chubby face. "Pray? Are you insane? We will die if we leave-" "PLEASE BRO!" she interrupted stopped to turn back to him, pleading loudly. He awkwardly looked around at the faces that may have heard her with a defeated sigh. "Y-yes, okay. We will go pray, alright? Just...Let go of me please. You're ruining my sweater."
"Sorry," she pulled away from him, beginning to slow her pace to his. The Chapel was now in sight, so there was really not much use in running any further anyways. The twins busted open The Chapel's doors suddenly as Yume screamed, "Mister or Missus Priest! W-where are you?" She closed her eyes and tightened her fists, anticipating having to interact with another human.
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "My dear, the Goddesses listen, and they are very pleased." Beside the two halflings, a figure cloaked in black Cardinal uniform manifested and gestured her welcome to the [break][break]
"Now, there is no need to be scared; the Goddesses are close by." The Pope slowly escorted the children into the chapel before closing the gate. She did not gaze into the empty space behind her even once, seemingly unconcerned of everything outside the chapel.[break][break]
"A very harmonious pair of halflings, indeed." The Pope looked at the interaction between the two before crushing her cigarrette into a pair of roses, pure-white in colour.[break][break]
"I wouldn't say harmonious, per se," Yukai mumbled under his breath as Yume began to hyperventilate. Yukai kneeled down beside her and drew her close to comfort her. She turned to him and whispered quite loudly, "Oh no, bro. C-c-cute girl voice," she cried before freezing her body completely. "It's okay, I'll talk with her," Yukai stood up and turned toward the Pope, ignorant of her position.
"We have come here to pray. We heard we could do that here. At least, I think so? I am pretty sure that's why we are here... We are halflings, so maybe we can't pray here in the first place? Come to think of it, why didn't the guards stop us..? Wait a minute, Yume did you use..." His voice trailed off as he continued mumbling to himself. Ineffective at communication as they were, apparently, they traveled from the Halfling Slums to Yggdrasil seeking the Pope's guidance in prayer.
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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[attr=class,side]
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "You two are truly hamonious." Handing the white roses to the halflings, the Pope used her hand to stroke the little girl's head. Although her hand was covered in black glove, the sensation remained soft and gentle, as if the glove was merely an illusion.[break][break]
"Every lost soul is welcome into the garden of the Lordess, especially those forgotten by history."The Pope walked towards the statue of the Goddesses and slowly kneeled onto the ground, praying silently to herself.[break][break]
"Come, little children; pray with us. The Goddesses are listening." Although the Pope did not move her mouth, her voice strangely resounded inside the head of the two halflings.[break][break]
Yume relaxed at the Pope's touch, opening her eyes and drawing a deep breath. Her red eye seemed to glisten as she tugged on Yukai's shoulder, pulling him closer for another loud whisper. "She is soft too. Religion lady can live another day, for now." He rolled his eyes accepting the flower given to him. "Thank you, sir-- MADAM! I meant madam, madam!" he caught his mistake quickly and was overcome with embarassment.
"Ignore bro, he is a big idiotic. But Yume don't know if Lordess take Dreams into the garden. Don't know at all," she grew more comfortable talking directly to Saniac. "How to pray? I want to give Lordess respects and big hug! Will even go to mysterious garden if necessary!" Immediately, she fell to her knees beside Saniac and awaited what to do next. Yukai followed clumsily after with a nervous sigh.
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "The garden is around you, my children. Close your eyes and feel it." The Pope spoke her words with confident. Although she remained elegant and aloof, her gentleness did not disappear from her voice.[break][break]
"Your dream is your own garden, my dear. Maybe you should invite us to have a tea sometimes?" The Pope shut her eyes, seemingly immersing herself inside her own garden. Her gesture moved slowly, easy enough for the halflings to follow.[break][break]
"You'll close your eyes, and picture your happiness. Inside the garden of the Goddesses, you'll proudly tell us your moment of joy. That, my dear, is how you pray, and how we listen." It was a rare sight indeed. Although the Pope concealed her face beneath a veil, her expression softly shifted a little, revealing a subtle smile— merely for a few moments before she regained her aloofness.
