6726/Nothing For Nothing

Nothing For Nothing
Date of Scene:	10 July 2019
Location:	Royal Archives, Lordran
Synopsis:	Lezard negotiates a solution for Mikoto's problems. Surely there won't be consequences.
Cast of Characters:	Lezard Valeth, 7002

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Lezard Valeth has posed:
The Royal Archives were kept mostly in order as it was by its former resident, but the new one makes sure everything is precisely where it should be. The books are indexed, the reference materials neatly stored, and the makeshift holding area refurbished into a laboratory. The proximity of the4 cells made it convenient for Lezard.

Since no one has seen fit to evict him (at least, no one with enough power or respect to make it stick), the Sorceror of Midgard has effectively been using this location as a second home. The proximity of the Crystal Caves and the local habits of delving into soul arts are certainly mere coincidences as to why he has taken to the area so well. Naturally, the Hollows have been purged from the area, Lezard having set his own alchemical minons into place to ensure no resurgence, though the garden below the archives still seems to have large crystalline golems wandering about in search of beings to capture.

Lezard himself happens to be sitting on the balcony neat the local bonfire, looking out over said gardenand enjoying a mug of cold mead while paging through one of the innumerable tomes kept here. He's expecting company, after all, and he should put forth the proper impression.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Approaching the bonfire from the direction of the nearest warp gate was Mikoto.  However, with it being the place that it was the first thing she did upon reaching the land was transform into her Magical Girl form.  On her back was strapped a long sword made out of jade.  She looks a little disheveled from the trip, it is not exactly a place full of 'peaceful and kind' inhabitants.  

She remembers Lezard from the rainy day teleportation day trip they took that one time, and the other few times they ran into each other.  A younger Mikoto might have dismissed him as a giant nerd.  A more modern Mikoto knows that someone who just uses the powers of teleportation dismissively is nobody to take lightly.

Especially as the said person was looking to offer a helping hand to her current situation.  

"Mr. Valeth?" she asks, not hesitantly, but more on the 'not wanting to be rude and interrupt someone reading'.  Politeness cost her nothing, and right now it could be all she had to bargain with.  

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard, to be fair, /is/ a giant nerd. Unfortunately he is also a giant nerd who has weaponized it with obsessive and dangerous results.

As Mikoto arrives, Lezard gestures to a seat at the table. "Ah yes. Mikoto, I presume? Do sit and relax. Have some tea, or mead if you like." He finally looks up, looking over Mikoto intently as if looking for something. From his expression, he's not seeing it, but he doesn't seem too put out about it.

"It will be a moment before we could begin in any case." He looks out over the forested garden below, perhaps pointedly, then back to Mikoto. "You seem to look the part that I expected." With a flick of a hand, he closes the book. "So, I presume you have questions?"

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
"Yes, nice to meet you," She says with a simple bow.  Though her eyes raise a bit when the searching eyes scan over her, not sure what he was expecting in the least, she appeared to be it.  She sits down, with a graceful pace, and folds her hands in front of her.  

She was a terrible tomboy in a lot of ways but DOES know the finer parts of civility.  That part was expected from her, even if she hated it.  "I'll take some mead!" she says, though betraying her grace with a little bit of boorishness.  She feels she should be at least a little tipsy for this.

"Yes, how?  How are you going to attempt to do this?  The only way we know how is the Grief Seeds of Witches, which apparently is our fate eventually.  There is a lot here I don't know, so I'd be willing to want to know how it all works if possible."

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard doesn't even blink twice, picking up another frosty mug (lightly enchanted, no doubt) and fills it from a small keg nearby with the fermented honey drink. "Here you are. Enjoy." Consdiering what he's going to be having her particpate in, it's probably better that she's a bit tipsy anyway.

"It is simple if you consider the powers that you draw upon and the manner of receptacle you use for them. You are simply channelling energy, using part of yourself as a focus to bring it into being. The method you use creates a negative resonance effect and is highly affected by your state of mind, but if you look past the obfuscation it is a fairly simple concept. I have not had a chance to capture one, but I can generally presume that a Grief Seed is a concentrated essence of the type your phylactery is compatible with."

He leans back and spreads his hands, shrugging. "I simply plan to bypass the middleman and provide you with that compatible essence without requiring you to battle a Witch to acquire it, and in the process cleanse your phylactery of the negative resonance buildup that occurs." He makes it sound so simple... If you happen to be a magical genius already.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Lezard says a lot of things, and Mikoto follows the basics.  The specifics are where she isn't sure about, but he sounds like he knows what he is talking about.  She drinks the mead while he explains things, trying to follow along.  When he finally concludes, she speaks.

"So...it basically just cuts out the having to hunt down a witch part, but I still will need to regularly see you to keep my magic replenished and negative emotions in check?" She asks, simply wanting to make sure she understood the overarching solution.

"What kinda essence would even be compatible?"

