[Fourth Wall Finale] Night: Fall

[thewatchers]

[Fourth Wall Finale] Night: Fall
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As the sun goes down on the day of February 28th, the darkness begins to swarm in earnest around the place where the final Herald will emerge - the shores of a dark and polluted sea in the Outlands. Clouds of choking, magical ash roll over the sky to replace the clouds, casting the battlefield into an eerie crimson twilight. Dark smoke boils over the landscape, and the jeering, howling cries of those who would bring on Nightfall can be heard as they amass for their final battle.

Yet, still, the cacophony of the opposition is nothing compared to their silence as a vast shape rises from the water and flares its wings, blotting out the sunlight with its mere presence.

The last Herald of Night, the great primordial dragon Suneater, has arrived. Its only aim is to devour the sun - and crush anything that tries to get in its way.

A comparatively small shape, bubbled in a shining rainbow barrier and casting rays of light down on allied fighters, floats expectantly on the field. The former Herald Iriceli calls out to those who would do battle with Suneater directly:

“Come on! I’ll protect you!”

The battle with Suneater will be conducted in a single long thread, which will have its own toplevel. Abilities directly relevant to those engaging the boss in close combat will be put there.

A. Daybreak’s Moving Castle
While the Academy has many tricks up its sleeves to be deployed in time of need, this one may be the most powerful - and most secret - of all. After everyone is assembled or evacuated as necessary, the staff and students who specialize in artificer work come together in the courtyard, in front of the clear, cold waters of the massive pond known as the Cross of Life.

Headmistress Duchene looks over to the lead among the artificers. She meets her eyes, nods silently, and holds out her hands. The artificer quickly, carefully nicks both of the Headmisstress’ palms with a ritual knife, and steps back as Mila Duchene turns around and steps onto the ice. The frozen pond melts where her blood touches it, and she steps smoothly from ice into cold water, walking forward until she reaches the fountain in the center and grasps it with both hands.

And then the night lights up.

Someone watching from above might see the lines of light moving from water to stone, the very architecture of the Academy itself beginning to rise up and rearrange, and realize: the entire campus is a ritual circle.

Some schools were built for experimentation, for pushing the limits of the accepted. Some schools were built for preservation, passing on hallowed traditions. But Daybreak Academy was built for this night, and ever since the first stones were laid on the campus grounds, it has been storing sunlight, storing power, keeping it for this:

The main buildings of Daybreak itself have been temporarily transmuted from their normal forms into a giant, winged robot.

It radiates stored sunlight in a wide area around itself as it moves through the chaotic battlefield, providing something of a reprieve from the smoke that Suneater constantly spews.

From here, combatants and non-combatants alike can deploy and regroup as needed. The main medical facility and the Academy’s extensive defense systems and armory are all fully operational.

Tasks involving the base of operations include, but are not limited to:
- Aiding medical staff (retrieving incapacitated combatants, fetching supplies, healing or conventional first aid)
- Manning defensive weaponry such as gargoyle cannons and long-range turrets to shoot down attackers aiming to destroy or disable parts of the Academy
- Monitoring and communicating with others on the battlefield itself
- Defending the Academy from enemy intrusions

B. Battlefield
As expected, the fight itself is chaos. Suneater itself may have little to do with its far smaller followers, but everything from Outlands human cults to daemons and fae have shown up on the side of Nightfall, and they give - and expect - no mercy or quarter. While some are merely taking advantage of the assembly to try and snatch those on Daybreak’s side who they’ve taken an interest in for one reason or another, others are far more vicious and terrifying.

We encourage players to create their own specialised foes as needed, but as a rule of thumb, the caliber of these enemies can range from anywhere to mobs of low-level minions to solitary figures with exceptional combat ability. Not all enemies are focused on combat; many are focused on sabotage, distraction, and creating other troublesome effects like traps and illusions.

