ORIGIN - [Quest] The Hole Pt. II

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The cave, to Max and Max alone, seemed to creak and twist, as if it had suddenly come alive. Alive to turn its faceless rock to stare at him, the whispers of the altar rising to an almost coherent crescendo, their rush of incomprehensible words suddenly deafening in his ears.

Stilling, calming, like ice through the veins: terrifying and... somehow reassuring, both; for what could one fear, with this darkness now a part of them forever, this thing that should not be?

Max's coat, even in the gleam of white, began to dull very slightly. The flourite on his head seemed to dim... to go black, oily like the Altar itself, all the way through, shining bone-white in its voidlight.

Corrupted.

...Converted.

Now the roar of whispers could be heard by all present: a rush of near-tangible voice raising against the silence-

All at once, a brief agony would tear through Max, sharp and poignant but mercifully fleeting, hot and cold all at once as black smoke roiled around him. Max's magic was torn from him: ripped away in a screaming sear, changing, shifting... In its place was left something ominous that throbbed and hummed within him.

New power roiled through him, and now the whispers receded, brushing promises across the minds of those who lingered. Promises of similar power. Promises of this.

Max's Conversion was complete. He was the first.

He would undoubtedly not be the last.

Conversion, along with the Corrupted element and spells, have now been unlocked. These spells are restricted to Converted characters, who lose all access to the spells of other elements. More information can be found here: Corruption.

@Max

Esther heard the voice of the dog before they heard it. The blonde thing with floppy ears- it looked strange. Not that Esther couldn't call themselves strange. Esther wasn't usually the kind to show probity and wouldn't begin to now. So, those thoughts about the canine being strange would stay inside their head.

There was a cat, too.

"What is this place?" They asked, long ears flicking.

@Max @purity

The rock twisted, came alive, and oh, and oh! he whirled, eyes wide, ears perking and a whine spilling from his throat, he could listen, if he just, if he just, he was cold but why should he fear? This was Home, this was a part of him? He felt as comfortable as he did when he was given an ear scratch, a belly-rub, this was comfort, this was Home, even as he dulled, even as he faded, his third eye going as dark as the Altar itself, bone-white in the Altar's love.

And then pain, he yipped and cried out, stumbled though the pain was there and gone, though he couldn't complain as power, thrumming, alive, rolled through his veins and he was strong, stronger than he'd been before. He braced his paws, shook himself, his mind rattled, he wasn't a Bad Dog but the power whispered in his ears, he looked at Esther, blinking with oily eyes, offering her a grin and a wag of his tail, "This is our Altar, this is my Home."

@Esther @Purity

Corruption: THIRTY-FOUR.

His tail swayed with unease at the dog's cheerfulness. "I'm Purity," he would have responded before giving a soft "hm". A stretch and a yawn, and a parting promise of food, he'd left for the day's hunt.

It was the next day when, again, they were both in the cave, and Purity was sat still contemplating speaking further, another entity had entered the picture. 'Ah.' He stood and paced from behind the altar, peeking out from behind Max. If it weren't for his rather intense stare it may have looked even childlike to a new observer.

But, that was patched out quick when he stepped out, giving a nod to Max and a simple correction. "It's Purity." A flick of the tail and a tilt of the head later, he decided, "Fluffy-cat will do."

The rush of magic, though, the feel of tingling and changing and- Oh. The whispers. Purity went silent for a moment and lifted his head to the stale air, his pelt quivering with the thrill of magic rolling over them. This wasn't just unnatural, it was- it was... He didn't have a word for this. Powerful seemed like too soft of a word for this.

Encompassing. Yes, that would do.

He nodded to Max's words. "Our home. Welcome to the Altar, my friend." His grin showed pure black teeth in the inverted colors of the room. 'Why is it always canines?' He looked between the two, eyes lingering on Max's gem and white eyes before looking back to the... Wolf? "Who might you be?" His voice was oily as he backed away closer to the slab of rock that seemed to call to him. "We are here to partake in the..." He looked to Max. "The changes this Altar seems to provide."

Quieter, now, he leaned forward, a paw on the Altar. "Max, how do you feel?" Was it genuine care of was it selfish concern about his own future?

@Esther
+3 [total: 34]

Esther's eyes quickly traveled to the dog when he started whining. It was a sound that the creature's large ears didn't want to hear. High pitched and what felt like full of pain. And they didn't even do anything to the blonde thing! Esther hadn't tried to catch fire to any of the things inside the dark place, and hadn't tried to bring any light.