Lezard Valeth has posed:
"Yes. But in the meantime you can benefit from being able to do as you like as long as you come back to me before you run out of power entirely. As far as far as what essence... Would it not be obvious?" He waves nonchalantly. "The essence of other humans, of course. Preferably ones who have enjoyed a surfeit of positive emotion. This should offset the natural mental degradation of your power usage. After all, Witches were once human too, were they not?" He smiles perhaps a little unsettlingly. "Therefore, something in the makeup of the human spirit must be the proper essence needed. I can identify and refine the process over time."

There is a low thudding in the distance echoing through the trees as a large, crystalline golem begins stomping towards the Archives. Lezard looks over the balcony, his glasses catching the light to gleam ominously as he does so. "How fortuitous. Our first subject."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
That smile puts Mikoto off just a little...but the fact that this could be a way out.  Sure she'd have to come back here, but she'd be able to actually consider living.  She could get out of the situation she was put into.  She takes a steadying breath.  

"What will happen to the person who...I take from?" She asks, she isn't saying NO...but she's concerned about that fact too.  Also, was he already capturing people?  

She takes a second long breath.  The fear of becoming a witch was probably outweighing any sense of morality she was facing right now.  It's fine...they probably won't die.

Lezard Valeth has posed:
It is certainly a way out as long as one is willing to participate in this... scheme of his, it seems. Lezard looks back to Mikoto then, and shrugs. "Well, I would not be simply taking from them. I would be removing the negative emotional buildup from you and displacing it into her. After all, this is a law of the universe. You get nothing for nothing. A void seeks to be filled. While I could simply remove their soul, that would be... wasteful. And dangerous, here in this realm of Lordran. One does not leave corpses laying around /casually/."

He seems so nonchalant about it, as he lays out some of the details of the atrocity he is planning. He even takes a long pull of his mead, seemingly having no problems dealing with the alcohol despite looking like a nerd. "The subject will live. I can almost guarantee that. They will bear the burdens of your stored negativity until they can regain balance, I am fairly certain." He pauses, and gestures. "And in return, you get to live a life free of most of the dangers of your, ah... chosen profession."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto listens, frowning and looking down as the entire thing is explained.  Taking a long breath, she drinks the rest of the mead, and then finally looks up.  She can do this.  She had to do this...she couldn't become one of those things.  She couldn't...

Even if the man doing it is very creepy.

"So...they take on my burdens, and they'll eventually return to equilibrium," She asks, mostly trying to get a feel for the entire process.  Once done, she nods...ok she can do this.

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard, of course, says nothing about the actual /chances/ of one of these subjects managing to overcome the potent soul-crushing despair and angst that gradually gnaws away at this particular strain of magical girl. But what he said is true! She'll get used to the rest. The first soul theft is always the hardest.

She nods, and Lezard takes that as some form of assent. He stands, and gestures to her. "Come along. The process should be fairly simple."

He leads the way, exiting the balcony and heading across a tower approach to reach that isolated building. Once within, Lezard leads her down around the outside perimiter, letting her see the barred cages, empty for the moment, but down in the center of the room, the large crystal golem stands, next to a table. There is a second across from it. "When you are ready, please lie down on the table and produce your phylactery. I would much prefer to not have to pull it out of wherever you may be hiding it."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto raises from her seat, but she follows silently.  She was waging a battle with herself.  Part of her knows this is wrong, but the other part doesn't know a way out.  Also, she convinces herself...if she became a witch, she'd potentially be more of a threat.  Either way, she was going to hurt people to live.  This might lead to a more final solution.

Another steadying breath, as she walks towards the table.  She releases the transformation, returning to a more civilian outfit.  Laying down, she closes her eyes and draws her soul gem from the ring on her finger.  She rests it on her chest, holding onto it with her hands.  

The gem was an emerald color, with a silver lining around it.  

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Mikoto could leave at any time. Lezard wouldn't even blame her. Few people have the stomach to so blatantly use other people for their own benefit. Usually it's more subtle.

Mikoto does not leave, however, and lies down on the table, producing her soul gem, making it pointedly stand out from her other decorations. Lezard doesn't even look at her for the moment, instead turning to the golem and gesturing, issueing a silent command. The crystalline thing opens up, revealing a young woman within, eyes closed as if sleeping, arranged within as if she was wearing the golem like a suit... Or that the golem was a cage for her.

As she falls forward, Lezard swiftly catches her and lays her out on the other table. He pulls a small crystal out of a pocket and places it on her chest in the same manner that Mikoto is holding hers. "Excellent. We are ready." He steps around to the head of the tables, pulling a tome out of a ripple in space and flicking it open to hover before him in a gesture, the book's pages flipping to a specific position. "I would tell you to not move, but in a moment you will likely not be able to." He says nonchalantly. "So, shall we begin?"

Massive, raw power erupts around Lezard, roaring about him as a magical circle forms between the tables, eye-level to the sorceror and curling and rotating in around itself rapidly as he begins to harness that energy and feed it into the ritual. Mikoto feels herself seized by an invisible force as something reaches inside her, touching something ephemeral and essential.

    "Body, mind, soul. All are sheared away..."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto knows she could leave at any time.  She knows, she probably /should/ leave.  However, she's already gone this far, she can't stop now.  Not after all of the convincing, she has done, all of the effort she has put into not running away.  

