Of Dreams, Nightmares and Pokemon

In Each Speck Of Dust, There Would Be A Tiny Locust, Touching The Land And Being Spread Further Into The Wind. The Swarm Buzzed With The Wicked Sound Of Famine And The Sweet Chorus Of Death; Absolute Silence. They Were Unseen And Unheard, But Their Presence Alone Was Enough To Be Felt As An Oppressive Force Befalling The Planet. Whatever Was About To Grow Here And In All Marked Territories Was About To Be Consumed, Completely And Totally, And Added As Fuel To The Furnace. The Locusts Awaited This Main Course, And The Great Locust Above Them Patiently Awaited The Feast Of The Young Grasshoppers.

ZK: ~ZK watched the glass crumble into ash, then scanned the Dark Pools and the rest of the land his house plotted on with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

Nobody and nothing around like usual.~

Uh... Yeah, I think we're cool. Wait, I have to pay an existential tax?

~ZK had nothing left to give other than some magic powers and abilities he'd gathered in his travels across Vescrutia. Anything he could be asked to give, his emotions, his memory, his power, he felt he needed, or he couldn't come up with a way of parting with them without remorse. He had the clothes on his back but those probably would amount to naught for this mysterious tollman. There was one thing he had he could part with and deal with the repercussions later...~

Man... that would suck. How do you get off scot-free?

~ZK asked slightly bothered. He had to conjure up a tax out of nowhere for some nobody interdimensional tollman and Kham just gets to waltz in free of charge? What kinda bogus shizz was going on?~

Kham: "Mera is her name, well her nickname. Her identifier is Merakni'Sciolo. Which means Zephyr of Dreams, or... uh you guys would say something bland in Common like 'Guardian of the Umbra'Vaes'. That doesn't nearly encompass what she does for that place. Regardless, she owes me a favor."

Kham kept looking at the cluster of glass bits basking in the sunset on ZK's porch with slanted analyzing eyes. Unlocking the Michi'Orion and wielding the Magus had to be altering his subconscious in some way for him to use that word, and like it's taste.

Identifier? I'm becoming more of a Michio by the day...

The Michio had a thing about names. Firstly not everyone got one. You were very lucky if you did. Secondly if you did get one, it truly defined what and who you were, for better or worse.

The Destroyer rose slowly from his seated position. Despite the fact that he was in peak physical condition, he still moaned and groaned like an old man who's back hurt with every stand and sit. Age was certainly a mental inhibitor on one's mannerisms. He started stretching, getting himself ready to preform another magical feat, one he had to alone since Gaia had chosen another advocate.

"She's been stuck in that metaphysical dream world of whimsy her whole life and likes things from this world so figure it out. Just make it convincing. One time I gave her a seashell and told her it housed the tides inside and she was absolutely enamored."

She was also like 8 years old. The goal was to please her without the intent to dupe her.

Every other word or so was emphasized with strenuous cacophonous moans as the ground quaked and trembled with Kham's spinal cord and joints. He jumped off the porch and landed 20 meters away.

The Swarm Fed On Their Words; Their Very Information. There Was Not Much To Take From Them At This Point, But The Knowledge Would Be To Their Satisfaction. They Consumed As The Two Conversed, Waiting For Something Juicy.

ZK: Oh, a gift. And lighten up, rocky, geez.

~ZK chuckled, relieved of the stress of finding something important to give up. These kinds of journeys usually involved a precious something being offered for sacrifice. This was more of a greeting gift and ZK loved making good impressions. Mera happened to be female as well, so he instantly garnered a few ideas. But Kham's curt dialogue definitely could hurt someone's feelings. ZK only mentioned it, assuming it was just the way he talked to people nowadays.~

Would an animal work? I got an in with a few tribes close to the Atelier that breed companion animals. If not, I'll grab something from my hat.

~His mysterious hat of tricks rarely rested upon his head anymore, but ZK kept it locked away in his room super securely. The tribes to the south were renowned for their sense of community, maintaining a complex network throughout the area. ZK's atelier rested a little bit outside of their forested community, so he had to have a relationship with them. They took companionship and cooperation with other nearby tribes to keep the peace. Treasure hunting and bartering came with some cool perks.

