mid-july event [tdm + fourth wall].

[falsitates]

JULY 16 ~ 31

The fireworks and festivities are over. It's now the middle of July. Outside, it's dreadfully dark as the sun hides behind the clouds. Cold air fills the atmosphere and the sudden change of temperature may signify the start of something ominous. Along with the cold air and strange sensation, there's a white flakey substance lightly falling from the sky. It looks like snow from a glance, but upon further inspection, it's salt.

The city streets are quiet. Those who once inhabited the city of Vitae are no longer to be found anywhere. For seven full days, the citizens and authorities will be suspiciously missing. In their place are something new.

  NEW ARRIVALS

In the distance, disfigured creature with a shadowlike body and golden eyes stands.

It doesn't appear to be particularly fast or powerful, but as soon as it detects anyone nearby, it will begin hunting and pursuing. More and more appear as you run away, breaking through windows and jumping off rooftops. Heading towards the edges of the city only brings out a more powerful wave of monsters. These larger shadows, who are equipped with a variety of spells, fire a barrage of magical bullets at you, leaving you exhausted and weak.

None of them make any attempt to communicate, and they don't seem to understand what you're saying. They attack without regard for who they are attacking and reach out with their long arms. They wrap themselves around you, holding on tighter and tighter until you start to feel weaker and weaker, your energy draining away as time goes on. Taking them out only seems to increase their numbers and force, but they can be killed in the same way that any other living being can die. With enough strength and persistence behind your attacks, they will fall, but before they vanish, red blood oozes from their bodies.

Those with the ability to sense supernatural presences and entities can feel human souls lingering within the monsters.

  SURVIVAL

There's no one left except for you, other holders of the app, and these monsters. Without anyone to run the city, things begin to quickly shut down.

The first thing to go out is the electricity. Then there's the running water. In a city the size of Vitae, there is plenty of food and supplies, but it won't last forever. The monsters appear to recognize the value of food, that it is necessary for survival, and they go after it. They destroy perishables and lurk in grocery stores, waiting for anyone desperate enough to come by.

The sun never does come back. The clouds continue to block it out, and the rain of salt never stops. It gets too cold to bear, and no explanation is given to newcomers to the app as to what is going on. They simply appear out of nowhere and are left to their own devices. They may enlist the assistance of current app users, but that depends on whether or not they are even capable of assisting themselves.

Everyone (including the newcomers) has been strapped with a watch since waking up in this hell. The voting results have been released and they appear to directly correspond to it. They're visible in the app, showcasing who picked what and who. The number represents the number of betrayals you've experienced. If you've been chosen twice to be betrayed, the number will appear as two. It appears as zero if you haven't been betrayed at all.

Those who have been fortunate enough to receive allies or no betrayals enjoy freedom and knowledge. Every hour, the display briefly transforms into a map, outlining the surrounding area and the exact locations of the monsters. It's useful for avoiding confrontations and sneaking into places, but for those who have been betrayed, they enjoy no such benefits.

The screen changes to read 'punishment time' at random intervals. It's at these times when you receive painful electric shocks. The higher the number, the more excruciating it is. There is simply no rhyme or reason as to when it will happen. They appear at the worst of times and last for indefinite periods.

There is no way of knowing when this hell will end. The app is unusually quiet, and no one can respond to your inquiries. So, what are your options? If you decide to travel, you will only find a clue to the end of your misery.

Past the forest and the shrine, there's a castle.

  THE CASTLE

At the front of the castle, there are two marble statues. In addition to this, there appears to be a magical seal preventing entry through the front door. The seal can be broken by finding the stone key hidden behind one of the statues. It's not too difficult to spot with the naked eye.

When you go through the door the first thing you'll see is a long corridor. It's decorated with foliage and beautiful flowers. But wait. When you go to the end of the hallway it just loops you right back to the start. That can't be right. The only way to escape from this place is to speak with the doves chilling right next to the fountain.

"To whom does the true form show itself? I ask: Why did humans disappear from the world? You must answer."

Answering the question will grant you access to the next room.

There's a large ballroom that gives off a strange feeling as soon as you enter. There are Shades here too but they only seem interested in dancing. The sound of a waltz might reach your ears. When you look outside the window you'll see an unfamiliar city. It doesn't look like Vitae or America. In fact, it might seem like a city from an entirely different world with how all the buildings lack colour. Off to the side, there's a spiral staircase.

