Izanagi Trials (Haji)

[Oda Nobunaga]

[OoC: Trial I begun. Stats locked in your first post.]

Haji would find himself, upon waking up, in a familiar village. Though, upon closer inspection, it would not be one he knew, it would just look very much like it. The people seemed the same, though they also seemed very lifeless. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and yet everything did.

Objective: Haji must find what is wrong with the villagers, though no one will tell him anything. He will face moral dilemmas, and depending on what he decides, he can pass or fail these trials. The issues, however, will not be immediately shown.

[Morei Haji]

(OOC: Str: 15 (35 +6) | Dex: 22 (51 +6) | Con: 15 (71) | Wis: 15 (24) | Spr: 30 (38) )

"Oh man, I'm tired... Hey, Katsumi-chan, are you... huh?"

I woke up, finding it strange that Katsumi wasn't next to me like usual. I stretched on the floor lazily before getting up, grabbing my gear and equipping myself before I left home. Maybe she was out practicing archery or tending to Tetsuya or something.

Upon exiting the home, I walked by several villagers, stopping in my tracks after I had passed them. Something felt weird for some reason... I turned around to face the people, calling out to them. "Um, hello? Is everything okay?" Something in me was telling me things were wrong. I felt no life at all from the village all of a sudden. It was as if the only light that was around came from within myself.

[Oda Nobunaga]

The villagers Haji spoke to would look up to him and smile politely. However, looking into their eyes, he would see nothing but black. They would go on about their business as usual, though, leaving Haji to do as he pleased.

[Morei Haji]

My eyes widened upon seeing their own. It was nothing but emptiness, blackness. It was terrifying. My hands twitched, itching to grab my weapon out of self-defense, but they then walked away, and there was no need.

"That smile... it was empty... These people are completely..."

I looked around frantically, before running through the village, towards the center. If Katsumi was here, does that mean she was like that too? Even if I didn't find her, hopefully I would find some clue as to what was going on here...

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji would find Katsumi in the center, at the village marketplace! She seemed to be doing shopping for food and the likes while Haji was sleeping. There didn't seem to be anything wrong.

[Morei Haji]

Spotting Katsumi, my spirits lifted, and I approached her. "K-Katsumi-chan... there you are." I looked at her, even though her back was turned to me right now. My heart was pounding, hopefully there wasn't something up with her too. I prayed that she was okay. But someone as astute as her would notice something being up... right?

"Katsumi, I... I'm wondering, are you okay? Have you noticed anything strange going on?"

[Oda Nobunaga]

Katsumi would turn to Haji, a smile on her face. Just like all the others, her eyes were empty. And yet, she didn't seem to act any different. She seemed confused, tilting her head to the side.

"Nothing, Haji. Why? Is something the matter?"

[Morei Haji]

I took a step back in shock after seeing her eyes. No, not her too! What was going on here?!

"You normally call me Haji-kun... are you okay, Katsumi, truly?" I took a step towards her, placing a hand on her face like I normally would. This time, I was channeling light energy into it, trying to transfer some of that light over to her. Maybe that would clear up those dark eyes, if I could shine some light into her soul...

[Oda Nobunaga]

Katsumi's brow furrowed, and she seemed terribly concerned. Shaking her head, the woman was confused. "I have never added the honorific... you told me not to, Haji." As he put a hand to her face, her own hand came up. He would feel his light energy being repelled.

[Morei Haji]

Told her not to...? When did I...?

My thoughts were cut off as Katsumi stopped my hand, my light energy wasn't seeping into her at all, it was being forced away!

"W-what... you're not Katsumi..."

I began to back away, ready to grab my weapon. "Who are you? What have you done to her?! What of the people of this village?!"

[Oda Nobunaga]

As Haji began to react the way he did, Katsumi's happy demeanor changed to one of fright and horror. She seemed incredibly confused and offended!

"Haji, what are you talking about? Are you ill? Did something happen?"

If he paid attention, the people of the village would be looking right into him with their empty eyes, peering into his soul. He could feel his energy slowly being sapped.

[Morei Haji]

"Don't play with me... you aren't her..."

I gritted my teeth, and the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up. I looked around, noticing all of the people of this village were starting to stare at me, those black eyes, devoid of any light, just looking at me. And I began to feel weaker, my body felt heavier... what was going on...? Were these imposters? Or someone else in their bodies?

[Oda Nobunaga]

As Haji was a messenger of light, one of the villagers rushed him angrily with a katana drawn. He rushed toward Haji from behind with incredible speed, intent on cleaving his head off. Katsumi, however, pushed him out of the way and took the strike, screaming as the blade cut into her skin. As she screamed, her eyes lit up, light energy shooting out of them. A soul seemed to leave her body, and it shot up into the sky, returning into the pool of souls where it belonged.

Haji's objective, it seemed, should be clear. He needed to cleanse this soul, either through killing the shells or purifying them.