ZK's body bounced off the ground when Kham made his landing. He just bobbed up once, taking another drink from his cup.~

Kham: The Destroyer stared off into the distance for a moment, the wind was caressing his craggy face from the west. And the sun's setting rays were reflecting off the Dark pools and warming his back. It appeared he needed to adjust himself about 30 degrees, it was almost the Equinox too; he could feel Vescrutia swoon at her two moons approaching their kiss, filling her energies with enticing foreplay. This would be easy, it was time to take the reins.

"Maybe."

It was up to ZK now, Kham had to hold up his end of the bargain. So he held up his left fist. The swirling seafoam green energies of the Michio Magus revolved around his grip like the rings of an atom. Without the Magus, Kham would have to spend a VERY long constructing the ritual pyre out of certain materials. Like lucid coarse diamond, potent enough to channel higher frequencies. But the Magus could lock onto the Umbra'Vaes. All Kham needed to do was stabilize the door for transport.

The Magus now functioned like a microphone, amplifying the very tonal Michio language to pinpoint the dimensional frequency of the Umbra'Vaes and blow it open enough for the two to make their latest journey. Kham opened his mouth and began to serenade space and time itself.


Toas'ta Kha. Ssshii...


Show me the door, or more accurately... Will you share with us your dreams?

Kham's voice sounded like an earthquake, rumbling and grumbling through time and space. It shook the very fabric of their coordinates and let off a beacon to any and every inclined being that a goldmine was being revealed.

The Michio Dialect was a lot more complex that one crafted by humans, it gave emotions words- not the other way around. For every definition there were hundreds of synonyms all left to interpretation. Most importantly, it could resonate with creation and change the world around them... but that gift was exclusive to Kham's Father, and the Wielder of the Magus.

The Magus' energies, now a static like consistency of a sine wave crackled and bubbled as it located one of Vescrutia's many, many doors to her subconscious dimensional dreamland. Kham's eyes were all to intent on figuring this out, and quickly.

With The Rise Of Magus And Dreamy Energy, The Locusts Found Their Fodder Here, As Well. They Would Slip Into The Umbra'Vaes And Begin To Eat. It Would Be Silent And Hidden, But Done Nonetheless. The Umbra'Vaes Only Needed To Be Revealed Once To Them In Order To Be Food For Them, Just As The Michio's Energy Did. This Was Quite The Feast, And There Was More To Come.

ZK: Nah, pets are too risky.

~ZK launched himself into a backflip right through the window of his bedroom above the front door. In the next second he jumped back out with a small black box. It was lacquered nicely with a glossy obsidian finish. He held on to it right under his arm and waited for Kham to finish his ritual.

The ground beneath them shook and trembled. ZK tossed a pastry style snack into his mouth, waiting on the portal to be opened. Chewing obnoxiously loud, OM NOM NOMMING as aggressively as possible with a smug smile, he chimed to Kham through crumbs and crumbles.~

Take your time, why don't you?

~He chuckled to himself, not sure if breaking his concentration would rip them into another, unsavory dimension or something. His confidence that they could handle anything thrown at them made poking fun a little more fun than usual. But he still waited patiently.~

The Vanishing Siren: Above the two was a woman, of moderate height, decked out in body art denim jeans and an ever flowing yellow coat. Affixed to her face was a condescending smirk that tasted like haughtiness and playful indifference. She had her hands in her pockets and had been watching the entire time using her extensive means of cloaking to hide her from the all too perceptive beings down below.


"Found Em'. It was only a matta o' time before he'd be forced to open a portal again."


Her lips wouldn't reveal any utterance of sound but her message was relayed through the Twisting Nether to her comrade in arms. Veil was a pacifist by nature, her dialect had that southern twang you'd find in a person who just wanted to relax with the world around her. She wouldn't be mutilating the two personally. Even if her murderer was right in front of her face. However, she would assist Liliana in her vengeance since T'Ajsa was under the weather.