Going down that route will take you to a massive library. There's a ton of books that cover any topic you can think of. The older books have writing in them but contain illegible runic scriptures. Killing all the enemies in this room will open the door. They're tougher than the monsters outside of the castle.

A strange figure stands within sight.

Comments

mod notes & questions.

[falsitates]

⬥ For 4th wall characters, please include your character's name, canon/CRAU, and whether they are OU or AU in the subject line
⬥ During this event, we will be following a 2:1 time ratio, so two OOC days will be one IC day. We will return to a 1:1 ratio in August.
⬥ In order to complete this event, certain requirements must be fulfilled. To access the final boss (Nier), a minimum of five threads played across the entire player base must be reported to the toplevel below, with a maximum of 2 threads per player containing at least 5 comments from each character. These threads must be within the castle's setting. These threads may involve Fourth Wall characters, but only players currently in the game may submit threads. A toplevel for the boss will go up upon once five threads are reported, and overall, threads are due by the end of the month to avoid IC consequences.
⬥ If you have any questions, please ask underneath this top-level. If you have any questions related to a specific mission, please ask underneath the appropriate mission thread. Thank you!

thread reporting.

[falsitates]

Player: Character: Thread: (may link up to 2 threads with 2 different characters)

[hippocarnival]

What time during the day/night does this first start, when NPC people disappear?

cw: blood, injuries

[morient]

network

Is everyone okay? If you get hurt by the monsters, just let me know where you are and I'll be there.


on the streets

[ Contrary to Noah's calm message, his mental state is anything but. Waking up to find everyone he knew gone and seeing a desolate world brought him a sharp spike of panic and despair that left him curled up at home for a couple hours. However, he eventually calmed himself enough to get out of bed and assess the situation. Even as he put on his saint's vestments and wandered out of his house on foot, the pain in his chest continued to sting.

What should he do? What could he do? What was about to become of everyone? Is this the end?

He trudges onwards into the city center in hopes of finding someone. Unfortunately, the monsters quickly surround him, seeing him as easy prey. Noah, knowing that he only had healing powers, decides to run. He isn't quite fast enough to escape them, though. Too winded to shout for help, he tries to lose them around a corner, but one of them reaches out to impale him with a sharpened talon. Noah falls to his knees, light blue blood staining his clothes...

... no. This won't be the end... it won't! ]

Get away from me!

[ A bright flash of white light emanates from his body, throwing the monsters back. The wound seems to have awakened something latent inside him - he feels oddly calm, serene, focused. He quickly conjures a shield around himself, keeping the monsters in sight so he can formulate a plan. ]


wildcard

[ Noah will be around... for the lack of a better word, wheezes. If your char gets injured, he'll want to patch them up. Hit me up for wildcards!! ]

ON THE STREETS

[deadcalms]

Get down.

[ There's the sound of a blade clashing and sparks ring out from Giyu's sword. It happens in an instant. The shadows around Noah disappear in a flash. Giyu is an expert swordsman taking care of this much is a simple job for him. ]

...Are you hurt?

[ Noah's probably never seen this guy before. Giyu is still unfamiliar with this land and has little to no idea what's going on. He figures that a demon might be behind the scenes as usual. His expression is calm and composed seemingly unfazed by anything that just happened.]

network

[ehero]

noah are you allright
where are you

[ rule number one of missions: don't leave your healer alone ]

[whiteshroud]

I. Network

Grab what emergency supplies you can and find shelter. Find people to stick with. If you aren't trained to fight, don't fight the monsters unless you have no other choice. Run the second you have an opening.

This isn't a dream, it's all real. Struggle as hard as you can to survive, you may be on your own for awhile.

II. Survival - Rescue
[As soon as Jun sent that message, he headed out, Nier's sword in hand. He had a feeling something like this would happen sooner or later, based on past experiences. Still, it's not exactly great knowing he's the only Underground agent in the city. Even their meager resources in Morimiya's incident seemed so plentiful to what he had now.

It didn't matter though. He still had a mission: resolve the anomaly of Vitae and return to Japan.

While he's focused on tracking down the source of this, he will still help when he sees someone. He'll rush in, getting between the person in distressed and the monster, kicking it hard enough to send the creature flying back and onto the ground.]

You okay?

[He holds the sword at a battle stance position, ready to follow up his attack if necessary. All this while wearing a blue maid uniform like it's no big deal.

