who stole your heart and the key?

[steelmyself]

In the dark, you taste something sweet and tart on your tongue, almost like apple but not quite: pomegranate juice, out of nowhere. A hint of something metallic accompanies it.

You fall down.

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Comments

[unaffective]

What are your hobbies? What are your hopes and dreams? Humans require such aspirations, you see - do you have them?

[steelmyself]

He responds promptly. "My dream is to become a superhero who saves everyone."

[unaffective]

[Well, she's heard enough.

She sits up and hops down from the rock, giving it a good, long stare - she doesn't spare NPC Shirou a glance. It's just a rock; she could break it with a spell, but when she tries to speak the words she thinks about her supplication, and her mouth feels like it's full of cement.

She doesn't dwell on it, but the pause it gives her makes her realize something.]

- Ah. Sir, you should remove yourself before I break the stone.

[steelmyself]

"Huh? I guess you could do that, but..." For just a moment, he steps back, frowning.

[unaffective]

I don't mean to distract you. Rather, it's possible that I could harm you in the process of breaking the stone - it seems this is of import to you, and I've decided that we're friends. I'd like to protect you if possible.

[steelmyself]

"What?" He looks almost alarmed at that. "No way, I'm the one protecting people." But he does take another step back.

[unaffective]

[Yeah. Definitely the same dude.

Giving the handle a tentative pull first, to see exactly how stuck in there it is. She doesn't know if she could just blow up a whole rock this big the way she is now.]

[steelmyself]

It's completely stuck. The boy looks slightly annoyed. "What, you don't trust me? It's really stuck in there."

[unaffective]

I lived in her country prior to coming here.

[steelmyself]

"Oh...that's pretty neat. She's amazing, right?"

[unaffective]

The stories are certainly interesting. I like them.

[It would've been more interesting if she'd known King Arthur was actually a cute girl the whole time, or that she even existed for that matter.

She can't not bother with the supplication, so she just dumps the incantation altogether and focuses - then gives her index finger a flick to summon some spears to break the stone.]

[steelmyself]

The spears crash into the stone, and it cracks a bit and starts to slide apart. For a moment it seems like nothing else will happen.

Then a swarm of wasps flies out of the broken stone.

[unaffective]

[What the fuck

It's a shame this is Haku's heart and the NPC is an NPC and not really him as a baby because she is doing something she will probably never do again. She is screaming and running away as fast as she can.]

[steelmyself]

Fair enough. They are wasps, after all.

He grabs the sword and starts trying to swat the wasps away with it, because he's not that bright.

Meanwhile, what direction is she going? Towards the crack leading down or away from it?

[unaffective]

[Away from the wasps is the idea, without any regard for the direction - so she heads towards the crack without noticing.]

[steelmyself]

The crack is just barely wide enough for a person to fit through, but it widens up ahead. A dull red glow comes from deep within, as does the scent of brimstone. Right above the crack, a ragged red banner flutters, bearing an indecipherable symbol in gold upon it. That marking is oddly alien in this place.

But you're not so much interested in that as in getting away from the wasps, so you just squeeze into the crack. Before you, the ground slopes down...