"You can shake em' up a bit, and I'll track da the coord'nets."



"HEY!"


She shouted down at ZK from above. She even gave him a wave.


"You wanna stretch or sumn'? You gotta work out comin your way..."

Kham: As if their bond couldn't be tested anymore vigorously, another challenge came their way. The Umbra'Vaes was being elusive and Kham was trying to thread the needle through the worlds smallest eye using ancient sorcery, amateur practice, textbook entitlement, and raw talent. He was mentally checked out from the world around him and that made him feel absolutely vulnerable. The subconscious of the world's Stalwart Defender was assaulted with whatif's, vulnerabilities, and questions from every angle.

All he could do was trust ZK to not only keep his body safe, but keep Vescrutia safe as Kham shot his mind through an existential labyrinth to find the world of dreams and nightmares.


Mayat-To...Shhhiii Michio Kham!


The Destroyer cometh bringing harmony not discord. Or, It's me Kham... stop acting brand new.

The world shook again. There wasn't anyway to keep this quiet, not with the amount of experience Kham had with the Magus, if he needed Zola anytime, it would be now.

Maybe if Mera knew it was him she would open the doors quicker. The boulder's eyes rolled to the back of his head etchings in the ground around him began to form, jagged at first and smooth later.

The Newcomer Served As A Point Of Interest For The Locusts To Consume. As They Continued To Leech Off Of Kham And His Clan, As Well As Whatever Energy Came From The Umbra'Vaes And The Umbra'Vaes Itself, Their Mouths Watered At The Anticipating Of Consuming Her.

ZK: Ok, maybe you should actually hurry up.

~ZK turned around puzzled at who was tossing him advice from the rafters. His eyes met those of some lady in a yellow jacket. A wasp, no doubt, descending on Kham and ZK to put the sting on their operation. She was cute, no doubt about that, but beyond her looks was a strange power. She remained hidden until her voice carried to his ears and he actually laid eyes on her. Not a good sign.

ZK waved back with a smile, popping the latch on the box he conveniently retrieved from upstairs not five seconds prior.~

Oh, a workout huh? You gonna be my workout buddy?

~The banter was dismissable, ZK had no idea who this chick was, where she came from, why she happened to be watching him and Kham, or what she meant by a workout, but it definitely didn't seem like she wanted to lift weights. Something wicked approached, and ZK's body responded with a surge in energy flowing up from his feet. Expecting to be blown to bits at any second, he kept his relaxed stance, readying his arsenal mentally for what may come.

Kham responded not once to anything ZK said, nor did he even seem phased by this lady popping up out of nowhere. Opening this portal took more concentration than ZK figured, leaving Kham's body to be by and far useless in this upcoming workout. He might as well have started a new mission, guard the statue. Game, on. ~

So much for not attracting attention...

Maybe I can get you a drink before we start?

The Black Mariah: As The Destroyer attempted to expedite the search for the Umbra'Vaes the quaking ripples of the Michio Magus left a trail so deep in Vescrutia's existential confines they simply could not be ignored. Individuals privy to the molestation of space and time, who had an agenda in the world of dreams and nightmares stood before the Earth and Sky. One was unarmed, the other was heavily fortified by Necromancy, War, and Vengeance.

Kham's quaking bellows were soon met by the texture of black threaded thorns making their way across the spatial ritual, infesting its frequencies and bringing it's loud symphonies to a whisper. Their malevolent tendrils converged in on one focal point, next to Veil, and gave birth to the Sorceress. She was tall, as was the going trend with all of Kham's women. Her skin was pitch black complete with markings, her vanbracers had the most runic of etchings and they glowed with a steamy dark consistency. Her hair, long and flowing, contained what appeared to be the night sky and her left hand was gripped, vehemently, around a withered Katana which remained Nameless. But it oozed a horribly familiar ether, that of War himself.

"... Enough"

Liliana loved talking shit, and she would if she could. But all of her mental and spiritual fortitude was dedicated to containing the power of Nameless and using it for her own purposes. She was certainly cognizant of the area, the situation and the objective but all she could do was tap Veil on the shoulder reassuring her that things would be alright.