To make things worse, Suneater’s other gift is rolling out in force. Wherever the miasma it breathes and exudes from its very pores touches, combatants - friend and foe alike - are struck with hallucinatory visions, a sense of profound exhaustion and a bone-chilling cold. Regenerative abilities, shields, healing magic, and natural or supernatural protective gear can aid in combating these effects, but as long as the smoke exists, there will be difficulty in the fight ahead.

Those afflicted by the hallucinatory properties of Suneater’s miasma may see both enemies and friends as figures from their pasts, their present, their nightmares, or even manifestations of their fears, or any other number of things. We leave it up to player discretion as to the strength and nature of these visions, should you choose to use them in your threads.

Tasks involving the battlefield include, but are not limited to:
- Fighting (anything from simple clashes to sneak attacks behind enemy ranks)
- Rescuing or aiding injured or ailing combatants; supplying them with masks, first aid or protective gear as required
- Maintaining and protecting set miasma-free zones with magical lamps and other items

C. Wildcard
Battle is fierce, and enemies are, now more than ever before, inclined to show no quarter. And even in the relative safety of the Academy, the sounds of heated combat can be heard clearly.
This prompt is for anything still finale-related that doesn’t fit into the above categories. Please feel free to use this log to play out your own confrontations!

Comments

[standless]

Through the work of the others, Jonathan makes slow headway back up through the crowd of terrors. While Reira is distracted with assisting Iriceli- a rather minimal contribution when the two are compared to the other, but it doesn't change that she's throwing as much amped up sprite power to their aid as possible- the bat is left to seek what paltry shelter he can as provided by the other's strikes, holding his steady pattern of breathing all the while.

And then the blasted thing starts to spin.

This isn't good, he starts to think, even while he holds his pattern. If he doesn't hit the right spot, he's mush- he'll be crushed, swatted, blown aside-

But something occurs to him as he's steadily pulled into the missing spaces between the air currents, taking his breaths as he can from what's around.

It's still a current. It's still a current of air, of something, not merely the shadows and darkness created by the Suneater.

His breathing continues to hold steady- Jonathan holds his wings aloft, tilting them only occasionally as he aims his face forward. Very well then-

He'll ride that tornado like a silver-gold bullet, until the Suneater is forced to take the blow of pure radiance once again.

[shockingblue]

Gunvolt was only half surprised when Desidera stepped into the shadowy birdcage with him. He had a feeling in his heart she wouldn't simply let him go alone... even if it was the most dangerous thing they might ever do, and that said something. He offered her his hand as she stepped in, and held it tightly as they pushed forward, closer to the Suneater, through horrible wind and a typhoon of limbs and debris. The cage rocked viciously in the tumult, carried on by the focus of Desidera, and protected by the flashfield of the Azure Striker. Darkness and light in concert and balance.

But it was then, during the ascent closer to the Suneater that televisions, radios, and more around the world, had a magical cut in. Any footage supported by Daybreak or its allies would cut in partially, with a message from a certain someone. A celebrity long thought gone from the public eye, only now re-emerging, another light in humanity's darkest hour.

"You all are seeing this, so many brave people fighting to save us all. They need you... all of you, now more than ever! Let those who bear the light hear you! Join me, let my song carry your prayers, hopes, and dreams to them! We shall be their wings, and the wind beneath them!"

And with that, Morpho's hologram manifested beside both Gunvolt and Desidera, loudly and strongly singing her heart out, a new take on an older hit. Candles everywhere would doubtlessly feel their energy surge, their focus sharpen, and their endurance deepen. Gunvolt himself lit up in a bright cyan flame, lightning surging through his veins and the very air around him.

"Whoa, Jason... do you feel that?"

"...Isn't that Monarch? I hear the new song, but...?"

"...Never mind. The Full Accel Boost is ready! You can fire when ready, Jason!"

"...Energy readings are off the charts. Man, whatever Gunvolt gave us, it's really going wild now. Let's let 'em have it!

