Past The Veil (Pt. I & II)

Past The Veil pt. I
One month ago, the young man named MoRueran happened to participate in a large-scale battle that brought devastation upon the town that he came to call his home. Having joined the local guild for better opportunities to get stronger, the red-clad brawler who possessed tremendous yet inexplicable strength became one of the few-- perhaps even the only-- members of the guild who didn't have magic. The cataclysm that was brought upon them by a malignant faction bent on conquest was met with staunch resistance by both Mo and those of the guild. The ones who called themselves the Elysium were to face off against talented mages whose reputations were amply supported by the powers they wielded. The current guild master, Mura Kensho was locked in combat with Elysium's leader who possessed draconic features while MoRueran-- then Martian Moonie-- fought against a massive dragon alongside a grizzled warrior named Leonard, the guild's Ace Nessa Lux, the guild's treasurer Aven, and an intense mage named Vandrad among others who acted as defenders while the civilians were evacuated.

The aftermath saw Billiam Feyson, Mo's mentor and older brother figure who owned and worked in a bakery living with relatives somewhere in Talonia. While the childlike fellow would have wanted to follow after him, Billi encouraged the younger man to stay with the guild and work to help rebuild the town. With those last words before saying goodbye, MoRueran preoccupied himself with jobs, taking any that were available on and off of the commission boards. While it wasn't his first time encountering the place, the area known as Wakusei was where various locations could be accessed, one of those pathways led him to rediscover what remained of his childhood home and the name that his parents gave him long ago, which then reignited memories of the hauntingly calm laughter of the unknown figure who took away his parents and of the faceless hero in red who saved him and set in motion the events that led the boy to where he was today.

Once again standing at the crossroads of Wakusei, MoRueran charged headlong onto an unfamiliar path as he chased down a familiar enemy, a member of the cult-like group known as the Knights of Shaded Heavens who managed to kidnap his client Mr. Gabald. The red brawler, his cheeks reddened and a heat haze was emanating from his body as he accessed his immense strength, advanced in a blur of vanishing vermillion, his enemy jumping high and over stone walls that now served as obstacles once he made it to the other side of the pathway. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he obliterated the first stone wall, but already he could feel that something was wrong. Gradually as he continued moving, he began to feel as though he were moving through mud, only for it to become more viscous and dense. Having been brought down to normal walking speed, Mo tried to gather as much strength as he could to break through the second wall that was in his way. With much greater strain than before, he succeeded in clearing his path but was rendered too exhausted to continue chasing his quarry.

Word Count: 531

Past The Veil pt. II
It had been two weeks since MoRueran came upon this new place and, while he's been able to get by working in a kitchen and baking bread, he's found the waning of his strength to be a source of frustration that he was hard-pressed to overcome by further sharpening his instincts and naturally improving upon his movements to make the most of whatever he was still able to draw upon. He came here to this kingdom known as Alistel in order to rescue an acquaintance of his who ended up being unlucky enough to have gotten himself captured by the Knights of Shaded Heavens. Having ventured very far from the town he lived in, Mo felt a sense of building uneasiness due to not just being unable to find Mr. Gabald or his kidnapper, but also due to the deficient state he was in.

Here in the outskirts of the kingdom proper, MoRueran was hard at work refining his fighting style and make his movements as efficient as possible to draw out his stamina. At some point during his exercises, the red-clad brawler attempted to use his old abilities to see what he was still capable of. Taking a deep breath, the peculiar fellow looked within himself and attempted to unshackle some of his greater reserves of strength, his cheeks reddened from the effort and the air around shimmered from the heat haze that his body gave off in preparation. He focused on becoming a red pulverizer, a manifestation of human violence that would bash any opposition or obstacle. Unfortunately, with an even greater cost than before, he couldn't keep hold of his abilities for long after he managed to split a stone in half. Breathing heavily, Mo stood on shaky legs as his knees threatened to buckle under him, his exhausted body on the verge of collapsing, his near blackout being a clear indicator that he needed to rest.

At a corner of his nearly-closed gaze, a metallic glint shone and attracted his attention, which was followed by the sound of fleeing footfalls crunching against dry leaves. MoRueran forced himself to concentrate and return to full awareness before giving chase against what he assumed to be a member of the Shaded Heavens. In a last-ditch effort to close the distance between himself and his quarry, the wayward marauder attempted to his movement ability and hasten his advance as a blur of vanishing vermillion, only to be met with the same thick and viscous resistance that was present within this realm and prevented him from utilizing the fullest extent of his prowess.

Finally stopping and falling to his knees, it was somehow a small triumph that he still remained conscious. He ended up losing his target, or perhaps it was nothing more than a phantasm invented by his fatigued mind? Once his breathing became less ragged, he finally came to notice that he was suddenly in the company of three individuals-- a young girl and two men from what he could tell-- who were most likely wondering what the childlike fellow in an outlandish red long coat was doing all the way out here.

Word Count: 524