The objective was to kill. And Nameless would have blood of the Trinity before this was over, whether it be Heaven of Earth, that was up to ZK.

Sorcery was difficult while gripping Nameless, luckily Veil and all her sagely pursuits could assist her in this regard. Octagonal transparent manifestations of glass opened up above Lilanas Head, they unfolded like a deck of cards and gave birth to her Baby. It swam to the heavens, easily drowning the sky in its countenance and let loose a radiant display of color the more its body coiled and oscillated. It too was sensitive to dimensional wavelengths and as long as Kham persisted (which he had to now) the energetic signature would be imprinted on it's serpentine flesh. The Serpent chased Kham through the dimensional labrynth where his mind would be weakest and began viciously attacking The Destroyer to a point where the aforementioned necro-thorns began appearing on his body...

ZK only had a few seconds.

The Cesspool Of Malign Energy Coming From The Dark Woman And Her Pet Were Of The Greatest Feed To The Locust Swarm. They Buzzed Around Her Like Hungry Animals, Knowing No Bounds In Their Consumption. They Feasted On Her Power In All Its Forms, Adding To What Was Done To Kham.

ZK: I hate having to hit girls.

~What a wonderful sight it should have been, these two magical women floating above ZK and Kham, just waiting to get down to business. The ladies planned and plotted, knowing the most opportune time to let their trap ensnare the Sky and the Earth. Kham and ZK were followed and it looked like they had their eyes set on Kham's portal to the Umbra'Vaes. With only a few seconds to spare, ZK used one of them to assess the situation, instantly standing in front of Kham between him and the dragon flowing and unfurling into the dimensional labyrinth.~

Two chicks and a dragon... They're next to each other. That dragon... That thing has to go. So do they.

~The next micro moment, ZK dropped the box and and let loose its contents, a quartet of Birthstones he sent his team on a hunt for a few years back. He wanted to give them to Mera as an offering, but they needed to be used one last time. Sadly, he only had four of the eight needed for the complete set, but they always proved to be useful enough separately.

ZK grabbed the tiny, floating gems with his left hand and instantly Shade Render exploded from his right hand, the blade of light flickering strangely, pulsing radically different than it usually did. With the Birthstones appropriately in his left fist, their power augmenting ZK's own, he aimed for his blade to be able to slice through the dimensional dragon no matter where it came from, and the slow loris women it came with. With only a few and a half seconds left to spare, ZK and his incredible speed swung his sword across the sky, slicing through the dragon and the two women hundreds of times for each second passing.~

Grrrrrrrraaaaaaaah!

~ZK grunted mentally, but kept his calm composure on the surface. Everything moved in more slow motion than usual, a snail's crawl while ZK sliced and diced hundreds of times, his eyes filled with bloodlust to expend this foreign power flowing through him. Without his insanity to flow through, it took a bit of concentration to keep the chaotic energy under control for the first seconds of its use, but ZK needed to let loose quickly.

His blade created a shredding wave across the sky glistening with a sheer aura flickering wildly.~

GRAAAAAAAAAH!!!

~He didn't stop, couldn't let up for a moment. The world moved way slower than he did, but ZK made his hundred-fold slashes to shred the ladies and their pet to smithereens. Harnessing the power of the Birthstones in his hand, he needed to expend the energy just as quickly as it flowed through him, lest it begin controlling him, latching onto his life force and burning him out all at once. Drawbacks of using the Birthstones in greater numbers than one, but without the complete set.

But, of course, ZK made spending energy at egregious levels a way of life.~

I hope the new tats are from Mera.

~Kham's immovable body grew a gross layer of thorns over it, but he stayed statuesquely still. The ritual needed time to complete, ZK clearly had to make an investment to keep things moving, but the ladies floating above him probably rocked some powers he was a bit unfamiliar with, probably. ZK might need to make some strange arrangements with himself to give the women a workout he could pride himself on. You never workout without a partner, he'd make both of them his.~