Although they were still confused, both of the twins worked hard to feel the supposed garden around them. Closing their eyes, the two drew in deep breaths and focused hard. At the mention of tea, Yukai perked up and broke his concentration for a moment, asserting, "Tea, yes, tea! I will be sure to have you over for tea! Thank you!"
After a moment of refocusing, the two were finally able to see something of merit. "Garden, garden," Yukai was muttering very quietly, clearly frustrated. Yume, on the other hand, had evened her breathing. Serene and in a trance, she spoke almost as if in a deep sleep: "Cactuses, dark big fire... mama? flowers, goddesses let me live....who are goddesses? Yume doesn't know..."
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
[attr=class,punkisaintsbulk]
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "Little one, think about your tea. Its fragrance, its taste; use your hands to hold the cup and take a light sip... That's your garden." The Pope responsed to the little boy's muttering.[break][break]
"A vivid description of the Goddesses, my dear children. What is it like in there? Is it hot? Or cold? Is it comfortable?" The Pope asked a few general questions, prompting the little girl to paint her garden with her ideal, hopeful heart.[break][break]
"Yume, you know the Goddesses, even though you have never realised you did. We also know you, both you and Yukai." The Pope opened her eyes, looking at the two children before her. Her gaze, although aloof, contained a strange, otherworldly quality of gentleness in it, as if someone else was using her pair of golden eyes to watch over the halflings.
Yukai took a deep breath recalling a time he could drink tea freely once again. As he imagined, a small teacup appeared in his hands, a small illusion he brought to his lips. "Warm. Elise warms it like this, yes...charmomile usually. Sweet and light...hmm...my garden, yes..." his voice was groggy as if he had only just then woken.
Yume responded to Saniac directly opening her eyes with a small pout. "Goddesses, fluffy. Frilly? frills. Big demon wings. Wondering if really goddesses. They're not cactuses, either," she sounded somewhat surprised. "Cute religious lady can come to garden too? I think religion lady can come. Frills likes you. Yume says we can be buds." Somehow Yume was convinced she had seen the goddesses before. She was asking if Saniac would share her garden too. Yukai on the other hand seemed more concerned about his tea than anything as he tried to drink it again and again. The illusion was not powerful enough to taste, however.
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "Little one, let me help you." The Pope grasped Yukai's hand, and with her motion, a warm, filled teacup manifested in his hand. She slowly helped him stabilize its weight and finally let go after he could hold it himself.[break][break]
"If you wish to come to our garden, then you're already there. Of course, you are always welcome to stay here with us." The Pope patted the little girl. Her hand ran through the hair of the girl; as if they were stream of water, their motion waved gently with every movement.[break][break]
"Now, why don't you show me your garden?" The Pope extended her hand to Yume, waiting for her to accept it and guided her to the garden she envisioned. Although it was surreal, but if Yume wished so, the chapel would shift its appearance to match the description of the garden.
Taking in deeply the aroma of the tea, Yukai sighed, asserting, "Ahhh...what a nostalgic scent. Thank you, misus." he was incredibly surprised as the the tea poured easily into in his mouth. The mere taste moved him to tears. "O-oh, oh dear. It has been so long since I-...I could taste it," he gulped and continued to sip at a steady pace.
Yume giggled childishly as the elf glided her hand through her hair. "Your hand is like clouds," she blushed and laughed again.
She exibited but a moment of hesitation as she stared at Saniac's outstretched arm before cautiously nodding and grabbing ther hand, sweating profusely at the while. "You can't close the eyes, okay, religion lady?" she implored halfheartedly. After a moment...
The pews, the altars, and even the tables in the room faded quickly and for a moment, all that was left was extreme darkness all around. Slowly, innumerable stars appeared one by one in all directions as the they all seemed to flicker around at random. With each of Saniac's blinks, more and more stars appeared and shifted around the room into novel configurations. Below, one could see a black rift beginning to open, rapidly pulling entire galaxies worth of light down into it endlessly. Just in front of the two the two materialized a dozen cacti stripped of their spikes only on the face. Carved in each were faces of fear, love, disgust...They represented an entire range of emotions. The arms of the cacti were always two and were twisted and turned all around the body of the cacti in random patterns. If one were to look away from one and look back, the emotions of the faces and positions of the arms would change dramatically no matter how short the time spent looking away. In the back, two pairs of wings floated, formless, one coloured a gradient rainbow and the other the wings dark as a bat.
