Post by Vapovile on Sept 24, 2021 18:57:18 GMT
Iraq, 20th century
The sun beat down upon the desert landscape, no signs of civilization for miles. But a strange archeology team was on the verge of a breakthrough; a long-lost temple that predates the Abrahamic religions. The dig team wore long white cloaks to protect themselves from the heat and sand...but they also wore a brass insignia that read ‘HWIC R&D’.
A tall man with short, perfectly trimmed black hair stood nearby, watching the progress unfold from inside a tent. A lit cigar hung from his mouth as he puffed into the hot desert air. He wanted to just bust the door open, but the team insisted on doing it slowly to make sure no curses or wards activate when they open. He adjusted his rectangular glasses and leaned against the wooden post keeping the tent up.
Suddenly, a strange child appeared to come out of nowhere, and floated up to the dig team, startling them backwards. She gave a small giggle at the display.
“Hiiiiii...uh, I know this is a little weird to ask, but could you...not open this, please?” The girl asked. She had long white hair that reached to her hips, tied into two pigtails. Her golden eyes stared lifelessly at the researchers.
The main in the tent snorted and confidently walked forward, looking down at the floating girl.
“And why should I honor such a request? This temple is said to hold the key to immortality! How did you even find us, girl? Who are you?!” He demanded.
The girl glanced up and faked a gasp of fear. “Oh no...a meanie. You don’t want immortality...trust me. Annnnnnd let’s say I had a feeling” The girl chirped. “My name is Iris Kuromi, if you must know.”
The man took a step forward and adjusted the glare out of his glasses. “Well Iris, my name is Cyrus Miyata. President of the HWIC. So I would advise you to stand aside.” He demanded, summoning a long metallic blade out of his index finger.
Iris puffed out her cheek in a pout, then went back to a neutral expression. “Do you...even have authority to be here?” Iris asked innocently. Cyrus laughed. “As if we need permission from these newly made nations! We are here on a mission for the greater good; attain this ancient power, and use it to rid the world of criminal scum!” Cyrus explained.
Iris sighed and held up her hand, levitating the dig team out of their trench and depositing them behind Cyrus. “Sorry...can’t really let you inside. Will you go away...pretty please?” Iris asked, fluttering her eyes. Cyrus scoffed and dashed forward with incredible speed, grabbing her by the oversized white lab coat.
“Get out of my way!” He yelled, throwing Iris far into the distance. She teleported back seconds later. “Ok, rude.” Iris complained. But Cyrus was done talking to this child. He summoned a second blade on his other index finger and summoned a strange brass pocket watch.
“Then perish!” He roared, dashing forward with such speed that the sand behind him whipped up into a whirlwind. His blades smashed into Iris’s torso, sending her pinwheeling into the distance while he raced alongside. The pocket watch glowed and electricity began to crackle, Cyrus unleashing a blue bolt of lightning from his blade and into Iris’s body, shooting up into space itself. The heat generated by the lightning caused several patches of nearby sand to turn to glass.
“You should have left when you had the chance, kid!” Cyrus continued, shooting out a second bolt from his other blade and crossing both streams into one large one that ran through Iris’s airborne body. He then leaped forward, infused both blades with lightning that made them glow white hot, and drove them both into Iris’s body as they both shot back down toward the Earth, exploding into a maelstrom of electricity.
The crater of sand was several meters deep, Iris lying limp on the ground. Cyrus chuckled as he retracted his blades and stood back up. “Tch, amatuer.” He spat, turning to jump out of the crater...when he heard a voice.
“Ooooooh...you’re strong, mister. Mind if I get a look at that pocket watch?” Iris asked, looking up from the ground. The holes in her torso had already closed up.
Cyrus was stunned. How was she still unharmed?! Iris noticed this expression and floated off the ground once more.
“Oh, I had a barrier up that redirected your lightning. And have healing spells.” Iris snapped her fingers, allowing tiny healing particles to flake off and disappear in the air. Cyrus glared at her and stepped forward.
“You are no mere sorceress, kid. But if you insist on getting in my way, I will have to get serious.” He warned. Iris blinked and nodded. “Ok. I guess I can do some stuff…” She said absentmindedly.
Cyrus blasted forward once more, but strangely...found himself standing in a large, desolate wasteland. The sky was dark, only illuminated by a large red moon that hung menacingly low in the sky. The flora consisted of scorched tree-like objects that seemed to reach out toward life, sitting on top of dry grey sand.