What. He was at work when this all went down]

III. Castle
[This seems like the most likely spot for the source, so of course Jun is going to check this place out. He's currently standing at the entrance, looking at the sealed door carefully]

Looks like it needs a key....

IV. Wildcard
[Got another prompt for me? Hit me up! ]

II

[morient]

[ Jun would probably be able to notice occasional bright white light flashes coming from the next street over. There's not much sound of combat, only the semi-frequent sounds of something shattering like glass. Surely there can't be enough glass around to make that kind of persistent noise...

... of course it's not glass. Noah stands in the middle of a monster group, wearing his saint robes. There's a conspicuous light blue stain on the front of it, but he seems to not notice. He's not using a weapon, instead conjuring moonstones as projectile weapons and using moonlight to shield himself. Unfortunately, he's still a healer by profession, so his explosive power isn't as effective. Nevertheless, he's got patience, and he's slowly but surely whittling down his opponents. ]

iii

[deadcalms]

A key? Maybe, I'll look.

[ Suddenly there's this mysterious unfamiliar man who shows up. Giyu moves quickly and discreetly so it might seem as if he appeared from thin air. He's stressed up in a haori and carries a katana. Plus, it seems like he fails to offer any explanation why he's here. That's something he can't answer right now. ]

I don't think this building is natural in any case. A demon might be at work here.

[ He's checking out the area a bit more closely in the meantime. Hi Jun ]

ii

[ehero]

[ holy shit that's hot........................................... ]

Yeah, get on!

[ oh right Judai is on his motorcycle. He has absolutely no idea where to drive or go, but anywhere is better than just standing around and letting the shadows attack them. This time, he doesn't have a helmet to give Jun so they're just gonna have to pray that Judai doesn't crash or anything. ]

Are you all right?

Giyu Tomioka | Kimetsu no Yaiba | OU

[deadcalms]

1 action

[ Giyu's senses are sharp so he can feel a disturbance in the atmosphere. He doesn't know where he is so that could be a problem. There's no citizens occupying the city and only monsters remain. Where did everyone go? There's traces of a civilization and it looks like people lived here recently.

Maybe there was some kind of evacuation order. Giyu feels like he's missing the bigger picture. He was never briefed on a mission prior to being deployed so this must have happened all too suddenly.

The shadow creatures that lurk the city don't pose any threat to him. He's a demon slayer and this work falls within his occupational skill set. ]

I don't have time for this.

[ He unsheaths his blade and slashes at several monsters in succession. There are way too many shadows just blocking the way. He need to look for survivors. Could there be a shelter nearby? ]


2 Network

[There's really something that looks like a brick nokia in his haori. Giyu spends way too long trying to figure out how this contraption works. He understands that it might be used for communication but he's still largely unaware of all its functions and other purposes. If he sends any messages it's with the speech to text option.]

combat is my specialty

reply if you need assistance

Castle

[ Giyu chucks a pebble towards the castle door. He knows it's sealed tightly. What he isn't certain of is if it's safe to approach this place to begin with. There could be traps or other inconveniences ]

There's a demon at work here.


WILDCARD
[ As always feel free to ask for prompts at springbloom ]

Castle

[ragewheel]

Eh, ya think?

[Ash takes a glance at the door, before turning his head back to Giyu. It's intimidating for sure, but already he's feeling like wanting to break it down.]

Maybe it's a shitty mage holed up inside. Or both.

2!

[incompletely]

[ This is all extremely baffling and very, very horrifying. He has zero combat experience, zero knowledge of anything that's going on -- so as soon as Tenn feels the very ancient phone in his pocket vibrate, he pulls it out and sees a very comforting text.

Time to reply as fast as he can. ]

Assistance required
Hiding in the mall, where are you

[ He did not sign up for this. ]

[hippocarnival]

[I]

[There's not a lot more horrific than just a normal day at work on a cloudy say and suddenly all of your customers and your coworker disappear at once. It's like they glitched out of reality, and Yuya doesn't... he really doesn't know how to take it.

So he starts dialing numbers, texting, trying to reach people. For anyone who will answer. All the while he stares out the windows, at shadowy figures in the distance.]

hello????

[II | Limit One]

[As the monsters get further into the city, passing the teahouse reveals that they've made it inside through a shattered window. There's a few of them milling around in the open, and from the outside they seem idle. It'd almost look abandoned.

Until there's a scream, barely muted by the walls.]

