Endgame: Part 2

[letsplayamod]

The week goes on. A small miracle, how quiet it is. With no motives or attacks to speak of, you can breathe a sigh of relief even when a tension gripes the air. So few of you now, what exactly would you do were Typhon to return and decide the game was over? Was Athena always going to be out of reach? And what exactly did she want you to find in the center of this mountain temple, anyway?

Questions abound, and no answers.

...Until this morning. The sky itself is clear with very few clouds, but something still falls into your home. Not "physically," though, it's more of a feeling. The sensation of some great power entering this space. Everyone will notice it, and the way it passes by, sinking beneath the floors - all the way to the bottom level.

And there it ends up, waiting for someone brave enough to investigate.

Comments

[letsplayamod]

[Apologies, Cerejeira. You've been fumbling with the key for a bit. The door is overly intricate, designed almost with a sense of regalness for what's meant to lock something away.

Eventually, however, you find it; a small space a bit high up. Hidden under a panel bearing the mark of a flame that slides away. A keyhole that, upon trying, fits the key perfectly.

You turn it. Chrnk.

Locks turn and gears grind together. The massive doors do not only unlock, but give way. Pulled back with slow deliberateness, they part down the middle, bathing cerejeira in a blue light from within. It's warm.

You enter a chamber locked away from you. Massive in its design and impossibly shiny in its make. This is a place of extremely importance.

And, in the exact center of the room, is a large mass of swirling metal, bent and twisted, continually rotating and giving the impression of a roaring fire. There's... something inside. You can't exactly see it, but it's there.]

[mygoodbye]

There.

[Athena states simply, raising a finger to point.]

We've made it before Typhon. Now, all we have to do is get what's inside.

[murchada]

And... what is inside?

[mygoodbye]

A box that holds the greatest power in this land.

[murchada]

...What, like-- Pandora's?

[pariunt]

That... doesn't sound good.

[mygoodbye]

The very same.

This box, however, has let go of all the evils it had. All that is left is the power Typhon wanted.

[murchada]

...Alright. So, how do we get it?

[yourheroine]

...what's that?

[Aoi carefully approaches to try and figure out what this thing is. Let us in.]

[mygoodbye]

Careful!

[Athena reaches out, grasping tightly on Aoi's shoulder.]

What we need is inside. It's being guarded by the flame of Olympus.]

[yourheroine]

Maybe Ranma can blow it out?

[sweetsynergy]

Very homey.

[Looking around, any sign of other people here, or just Big Metal Definitely-Not-A-Cage thing?]

[letsplayamod]

[Honestly it looks like no one has been here for a very long time.

Something of particular note, though, is the walls of the chamber. They're mostly blank except for faintly glowing specks of gold. Could be worth checking out.]

[sweetsynergy]

[Yeah, she'll schmoove on over to a wall and inspect that. Glowing gold like there's gold leaf showing through dirt and dust, or like part of the wall are beginning to glow?]

[letsplayamod]

[A little of both actually. The glow is weak but it seems like it might be responding to their presence. She could try wiping off the dust and seeing what's there.]

[sweetsynergy]

[Hell yeah, touching glowing stuff in ancient sealed chambers always ends well! She slips off one of the twin fists and wipes at a section of wall.]

[letsplayamod]

[The moment her hand touches the wall the experience will feel familiar. She'd answered the riddles of the Sphinx and felt the voice ring in her head and the blinding light flash in her eyes. At first it feels like the same principle experience but...no, it's not.

The flash of gold is softer and much less harsh, more like glancing up at the sun as it peeks behind the clouds on a summer day. In her mind and only hers, a voiceless question is asked.]

Why do you wish to leave it behind you, Goddess of Copyright?

[It's a question without judgement, seeking only an honest answer from Vanity. The only wrong one would be a dishonest one.]

[fillets]

[ VIBE CHECK!!! no sorry I just wanted to have an excuse to bold that, what's going on in here ]

[letsplayamod]

[This place is full of power. More so than anywhere else on the mountain that you've been. It flows out of here, through the earth and into the ceiling. Like the roots of a great tree.]

[fillets]

[ Does it feel like what she's been sensing outside of the forest, or is this a different presence? ]

[letsplayamod]

[It is different but no less primordial in its nature. It's akin to a life force, warm and thrumming, like a heart.]

[fillets]

[ Honestly, she's just closing her eyes and letting that wash over her for a few seconds! She needs a moment of clarity here before she moves on!

Is there anything about the structure in the center of the room that differs from this, or is it all part of the same system? ]

[catsgothistongue]

[Ranma hurries inside with the group, awestruck at the interior. About what he'd expect from gods in terms of decor... though that weird mass thingy stands out the most.

... he's going to do the bright choice and poke it. WITH HIS TRIDENT AND NOT HIS BAREHAND. He's not an idiot.]

[letsplayamod]

[He pokes it. The trident bouncing a bit off the metal paneling. Nothing else happens.]

[catsgothistongue]

[... he honestly didn't really know what he was expecting himself. Besides maybe it blowing up in his face, or some pissed off monster.

Cautiously just gonna. Put his ear up against the metal beams of the object. See if he can't hear anything funky or mystical or whatevs.]