Cyrus took in this landscape, Iris floating patiently to the side. “Wouldn’t want to ruin too much of the desert, you know? Do you like my realm?” Iris asked, tilting her head.
Her question was met by a whistle of surprise. “You have your own realm? Are you some kind of goddess, Iris?” He asked, actually using her name for once.
Iris pondered this question. “I guess you could call me that...but I was a human long ago.” She mused. Cyrus let out a loud laugh.
“Hahaha, what luck! I ran into a goddess trying to stop me! Well Iris, let’s see how much of a god you are!”
Taking off once more in an aura of lightning, Cyrus extended two of his blades out and attempted to slice Iris’s head off, but the sorceress teleported out of the way this time, snapping her fingers and summoning 10 clones of herself that all began to fly around the landscape.
“Finally you decide to fight back! What’s been the problem?!” Cyrus demanded, the Iris closest to him shrugging her shoulders.
“Crippling depression?” She said casually.
This made Cyrus pause, but he continued to dash around the landscape, faster than the eye could see and slashing at the clones. He managed to make 5 disappear before the others appeared before him...each holding a ball of fire the size of a 2-story house. They all threw their attacks downward at Cyrus, the entire area erupting in a massive explosion.
When the smoke finally cleared and Iris could see the smoldering crater, Cyrus staggered back to his feet. Above him was a dome-like barrier of light, a badge in his hands shining brightly.
“Ooooooh.” Iris said in surprise. Cyrus adjusted his glasses and smiled up at his floating opponent.
“Yes, show me more of what a god can do! In exchange, I’ll show you my true power, the one that I created for myself!” He reached out his hand, and the badge disappeared...in his hand now sat a small metallic marble. Iris looked at it with curiosity.
“Watch, sorceress, for I control one of the fundamental forces of the universe!” Summoning blades on all 5 of his fingers, he pointed toward Iris, the blades beginning to vibrate violently. There was a loud cracking sound as several small metallic objects were shot at Iris, blasting Iris and her shield far into the distance.
He rocketed after her, adding an opposite charge to Iris’s body and twirling his body like a tornado as his claws clashed against her barrier. She teleported once more, but near instantly, he was back upon her barrier.
“Magnetism, huh…?” Iris said with interest, staring at the claws scraping against her barrier. Cyrus chuckled. “You are observant, small one. I control the electrical flow of this universe!” He boasted, digging his claws into the barrier. He then smirked and stared directly at Iris.
The molecules in her arms began to vibrate, violently tearing off her torso and dropping the barrier. Cyrus slashed Iris in half at the stomach, and kicked both halves down toward the ground below.
Iris’s torso floated up and tilted to the side, looking at Cyrus with intrigue. “Interesting...so you can influence my internal molecular structure even with that type of barrier up. Oh, one second.”
Within seconds, Iris’s severed limbs floated up and back to her body, reattaching with a flash of light. She leaned front and back to stretch. “Ooooookay. I think if you’ve shown off everything that I can study later…” Iris closed her eyes and smiled up at Iris. “Here I come~”
Iris’s body exploded in an aura of darkness, her clothes beginning to change. Her lab coat, shirt and skirt morphed into a black dress, seemingly absorbing any light that touches it. Cyrus could feel the godly pressure she exerted now, especially in her own realm.
Before he could open his mouth, Iris had appeared directly in front of his face and poked his nose, sending the HWIC president careening through a hill. He quickly recovered, putting an opposite charge on the ground and leaping off into the air. He vibrated his claws once more, glaring at the mage.
“Railgun, MK2!” He yelled, firing several metallic chunks at Iris faster than the eye could see. But they missed their target when Iris summoned a band of darkness that diverted the bullets around her. He magnetized her body once more and rocketed at her with incredible speed, swinging his blades...but Iris held out her hand and unleashed a bolt of lightning infused darkness that went straight into his blades, up his arms and through his body.
“You must realize...magnets attract in both directions, yes?” She asked, smiling. Cyrus smirked and slammed two ends of his claws on her barrier. “Then how about this?!”
The air inside the gap between his blades began to vibrate, Iris looking around. “Ooooh...trying to cook me from the inside?” With a single teleportation, she was out and grabbing the back of his head. He wheeled around just in time to cut the beam of darkness that was meant to decapitate him, the split beam tearing a deep gash in the ground below.
“Hahaha, you really are a goddess! Let’s end this, Iris!” He said with enthusiasm. The ground beneath him began to break apart, levitating into the air and spinning into a maelstrom, now floating in the air with Iris as large pieces of debris whipped around them. “Magnetic…” Cyrus held out both of his hands and stared directly at Iris. “BREAKER!”