[III]

[He's not really equipped for fighting these things at all. But when the water stops running he needs to do something. The food in his fridge will spoil quickly without power, but in an apartment building there's no way he can hook up to a generator.

He doesn't have a lot of choice but to run out to the nearest grocery store. He can't fight these monsters at all, but he can't starve, so he'll have to hope he outruns them.

The automatic door is stuck open, but it's dark inside with limited windows. There's no way he can see any creature in there, and it forces him to stop.] Maybe... they can't see in there either...

II

[whiteshroud]

[he wasn't close to Yuya, but he did remember the teashop owner that offered him food - an offer that Jun took up on once or twice. If it were only people from the app that were still in the city, it felt wise to check on the young man.

Seems his intuition was a good one. He was about to try knocking on the door, when he heard the scream. Well, no time for manners. Excuse him as he kicks in the door. The sword he took from Nier is ready in his hand]

Yuya!

[He'll call out, trying to get a sense of where the boy is.]

I

[ragewheel]

[On one hand, thank god for having been already supplanted with knowledge of some of the modern tech before he woke up and found himself here. On the other? He's here! In a place probably far, far away from alternate timeline India! And right in the middle of doing some timey-wimey shenanigans at that!!

Ash would be more pissed if the phone (that somehow he now had) didn't set off, but it does, and he stares at the screen for a good, solid minute. Was it one of the other Servants?? Maybe or maybe not, he couldn't tell. Hell, it's the longest of longshot hopes, so he sends a reply back.]

whos this

[Hmm...that might not be enough. He's still kind of angry as well.

Ash sends the same thing immediately after his first response, except it's all in caps this time. There, that was (not any) better!]

WHOS THIS

iii

[ehero]

Sounds risky...

[ Judai can't tell exactly how many are inside, but he does at least know that there is a handful. He doesn't know if Yuya can protect himself, so if they sneak in, get caught, and he has to protect the both of them... hmm, he thinks for a second. ]

How fast do you think you can grab things?

akira fudou | devilman | ou

[mrfuckwit]

NETWORK.

What the fuck is going on here?
_{[ Eloquent, isn't he? No, Akira gets right to the point with his frustration here. He's just ran away from a bunch of those things, whatever they were, and was able to find somewhere quiet unscathed. It's not like him to run away, but after appearing in a place he doesn't recognize, he thinks he deserves a little bit of time to himself to gain some composure. ]}

I don't have time for this or whatever the fuck is going on.

_{[ Mr. Empathy-Save-Humanity is a bit touchy today, but he was going of doing something important before all of this happened. ]}

STREETS.

[ a. Now that's he's gained some gusto, that hybrid blood of his is absolutely pumped for a fight. Although smart, Akira has his moments of being quite the blockhead and isn't aware he doesn't have access to most of his powers. The only one he has access to right now is transformation, so you bet your butt he's discarding his clothes and changing into something that looks equally terrifying. Some people my recognize this as a demon and are free to be just as violent to him as they are to the shadowy figures. Feel free to attack him in confusion.

b. Or, perhaps you're fortunate enough to see him physically attack the other monsters and it looks like he's on the good side! Akira is learning quickly, though, he's unable to fight like normally, with fire and beams and maybe he should be a little more cautious. Your character is also free to assist him in his fight against a handful of shadow figures. ]

_{[ ooc: hello i'm new here! i read somewhere newbies could use the network and have access to one power for this event, but let me know if i'm mistaken! also please look at his disclaimer, thanks! ]}

streets b;

[chemex]

[So there's a dude that kind of looks like an Incubus running around fighting the shadow things, okay. Stranger things have happened, Akira can deal with this-- maybe. He's struggling, honestly, because outside of the Metaverse he's more or less just a normal teenager. There's a lot that the cognitive world can do for a person's abilities, and being fully seated in the real and actual world with approximately nothing but his fists is less than ideal. He has agility, he has speed, but he lacks a lot of other necessary and pretty important things in the face of a fight.]

[So he takes a chance, and after knocking out a shade he moves backward toward Fudou, so he can see everything forward of him.] Strength in numbers?

[ehero]

( gotta go fast )

[ Oh boy, he couldn't have regained his motorcycle at a better time. Unlike Jun who is kicking ass in a maid outfit, Judai is avoiding violence. When he sees someone in distress, his reaction is to use Neos to bodyslam them away, so he has enough space to ride in and stop by the person in need. ]

Get on!

