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Post by Goten on Jan 6, 2024 10:54:01 GMT -5
"] | Beelzebub Word Count: 423 / 423 Passive: Adv II, 4k Cha Baba's Crystal Ball Dr. Ghast |
The little fiend slid his hand into the burlap sack. The seed. The prophecy. He’d seen them already, but the note inside spoke of other items that would be of use to him in his quest to return to the demon realm. He couldn’t imagine what would possibly be inside, though he couldn’t help but think that a weapon would be particularly useful. Trials and tribulations were heading his way. That’s what the prophecy foretold. Amidst everything, a weapon would truly be handy.
But there was no weapon inside. Instead, the pink Demon pulled a crystal ball from the bag. The perfectly round sphere glistened in the light of the cave, which he called home. The ball was so shiny that he could see his own reflection staring back at him, his vacant expression evident as he tried to figure out how this object could possibly be of use to him in destroying a planet.
But Beelzebub didn’t need to wait much longer to find out what mysteries the crystal ball held for him. One moment, he was staring into the polished orb, and the next, he was surrounded by fire and brimstone. The air itself was thick with smog, smoke and ash rising from the pits of molten lava dotted around the landscape.
“Hello?” The Demon called out, as his voice echoed throughout the land. Hello? Hello? Hello? Nothing responded.
Beelzebub tried to take a deep breath as he surveyed the area, trying to calm his nerves, but instead felt his nostrils burning from the sheer heat. The ground itself radiated through his shoes, forcing him to shuffle around so that the soles of his feet didn’t blister from the heat.
Beads of sweat started to appear on the Demon’s brow, trickling down his face. The heat of the desert had often been too much for the humans he’d been cohabitating with, but his demonic heritage usually made it easy to bear. But this…this was something else.
Beelzebub took to the air, his feet grateful for the reprieve, but as he continued to rise, so too did the temperature. The air became harder to breathe, and the thick, dark fog surrounding the area didn’t yield. The closer he got to it, the more he could feel his skin begin to sizzle. It was too much. He couldn’t bear it.
Defeated, the small fiend relented and descended back down to the ground, his mind racing, panic beginning to take hold. How was he going to get out?
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Post by Dr. Ghast on Jan 7, 2024 17:17:20 GMT -5
Tapping his fingers, covered in heavily padded gloves upon the cold, sterile steel of the operation table, the man let out a deep sigh. A gurgled, hollow sound resonated throughout the dimly lit room, while two rings of small lights seemed to merge together and burst into a deep, purple light, a pair of inhuman eyes turning down towards what was spread out upon the metal slab. With the darkness in the room obscuring the man's facial features, one could've easily mistaken this appearance as that of some sort of inhuman demon and ironically, this would have been closest to the truth.
"So...another fail," The mysterious man let out a chuckle that sounded somewhat similar to a chain-smoker's cough. The eyes scanned over what looked like the skin of some humanoid, pristine and without a tear in them, as if the contents had been completely removed in their entirety in a single go. "I really need to have more reliable test subjects for these types of serums and drugs."
Letting another sigh, the man turned around, the sound of thick-soled boots making it quite clear that he was moving away from the metal table, with the creaking of springs and the ruffling of fabric following suit when the man sat down in what appeared to be a high-backed lounge chair. The whirring of wheels, the hissing of miniature air compressors and the clicking of metals could be heard; until a single, pulsating line of purple light replaced the two eyes, a sharp wheeze indicating the use of some sort of mechanical respirator.
Slowly, the whirring and the wheezing started to stabilize, until only a rhythmic, deep breathing could be heard; the pulsating light slowly dimmed and followed the same rhythm...
As if appearing out of thin air, the Doctor's mind, mad and twisted as it was, managed to gain a foothold upon the strange mental reality that was brought forth by the astral realm. With a loud thud, the mad scientist's deceptively tall and thickly padded frame revealed itself not too far away from the young demon. Taller than Beelzebub by several feet and adorned by clothing that looked like a mixture of a scientific and a military uniform, smushed together with some notable steampunk elements, the doctor was without question a rather strange and perhaps somewhat unnerving sight.
However, perhaps even more disrupting and discouraging to anyone, would be the unnatural energy that seemed to run through this strange scientist's entire body: Human, yet far removed from it, almost demonic and perhaps even worse than that. To anyone who could actually sense energy, it was like a corpse drenched in formaldehyde: dead and uncaring.
The stranger seemed to lean a bit forward, as if to make certain that Beelzebub was indeed the one who had formed this rather hellish looking place, turning his head (and the helmet) a bit to see what this young demon was attempting to do. "If you can't fly...that is going to be quite the climb, little one..."
