⚔ //001;

[discutio]

[He awoke in darkness in the coffee shop, of all places.]

[Abruptly aware of a dozen and more sounds and scents, someone was calmly pensive as if sudden self-awareness of one's postmortem existence was an everyday occurrence. It certainly seemed nothing that panicking would help with, and nothing that wouldn't await examination until after he'd finished his coffee.]

[Which he did, of course. Later on he would be found exploring the city in very cautious and deliberate steps, hand occasionally on a wall for guidance. He found he didn't have much difficulty maneuvering despite the chaotic layout--a strange problem not to have, and perhaps one warranting consideration as to what kind of person he was. An interesting quandary to examine, and more so if he wasn't the only such person.]

[...One thing he did already know for certain, however.]

[His name, if indeed that was what he was called, was almost comically ironic.]

Comments

[schardynfreude]

Ah, out for a walk, then? [He gives a short hum like this is all Normal and everything is Normal here nothing amiss nope.] Do forgive me for asking, but I insist that it's important--have you noticed anything odd recently?

[discutio]

[Deadpan:] I fear that if something is wildly out of place in an obvious manner, such a thing might just escape my notice.

[schardynfreude]

...Oh? [So maybe this fellow isn't awake after all??? But that's stunningly perceptive of him if so.] But then doesn't it follow that such a thing might also not escape your notice? If there's no certainty either way.

[discutio]

I would not even begin to claim myself an expert on what is or is not out of place when I can not even claim familiarity with how the situation should be to begin with. I might, at the absolute least, venture a guess that it is perhaps myself out of place rather than the environment.

[schardynfreude]

Aha! [This is all the indication he needs, and he sidesteps to sweep himself in front of the new man's path, a hand out to halt his progress.] Then you are one of us! Were you the same as the simple souls around us, you would feel perfectly at home instead of a fish quite out of water.

There are not many of us who know otherwise, but a number we are.

[discutio]

[Luckily, he possessed spatial awareness enough to stop before walking straight into this person, who was immediately filed under a label of 'insufferable'.]

How fascinating. [thank whatever force existed that it wasn't just the two of them, because he suspected this would be hell rather than purgatory otherwise.]

What number, were you to estimate?

[schardynfreude]

More than a dozen, less than twenty. Fifteen at last count, I believe. Though it seems some more like you--and the rest of us--are trickling in.

[discutio]

Quite a number. Was there some manner of common inciting incident as far as any might be aware?

[schardynfreude]

None. Simply the lot of us seemed to 'wake up', as it were, and found ourselves wandering this...Purgatory until we happened upon each other. And upon Rei. She's been at this longer than any of us and has--oh, actually, you ought to meet her. There's a whole story to this, of some kind, and she has bestowed upon us powers and abilities to fight our way to fixing that terribly off feeling.

...I admittedly do a poor job of explaining myself.

[discutio]

[He certainly did, though Phoenix was tactful enough not to point out as much.]

I suspect it would have been foolish to think this situation anything simple or straightforward to begin with.

[schardynfreude]

You had no way of knowing, before. None of us did. We quite literally stumbled our way into figuring out what was going on, and even then, it was Rei that had to explain the situation to us.

[He takes a breath.] There are layers to this place, stairs that lead further down, and eventually, deep within, one reaches the Cogs of Renewal. As I understand it, these are in some way broken, but they would normally allow wayward souls passing through and dealing with their sins through all these layers to be born anew. Souls that have been trapped here with no way to move on eventually turn into these monstrous creatures, consumed by their sins. We're to use our cognition and abilities granted to us to fight the monsters already existing and to fix these cogs.

It's all quite a bit to take in, and I daresay most of the others were all too eager to throw themselves into a fight.

[discutio]

I would find the willingness understandable, given what you’re telling me. Little else one can do with their newfound self-awareness as it seems to stand now.

[schardynfreude]

Well. [Sure, there's that.] There were a handful that were perhaps just eager for any fight. There...will doubtless be someone in a hefty suit of armor immediately trying to fight you, possibly without warning, although I will try to warn them to, if at all possible, not attempt to kill us once more.

[discutio]

...At least they’re energetic.

[a little confused but they got the spirit.]

[schardynfreude]

For a bunch of dead people, we're certainly quite lively.

Ah, and I haven't even introduced myself--as much as anyone can, not remembering much of anything. You may call me Your Majesty.

...I promise I didn't pick it myself.

[discutio]

[. . .]

I think that I would rather not.

[It was a bit weird, that particular kneejerk reaction.]

[schardynfreude]

...Oh. Ah. I see. Understandable.

Though for the record, it was certainly awkward to introduce myself to the one that calls themselves Kingslayer, so irony is not something lost in the afterlife.

I'm afraid I haven't any other name to go by at the moment...but no matter.

[discutio]

Should it prove any consolation, I find 'Phoenix' no less absurd all things considered.

[Being dead and all.]

[schardynfreude]

You do seem to have suffered burns of some kind, so it may be apropos nonetheless. I wonder...if it might be possible to heal that which has already scarred over.

Perhaps we're to simply find better fitting names for one another.

[discutio]

So I have been told.

[not like he can see them]

Perhaps so.

[schardynfreude]

Unfortunately I doubt very much I can cure blindness, or Lion would have his eye back. Still, myself and Medic might give it a go. It's touch-based, our healing abilities, however.

But we can discuss those specifics later. Perhaps you would like something of a tour of the city? Or, might you like to explore on your own? There is a park we've been using for sparring, and a coffee shop for meetings.