Esther didn't renege their fire- they would use it if they needed it. Their eyes were perfect for the dark and would not need any help to see, considering that the creature was a nocturnal animal. The darkness didn't bother them in the slightest. Esther sat when the canine mentioned that this place was his home. This darkness? Did dogs like darkness?

They did turn back to the fluffy cat, though when more words came. "I'm Esther." They replied. An ear flicked at the words though, changes? What kind of changes did the altar provide? Now they wanted to see. "Changes?"

Heterochromatic eyes moved to stare at the blonde dog when the cat asked if he was okay. That was a good question- seeing as the canine did just. Do whatever that was.

@Max @purity

"Our home," the dog corrected, wagging his tail, reaching up even as he stood to scratch at his ear, wobbling on his paws. "Hello friend-Esther, I've never seen a dog like you!" his glowing white eyes darted back to the Alter, ears perking, straining to make out those wonderful, tantalizing whispers.

He paused, tilting his head back and forth, as he tried to figure out, how did he feel? "Strong." Max answered, for once serious, certain of the answer "I feel strong, I feel real."

Did it make sense? Probably not.

And then, of course, the smoke that surrounded him plumed, and he vanished.

@Purity

Purity nodded. "Esther. Welcome, then." He turned to the altar, pacing further into the hole as Max's cheerfulness drove his words more for the visitor. "This place has a power and we're trying to understand it. Or-" He glanced back to Max. "To have it imparted on us." His tail tip flicked when he sat facing the two.

His attention drew forward as Max felt his new form. Feeling real made sense and feeling strong? Well, that's why he was here. "Strong is good." He gave a grin, leaning in forward.

And then he disappeared. "Ah- Max?" The question was reactionary and his fur began to raise at the lack of a certain canine in the room.

@Esther

He stirred only gradually. Two weeks had passed; his body had fallen, been cast aside, reformed within his stone, in the shadow-light of the Altar. He had ceased to be, in his sleep; it would have been poetic to speak of dreams and nightmares, of whispers and portents, but in truth none of that came to him.

The Black Dog simply slept, and when he woke, everything was a dull white.

Hing legs kicked out, smashing the thinned-down onyx shell free; the fluid spilled away, and he sat up.

It took him a long moment to realize that his body was... new. His shape was changed. His balance was completely different, and the whispers-...

It was disorienting. So much had changed. For a long moment Black simply sat there, upright and oddly humanoid, now, absorbing all of this.

The Altar was still there, unchanged. He was upright, now. His magic was-... Gone.

No-... not gone.

"Altered," he said aloud, as he realized. His voice came hollow, echoing, rumbling, as if spectral or with long disuse. It was still a bass rumble, but with something otherworldly to it.

The hound pushed up from his shattered chrysalis, half-stumbling at the strange weight to his body, and flexed his arms out sideways. Anyone else present, for now, he ignored, as he tested his new body. His chest was broad, now, his paws-... his hands had fingers. He looked at them.

He felt his own face.

He tested his balance.

And then he tested his magic, reaching for it, looking up with one sighted blue eye, and one scarred and milky-blind.

Absolutely nothing came. He wondered, at this. Was it removed? He could still feel it, lurking... perhaps it would need practice. He had never fallen into his gemstone, before, and though he wondered at the irresponsibility of it, of not feeding himself, something about the whispers assured him that all was well.

The black dog picked his way forth, pausing only to lift several shards of his own, white-gleaming, black gemstone, and then--with only a brief and empty glance to any others present--he stalked up and out of the Hole... on two legs.

exit Black (for real this time)

Esther blinked with a pang of confusion. Welcome home? Esther didn't have a home. The strange comfort they got from the feline saying that didn't feel good in their mind. Something was up and they wanted to know what it was. Though the power comment wasn't unusual, Esther heard those whispers. Couldn't understand a thing they were saying, but the maned wolf did hear them. Something strange was going on with this place and they were curious.

"I see..." Was the only reply to that.

They turned their head to the dog when he mentioned feeling strong, feeling alive. Was that from the strange altar here? The magic? Why did something in their gut say something was very wrong here? Oh, and then the dog just. Poofed out of the area. What on earth.

"He just. Disappeared." Esther noted, glancing around.

@Max

Nothing.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

And when he came back, there was everything.

The dog screamed.

He bounded forward, trying to get away, left a puddle of urine in his wake, and slammed into the wall of the hole, scrabbling desperately at it.

@Purity

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