01 | when messiah comes

[alephbet]

Characters: Aleph and you!
Setting: Room 2-04, Floor 22, Cafeteria, or elsewhere in the tower
Format: Action brackets unless asked otherwise
Summary: Aleph's first day.
Warnings: Nothing so far

[Aleph woke up not knowing where he was. Very bad sign.

The first thing he noticed was a letter. He opted to ignore that in favor of finding his gear, which he soon found in a trunk. That was more like it. If he could have a fight at any minute, a letter would help him less than his demons. That done, he got to reading.

...Destroyed? He wasn't sure he believed that. YHVH might have mentioned 'by the way, the world's about to be destroyed/will be destroyed if you kill Me'. It seemed like something He ought to know as God.

He looked around the room for any sign of his roommates. There were other beds, after all.]

[Aleph had elected to take the long walk through the stairs rather than use the elevator, so that he had a better idea of the layout of the place. Besides, he was used to walking through difficult mazes anyway. Sometimes with pits.

(Kether Castle being one of the most annoying instances. Lucifer could have at least made his home a little more friendly to visitors.)

He stopped at the art gallery, though he intended it not to be more than a quick stop. Beautiful still lifes and portraits mixed with the most ghastly demons and unnatural things that the tower could drag up to be painted. They almost looked real.

Just like home, huh.]

[Aleph duly ate the oatmeal: it looked like they were very insistent about it being his first meal, and anyway, he'd had worse. It was just tasteless.

That done, he poked around the cafeteria for anything more to fill his stomach. A lot of the food didn't look very appetizing... He was hoping to have at least the best of a bad lot, even if finding the best took him a while.]

Comments

Cafeteria

[technologic]

[When April heads down to the cafeteria, she just blinks and watches him poke around for a few moments before speaking up.]

... What're you doing?

[alephbet]

Looking for something decent to eat.

[technologic]

... Oh, you just had the oatmeal, I'm guessing. [She yawns quietly before going to poke around too.]

You just got here, then?

[alephbet]

Just this morning. They don't serve everyone oatmeal?

[technologic]

Only the people who just got brought here. It was the first thing I had to eat too. [She soon manages to find some bagels and strawberry jam, which she puts together and offers to Aleph.]

Here.

[alephbet]

Thanks. [Aleph accepts the bagel with a smile.]

I'm Aleph. Nice to meet you.

[technologic]

[She blinks at him, but gives him a small smile back.]

Nice to meet you too, Aleph. I'm April.

... So, how much of the tower have you seen so far?

[alephbet]

I walked down from the dormitories to here, but I didn't go very far off the staircase.

[technologic]

I see... Well, there are all sorts of rooms in this place, even a forest...

... But you'll need to be careful if you go exploring on your own at night, since monsters roam about the hallways.

[alephbet]

Got it. I'll be sure to be prepared.

How strong are these monsters?

[technologic]

It varies. Some of them are easy to fight off, and some of them are difficult to kill. So it's best to keep your guard up.

[alephbet]

Got it. I won't be overconfident.

On his way down.

[worldrestored]

[If Aleph looked to into the 25th level (the one with the flower meadow and nothing else), he would find one(1) Demi-Fiend rising above the circle of daisies. Naoki was sleeping, using his Cerberus as a pillow as he used to do in the Vortex World. The creature was also sleeping as well, its paws somethings twitching, but ears staying ever-alert should something or someone step in.]

[alephbet]

Is that a Cereberus?

[Of course Aleph recognized the demon. He'd been quite fond of the one that used to be Madam's.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Aleph stepped off the staircase and waited for it to notice him before speaking.]

[firstofthefallen]

[Well shit.

He felt you at first. He knew what you felt like by this point, so it's not like he'd mistake you for Satan's revival again. But the idea that you should be here, and that you should be you - that you should be Aleph, and not one of the forms cursed to watch the world end again and again - that was an odd feeling. An odd conception.

You're not supposed to be like this Aleph. He, in his bitterness and rage, had willed it. And yet here you are.

He just looks at the portraits silently behind Aleph after he teleports into the room before walking over to him.]

They're rather common looking aren't they?

[alephbet]

[Honestly, Aleph isn't surprised that Lucifer is there. If anyone messed with the world, Lucifer was going to have some say in it, or end up here.]

They are. I'm not impressed with their selection.

I'd say 'nice to see you' but I'm not sure I'm glad if you're here or not.

[firstofthefallen]

[A much better reaction than the one he got from Sho, the First Champion. He didn't even know who he was yet. That had....not hurt, but it was awkward. It stung Lucifer, stung something even deeper than his pride and it was so long since that had happened that Lucifer didn't remember what the word for it could happen to be.

Lucifer can't help but smirk a little at your attitude Aleph.]

I suppose it depends on a number of things doesn't it?

[Such as what your Alignment is and which path you've chosen. Though he suspects he'll discover that soon.]

I'm not impressed with a great deal of what they've shown me so far. They're like all petty tyrants, casting chains upon those they believe they can ensnare without looking to see how strong the chains truly are.

[alephbet]

If they're strong enough to catch you, they must be relatively strong. Still, it's good to hear you say that. I'd figured we could deal with them somehow, but I've only been here for a short while.

How long have you been here?

[firstofthefallen]

It will take a bit more planning than it did with YHVH. They're a similar breed but the terms they act by are different, let alone even the amount of control they openly wield.

[By your tone he's rather sure you're of his Alignment. Even Neutral he doubts you'd talk this bluntly to him Aleph.

Lucifer purses his lips a little bit at that question.]

Too long.

[It's been a month. And that's already started to annoy him.]

[alephbet]

[Frown. He'd already figured time was askew here, considering that he'd spoken to Lucifer recently before this. But that's not the main thing that troubles him.]

Still, it can and will be done.

[firstofthefallen]

Of course it will be.

In the end all things change, and are free. That is the one true universal constant.

[alephbet]

At the moment though, I'm glad to see you haven't changed much.

[firstofthefallen]

Haven't I? That is a pity.

[He says it with a smirk but in a way? It does bother him that time doesn't really change him. Man, unlike demons, have a far higher degree upon which they can work. Upon which they can change. Lucifer rarely sees changes in demons, let alone himself. And when the changes do happen they start...small within demonkind. Usually within the weakest of the chains before moving up. And one could make the argument the only thing that has made those demons change has been man's influence.

To change. To grow. That's the thing Lucifer respects and envies the most of mankind.]

Nor have you, Aleph.

[As weird as that is to say knowing full well what your punishment is going to be and has been for centuries now.]






It is good to see you.

[alephbet]

[That gets a genuine smile from him.]

I don't suppose you have any advice for me, since you've been here a while?

[Giving mysterious advice is his specialty.]

[firstofthefallen]

I would if I could but at the moment-

[He purses his lips and gives his head a shake.]

I've been....distracted, I suppose, in my short time here. I'm not quite caught up on the rules of this place myself.