[ He's not wearing a helmet and he doesn't have one to give out. Proper road safety is for cowards. ]

( he's too stupid for this )

"To whom does the true form show itself"?

[ He crosses his arms and cocks his head. Who does this dove think he is? He barely even graduated high school. ]

Is it asking in general or...?

( y'all are murderers )

[ Going up the staircase, Judai is taken off guard when a fireball just barely misses him. It explodes into the wall behind him, throwing embers into the air. The Shades are approaching and the natural reaction is to fight, but... ]

Wait, they're human--!

[ murderers :/ ]

( wildcard )

[ let me set something up!!! gimme threads gimme ]

gotta go fast

[incompletely]

[ Tenn's frantically running away from a monster, carrying a big stash of a random assortment of things that he took from the mall. He's in survival mode and this is the only way he can feasibly react in this situation. Some of the food he'd been carrying drops on the ground behind him as he runs for his life, and he ends up tripping and colliding with the ground while trying to flee from the beast.

Hm. He thinks it's probably all over here, and he closes his eyes, ready to accept defeat. And then suddenly...what?

First of all, that giant lizard human would probably be scarier than the monsters if it weren't saving Tenn's goddamn life right now. Secondly, there's a boy on a motorcycle swinging on by to pick him up? What is going on here. He's not going to turn the offer away, though, and Tenn leaves whatever he dropped on the floor. He hurriedly gets onto the back of the motorcycle and puts his hands on Judai's shoulders without a second thought. ]

Hurry!

william james moriarty | moriarty the patriot | ou

[mathodical]

i. arrival

[ he runs.

william has no idea what's going on, but questions can wait until there are no more inhuman monsters pursuing him, and when he can actually find people to answer his questions, but at the very least, he isn't defenceless.

if you come across him, sometime after his encounter with the shadowy monsters, he's exhausted, trying to make his way to safety or a shelter nearby, blood from the slain monsters staining both his clothes and the blade of the sword that he's carrying. ]

... Finally, civilisation. [ it's a little dry, but there's definitely some kind of relief in his tone. ] I promise that not all the blood you see is mine.

ii. network

[ definitely voice to text, once william has figured out how to use a mobile phone, and he's not really expecting a response because ??? technology??? but: ]

Any survivors? Respond. Might be more prudent for us to group up.

iii. castle

... No, this can't be right.

[ yeah, guess who's just come out of the hallway and realised that he was back at the start of the corridor. he looks mildly annoyed by the entire thing, so.

help. ]

iv. wildcard

( i'll run with anything! you can reach me at ribcageblooms to plot or just throw me a random prompt! william is from chapter 59 of the moriarty the patriot manga so please let me know if you would like for me to avoid spoilers! )

network

[incompletely]

[ He's also using voice to text because hey, fuck texting on this thing??? ]

Yes, I'm here. Kujo Tenn, no combat experience but I have supplies with me that you may found useful. Where are you located?

haruka isumi | idolish7 | au

[doublecenter]

survival;
[This is... Fine. This is fine. The city seems to have changed over night with no warning, salt is raining from the sky, and there are monsters roaming about...

Okay.

Maybe it's not that fine.

Haruka is, to put it simply, scared. He's managed to arm himself, but he's not exactly sure how much good a kitchen knife is going to do him. Not that he could handle anything else, but maybe it would at least be comforting. He's jumpy and on edge, and the slightest bit of movement out of the corner of his eye gets him to whip around and brandish the knife. Most of the time it's nothing, but sometimes...]

Who are you?

[Stay calm, Haruka. It's a complete stranger, but that doesn't mean-]

If you get any closer, I'll kill you!

[Sighs.]

castle;
[He's standing outside a building that he doesn't recognizing, looking up at the door. The seal is perplexing, and he's sure there's some sort of key around to unlock it. Like a video game! Except this is real life, which means it's extra terrible.

Haruka presses his lips together.]

There's no way.

[He's gotten this for, but going in there? It sounds like certain death.]

This isn't funny!

[He kicks the base of one of the statues, immediately regretting it when pain shoots up his leg.]

wildcard;
[He'll be around! And if you want to hash out anything, feel free to grab me at revelries!]

castle

[incompletely]

[ Tenn finds himself at the castle amidst all the chaos, and he steps towards it, wanting to give it a closer look. He feels like there may be something within it...something a little more clever than whatever this boy's doing right now, kicking that statue. Yeah, he really does seem to be regretting it, and Tenn lets out a sigh before he approaches. ]

Well, you kicking that statue was a little comical.

