at once short of life, and long of sorrow.

[strangerpeople]

[You are dead.




Well, obviously. You remember how you died. It was...not fun, to say the least. But hey, at least you're off that ship, right?

Except...you don't know exactly where you are now. It seems like a house, but if it is, it's...a work in progress. Most of the rooms are empty, and your steps echo up through the marble columns and down faint mosaics on the tiled floor. The few windows you find have a green light gleaming through them; you can't really see anything beyond the eerie light.

It feels like you're in a temple of some kind. The columns and mosaics seem to indicate it is something like that-it's certainly reminiscent of something out of an ancient culture, perhaps even one you're familiar with. For some reason, though, it's clear someone-or something-lives here. One of the rooms to the south is stuffed with pizza boxes. Another, larger room has a makeshift futon in one of the corners. There are imprints of multiple footsteps all through the dusty floors as you look around, many of them leading to a small alcove to the west. And-

and there's a giant van. Just. hanging out there. Completely out of place with the seemingly ancient decor. And inside, there is the sound of light snoring.



Ok then. You're apparently not alone in death, after all.]

((OoC: Map for reference.))

Comments

[hatesdeerstalkers]

...Oh?

[He blinks, before giving a sharp grin. They fucking up that horrid room?]

And what do you happen to have in mind, Vergil?

[devilmehcry]

We are going to clean that..."room". And we're going to throw it all into the lava in Asphodel. Likely we'll encounter the Hydra, but it's hardly a problem.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

....I assume you'll be fighting the thing, then?

[He just has portals, my dude. Though if he had his coffin, that'd be another thing entirely.]

Though I suppose I should count myself lucky that I still have gloves to wear during this.

[devilmehcry]

...I'd be a poor son of Sparda if I couldn't fight a mere grass snake. Much less a dead one.

[He sounds so confident.]

Your portals may come in handy, though, for a ranged attack.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

Ah, yes. I suppose I'll have to be your trebuchet, then!

[He's at least good natured about it!]

So! Where shall we start, my friend?

[devilmehcry]

These boxes. We're clearing them out.

[With a flourish, he summons his wings, and proceeds to toss them into the piles, skewering three, four, five, six boxes at a time.]

If this place belongs to who I think it does, I refuse to be punished for my brother's laziness.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

[He'll start - gingerly, because grease ick - picking up boxes to stack while Vergil does that.]

Hades, you mean? Yes, that would fit, wouldn't it?

[Stack...stack...]

I'd rather not be punished either.

[devilmehcry]

It is the only thing that makes sense. Whether or not that irritating ball of wool wants to admit it or not.

[He starts to pick up the swords that has stabbed through the boxes. Already a few dozen are out, and there's a small hole, though some of those piles are tilting precariously on the edge.]

[hatesdeerstalkers]

Let me guess - he also fell asleep once you attempted to confirm it?

[Said with exasperation, because that sure was a thing that happened.]

While I appreciated the help in getting materials for a letter to give to Charon, One would think that they would merely tell the truth in order to get it over with.

[He'll go and help keep the piles from falling....hopefully. If he is buried in a wave of pizza boxes, remember him fondly Vergil.]

[devilmehcry]

Every. Time.

[He puts his skewers in nice rows.]

There might be a reason. Perhaps our presence here is like allowing intruders into the house. And if we should be caught, that alone might be sacrilege.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

I wouldn't doubt it overmuch - given most of us undoubtedly should not be here in the first place.

[Okay, precarious piles have been lowered....time to set them aside while he works.]

For myself, I should have immediately been whisked away to the Throne of Heroes upon the death of my Incarnated body.

[devilmehcry]

The Throne of Heroes?

[Sounds different. He sends more swords out to skewer more pizza boxes. Holy crap they're making a dent finally!!]

[hatesdeerstalkers]

A place outside of space and time that houses the spirits of humans who have gained enough fame or great deeds among humanity, regardless of Good or Evil.

[He shrugs, casually.]

I am one of these. From the Throne, it sends...hm. 'Copies', so to speak, of these spirits - which become Heroic Servants, as they 'Serve' their summoner, or 'Master.'

Once they are finished, these 'copies' return back to the throne, and their experiences are 'recorded' into the Heroic Spirit still there. So, in truth, I should have been 'recorded' back into the Heroic Spirit 'James Moriarty'.

[Just casually talk about yourself and your temporal death. it's fine.]