The molecules within Iris began to wobble, shifting and turning away from themselves. The goddess was ripped molecule by molecule, disappearing into a cloud of mist. Cyrus collapsed onto one knee, the maelstrom around them subsiding. “Hah...looks like I win.” He chuckled.
But the godly pressure didn’t disappear. It only amplified when Iris appeared once more from a veil of darkness. “Come on...I did make clones, you know? I just wanted to observe how you did something like that...it’s very interesting.” She said, leaning over at him.
Before he could stand up again, her eyes flashed purple. “Please, you’re beat. If you wish to proceed…” The air became thicker as she began to morph once more, her body enveloped in a cloak of darkness. A wasp-like head with purple eyes replaced her head, a scorpion tail emerged from her back, and a ring of snakes wrapped around her waist. The sheer pressure of her existence caused several rocks to shatter, the land itself bending to her will.
Cyrus stared up in shock. “...you were holding back…” He muttered. The godly being nodded its head. “I’m a scientist first! I wanted to see what you could do, and you entertained me for a little bit.” The cheery voice echoed into Cyrus’s ear directly. He retracted his bladed and displaced his palms in surrender.
“Ok, I give up! No use fighting a god like you. I am astounded, frankly.” He said, clearly respecting her now. “Let me guess, that tomb is your own?”
Iris returned to her normal state, waggling her finger in disapproval. “Ah ah ah, a girl’s got to keep some secrets! Mind putting that sand back where you found it, please?” She asked, Cyrus nodding.
“You know, if you are a scientist...we could use someone like you. We have the funding to get you anything you’d need for research at the HWIC, and the staff to help you out. What do you say?” He extended his hand out toward the small girl.
Iris pondered this offer. “Hmmmm...work for you…” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. Cyrus continued. “We also have amazing chefs on-site if you still desire food.” He added. Iris’s eyes lit up.
“Yes! Oh you would not BELIEVE how hard it is to cook when depressed, and takeout gets So dull! You have a deal, old man.” Iris joked, shaking his hand. The two of them reappeared back into the desert, Iris clapping his hands.
“Wrap it up, we’re moving out! Say hello to your newest R&D agent, Iris Kuromi!” The group tepidly said hi, unsure of what just happened. Iris waved back, happy that the tomb was resealed once more.
The sun beat down upon the desert landscape, no signs of civilization for miles. But a strange archeology team was on the verge of a breakthrough; a long-lost temple that predates the Abrahamic religions. The dig team wore long white cloaks to protect themselves from the heat and sand...but they also wore a brass insignia that read ‘HWIC R&D’.
A tall man with short, perfectly trimmed black hair stood nearby, watching the progress unfold from inside a tent. A lit cigar hung from his mouth as he puffed into the hot desert air. He wanted to just bust the door open, but the team insisted on doing it slowly to make sure no curses or wards activate when they open. He adjusted his rectangular glasses and leaned against the wooden post keeping the tent up.
Suddenly, a strange child appeared to come out of nowhere, and floated up to the dig team, startling them backwards. She gave a small giggle at the display.
“Hiiiiii...uh, I know this is a little weird to ask, but could you...not open this, please?” The girl asked. She had long white hair that reached to her hips, tied into two pigtails. Her golden eyes stared lifelessly at the researchers.
The main in the tent snorted and confidently walked forward, looking down at the floating girl.
“And why should I honor such a request? This temple is said to hold the key to immortality! How did you even find us, girl? Who are you?!” He demanded.
The girl glanced up and faked a gasp of fear. “Oh no...a meanie. You don’t want immortality...trust me. Annnnnnd let’s say I had a feeling” The girl chirped. “My name is Iris Kuromi, if you must know.”
The man took a step forward and adjusted the glare out of his glasses. “Well Iris, my name is Cyrus Miyata. President of the HWIC. So I would advise you to stand aside.” He demanded, summoning a long metallic blade out of his index finger.
Iris puffed out her cheek in a pout, then went back to a neutral expression. “Do you...even have authority to be here?” Iris asked innocently. Cyrus laughed. “As if we need permission from these newly made nations! We are here on a mission for the greater good; attain this ancient power, and use it to rid the world of criminal scum!” Cyrus explained.
Iris sighed and held up her hand, levitating the dig team out of their trench and depositing them behind Cyrus. “Sorry...can’t really let you inside. Will you go away...pretty please?” Iris asked, fluttering her eyes. Cyrus scoffed and dashed forward with incredible speed, grabbing her by the oversized white lab coat.
