Barok van Zieks (
discourtesies) wrote in
dreamcrystals2021-11-04 09:26 pm
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Entry tags:
journal ⚔️ a warning
Sender: Barok van Zieks
[The writing is hurried, a cursive that just manages to be legible. In his rush, his usual formalities are cut short. The message is more important than the form it takes.]
There is a demon in the wilderness — a bestial man. Powerful and violent, able to heal itself in an instant. Anyone unable to defend themselves should avoid the woods until [until what? It's killed? If there's any shred of the man still in there, he can't condone that.] further notice.
[Is that a drop of blood on the page? Eh, it's fine.]
It was Kazuma Asogi. I don't understand it, but I wasn't able to reason with him and he became this thing before my eyes.
[After a moment, he adds:]
He cannot be left like this.
[The writing is hurried, a cursive that just manages to be legible. In his rush, his usual formalities are cut short. The message is more important than the form it takes.]
There is a demon in the wilderness — a bestial man. Powerful and violent, able to heal itself in an instant. Anyone unable to defend themselves should avoid the woods until [until what? It's killed? If there's any shred of the man still in there, he can't condone that.] further notice.
[Is that a drop of blood on the page? Eh, it's fine.]
It was Kazuma Asogi. I don't understand it, but I wasn't able to reason with him and he became this thing before my eyes.
[After a moment, he adds:]
He cannot be left like this.
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[He'd had that same impression, until now. It's only been a few months, but van Zieks would like to think he's gotten a decent measure of the man. This, however... was something much darker.]
He dismissed my attempts to question him, and I had little choice but to defend myself. It seemed to me as if he were enjoying it... as if he had been gripped by some madness.
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Could it be some sort of affliction born of this dream world? I'm afraid I must confess, I've not yet been able to do all too much research on what sorts of sicknesses may be encountered around here. [He presses the gauze to Van Zieks's arm, hoping to cover as much of the scratches as he can. ... He may need more than one gauze for this.] Has no one responded to your public query with a satisfying answer?
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[There's little that van Zieks can add to help; having been here only so long himself and certainly no expert in mind-afflicting ailments, he can only take vague guesses. He hasn't gotten anything as far as an explanation through his messages, either.]
No. At most... I've received assurance of an attempt to draw him out of this.
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One can only hope that process is nearly as quick as the opposite.
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What... exactly did he transform into? [He knows about "bestial man" and "claws", but that's still not a proper mental image. Especially if this is a common occurance in this world, he'd like to know what to prepare for.]
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[Perhaps the form wouldn't have been such a shock if it hadn't been accompanied by that grin and the predatory demeanor.]
Then he absorbed these... shadows that he appeared to summon through mere intent, and grew nearly twice his size. His eyes changed to something inhuman... but the sinister look in them was more demonic than their color. Where he had been wild, he became... focused.
[Van Zieks is not a man who's intimidated by mere violent intent, as often as he finds himself the target of such gazes. But the power that backed Asogi's attack and corrupted the space around them was more than he'd ever imagined facing.]
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That sounds like a formidable opponent, indeed. It's admirable that you managed to escape such a being at all.
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Regarding that... there was something else that was strange. [Real specific, van Zieks.] Though if we're all capable of such strange powers here, it may merely be expected.
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Pardon... What exactly are you referring to?
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[This is going to sound absolutely mad, but then, he was just attacked by a demon. Van Zieks shakes his head, well aware that Mikotoba may decide to check his head for injuries once he lets these words escape. Perhaps it's needed.]
... it seemed as if... my brother appeared. To defend me.
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Your brother? You mean... In the flesh?
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[Well, his sanity isn't being questioned yet, so that's good.]
From my brief glimpse before it disappeared, the appearance was that of a Grim Reaper, but even so... I felt certain it was Klint.
[The true "Reaper" wouldn't have such protective instincts over him, as they both know, but the association between that pseudonym and his brother's ghost has yet to disappear from his mind, given the decade it had to take hold.]
Perhaps... it was my own fabrications taken form.
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Hmm... Well, this is a world of dreams, is it not? I would not be surprised if your subconsciousness gave birth to such a... a guardian, if you will.
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I should be grateful for its timely appearance, I suppose. [Otherwise he might have another scar to mark his face, if he'd even survived at all. Plus:] It helps me to understand how Asogi may have harnessed such strange powers.
[And how they might all do the same.]