[devilmehcry]

...

It certainly sounds....fascinating.

[He's not lying. The idea that one doesn't die, but can be brought back, and become functionally immortal...it's quite...tempting.

Maybe not as much as before, but still. Tempting.]

Instead, you're here. Unfortunate.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

Fascinating, yes. And since it is outside space and time, Heroes or Villains acknowledged by the humans in your world could exist there as well. The Throne isn't picky about such things - it merely picks on those timelines where humanity had a strong enough consciousness to qualify such things.

[He notes the pause - Vergil might get the impression he's almost being studied with a gaze that turns almost as sharp as a blade, for a moment - but then it passes, and in it's place is the same polite british gentleman from before.]

Indeed! I assume it has something to do with Charon, but I am enjoying the detour for the moment. Or, perhaps, something to do with that I have a Devil Arm's powers?
Yamato, I believe you called it?

[devilmehcry]

Yes, Yamato. Death is quite boring unless you make something to do, it seems. Not that the sheep is ever helpful on that point.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

Was Yamato a Devil's Arm that could just make portals, then? Or - no, you mentioned that it had been weakened.

[He's fishing for info as he cleans, alright. better than just griping about the sheep or dante again.

...Moriarty is SURPRISINGLY fast at cleaning - alone he's already gotten one half of the room almost done, as he grabs digs out the bed and groans.]

...I cannot believe he thought offering his bed as a prize would be appropriate.

[devilmehcry]

It didn't simply make portals. It could rend time and space itself with practice and patience. It also allowed me to direct my attacks however I pleased, even if I wasn't next to my opponent.


It could cut....many things cleanly.

[Of, of course that was how Dante slept. He frowns.]

I'm tempted to have that carted off to the lava too.

[hatesdeerstalkers]

[Ah - so it was a Sword that could cut spacetime. innnnteresting.]

Quite the powerful Devil Arm, then. And if it could cut spacetime with just a little effort...I do wonder what else it could cut. Or if I could somehow tap into it - assuming, of course, that my connection hasn't been permanently stunted somehow.

[He'll just clean around the bed for now - at this point, only a quarter of the room remains. He's been HUSTLING.]

He deserves it, if you wish to do so. Forgive me, but your brother is the most singularly annoying man I've ever met.

[devilmehcry]

Indeed. Such was-is-the power of my father, in the right hands.

[A snort at the last comment.]

Oh, trust me, I am aware of that. I suppose its part and parcel that he was annoyingly hard to kill back home as a result.

[He's got, like, nearly four dozen shishkapizzaboxes ready on his end.]

[hatesdeerstalkers]

...It is your Father's power?

[THIS MAKES THIS EVEN MORE AWKWARD? though he catches that was/is comment. Alastor did say Demons are notoriously hard to kill...]

Ah. So you've attempted to kill him before?

[Said casually, like it's something every sibling goes through, as he finishes up the piles for Vergil to stabby when he's done.]

There - I believe we've finished, though I fear the grease smell may never fully come out of this room.

[devilmehcry]

Yes. the power of Sparda. As for the other thing-more times than I'd care to remember.

[Final shishka stab!]

Indeed. A pity we can't get rid of the infestation that resides in such filth, either.

[Seriously, a man in soul form can only dunk his twin brother's soul in lava so many times before he has to admit defeat.]

Shall we hence?

[hatesdeerstalkers]

[Okay, That gets him to pause. So he's the son of the Demon Alastor was talking about.....then what the hell happened to Dante to make him like that.

Now that everything is all picked up -]

We shall. I will follow you, of course - I must admit, I am a bit curious to see the other realms of this place. Though I hope the heat isn't too intense where we're going.

[Since, tbh, he didn't think it was a good idea to go looking alone when he REALLY doesn't have a weapon beyond teleporting.]

[devilmehcry]

That is quite the funny thing about being dead-the heat is so terrible.

[Says Vergil as he casually carries his swords full of pizza boxes into a red portal that leads to...well.

It's Asphodel if someone decided to plunge it into a volcano.]

[hatesdeerstalkers]

[It might not be so terrible, but it's still hot enough that Moriarty visibly grimaces. He'd take cold over heat any day, given he actually had a tolerance for icy temperatures due to living in Britain.

Heat? Not so much.]

...And you said there's a Hydra here? How has the blasted thing not expired yet?

[GRUMBLE GRUMBLE GRUMBLE HE HATES THIS]