“Get out of my way!” He yelled, throwing Iris far into the distance. She teleported back seconds later. “Ok, rude.” Iris complained. But Cyrus was done talking to this child. He summoned a second blade on his other index finger and summoned a strange brass pocket watch.
“Then perish!” He roared, dashing forward with such speed that the sand behind him whipped up into a whirlwind. His blades smashed into Iris’s torso, sending her pinwheeling into the distance while he raced alongside. The pocket watch glowed and electricity began to crackle, Cyrus unleashing a blue bolt of lightning from his blade and into Iris’s body, shooting up into space itself. The heat generated by the lightning caused several patches of nearby sand to turn to glass.
“You should have left when you had the chance, kid!” Cyrus continued, shooting out a second bolt from his other blade and crossing both streams into one large one that ran through Iris’s airborne body. He then leaped forward, infused both blades with lightning that made them glow white hot, and drove them both into Iris’s body as they both shot back down toward the Earth, exploding into a maelstrom of electricity.
The crater of sand was several meters deep, Iris lying limp on the ground. Cyrus chuckled as he retracted his blades and stood back up. “Tch, amatuer.” He spat, turning to jump out of the crater...when he heard a voice.
“Ooooooh...you’re strong, mister. Mind if I get a look at that pocket watch?” Iris asked, looking up from the ground. The holes in her torso had already closed up.
Cyrus was stunned. How was she still unharmed?! Iris noticed this expression and floated off the ground once more.
“Oh, I had a barrier up that redirected your lightning. And have healing spells.” Iris snapped her fingers, allowing tiny healing particles to flake off and disappear in the air. Cyrus glared at her and stepped forward.
“You are no mere sorceress, kid. But if you insist on getting in my way, I will have to get serious.” He warned. Iris blinked and nodded. “Ok. I guess I can do some stuff…” She said absentmindedly.
Cyrus blasted forward once more, but strangely...found himself standing in a large, desolate wasteland. The sky was dark, only illuminated by a large red moon that hung menacingly low in the sky. The flora consisted of scorched tree-like objects that seemed to reach out toward life, sitting on top of dry grey sand.
Cyrus took in this landscape, Iris floating patiently to the side. “Wouldn’t want to ruin too much of the desert, you know? Do you like my realm?” Iris asked, tilting her head.
Her question was met by a whistle of surprise. “You have your own realm? Are you some kind of goddess, Iris?” He asked, actually using her name for once.
Iris pondered this question. “I guess you could call me that...but I was a human long ago.” She mused. Cyrus let out a loud laugh.
“Hahaha, what luck! I ran into a goddess trying to stop me! Well Iris, let’s see how much of a god you are!”
Taking off once more in an aura of lightning, Cyrus extended two of his blades out and attempted to slice Iris’s head off, but the sorceress teleported out of the way this time, snapping her fingers and summoning 10 clones of herself that all began to fly around the landscape.
“Finally you decide to fight back! What’s been the problem?!” Cyrus demanded, the Iris closest to him shrugging her shoulders.
“Crippling depression?” She said casually.
This made Cyrus pause, but he continued to dash around the landscape, faster than the eye could see and slashing at the clones. He managed to make 5 disappear before the others appeared before him...each holding a ball of fire the size of a 2-story house. They all threw their attacks downward at Cyrus, the entire area erupting in a massive explosion.
When the smoke finally cleared and Iris could see the smoldering crater, Cyrus staggered back to his feet. Above him was a dome-like barrier of light, a badge in his hands shining brightly.
“Ooooooh.” Iris said in surprise. Cyrus adjusted his glasses and smiled up at his floating opponent.
“Yes, show me more of what a god can do! In exchange, I’ll show you my true power, the one that I created for myself!” He reached out his hand, and the badge disappeared...in his hand now sat a small metallic marble. Iris looked at it with curiosity.
“Watch, sorceress, for I control one of the fundamental forces of the universe!” Summoning blades on all 5 of his fingers, he pointed toward Iris, the blades beginning to vibrate violently. There was a loud cracking sound as several small metallic objects were shot at Iris, blasting Iris and her shield far into the distance.
He rocketed after her, adding an opposite charge to Iris’s body and twirling his body like a tornado as his claws clashed against her barrier. She teleported once more, but near instantly, he was back upon her barrier.
“Magnetism, huh…?” Iris said with interest, staring at the claws scraping against her barrier. Cyrus chuckled. “You are observant, small one. I control the electrical flow of this universe!” He boasted, digging his claws into the barrier. He then smirked and stared directly at Iris.