The sphere floating above Gaia Sophia abruptly bulged in size, but as soon as it released from its holding position? It erupted into a massive ball of raw energy, backed and reinforced with Gunvolt's Radiant power. The sphere rocketed through the sky toward the Suneater, its intense power enough to shred through typical high-end daemons as though they were paper.

"Desi, GV... we can do this together. Give it everything you have!"

"Yeah. We're sharing the burden on this one. I just hope this works. ...Desi, you know what to do."

The air itself practically destabilized, ionic energy building rapidly amidst the turmoil caused by the Suneater's windstorm. Barometric pressure in the area steadily dropped... and dark clouds quickly began to form as they closed in on their target. Rumbles of thunder could be heard above the din of combat, though with so much going on, it might seem of little consequence. But when flashes of white lightning within started appearing... it wouldn't take much to figure out exactly what was happening. Gunvolt's voice was somewhat distant, not talking to anyone in particular, using it as a way to focus deeply.

"Funny thing about lightning. It's hard to control. The hardest of all the elements to truly master. But its power is unrivaled when properly harnessed. And properly directed. And the best part about it? You can summon it... if you know the right conditions." The clouds darkened, and the flashes above intensified as the cage drew closer and closer to the Suneater. "You can't break lightning to control it. No. The best way to unleash its true power is to be in harmony with it. Thunder is the music, lightning is the orchestra... and I am the conductor!"

Gunvolt's eyes flashed a brilliant, solid azure, bolts of electricity dancing all over his body as he raised his arms above his head.

"Oversurge, Azure Striker... Let hope be unleashed, let blades of lightning cleave the sky, to herald in a new day!"

Thunder clapped loudly, a chorus for Morpho's song. A titanic blade of lightning, winged in gold, standing tall as a mountain, split the sky, thousands of lightning bolts called from the heavens raining down everywhere...

"Grand Strizer!!"

And as Morpho's first song came to an end, he swung the blade downward against the beast, a construct of pure radiance, and in Gunvolt's heart, the hope of billions. On the way down, thousands of shocking bolts leapt from the blade, arcing toward the hundreds of darts Gunvolt had launched all over the surface of the creature... and into the shadows Desidera had done her best to wrap it in.

[buddinghopes]

Even as the wind rocked the platform Lia was stationed on, she did her best to stay steady--the massive weapon she was still working on setting up worked wonders for that.

... And then Morpho started singing. Lia grinned wildly as her Radiance surged stronger. She'd already been planning to throw her all into this next attack, pour all of her magical power into this single shot, and now she had the perfect boost. The platform she was on slowly shifted, making sure nothing and nobody would be in the way of her next attack.

She's pretty sure pulling the trigger on this thing, if she wasn't so high up in the air, if they weren't in an unpopulated stretch of the Outlands, that this would shatter every window in five hundred feet. But, well, she is shooting a projectile of pure, solid, dense magic the size of a small person, at a beyond ludicrous speed

The attack is ready. Lia pulls the trigger.

For a single instant, everything feels still.

And then the sonic boom roars out as the projectile flies through the air towards Suneater.

[unlogic]

As the gigantic blade begins to fall, at first it—and the countless bolts jumping from it to the darts and shadows—is blue, but as it makes its descent, that blue begins to shift in hue until it's more of a violet color; despite already doing her part and helping to enable Gunvolt to even attempt this in the first place, Desidera is taking things another step further.

Considering the contrasting origins of their respective powers, it is one of the riskiest things she has ever done: she begins channeling everything she can spare into the blade as well, giving it and the lightning spilling from it more power, beyond the already-significant boost from Morpho's song. It's not exactly a tactic that she hasn't used before, but she's never attempted it on a scale like this, and if there ever was a time to absolutely go all out, this is it.

Taking the boom of Lia's weapon as a cue, she holds Gunvolt's hand just a little bit tighter and focuses as hard as she possibly can.