R̷̢̜̹̈́Ẻ̶̮́͐D̶̰̀͝...
...I̵͈̖̝͍̩̟̭̓̅͋̀͐Ṡ̸͓̙̪̩̎͗͂̊̃̈́͛͘͝ ̴̨̥̰̑̃̒̀̈́̆̅̐́̐̕M̴̞̒̔͝Ḭ̸̢̛̫̼͙̤̟̼̘̠̫̽̌͆̀͗̂͌̒͝ͅS̸̹̰̫̤̤̣̝̏̓̉̈́̃͗̇̌̈̄̉̅̏̌S̷̮͈̈́̈́̍̋͋̉̆͠I̴̧̡̯͉͓̼̤̱̺͚̲̒̓̍̂̿̑̉͐͜N̴͎̦̬̮͍͊̽̃̅́̇͆̎̄͋́Ģ̸̧͚͈͍̰̼̻̥̻̲̩͈̭͛̏̐͌͘͝...
...Ņ̴̢̧̮͚̙̜͈͖̬͓̺͎̝̗̥̲̹̠̫̟͓͖̟̗̇̈́̇͂́̏̿̅͑̌̄͌̂̔͆͒̒̄̈̅̾͑̾͋̿̀̀͐̐̾̏̂͑̈͐́̚̚͘̚͘͘͠͠Ơ̷̢̨̢̧̡̛̯͔̝̫͓̞͖͖̱̙̰̥̻͎͔̼̬̭̬̼͉̖̎̾̎̄̐̀͗͑̔̀̐̽́͒͊̈̎̌̀̔̇́̈̃͆̀̈́̎̅͗͒́̎̾͋͑́̉͘̕͝͝͠͝͝͝͠ͅͅ ?
[KOFUKO-SAN, ENTRY ONE]
-ahem- Normally, I don't do things like this, but for this... particular event, I wanted to make a record of my soul... fishing trip, I guess you could say. I've got a really, really bad feeling that if I don't write this down, I might forget something important. Does a memory really slip your mind if someone reaches in and grabs it? Whatever... where the hell do I begin with this kid? Most of the time, you go rooting around for a coupla decent folks to pick up, dust off, repurpose, the whole nine yards... and they come along quietly. Usually they're scared. Sometimes they thank me for it, even. Who doesn't love a second chance and a little adventure while they're at it? Even if it does come with the risk of being killed again and all that. Minor details. Anyway, usually when I pick up a spirit or three, they're talking (or screaming) a mile a minute. Not this kid... stoic doesn't even begin to describe it. I can't honestly say if he knows what language is, so I'm kinda on the horn for both of us, here.
It's unusual for me to find a soul swimming up to me intentionally, though. Most mortal souls that move around after death are just temporary visitors. You know the type, mystic monks, astral projectors, your loser friend down the street that slammed back half of grandma's medicine cabinet for shits and giggles, all that crap. Still living is what I'm getting at, you follow me? So when something that ain't dead, but definitely wasn't alive either, drifts in and gets lodged between two of my ribs like I'm a damn fishing trawler's net, I check it out. Pluck the little bastard out to see what's what.
It doesn't speak, least not any kinda way I can follow. But I get the vibe of what it's after, you understand? It's something new. Which is a rarity where I, uh... "live". Whatever this thing was, it had some chops. I could feel its energy just by standing nearby. Weird wavelengths, semi-recombinant essence, occupying at least six of the commonly accepted levels of conceptualism simultaneously. Kind of like peeling open an orange, and eating it with the letter J that smells like the leftover hunger pangs from that time when the council of frogs decided walking on three legs wasn't a good idea because you got dumped by your high school sweetheart on the zeroth Tuesday after the universe started spinning in reverse. But I digress.
To keep things simple for you, this kid wanted something new. To be, rather than not to be, cause boy did he have a lot of goddamn questions. Close as I could figure, it wasn't anything. And then it was something. And then it became a LOT of other somethings, in some world I've never been to and hopefully never will. And then... humans. Boy isn't THAT always the punchline, huh? Humans. One human told another human about this thing, and they started messing with it. Playing with it. Talking about it. Using it. Now, things took a while, like they always do. Rome wasn't conquered by the Outer Gods in a day, obviously. But with enough exposure, juuuust a little humanity started rubbing off onto Mr. Whatever here. Started imitating them. Anticipating them. Thinking like them. It was all a big adventure, right? They were having fun, and so did it. But then, like humans inevitably do... they moved on. Left it behind. Got smarter, fancier, flashier. Built worlds too tightly sealed for it to play in!