The molecules in her arms began to vibrate, violently tearing off her torso and dropping the barrier. Cyrus slashed Iris in half at the stomach, and kicked both halves down toward the ground below.
Iris’s torso floated up and tilted to the side, looking at Cyrus with intrigue. “Interesting...so you can influence my internal molecular structure even with that type of barrier up. Oh, one second.”
Within seconds, Iris’s severed limbs floated up and back to her body, reattaching with a flash of light. She leaned front and back to stretch. “Ooooookay. I think if you’ve shown off everything that I can study later…” Iris closed her eyes and smiled up at Iris. “Here I come~”
Iris’s body exploded in an aura of darkness, her clothes beginning to change. Her lab coat, shirt and skirt morphed into a black dress, seemingly absorbing any light that touches it. Cyrus could feel the godly pressure she exerted now, especially in her own realm.
Before he could open his mouth, Iris had appeared directly in front of his face and poked his nose, sending the HWIC president careening through a hill. He quickly recovered, putting an opposite charge on the ground and leaping off into the air. He vibrated his claws once more, glaring at the mage.
“Railgun, MK2!” He yelled, firing several metallic chunks at Iris faster than the eye could see. But they missed their target when Iris summoned a band of darkness that diverted the bullets around her. He magnetized her body once more and rocketed at her with incredible speed, swinging his blades...but Iris held out her hand and unleashed a bolt of lightning infused darkness that went straight into his blades, up his arms and through his body.
“You must realize...magnets attract in both directions, yes?” She asked, smiling. Cyrus smirked and slammed two ends of his claws on her barrier. “Then how about this?!”
The air inside the gap between his blades began to vibrate, Iris looking around. “Ooooh...trying to cook me from the inside?” With a single teleportation, she was out and grabbing the back of his head. He wheeled around just in time to cut the beam of darkness that was meant to decapitate him, the split beam tearing a deep gash in the ground below.
“Hahaha, you really are a goddess! Let’s end this, Iris!” He said with enthusiasm. The ground beneath him began to break apart, levitating into the air and spinning into a maelstrom, now floating in the air with Iris as large pieces of debris whipped around them. “Magnetic…” Cyrus held out both of his hands and stared directly at Iris. “BREAKER!”
The molecules within Iris began to wobble, shifting and turning away from themselves. The goddess was ripped molecule by molecule, disappearing into a cloud of mist. Cyrus collapsed onto one knee, the maelstrom around them subsiding. “Hah...looks like I win.” He chuckled.
But the godly pressure didn’t disappear. It only amplified when Iris appeared once more from a veil of darkness. “Come on...I did make clones, you know? I just wanted to observe how you did something like that...it’s very interesting.” She said, leaning over at him.
Before he could stand up again, her eyes flashed purple. “Please, you’re beat. If you wish to proceed…” The air became thicker as she began to morph once more, her body enveloped in a cloak of darkness. A wasp-like head with purple eyes replaced her head, a scorpion tail emerged from her back, and a ring of snakes wrapped around her waist. The sheer pressure of her existence caused several rocks to shatter, the land itself bending to her will.
Cyrus stared up in shock. “...you were holding back…” He muttered. The godly being nodded its head. “I’m a scientist first! I wanted to see what you could do, and you entertained me for a little bit.” The cheery voice echoed into Cyrus’s ear directly. He retracted his bladed and displaced his palms in surrender.
“Ok, I give up! No use fighting a god like you. I am astounded, frankly.” He said, clearly respecting her now. “Let me guess, that tomb is your own?”
Iris returned to her normal state, waggling her finger in disapproval. “Ah ah ah, a girl’s got to keep some secrets! Mind putting that sand back where you found it, please?” She asked, Cyrus nodding.
“You know, if you are a scientist...we could use someone like you. We have the funding to get you anything you’d need for research at the HWIC, and the staff to help you out. What do you say?” He extended his hand out toward the small girl.
Iris pondered this offer. “Hmmmm...work for you…” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. Cyrus continued. “We also have amazing chefs on-site if you still desire food.” He added. Iris’s eyes lit up.
“Yes! Oh you would not BELIEVE how hard it is to cook when depressed, and takeout gets So dull! You have a deal, old man.” Iris joked, shaking his hand. The two of them reappeared back into the desert, Iris clapping his hands.
“Wrap it up, we’re moving out! Say hello to your newest R&D agent, Iris Kuromi!” The group tepidly said hi, unsure of what just happened. Iris waved back, happy that the tomb was resealed once more.