LineageLady Without Mercy
WielderMarceline Anicetus
Description"When the first living thing existed, I was there, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave."
- Death
Since the beginning of time, Death has always been around collecting the souls of those who were meant to die and sparing those who were not yet ready to pass on. However, Death never had one set image; Death was simply an idea that happened whenever a creature became too old and its body could no longer sustain its soul. However, a species would be birthed into the world that would change Death’s outlook on Life for the rest of the time that the concept of Death existed. Throughout the ages, as the human race grew and evolved, sentient thoughts came to and produced the idea that Death was personified. Death wasn’t just a singular idea that happened when something became too old; no, it was a living, breathing creature just as they were. As this idea spread across Earthland, Death became aware of this, and the very belief of Death having a visage gave It strength. With this given strength, Death was able to produce an appearance for Itself, giving birth to legends of the very concept, itself.
Death does not have one single visage, however; centuries of its existence has caused many civilizations to believe Death to look so vastly different from one another. The most commonly believed visage of Death is that It is a skeleton of a long-dead man, wielding that of a scythe and shrouded by a hooded, tattered, black cloak. Fog surrounds the bottom of His cloak, hiding any form of ability to walk so that it appears as if the being is simply gliding along the ground. Yet, Death does not have a set appearance, It will take on any image that It so desires, passing generation after generation with a different appearance. For, it is not just one thing, but Death is everything that is around a person, from the green leaves that dance in the wind to the small bark of a dog in a yard. Each and everyday, things are slowly withering down to their molecular forms until not even they exist in the essence of the world. You see, Death is not just something that has stopped living, it is even the things that still breathe air and exist around you.
It has become known as one sentient being with a thousand names, but no matter where It goes, everyone knows It as the “Lady Without Mercy.” She appears in towns, villages, and cities donned in a black, hooded cloak, wielding a scythe that is constantly dripping blood from those she has taken the soul from. A silent entity that if spoken to, she will never respond back, and looking into her eyes will only ascertain one’s death through the black abysses. If she is seen passing through a town and the scythe is dripping blood, it typically meant that everyone was meant to die. Still, if the scythe isn’t dripping blood as she passes through, it meant that the people of the town would live to see another day. Not one to speak words to her victims, simply passing through a place meant death for those that lived there, as there has never been a time her scythe wasn’t dripping blood. Beware the Lady Without Mercy for even her presence casts out Death where she walks and no one is safe from the end she brings.
Abilities- Matter of Style:
- Bogeyman Effect: Looking at the visage of Death will evoke fear from a living being, releasing the fear chemicals inside of their brain. As a result, the person's perception may be altered, causing them to see their environment as ominous and Death as dark and foreboding, even as a monster. Essentially, this causes an inducement of insanity in the mind of those who see Death, creating the fight or flight response. In some cases, the intensity of the fear they feel can become so much that it paralyzes them or. . . kills them. This is solely a cosmetic effect, affecting only NPCs and weak monsters, with played characters needing OOC permission.
- The Reaping: Like all Grim Reapers, Death has the ability to take the souls of others, whether willing or unwilling, and send them to the afterlife. Things such as immortal beings, reanimated corpses, and the like are able to be granted Death in exchange for eternal rest. This does not mean that Death kills them in anyway, but rather simply lays them to rest for as long as they wish (i.e. Sleeping Beauty). As a result, this can bypass powers or items that force the person to remain alive, ensuring that they remain dead by granting them peace of mind. Like the "Bogeyman Effect," this ability can only affect NPCs and weak monsters, or played characters with given OOC permission.
- Shinigami Eyes: All forms of Death have the ability to sense the coming of Death, allowing them to determine when someone is dying or dead, or where others have died. This also extends to being able to see the names and lifespans of those that Death has seen, giving them ample information about a person. Yet, the being must have a soul in order for Death to determine any of this, as they are not capable of seeing the death of those with no soul. To them, beings with no soul or no origin of passing are beings that never existed in the world and thus, cannot learn information about them. However, this ability is only effective against NPCs and weak monsters, or played characters with given OOC permission.
- Deathless: Death possesses an infinite lifespan, allowing them to shrug off any kind of physical damage as if it wasn't meant to kill them. This does not mean that physical damage does not affect them at all, it simply means that the damage cannot kill them. As such, they are classified as the "defensive type," where they are able to not show the damage that was done to them (i.e. invulnerability). If their HP was to ever hit 0, they would not die, they would simply dissipate into Nether particles, only to reform later on. Therefore, Death does not know its own, resulting in It being able to resurrect and restore Itself whenever, wherever, and as whoever It so wishes.
- Ghost Whispering: As Death is associated with the afterlife, they are capable of communicating with the recently deceased and spirits of the past, present, and future. With this ability, they are able to repel spirits from an area, as well as compel them to do as they bid, and even view the spiritual world. They can banish spirits entirely, injure them, et cetera so long as they are able to communicate with the spirits. Essentially, this ability even allows Death to consume the soul or spirit, but without any given benefits from it. However, this is only effective against NPCs and weak monsters, or deceased played characters with given permission.
- Overshadowing: Death has an immaterial form, It is capable of taking on any form that It so chooses, and as a result, can effectively possess other living beings. Essentially, this steals the motor functions and senses of the person that they are taking over, giving Death their perspective. Because Death does not have a set form, they are able to transform into particles of Nether that can be seen by others and possess another living being. However, this is only effective against NPCs and weak monsters, or played characters with given permission beforehand. They are able to use the newly possessed boy as their own and may not return it if they don't have to; yet, possessed players can only be possessed for three (3) posts.