[Morei Haji]

One of the villagers began to rush at me, but 'Katsumi' had pushed me out of the way, taking the strike for me. My eyes widened as the blade sliced into her body, and an expression of shock was on my face as I visibly saw the soul leave her body.

"K-K-Kat...sumi..."

I fell to my knees. Even if she was a fake, seeing her die like this in front of me... A feeling of completely helplessness overcame me. This made me realize how easy it was for a life to be taken away just like that. If I ever lost the real Katsumi... the one I swore to protect with my very life...

"No... that isn't happening..."

I stood up to my feet, looking angrily at the one who cut Katsumi down. Even if she wasn't real... even if this was some test of the Gods... I would avenge her.

Charging light energy into my hand, I would shoot it at the villager in front of me. I planned not to kill these people, but to try and cleanse them instead. I would not resort to my blades unless I absolutely had to.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji's blast of light shot through the villager and it died in the same way Katsumi's shell did, with a soul shooting into the air, being freed. From all sides, he would find himself being rushed by a swarm of shells!

Souls left to Cleanse: 9

[Morei Haji]

I would roar (thanks Yukimura), extending my arms to either side and sending a large wave of energy out to every side of me. Hopefully this would incapacitate some of the enemies, and if not, my light doppleganger would appear from within me, rushing to attack the villagers in the same manner that I was, using his own light fists to strike them directly.

[Oda Nobunaga]

The light wave and doppelganger attacks would prove successful! The shells were pushed back, slamming into the walls, and Light Haji's attacks would purify six of them successfully! Another wave of soldiers attacked Haji, some throwing their blades at his legs!

Souls Left: 3

[Morei Haji]

As the villagers aimed to attack my legs, I would jump, channeling light into my feet as I turned to kick the nearest villager. I channeled energy into both of my hands, and would simultaneously fire waves of light at the last two villagers. If this failed, my doppleganger was ready to fire blasts as well.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji's assault successfully tore the crowd of shells apart, and all of their souls rushed up toward the sky! The same embodiment of light he saw before would appear just above him, and it would smile.

"You are learning well, Haji."

In an instant, it faded away, and Haji would appear in his bed the next moment he blinked.

[OoC: Izanagi Trial 1 of 10 completed. You receive +2 Exp.]

[Oda Nobunaga]

[OoC: Trial 2 begun. Lock stats in your first post.]

Haji would wake up one cold morning, and the clouds would have been blocking the sun out of the sky. Winds were heavy, and the rain was fierce. If he looked outside, he would see a good amount of people holed up in their homes, as well as several people who had no home of their own.

Out along the horizon, a cloud of dust could be seen growing.

[Morei Haji]

(OOC: Str: 15 (35+6) | Dex: 22 (51+6) | Con: 15 (71) | Wis: 15 (24) | Spr: 30 (38))

I woke up, noticing Katsumi was still asleep. Waking up to actually see her there was nice. I made sure to get out of bed quietly as to not wake her, but I was worried the weather outside would be far too noisy.

Looking outside, it was worse than I thought. The rain was pouring heavily, and it looked like it'd get much worse. I saw people out in the rain who had no cover, and I ran out to them despite the water pouring down. "What are you doing out here? You all need to get to cover, you'll get sick!"

I would shelter whoever I could fit into my home, using my light energy to spread warmth, keeping them out of the room with Katsumi. They needed to stay out of this rain, but the dust in the distance gave me a bad feeling.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji would fit a total of ten people into his home, and each of them thanked him endlessly for the shelter! However, there were still plenty of people out in the cold, and the crowd of dust began to die out in size, due to the sand turning to mud. However, the dust would quickly be replaced with smoke!

[Morei Haji]

Biting my lip, I went out into the cold again, making sure to drape a cloak over me before running out there. I ran around the village, asking people to house some of the less fortunate in their homes for the night, and offered payment for those who were less than cooperative. I would do this, continuing until everyone had a place to stay.

"What is that smoke...?" I looked up at it, gulping. This could not be good. And it really wasn't normal...

[Oda Nobunaga]

The people would all be housed now, thankfully! However, as the smoke drew closer, Haji would see it was a demon made purely of fire! The rain evaporated before it even touched it, and it was just moments away from tearing through the village!

The water seemed to be pooling at a drop around the center of the village!

[Morei Haji]

(OOC: I don't know if it's just my tiredness or if I just read that wrong so forgive me if I did something different than intended.)

My eyes widened, it was a friggin' monster on fire! That was the source of the smoke! What the hell?! Did Yukimura do something weird again?!

Not wasting any time, I quickly turned and ran towards the center of the village. I ran to the large pool of water, and sent my light energy down as far as it could go. From there, I would create a dome of light around the water, lifting it and dragging it with me as I ran back towards the monster. With all of the force I could muster, I would throw that water-filled ball of light towards the creature.