[Endgame: rise or DROWN]

[warpweft]

[How long have you been exploring Nessa's palace now? You've met her family, viewed her memories, learned how to fight as a witch and tried to find the source of her power and the Treasure of her palace: the Voidheart. And along the way, you've tired your best, with mixed success, to avoid the incarnation of her eldest cousin and the representation of her trauma and fear, the Nightmare of Esmau.]

[Wherever you are in the Palace right now, you feel the ground briefly shake under your feet. Little shakes here and there haven't been out of the ordinary - Esmau is trying to blow the place down to the studs, after all. But that felt different. That felt....worse.]

[Your phone beeps as you receive a message.]

Comments

PLAYER ACTION

[voidhearts]

[Make your own actions.]

NELL

[voidhearts]

[Nell is at 50 HP.
Nell is currently visible.
Nell's Invoke will be charged in 225 damage.

You can command Nell to Gather Intel, Heal, Go Invisible or Attack. If you do not command her, she will make her own decision.]

GATHER INTEL

[voidhearts]

[At Akira's command, Nell runs off to inspect the barrier, searching for weaknesses in it that they might be able to use to get into the Temple. She returns a few moments later, her head down. She looks disappointed.]

I...I'm sorry, b-but it's bad news.

The barrier is unbreakable. I couldn't find a single weakpoint on it. It must be powered directly by the Voidheart or something...we're going to have to find some other way to bring it down.

The only thing I could find is that I noticed that to attack us with that crystal, she had to cast it outside the barrier. So at the very least, I don't think there's a ton she can do to us either for now, besides use that crystal....

[cosplayed_out]

Wait, does this mean she's going to sit behind a shield and attack us with psychic energy the entire fight??

[voidhearts]

I-I think it's what she's going to try...

...

I don't think it's what she wants.

Esmau would want to attack us directly as much as possible. She wouldn't want to hide behind a barrier....she would think it makes her seem weaker than us.

G-Grandmo... [She pauses.] ...Lilith must be telling her to do that.

[cosplayed_out]

Let us taunt her. She may become so cross that she will make a mistake.

Re: GATHER INTEL

[velluminous]

[ 2+2= ] So we attack crystal. We make ourselves such pests she must come to meet us.

Re: GATHER INTEL

[voidhearts]

I...

I think she's only staying behind that barrier because that's what Grandmo -- [She pauses.] ...because that's what Lilith wants her to do.

I think...

[She points at Esmau. She looks...



Kind of annoyed?]

I think she wants to fight us directly. S-so maybe if you're right...we can take advantage of that!

Re: GATHER INTEL

[velluminous]

[ curls her lip at Esmau ]

Oh, I think I'm right.

Re: PLAYER ACTION

[velluminous]

[ as soon as Nell's intel turns up that there's... really not a lot any of them can do to break the barrier, she's setting her jaw, tail flicking. ]

...Right.

[ Sprezzatura calls on Void Bolt and hurls two uses of it up, up, up... towards the crystal. just to see if it will even reach. ]

[cosplayed_out]

[Mukuro draws a cosplay weapon in the form of a handgun and fires a round at the crystal, which explodes with a loud report.]

...

[she then recoils at the sound and blast, holds her wrist, wincing, apparently stunned that her weapon actually worked like a weapon]

[voidhearts]

[Sprezzatura's Void Bolts strike the crystal repeatedly. Cracks start to appear in the purple crystal's surface. Then with a loud BANG, Tsumugi's weapon fires and strikes the crystal, shattering it into shards that fall into the abyss below. The pulses fade and the pain in everyone's chest slowly dulls away.]

[A violet aura surrounds Tsumugi. Some energy released by the crystal has been transferred to her. Tsumugi has gained Umbral Absorber.]

ROUND 2

[voidhearts]

BOSS ACTION

[voidhearts]

[Esmau growls, clearly vexed by the loss of the crystal. But she doesn't come out of the barrier yet. She holds up her hand and twirls it through the air. Two black holes open up behind her and blasts of Void Energy fly out of the holes and shoot through the barrier, targeting Akira and Minato.]

REACTION

[voidhearts]

[Akira and Minato can:
- Guard: Take guaranteed damage, but reduce incoming damage.
- Dodge: Attempt to dodge the attack, taking no damage.]

[Tsumugi and Sprezzatura can:
- Intercept: Choose to intercept an attack targeting your ally.]

[Otherwise, react to the last round of action how you wish.]

Re: REACTION

[velluminous]

[messianic]

[ yeah in contrast to Akira, Minato will try to guard, bracing himself for the attack that he can see coming. ]

[survivaltricks]

[WHAT IS STRATEGIZING because Akira moves on instinct to dodge, as phantom thieves do, throwing himself to the side in a tuck-and-roll to attempt to avoid the oncoming blast]

[cosplayed_out]

[nah, no intercept]

DISCUSS

[voidhearts]

[Make a plan with your allies for what to do.]

[cosplayed_out]

I don't know what just happened to me!

[umbral... absorber??]

Re: DISCUSS

[velluminous]

[ wincing, being a petty dramatic baby ]

Did—she she open holes in portal to do that?

[ this near-sighted woman ]

PLAYER ACTION

[voidhearts]

[Make your own actions.]

NELL

[voidhearts]

[Nell is at 50 HP.
Nell is currently visible.
Nell's Invoke will be charged in 215 damage.

You can command Nell to Gather Intel, Heal, Go Invisible or Attack. If you do not command her, she will make her own decision.]

[cosplayed_out]

[Tsumugi will try to use Umbral Absorber on the barrier.]