- Copying: Since Death does not have a set image for Itself, It has the ability to take on any form It so wishes to take on. The catch is, Death has to be highly believed in by people of Earthland in order for It to take on any form at all. If Death is not believed in by people of Earthland or otherwise, It cannot take on a sentient form in any way. But with this ability, Death is capable of taking on the form of even deceased persons, but played characters require OOC permission. It is capable of holding this form for as long as it wishes and does not expend MP in order to maintain the form.
- Imprinting: Death is able to leave an imprint on another person, marking them for whichever afterlife Death so chooses to send them to. This imprint is visible to the naked eye as a burnt marking on the skin of a person in the shape of an akan symbol the means "death of a god." It allows the people to be judged and sorted easily once they have passed away; however, for Death, it is simply a marking of Its presence. Sometimes, this marking allows for Death to transfer their magic into another person, but this is on rare occasions and almost never happens. Other times, this is just to let people know that Death has passed through the area and had done Its business there.
- Abilities & Usage:
- Immunity State: Due to their undead state and the fact that their body is not a material form, Death cannot be affected by status effects. Spells will still work against Death; however, any status effects that the spells come with cannot be applied to them. Same goes for any abilities of armors or weapons against Death, none of these can affect the person, but the ability can deal basic damage. This only applies to status effects that are equal to or lower in rank than the person, so any effects of higher rank will effect them. As their body has no way of being affected by status effects, they cannot feel when a status effect of higher ranking hits them. However, because of the fact that they no longer receive such status effects from spells, they receive a 50% increase of damage from all spells.
- Reconstitution: As the Grim Reaper of the universe, Death is capable of reanimating and resurrecting those who have passed on. With this ability, It is able to reanimate five corpses that It can use to aid It in battle; however, these undead cannot be controlled by It. They deal basic user-rank melee damage with each hit and each undead being takes two (2) hits of user-rank to kill. These corpses typically appear as skeletal beings, with hanging flesh and meat from their body to reveal their bones. While they may not be controllable creatures, they will aid Death in battle for a duration of four (4) posts, with a cooldown of seven (7) posts.
- The Harvesting: Death is the reaper of souls, as a result, It is capable of consuming the souls of the ones It has harvested from. Any soul that Death has torn from the body of their victim, and consumes it, will restore 5% of HP and MP. This is only effective against those who have souls and any played character would need to have OOC permission in order to lose their soul; it is ineffective on weak enemies. In rare cases, the consumption of a played character's soul may allow Death to gain an aspect of the former's magic. However, this must be discussed with the played character's player and what ability/spell will be gained through this means; in the case a spell slot or unique ability is filled, this will replace the original spell/unique ability.
- Living Weapon: As the Lady Without Mercy is only a small portion of Death, she is considered the right-hand servant of the entity. With this in mind, she is not just a physical apparition, but is something that can be changed and molded into another thing. She is able to choose a single given person who is able to access her other half, that other half being a weapon form. In this weapon form, she is considered to be the weapon's rank most notably similar to her current rank (i.e. Strong (+) if at B-rank). The chosen person who can wield her weapon form is able to app her as a true weapon, though she will not count toward their weapon limit. When shifting into this form, her appearance is dependent on her interpretation of that person (i.e. she will shift into a pocket knife if she deems it fit). Since she is able to access it whenever during a thread, she can only be within the weapon for user-rank duration with a cooldown of user-rank duration +2. While in this form, she has two set abilities that the wielder is capable using for the duration of her weapon form.
- Spike Burst: Summoning the life of the world around them, absorbing the very essence of what makes the world tick, the weapon will begin to glow a gentle lavender color and as the power grows stronger, the glow will begin to pulsate like a heartbeat. After the glow has pulsated a few times, a myriad of bloodied spikes will peel out of the ground in rapid succession of each other. These spikes will course over a thirty (30) meter radius, all pointing in various directions, their ancestors fading away the closer they get to their target. Each pulsate of the glow signals how many spikes there will be, but each spike only deals one (1) HP, so in total there can be forty (60) spikes. They can hit multiple targets at once, but all targeted people must be within thirty (30) meters of where the wielder stands. Likewise, the spell can only hit a total of five (6) people at once, anymore and it will not be able to hit all of them.
- Vitality Draining: What this ability does is every time the wielder is able to make a strike on an opponent and it hits, it takes some of their life from them. Regardless of force of the blow by the user, 5% of the opponent's health is taken from them and restored back to the wielder. As long as the strike doesn't hit, the opponent doesn't have to worry about their life being sapped from them each time. In the case that a strike does hit, the taken life can be physically seen decaying into Nether particles that the wielder absorbs through the weapon and into themselves. This ability cannot be used as a means to restore health of allies, as it will only work upon the wielder of the weapon.
- All Slayer: Death consumes all and therefore, kills all; nothing is safe from the touch of Death, even those that have been touched by It before. As such, Death is capable of killing all beings, whether their magic has a resistance to the Death aspect or not. Anything that is struck by either a spell or a melee hit from Death will have a 25% decrease to their damage resistance for three (3) posts. It will also have a 25% increase to Its own damage output for those three (3) posts, resulting in an increase in damage toward all enemies. However, not all spells of Death are capable of supplying the reduced damage resistance and increased damage output, as it has a cooldown of five (5) posts. With this ability comes a consequence, an unquenchable thirst to kill all living things until nothing living exists.