The woman in the golem was...heartbreaking.  She really was thinking of just getting up right then and there.  However, she was afraid.  She realized it, she was justifying it to herself.  It was fear, she was afraid of what she'd become.  Of the inevitable...and of living if her fate was...

She closes her eyes and just nods once to Lezard.  

The power grips her, causing her to seize up as it was both unexpected and touching her in a way she had never felt.  No, that was incorrect, she had felt something like this once before...when Kyubey turned her into this.  She tries not to move, even in the grip of the spell.  She just has to ride it out...

Lezard Valeth has posed:
It's too late to leave now, Lezard hs his grip firmly upon her soul now. She can feel the touch spread, exploring her metaphysical nature deeply as her gem is pulled from her hands, floating there above her. Similarly, the crystal above the girl floats opposite, the magical circle between them. Out of the corner of her eye, Mikoto might see a series of sparkling lights beginning to stream out of the girl, suffusing the crystal with a pure, bright light.

    "If to serve this purpose I shall be despised, my body scorched and blackened, so be it."

The wording of the ritual might seem odd, lacking in arcane words... But that's not the purpose of the incantation. No, it is a mnemonic device used to help Lezard focus his energies and weave the power he calls upon in a specific fashion to create a specific effect. One that in this case gives him access to play with the fundamental building blocks of life.

    "If to serve this purpose I must command forbidden magicks, so be it!!"

As he incants, Mikoto feels something wrench inside her, beginning to flow as her gem surges with energy, beginning to leak out. A black and red, terrible energy to look at, seemingly as she feels something just begin to... pour out of her. At the same time, a similar accumulation begins on the other crystal, the energy glowing bright as both sides begin to draw towards the circle in the center...

Lezard Valeth has posed:
    "Though my body may be tainted, though my soul may be tainted, I imbue thee with thought."

There, the energy touches through the circle, rebounding and twisting as if repulsing once another. Mikoto feels a strange emptiness despite remaining conscious, a numbness seeping through her emotional state as the energy crosses the midpoint and snaps through, the lines twisting like a dual-colored mobius strip as they connect to each other and establishing a link.

    "I swear as the gods swear, and breathe life into the void!"

The numbness begins to vanish, her Soul Gem beginning to brighten and gleam as sweet, brilliant joy begins to flood into her senses, an unreasoning wave of hope and optimism, a crackling, positive shock to the system for a girl who often feels depressive. Everything feels good. Everything feels bright again, the air is clean, the world is full of light and hope...

And then the ritual ends, the energy flow stopping as the gems drop back to the chests of their respective keepers. Mikoto can move again, her world possibly profoundly different for not as her emotions run at an intense high for the moment. She might not even notice how the dormant girl's crystal crackles with darkness, perhaps looking much like a Soul Gem about to go over the edge...

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
There is a jerk from Mikoto's body as energy is suffused, and negative emotions are drained.  It's not a pleasant feeling, but as she loses the built-up negativity, she is suffused with a brightness.  An optimism that she hasn't felt in a very long time.

When the spell loosens her grip on her, the gem is caught again, in her hands as she takes rapid, but deep breaths trying to calm herself.  Numbness giving away to hope and light.  

Mikoto sits up, dismissing the gem back to the dark ring on her finger as she looks up.  There is a brief smile on her face, she /FEELS/ happy.  She feels alive...it wasn't just faking until she made it.  This lasts until she looks at the other girl's psudo-gem.  

"Oh no..." She says, "That gem looks as if it's about to turn into a Grief seed..."

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard stands there, watching Mikoto carefully as she is released from the power of the ritual. "Mmmm, all there? How do you feel?" He asks, though he can see enough of it on her face for the moment... And the first thing she does is looks back and show concern for the other girl. "Mmmm, perhaps. It all depends on her, doesn't it?" Lezard says, moving up and gently beginning to usher her off of the table and towards the exit to the room. "I will keep close watch on her. There is nothing to worry about." Perhaps he is simply trying to move the girl out of sight so she can become out of mind.... "Instead, examine yourself. How are you feeling? Do you believe this procedure worked?"

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto is hurried along and asked questions.  She does not see the distraction for what it is, not right now with new feelings overwhelming her.  "I feel wonderful," She says, with some concern, but well...Lezard had managed to do /this/ much for her.

"Yes, I think it worked..." She says, retrieving her soul gem again, the gem was bright, filled with light instead of being slowly blackened.    

Lezard Valeth has posed:
"Excellent, excellent." He moves rtight along, subtly moving and ushering the magical girl until they're out of the room. "The look seems to suit you does it not?" He gestures to the gleaming, soul gem. "I am pleased. It seems that things worked out well. I will begin fine-tuning the process. When you find yourself running out of power again, do come back and I will be glad to help, all right?"

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto returns the soul gem to it's hiding spot, turning to Lezard, and bowing deeply.

"Alright.  I'll do that...and thank you again.  Sincerely.  I haven't felt...like this in a long time.  A very long time." she says, and turns.  She's so happy she could probably cry.