"See garden?" Yume asked, keeping her eyes closed all the while.
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] In contrast to the surreal yet realistic surrounding, the Pope seemingly turned semi-transparent, as if to avoid tainting the composition of the scenery. Her eyes swept past the shining stars before finally landing upont the two cacti.[break][break]
"Your garden is very beautiful, my dear Yume." The Pope, still holding Yume's hand, slowly guided Yume to walk with her, exploring the realm of imagination with delicate movement. Her other hand, lightly pucking the stars from the sky, held them with an expressionless smile. The lukewarm heat they radiated were too realistic to be merely illusion.[break][break]
"Why don't you introduce me to your friends?" The Pope whispered to Yume after letting go of the stars, sending them back to the sky.
Careful to keep her (closed) eyes on Saniac, she stood up still rather confused on how she had gotten in here in the first place. She concluded that Saniac held a very strong magick. Perhaps she wasn't just some random clergy member after all. "Thank you, miss religious," she said, "but Yume still not see 'garden.' Only dreams." she pointed to the stars above. "Quantal. Quantally delicious."
She turned her attention to a few of the cacti in front of her and frowned. "No friends, really. Just bro and Yume. Others? Rena, bunny? Don't remember; old dream." She sounded rather disappointed whatever she was saying. "Religion lady can be cactus too, if she tries really hard. Goddesses watch over plants, thinking." This place was only somewhat familiar to Yume. The specifics were certainly hazy., and she was being rather vague about the whole thing. "Do you know places or dreams? How do we here?" She gasped. "Are you my soul mate, missus?!"
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "How about this, then?" The Pope covered Yume's eyes with her hands, blocking even the dream vision from passing through. She blew a pale mist at the little halfling, sending its sweet fragrance diffusing into the air.[break][break]
"Now, dear, try opening your eyes..." The Pope waited until Yume opened her eyes first before slowly taking her hands off. Strangely, the garden remained outside of the dream, still hazy and surreal as the one seen in her dream vision.[break][break]
"Then, you should invite your friends into the garden." The Pope walked around to take a closer look at the cacti.[break][break]
"Well, isn't it you who bring me here? This is your garden, after all." The Pope spoke in a teasing manner. It was rather a strange sight for everyone witnessing, if they knew her identity, of course.[break][break]
"Ah, wouldn't it be perfect? Unfortunately, I'm not destinated for love. My heart belongs to the Goddesses already." The Pope gazed at empty space, where the statue of the Goddesses should be, if the place was still the chapel. Her eyes, golden in coloured, flickered gently, as if played by adoration.
As she opened her eyes, Yume's mouth hung agape for a moment as she flicked her eyes all around the room realizing they were indeed open. She was tempted to move away, but didn't want to let go of Saniac's hand. Confused and becoming overwhelmed, she spoke, "Y-yume not know who brings who where or here or there, but not have friends at all," she was beginning to realize others too might be able to see her garden and soon her hands began to shake. "Wait, religion lady, who sees cactus garden? Does all? Please, please, keep a secret!"
Living in a dystopian society, seven mystic races are trapped due to their own selfishness. Tensions rise between the races and the different social classes, leading up to the constant struggle for power, with no end in sight.
News
4/11 - With the Ghoul Purge complete, Pavane's fear shifts from the goddesses towards the Council. Check out the aftermath here to get an understanding of the current situation in the plot.
MYSTICAL SOULS belongs to YUMEKUI, DYLZOE AND LUNARIS. This is an original plot created by staff members.. The skin "Midnight Madness" was created by Dorothia. This includes Board Mod, Mini-Profile Mod and such. Thread list was made by Kagney. User Profile mod was made by Pharaoh Leap. Graphics belong to their rightful owner. Plagiarism is not appreciated and will not be tolerated.