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Post by Goten on Jan 8, 2024 12:52:37 GMT -5
"] | Beelzebub Word Count: 235 / 658 Passive: Adv II, 4k Cha Baba's Crystal Ball |
As Beelzebub tried to come to grips with the daunting new reality that surrounded him, he began to notice some kind of disturbance in the environment itself, as if the space in front of him was ripping apart. Was this the escape he was hoping for? The little fiend edged forwards, weary of spacial rend.
But instead of an exit, the tear in reality spat out a rather formidable looking man. His very presence caused a disturbing feel deep within Beelzebub’s core. He couldn’t quite explain it.
"If you can't fly...that is going to be quite the climb, little one..." The man spoke, seemingly having been here longer than the young Demon had anticipated, despite not being able to see him. Perhaps he was the one who’d conjured this hellish landscape. Was he the one who’d gifted the pink fiend with the seed?
Beelzebub’s breathing became shallow. Partially due to the atmosphere, and partly out of fear. It was inescapable. The dark aura that emanated from the strangely dressed man penetrated the little Demon’s mind, keeping him silent as he collected his thoughts, though his feet continued to dance against the heat that continued to radiate from the rocky ground.
“Who are you?” The Demon said with as much confidence as he could muster, unwilling to let on that there was a sense of fear bubbling up inside. “Why did you bring me here?”
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Post by Dr. Ghast on Jan 10, 2024 15:04:47 GMT -5
Not quite sure what to think of this strange-looking specimen, the mad scientist hadn't even heard Beelzebub's question at first, simply having a look around in the place he had ended up in and wondering exactly why one would make such a hellish environment. Sure, there were those who simply wished to try and gain more strength through harsh conditioning and others through immense training, but he did think that the one responsible for such a vivid recreation or approximization to a literal hell either had to be mad or desiring punishment. "Hmm?" Finally realizing he was asked not one, but in truth two questions, Ghast turned his attention back to the young demon, the purple light within the facial spine of his helmet pulsating at a rather comfortable and almost mesmerizingly smooth pace. "Oh...right, where are my manners, I am Doctor W.D. Ghast, and you are..."Looking around again, the doctor let out a sigh as he raised his hand almost in what looked like an attempt to shush Beelzebub. It was quite clear that the doctor wasn't all too keen on distractions, certainly not from those that did not seem to know the basic laws of the astral realm. However, while he was feeling this disdain towards the young demon, said feeling vanished as quickly as it arose. "Is this by any chance your first forray in the astral realm?"
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Post by Goten on Jan 12, 2024 7:24:58 GMT -5
"] | Beelzebub Word Count: 330 / 988 Passive: Adv II, 4k Cha Baba's Crystal Ball |
Beelzebub wasn’t even sure if the creepy looking individual he’d been confronted with had even heard him at first. Could he even hear at all? He just sort of stared blankly at him, as if he were scanning him. It sent a shiver up his spine, finding one of his feet instinctively taking a step back, trying to get away from it.
But then, just as the little fiend was sure that enigmatic man wasn’t going to contribute to the conversation any further, his voice echoed through the hellish environment, introducing himself as ‘Doctor W.D Ghast’. The tone had somewhat shifted. There was still an air of eeriness in the way he spoke, but at the same time, there also seemed to be elements of decorum that Beelzebub had really not expected.
He took a moment before answering the doctor’s question, trying to assess whether or not divulging such information would be wise. “I’m Beelzebub,” he finally conceded, although the name didn’t roll off the tongue particularly easily, given that he’d only just recently been informed of what his name was. He didn't reveal any more information than that, although that was partly due to the fact that he did know much more about himself anyway. But at this moment, met with such a sinister individual, that felt like a good thing.
Astral realm? The small Demon’s gaze once again turned to his surroundings. Was that what this was? Some kind of projected reality that the crystal ball had created? It was hardly very welcoming. But it was strange how real it all felt. The smells in the air, the sensation against his skin, even the bubbling of the molten lava that he could hear.
“Yes,” Beelzebub said, his eyes turning back towards the looming figure of Ghast in front of him. “This is my first time in the astral realm” he continued, answering the doctor’s question. “What exactly is this place? What’s the purpose of it?”