[ Tenn...... ]

What are you doing?

BOSS FIGHT TOP LEVEL 7 / 31

[silentends]

[ The air is still and something resembling snow continously falls from the sky.

Nier isn't even aware of what's happening to himself or the city around him. His body moves on its own as if it were possessed by someone or something. He appears to be wearing different clothing as well. In another life, that's the outfit he would use when he goes hunting.

Who's he even trying to hunt down and turn into his prey? The smaller monsters don't intrest him and he's looking for something in particular.

That's right, he's looking for blood. He's already drenched in it from head to toe but apparently it's not enough.

Consider yourself unlucky if you happen to find Nier walking down the streets. If he spots you then he's very likely to attack with murderous intent. Feel free to attack him back!

You can start running or maybe you want to fight and take down this guy instead. Whatever you choose the decision will be yours.]


[Ooc: Boss fight for this top level will occur in this thread ! thread jacking is welcome or you can make other sub threads as you please. I can be contacted at springbloom Thanks! Just a notice that there's likely going to be a lot more blood for the upcoming tags as a result of various injuries. This is going to be a mess. ]

[whiteshroud]

[It's been a long week. Whenever he wasn't resting, Jun had been working hard to try to resolve this situation- to return this city back to its former state. But despite several leads, theories, battles- he hasn't had much luck. Logically, it's understandable why he hasn't succeeded yet. He was trying to solve an anomaly the size of a metropolis, with almost no resources, manpower and his own powers greatly limited. There was no one in the Underground back home that'd be able to resolve something quickly under these conditions. He understood this and ... yet, with each passing day, he couldn't help but feel a growing sense of frustration at himself for failing to beat all those odds.

And so, he kept going. He's on his way to investigate another part of the city when he spots Nier. Nier had been on his mind, being one of those he hasn't be able to locate this started. Unusual, considering the guy was still on the app as far as he knew. So of course, he's approaching.]

Nier? [He slows as he gets closer. Is...is that blood? And...] Uh, what's with that outfit?

[Which is kinda rich considering he's still in a maid costume, but hey Nier's outfit is STRANGE]

heathcliff blanchett | mahoutsukai no yakusoku | AU

[ojiya]

network;
[Wow, typing on this thing is kind of terrible.]

Hello? I'm not the only one out here, right? If anyone can see this, this is Heathcliff Blanchett. I'm not sure how much help I can be in all of this, but I just really want to know I'm not alone.

[hlep]

survival;
[Heathcliff has heard how a lot of surviving is just staying calm and thinking through your actions, but a lot of that advice was for things that was reasonable. Understandable. Possible in reality as you knew it. He's not sure that advice counts for things like monsters appearing out of nowhere and the entire population of a city disappearing overnight.

So it's very hard for Heathcliff to stay calm.

He tries his best to avoid the monsters, but as the days pass and it gets colder, Heathcliff gets... Hungrier and weaker. He's not equipped to fight, he knows, but he... He doesn't want to die like this, alone and starving. So he tries to sneak into a store to see if there's anything left, and it... Goes poorly.]

N-no, no, no...

[He runs, but he's not sure how long he can run when he feels so weak, but... He doesn't want to die. They already know he's there, so at least... At least he can call for help.

Whether or not help is there is another thing entirely.]

castle;
What?

[There's... Talking birds. Talking birds, who are asking Heathcliff some kind of riddle. He blinks at them, more than a little confused.]

I... I don't know. Which of those questions am I supposed to be answering?!

[What?? Is with this?]

wildcard;
[You know how it be, and feel free to hit me up at revelries if you wanna hash something out!]

survival

[breweries]

[ meanwhile, shylock has been doing fine... ish. except not really, because despite regaining his specialty magic a while ago, he's still pretty much stuck as a human. getting separated by johannes also makes things a little worse, but...

well, he should focus on himself first and foremost. the noise coming from a nearby shop alerted him, and upon taking a peek inside the first thing he sees is a familiar tuft of blond hair before his gaze lands on the monsters who have been chasing him. oh no, they won't-- ​]

Inviebelle.

[ the monsters slowly come to a crawl, before crumpling onto the ground in deep slumber. shylock breathes a sigh of relief before running towards his fellow wizard(?). ]

Heathcliff? Are you all right?