idolpro | Vergil's heart game r3

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!heart games

Vergil's heart game r3

You feel weak, your body won't move no matter how you try, and you are falling, away from everything you know and love. Away from everything you need to accomplish. If you could just reach out, maybe you could hold on to it, claw your way back. But it's a useless endeavour, you fall unconscious, and your mind goes blank except for poetry and a familiar voice.

O mother Enitharmon, wilt thou bring forth other sons?
To cause my name to vanish, that my place may not be found,
For I am faint with travail,
Like the dark cloud disburden'd in the day of dismal thunder.

My roots are brandish'd in the heavens, my fruits in earth beneath
Surge, foam and labour into life, first born and first consum'd!
Consumed and consuming!
Then why shouldst thou, accursed mother, bring me into life?

You wake on the ground in a cave, cold, wet, and sticky. It smells of rotting flesh. Your objective is clear, but you can't recall a name or face. Nothing else about your memory of him is changed, but for some reason the name "Vergil" just won't come to you, and you couldn't describe how he looks if your life depended on it. But at least your body starts to respond to your will, slowly regaining enough strength to carry on.

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IC info
-This heart is actively trying to steal your own life for itself.
-Distrust, self-reliance, and willingness to do anything no matter how difficult or distasteful are key to survival in the Underworld.
-Either canon OR Imeeji powers are on, you can pick.
-You arrive with no weapons or anything else on your person that you aren't wearing or carrying in your pockets.

OOC info
-For powers if I really have no idea how to deal with something or it'll ruin fun it's not gonna happen but generally, go wild.
-You can freely interact with others unless otherwise stated.
-If anything is destroyed or taken it will respawn for the next person unless you're doing things together. Basically you only change anything for yourself and anyone part of the thread or otherwise decidedly running with you.
-There are revives, so as much as you should be careful, it won't be over if you die.
-To avoid injury or death, or to get past other obstacles, you'll need to spend Perseverance points to pass a sort of skill check. You begin with 1 point.
-You'll gain Perseverance points generally for performing harrowing or unsavoury tasks, or going it alone.

Objectives
Find pieces of [Vergil]'s soul and return them to him - how will you know what they are? You'll just have to figure that out. Some are objects to collect, others will be something to destroy or fix.
OR
Cultivate demonic power. Likewise up to you to figure out how. But you should know demons feed on blood, for one thing!

Feel free to ask questions here or on discord

Break this heavy chain,
That does freeze my bones around!
Selfish, vain,
Eternal bane,
That free love with bondage bound.

A cave with a giant, exposed, beating heart in the centre. There's several massive...roots? coming from the heart. The walls of the cave are a web of similar thin red vines and pulsing sacks like blisters. The ground and what remains of the walls and ceiling are slick and fleshy. Some gaps between walls have a thin membrane over them.

On one end of the room is a gate, from ground to ceiling, about 20 feet tall. Innumerable red vines cover its frame. There are two openings in the walls that appear to lead into tunnels, with pointed talons or perhaps ribs poised around them that move occasionally like fingers drumming. One heads east, the other south.

There is never anyone else in this cave with you. You are alone.

Lo! to the vault
Of paved heaven,
With sorrow fraught
My notes are driven:
They strike the ear of night,
Make weep the eyes of day;
They make mad the roaring winds,
And with tempests play.

Like a fiend in a cloud
With howling woe,
After night I do croud,
And with night will go;
I turn my back to the east,
From whence comforts have increas'd;
For light doth seize my brain
With frantic pain.

It takes some walking, how long have you been wandering through caverns? It becomes more and more difficult to tell them apart. Have you already been this way? Do you know how to make it back? Do you even know where you want to end up?

The area opens up into what looks very much like a field of feather grass and wildflowers. The grass however is a light lavender shade, and the red petals of the flowers seem to glow. It's light here, the sky muddled and grey like night, but still, this is a far cry from the near blackness of the fleshy caves. The rock outcropping that looks like coral reef is almost beautiful. It could be nice to rest here.

You're getting tired. You should rest, it's awfully tempting...

The Eternals said: What is this?
Death?
Urizen is a clod of clay.

You're dropped in the middle of a lake of blood, the blood from the vein pouring out onto you, slowly filling the pool.