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Post by Dr. Ghast on Jan 12, 2024 16:58:12 GMT -5
Well than, Beelzebub...let me explain to you this place," The doctor's voice quivered as he let out a chuckle that reverberated in a hollow and muffled manner through his helmet, and the incorporated voice box. Tapping the front of his helmet with his index finger, the mad scientist seemed to think his words through rather carefully, a remainder from his extensive time having given lectures to students on Kelioux as part of the scholar organization. "This place links the subconscious mind of many people through the use of their distinctive energy signatures and mental capacity. Some use crutches such as a certain type of gem or crystal, while others like myself have managed to acquire this capacity purely physical."Reaching up to his full height, Ghast spread out his arms, seemingly taking in his surroundings to its fullest extend. "This right here is a subconscious projection of your mind, a memory, a desire...it manifests right here in the astral realm where the distinction between reality and fantasy is blurred and as such it grants the opportunity for many things..."Tilting his head in an unnatural angle, the sound of creaking and even snapping bone being audible as the man's covered head suddenly stood at a ninety degree angle from the rest of his body, the doctor let out another rather disturbingly eerie chuckle. "Some use this place to simply relive memories, others desire to gain strength through training with or without others...I on the other hand simply am a slave to my curiosity, my endless desire to understand anything and everything. To me this is a playground...a testing facility...my personal laboratory if you will, where though one can't die...they can still feel everything as if they were truly present in the flesh."The Twisted scholar's neck snapped again as the man's head straightened itself again, as he calmly raised his left arm and pointed rather nonchalantly towards the young demon. Without a word, a thin blue beam of energy jolted from his index finger towards Beelzebub's left knee at blinding speed. "Case in point... I am curious as to what you are, shall we figure it out together?"
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Post by Goten on Jan 16, 2024 15:08:42 GMT -5
"] | Beelzebub Word Count: 290 / 1,278 Passive: Adv II, 4k Cha
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Beelzebub cast his gaze over the hellscape as the enigmatic Doctor Ghast explained the hellish landscape that they’d found themselves in. According to the eerie individual, this could have been some kind of subconscious projection of his mind. The only problem was that the pink fiend had no recollection of what the significance of this place truly was. He could only surmise that it had something to do with being a Demon. Why else would his mind have drummed up such an intense place?
But perhaps…perhaps there was a way to utilise it. Maybe there was a method of taking control of the astral plane in order to bring his lost memories to the forefront of his mind and regain who he was. It didn’t sound easy though.
As the little Demon continued to mull over the seemingly endless possibilities that the new realm had to offer, he found himself distracted, not paying close enough attention to Ghast’s actions as he raised a finger, and in the blink of an eye, a stream of energy struck Beelzebub’s knee, almost toppling him over as he tried to regain his balance.
“Ah, what the hell!” Beelzebub yelled, rubbing his knee, feeling as though he’d just been stung by a dozen wasps. “I wasn’t even ready,” he continued to complain with a grimacing expression across his face.
Similar thoughts rushed through the Demon’s mind. He wanted to figure out who he was as well, but he was also beginning to wonder just what the hell he was facing. His hands started to tremble slightly, wondering what would be in store for him.
“What exactly do you have in mind?” Beelzebub asked, although a large part of him feared what the answer would be.
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Post by Dr. Ghast on Jan 16, 2024 16:47:55 GMT -5
"Not begun?" The doctor let out a hollow and eerie sounding chuckle, which got amplified to the umpteenth degree in creep factor by the helmet's built-in voicebox. "The moment you open your mind to this realm, the game has started."
Raising both his arms to about the height of his shoulders, spreading them out almost like wings, but with the palms aimed upwards, tilting his head backwards, the mad scientist seemed to breathe the atmosphere in deeply. Again, he chuckled when hearing the young demon's question, his head swiftly turning towards Beelzebub again, the purple light upon the helmet's facial spine pulsating with a bright, purple glow.
"If you...contrary to myself, are perhaps a natural born demon," Slowly turning both hands so the palms pointed downwards, the twisted freak that was Ghast moved his arms forwards. Slowly, the same blueish glow started to form, but this time it was at the tips of both index fingers. He seemed more than ready to fire off another of those fast, merciless beams of energy, yet seemed to hold back this desire for now. "Would it not befit one such as yourself to learn through pain and suffering? Yes, perhaps it will make you evolve, make you grow and become stronger than what you are now...now then, let's see how much you can endure..."
Without another word being said, not one, but two consecutive beams of blindingly fast energy traversed through the sulphur-laden air, seemingly forming a trail of smoke and smelling like burnt salt as they reached for the young demon's abdomen and chest.
