#030066 - A Report

[passio]

It’s been a long time. We have many new people here. My name is Dextera.

A few weeks ago, some others and I were able to defeat the powerful creature in the woods that Ryo discovered. When we kept walking after it, we found that the area beyond it was strangely calm and safe. It was a respite unlike anything I’ve ever seen that deep in the woods. We even saw one or two animals that were completely normal. If you’ve seen any of the usual animals from the woods before, you must understand how strange this is.

It was a small area, but it felt “right.”

The second update is that I recently came back from the woods again with Damian. Because the story from #FFFFFF keeps updating, I thought now was a good time to see if we could find any evidence of that man.

After a long time, and I’m sorry if we scared anyone by disappearing, we were able to find what we think were his bones, plus a locket with the picture of a beautiful man and a colorful feather inside of it.

That’s all. I hope everyone is well.

Comments

[passio]

If you’re not busy. Could you come here?

[lacrimose]

yeah, i'll come over now

[And with Akira's unnatural speed, he's ready and knocking on Dextera's door in a matter of minutes. sup buddy?]

[passio]

[ dextera had started to go through guren’s belongings to find the old ring, but akira surprises him with how quickly he can arrive. it’s easy to forget, he supposes, that akira isn’t entirely human. ]

…I’m sorry.

[ with an apologetic smile, as he opens the door. ]

It’s sudden…

[lacrimose]

It's okay. [Akira returns the smile as he enters.] What did you want to talk about?

[passio]

Um, well… I’ll show you. Follow me.

[ that sounds pretty ominous, and dextera realizes it as he’s already moving toward the stairs. hesitating briefly, he turns back to face akira. ]

That quest… I wanted to ask if you would destroy something for me.

[lacrimose]

[Akira follows after him, and looks surprised, briefly. He hadn't expected many people to want to take up that quest.]

Is it something dangerous?

[passio]

In some hands, it might be.

[ in dextera’s, especially. he’d wanted to give it away, initially, but it seems to have found its way back into his possession after all. the temptation is still a little too great for him to want to keep it. ]

It should be…

[ he trails off, rummaging around—many of these things, tucked away in his room, clearly belong to someone else. ]

Here.

[lacrimose]

[Akira peers over his shoulder as he rummages through the various belongings, curious. He'd heard of Guren vaguely, but he doesn't know much about him. Dextera has certainly never mentioned him around Akira much, if at all.]

Whose stuff is this?

[passio]

Huh?

[ dextera is now clutching a small but gaudy ring between his fingers, though he’s careful not to put it on. it had no case when he got it, and it has no case now, but he never did want to lose track of it. just in case. ]

It’s… Guren’s. Mine and Guren’s…

[ so it is, technically, “his.” ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira cants his head, looking it over.]

Isn't it important to you? [At least, he's kept it all this time, so he guesses it must be.] Why would you destroy it?

[passio]

Important…

[ in the same way it’s “dangerous,” dextera supposes it could also be “important.” ultimately, though, he shakes his head. ]

This ring has the power to get rid of one memory, permanently. I’ve thought about using it a lot… sometimes memories are too painful to bear, after all. Even the happy ones. But after seeing that man in the woods…

[lacrimose]

Yeah...

[Akira thinks back to Link, and how he couldn't bear to keep his memories of Zelda in Chroma, so he ultimately asked Akira to take them on. He doesn't know if Link will ever regret that decision, but it was his to make.

Just like this is Dextera's.

He takes the ring from him, examining it carefully.]

I think there might be a way I can destroy it.

[passio]

Really?

[ dextera’s shoulders relax, and he looks a little more at ease. not happy, but at ease. ]

I wasn’t sure how to destroy it, and I didn’t want to just throw it away somewhere. Thank you, Akira.

[lacrimose]

I'm gonna need to transform to make sure this works. Mind if I go outside?

[...So he says, but he's heading for the window to use as a shortcut instead of back downstairs. Weirdo.]

[passio]

…?

[ dextera, of course, has nothing against akira transforming, but it does momentarily catch him off guard that akira is clearly planning to just bodily leap out of the window. ]

Be careful.

[ …he’s not going to stop him, though. ]

[lacrimose]

Uh huh.

[So nonchalant. And there Akira goes, opening the window and hoisting himself out, dropping to the ground easily as a cat. Still holding the ring, he begins to transform into his devil form, opens his now fanged jaws wide, and...

Swallows the ring whole??? Well then.]

[passio]

[ dextera watches from the window as akira transforms, and when he simply swallows it—dextera does have to wonder if that’s going to actually work. is it destruction, if he can’t even digest metal? ]

Um…

[lacrimose]

[As Dextera watches, flames begin to erupt around Akira as he heats up his body. He has no idea if this will work -- like all of his Devilman abilities, he has to just trust his instincts and hope that his decisions kill him.]

Let's see if hellfire melts metal! [Akira grins.]

[passio]

[ hellfire!

it would have helped to have akira along to try to mix together his and ryo’s attempt at making a philosopher’s stone—regardless, when akira erupts, dextera flinches. ]

Aah?!

[ but, whether or not he can feel it in the pit of his stomach, the ring can’t stand up to hellfire. ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira also has no idea if he's about to make a molten ring-sized hole in his stomach, but, much like his body is impervious to flames, it doesn't seem to affect him at all.

When he's satisfied the ring has melted down, the flames dissipate. He coughs, and-- throws it back up and spits it into the dirt in a tiny amount of cooling metal.

He looks up at Dextera and gives a thumbs-up. Kinda like throwing up an incredibly dangerous hairball, but he did it.]

[passio]

[ the metal definitely burns where he spits it up, but it’s quick enough to cool once it’s out of the flames, and the ground itself is damp enough, that it doesn’t set the grass on fire immediately. ]

…

[ he exhales. ]

It didn’t hurt, did it? Thank you…

[lacrimose]

[Akira shakes his head, transforming back to his usual self. Though he's still smoking a little from the heat, he's still grinning brightly.]

It was fine! Don't worry.

[passio]

[ “don’t worry,” he says, after a display like that. he’s smoking, for god’s sake. dextera tilts his head in concern, but he’s not going to push the issue. ]

You can come back inside. It’s probably okay to leave that there.

[lacrimose]

Right.

[He heads back inside, and fortunately uses the front door like a normal person instead of jumping back up through the window. He calls up the stairs:]

Is there any other stuff that needs destroying?

[passio]

No…

[ dextera’s voice is so soft that it almost doesn’t carry down the stairs, but he’s poking his head out of his room so that he can be heard. ]

But you can stay a little while, if you want to.