The lake stretches out as far as the eye can see. Shallow enough here to only brush the knees of most, but it quickly grows deeper further out in any direction. Pieces of ancient, ruined buildings hang in the sky, more still are scattered throughout the lake. And between them are countless shattered statues, easily 50ft tall if they were standing.

There's a distinct feeling that the statues are watching, even with their heads sunken in the blood. Their demonic presence is immense despite their broken state and appearing to be inanimate objects. Even more of them than there would appear, on into the distance...you may not be able to see them out there, but they see you. They see right into you, through you, and weigh your worth.

There doesn't seem to be any way back out, the flow of the vein much too strong to ride it the other way.

"Father, father, where are you going?
O do not walk so fast!
Speak, father, speak to your little boy,
Or else I shall be lost."

The night was dark, no father was there,
The child was wet with dew;
The mire was deep, and the child did weep,
And away the vapour flew.

You come to a broken down library within the endless, gory cave system. It's just as dark here, but by now you've gotten used to the lack of light, haven't you? Hopefully so, because there are beams and shelves strewn across the floor. In fact if you want to actually get in, you'll need to climb over quite a bit of rubble and trod on the books that have fallen with them. You'll also have to contend with the roots and branches of demonic trees that have broken through the windows and the floor.

That which is still standing looks absolutely ancient. Books so worn down they might turn to dust if you even look at them. Even with the damage there's a great number of shelves though, and standing by one with the blue glow of an ethereal sword lighting the book in his hands is a young boy.

A mirror floats near the centre of the room, a statue by the doors carrying an hourglass, and another off to one side with lights glowing in its hands.

There's a door to the south, and the opening to the tunnels north.

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears
Night and morning with my tears,
And I sunnèd it with smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright,
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,—

And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning, glad, I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

It's...well it's a building. Hard to tell what the purpose of the place is exactly. This one huge room has it all. A bar, jukebox, stadium size speakers alongside some other musical equipment, boxes and piles of documents crammed on a shelving unit in the corner, a dart board, clippings from nudie mags pinned up, weapons on display in a framed velvet case on the wall, a few plants, a neon "Devil May Cry" sign, a fridge but no kitchen or even a sink. A lot of trash. Pizza boxes, crumpled notes, and empty bottles of booze all over. A mantis-like demon pinned to the wall above the bar with swords.

There is some evidence someone has put in minimal effort to clean up. At least around the leather couch against the wall on the right. No garbage strewn about immediately beside or in front of it. Though there is a stack of books on it, and a shelf beside.

There's a man in a red coat who you probably know slumped over the desk in the middle, head down. The mirror seems to have replaced a front door.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink & sing:
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength & breath:
And the want
Of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live,
Or if I die.

A room made entirely of white marble, almost blindingly bright and reflective, a massive throne opposite the sole entrance that could seat a being of 50ft or more. In the middle of the floor, just in front of the throne, is a stark contrast of a thick, black puddle, scattered with various bits of what must be trash, mostly. But some parts sticking out might be bones.

Suits of armour line the walls, most simply standing at attention, others chained down and grunting or even screaming. Though any noise is quite muffled by their helmets, there's a certain quality to their one shared voice that sounds familiar.

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore.

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys and desires.

You enter the front garden of a manor on a river. The stone fence is mostly eroded, making the iron wrought gate entirely ineffective. Vines bearing fruit creep along the house, especially above the door, and there are plenty of trees and bushes on the property. Out back is the real garden.

On the left side is a woman sitting on a bench under a tree, from which a swing hangs. On the right, a rowboat lays on shore. It's summer here, easy to tell by the heat and scent in the air, the parched grass, the humming of cicadas.

If you came through the Hell Gate, it remains unsealed behind you. If you came any other way, then there is no gate. The path leading away from the house only stretches out into empty hills.

From the depths of dark solitude. From
The eternal abode in my holiness,
Hidden set apart in my stern counsels
Reserv'd for the days of futurity,
I have sought for a joy without pain,

For a solid without fluctuation
Why will you die O Eternals?
Why live in unquenchable burnings?

A giant of a demon sits before you upon his throne, a cheek resting against a fist. Disinterested. He doesn't seem to acknowledge you whatsoever. A cluster of crystals floats in front of him, shining, spinning.