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Post by Goten on Jan 17, 2024 6:22:18 GMT -5
"] | Beelzebub Word Count: 312 / 1,590 Passive: Adv II, 4k Cha
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Contrary to himself? So this individual wasn’t a demon? Whatever he was, there was a twisted nature driving his actions. Beelzebub could feel it the moment he’d laid eyes on him, causing a slight nausea to swirl in his stomach, as if his body was already in tune with what this perverse individual was capable of.
“I’m not sure pain and suffering is the way for-” Before the Demon could finish his sentence, two more streams of energy fired from Ghast’s fingers, both of them hitting their target with pinpoint accuracy simultaneously, knocking the pink fiend from his feet, and hitting hot, jagged floor with a thud
Beelzebub had no choice but to quickly clamber to his feet, feeling the heat of the floor brandishing itself against his bare skin.
“Seriously?” The young fiend asked, his hand patting his back, trying to put out the non-existent flames. It wasn’t really a question though. He knew that the doctor was deadly serious, but it didn’t stop him trying to deflect from the matter. “I’ll be honest, I have no idea who I am,” Beelzebub started to spill out, perhaps partially hoping that it would stall Ghast long enough that the pain and suffering that he spoke of wouldn’t have time to come to fruition. “I’ve only just been told what my name is, and how I’ve got some kind of quest to destroy a planet to regain my heritage,” The words continued to fall out of his mouth. He wasn’t even sure how safe it was to give the doctor such information, but given the bruising that he could feel swelling on his chest, he was adamant that he didn’t want more pain inflicted upon him. “So, how about we skip the part where you beat the hell out of me, and instead tell me how to get out of here?”
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Post by Dr. Ghast on Jan 18, 2024 16:40:48 GMT -5
"Having no idea who you are...that is rather bad," Having fired off the two beams and seeing they had at the very least affected the young demon, the mad doctor didn't find much reason to continue just yet. Just like a professional and learned psychiatrist, Ghast simply placed his hands together in front of him, pressing his index fingers together and taking a deep breath while doing so. "Amnesia...a very bad condition to suffer from, but nonetheless curable with various forms of stimuli."
As he slowly started to move both hands to his side again, the scholar was almost ready to continue with his experiment, but Beelzebub's musings made him change his mind, at least temporarily. After all, when he was explaining how he for some reason could regain his heritage by destroying a planet, the monstrous man that was Ghast tilted his head a bit to the side, confused about the lack of logic in those words.
"How to get out of here, hmm," Chuckling a bit, certainly showing he was kind of amused by this question, the doctor clapped his hands and breathed in deeply again, letting out a long sigh out through his voicebox just moments later. "That's simple...there's several options but...it depends on your own choice: stimuli to your real self, lack of conscious cohesion inside this realm...meaning you quote on quote die or lose consciousness...or...if you have the mental capacity for it, you simply need to have the urge, the real desire to get out of here."
Snapping his fingers, the entire space seemed to shift and appeared to harden into a simple reimagining of a cold and sterile room, with concrete walls, white-tiled floors and large TL-lights lighting up the place. Even the smells were akin to such a place, no longer having the smokey, sulfury smell, but that of bleach and supposedly odorless cleaning substances. "Willpower and desire are all that counts in this place...your subconscious probably created that hellscape, but if you simply wish for it, desire it with enough strength, you can easily just change everything, shift it and yes...escape."
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Post by Goten on Jan 25, 2024 12:57:32 GMT -5
"] | Beelzebub Word Count: 269 / 1,859 Passive: Adv II, 4k Cha
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In spite of his sinister seeming nature, it appeared as though the enigmatic doctor was actually being…helpful? Was it really possible to wish his way out of here, or was it just some kind of trick in order to catch him off guard and continue firing at him. Beelzebub considered it momentarily, not daring to take his eyes off of Ghast. Given the power that seemed to emanate from the strange individual, he didn’t necessarily need to trick the little demon in order to start dishing out further pain, but there was something about him that made it seem as though he was the kind of guy who was into psychological torture.
Ultimately, Beelzebub decided that he had nothing to lose. He either had to stay here in this hellish environment and likely succumb to more obligatory torture, or attempt to will his way out of here, in the hopes that it would work. At the very worst, he’d be back to the same position he was currently in now.
The young fiend closed his eyes, feeling nervous about removing his gaze from the doctor. He attempted to focus his mind, taking a deep, yet uncomfortable breath as he thought about being back in the cave, back at home. He tried to imagine what it felt like, the scents, the sounds, the textures, willing his mind back into the comfortable, if somewhat downtrodden homestead that had been built.
And then, as if by magic, the air felt fresh once more. Beelzebub opened his eyes, his vision no longer filled with the fiery hellscape, but with his friends.
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