The room itself is solid enough to be made up of steel, but on closer inspection it seems to be petrified roots. There is a pool of blood like a moat at the demon's feet, and like everything here he too is covered in tree roots. Almost bound to his throne by them.

If you came through the Hell Gate, it's vanished. There is no exit.

You know immediately upon entering that you shouldn't be here.

[well give raven a few minutes to mentally recover from that awful feeling. he's already pale and shaky, and we've only just begun]

...!

[eventually, he'll make his way east]

Honey, you've got a big storm comin'... East you go though, have fun.

[raven feels his knees weaken and he drops down to one knee, struggling to stay conscious]

No... no, this isn't... right, I need to... keep moving... I...

There are a couple things in here that seem to call to you, something is in the field...but something on the rocks is particularly insistent.

But you are too drowsy to go on, eyes heavy, relaxed. This really is a peaceful spot, whether you're conscious of the choice or not, you're soon laying down. Or maybe you're just that weak, Raven? That sounds about right, how could you fight any of this, just a powerless human. Does it feel like there's something just in the air itself telling you that?

The grass tickles your skin, itches slightly. Should it be able to touch your bare shoulder?

You have a sense of where some things are. Vergil, or a part of him, is in the room to the south, along with several small pieces. There are more in that direction too, in two diverging directions from there. There's something east of here, and it's...odd, is it Vergil? It feels slightly different, but it's the strongest sense to you. Somewhere above you is definitely Yamato, but it's hard to tell where.

The south most parts have a horrible, anguished call unlike the rest though. All the others beckon with indistinct whispers, but these are more like a warning.

You can also feel Urizen somewhere, indistinct. Well, around the core, the true heart, but in contention with another true heart.

[that's right... he's so powerless like this, too weak to resist. his body is just a human's, after all. raven collapses into the grass, curled up on his side, his eyes slowly closing]

The grass has already woven itself around your arms and legs to strap them down...but then you're not even fighting anyway. Some of it pierces your flesh, as the bit creeping up your shoulder has done, working its way deep within. The ground around you is soaked with blood, and the flowers - they are much larger than they were before.

You have 1 Perseverance...are you going to just give up? Or will you use that to fight for your life?

[faintly, raven can hear himself screaming in his own head to fight, but his body feels so lethargic... is it better to just give up? what hope does he have of surviving, anyway?]

[with a gasp, he suddenly thrashes against the grass, struggling as hard as he can, trying to tear the grass away from him]

You don't have the strength to escape, it's a pointless endeavour. The grass grows excessively long to meet you, and every blade of it you laid on works its way into your flesh...

Almost. You fight. It might be pathetic, inelegant, just desperation, but somehow you manage to escape its grasp, tear just enough away to get out of the field. Though it still reaches out after you until you're well out of its reach.

As you do, you cross painting, large enough it's nearly life-sized, almost as wide as your arm span. You could grab it on your way.

[gasping and panting, raven manages to stumble his way out of the range of the grass. he ends up tumbling a few times, hitting the ground hard, but eventually he's free. with a hiss, he rips out the remaining blades of grass and angrily throws them back into the field.

...

he stares at the portrait for a few moments]

"My mother groaned; my father wept. Into the dangerous world I leapt..."

[he will pick up the painting and try to carry it out]

You're such a nerd. But it earns a response?

Bound and weary I thought best
To sulk upon my mothers breast.

There's almost a laugh in the voice this time. Huh. But you manage to pick the painting up and - it's video game logic, you can totally carry that around just fine. It's just in your pocket now, don't worry about it.

[oh, that's new... that voice sounds familiar.

raven will leave and go back to the cave, if he can]

You just keep hearing it in every room, weird

[when he returns, he looks around, and recites]

"O Rose, thou art sick. The invisible worm that flies in the night, in the howling storm..."

This is how Vergils communicate. The voice comes and finishes the verse again...

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

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Vergil's heart game r3

rules & info

LIVING CAVE

PETRIFIED FIELD

ROOM OF FALLEN ONES

LIBRARY

MIRROR WORLD: DEVIL MAY CRY

THRONE ROOM

MANOR

URIZEN

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