But it didn't really want to stop playing. And now, it was big enough and smart enough to find little holes in its own world. The human world. I've brought this up at the Gods, Divinities, and Greater Assholes meeting I don't know how many times, there's so many cracks in reality it's a major miracle we haven't all crumbled back into the primordial soup. But do they listen to me? No. So I'm always sitting here playing Mr. Fixit patching up souls that can hopefully do a patch job of three eventually. -sigh- Yes I know, I'm rambling and even I hate to listen to me talk.
It wanted to play some more, and if I left the creature to its own devices, who knows what kind of damage it could have caused. So I fine tuned the beastie a little, tied it as closely as I could to its concept of a "mortal body", gave it a couple pieces of good advice, and sent it on its way. Most of its memories were of someone called "Red" who it seemed to admire, and its body took on his characteristics, but it refused to accept Red as a name for itself. I think it might have called itself Cinnabar for some unfathomable reason, but don't quote me on that. I certainly can't quote him, after all. Guy never spoke once.
[KOFUKO-SAN, ENTRY TWO]
So anyway, the kid is good. Fortunately, in the spirit realm we don't have to do such crude, uncouth things like guess what someone's made of. I can pull it up right here in front of me, isn't that handy! I'm gonna send him out as an Explorer first and foremost, that seemed to resonate best with his "nature" if you can call it that. Battles are also part of the boy's identity, but they'll find him naturally enough, and his wanderlust is undeniably strong.
The [entity] is capable of the following:
Talented
Conscription: Surveyor
Underworld Tournaments
The Deepest Depths
BENEVOLENT ALTERATIONS:
Animal Blood
Prodigy
Eccentric (Code of Conduct: Silence)
Sacred Fountain
Hard Training
MALIGNANT ALTERATIONS
Trouble Magnet
AMBIVALENT ALTERATION:
(Magmatic + Signature Technique)
Rivals x3
Vast Specialist, Total Aura 31
Recovery Disposition: Sleep x2
Aura Affinities:
Core G0
Phase G3
Flow G0
Alchemy G3
Trainings:
Technique Artistry (Legend)
Ceremony (Master)
Cultivation (Master)
Techniques:
Spirit Subjugation (SIGNATURE)
Perfect Perspective
Master Status - Distortion
Initiate Status - Oscillating Motion
Herbal Lunar Pool
Silent Shiver Curse
Equipment:
Grappling Hook (Escape Rope)
Ninja Tabi (Running shoes)
False Ocular Coverings (Hat covering eyes)
Facial Breathing Cloth (High collar, cinched up)
Disguising Jingasa (Also his hat)
[KOFUKO-SAN, ENTRY THREE]
Kid's pretty good with some things, less so with others. Some concepts seem completely natural to him, but I had the hardest time trying to explain what numbers were, and why they couldn't just be whatever you wanted them to be by smearing the waveform across a couple Calabi-Yau manifolds. Some people, I swear. He's a born fighter, it seems to be part of his very essence. And oh man, the things this guy can summon! When he really puts some effort behind them, I'd say they can go toe to to with damn near anything. Why he only ever uses up to six at any given time I haven't a clue, he's got enough aura to fuel dozens. I know just from examining his astral threads there's at least a hundred he has access to stashed away somewhere, maybe more. His battle instinct is impressive, and from watching him do a few summons, I'd almost say he invents half of them on the fly.
Whatever bizarre monstrosity is wearing this kid's face, it's not one to be trifled with any more than his spirit summons are, either. He ain't got any muscles worth mentioning, nor does he know how to go with the flow, but... He's never really all there, either. Here, there, everywhere, it was all I could do to focus on this thing long enough to sort him out. It's not real, or maybe more than real, but the punchline is this: What it is, you can be too.
Humans used this entity to transmute it into all sorts of wonders, both monsters and money alike. And because of that (yes, it's always a human's fault, ALWAYS), this whatever-it-is figured out that can go both ways. Exposure to it is... unwise. At least if you still like participating in Euclidean geometry and the laws of cause and effect, that is.
Just fight the spirits. If you lose, he probably won't hurt you, just steal your wallet. No idea why, he doesn't seem to know what money is or what it's used for. If you win, he'll give you a nice fat chunk of Aura as a parting gift, pump you up a little bit. Going after him directly seems to be a taboo where he's from. That's a guaranteed way to pull off the Halloween mask and let the nightmares in.
[KOFUKO-SAN, ENTRY FOUR]
MissingRed's Moveset:
Disable (Silent Shiver Curse)
Recover/Softboiled (Herbal Lunar Pool)
Teleport (Master Status - Distortion)
Agility (Initiate Status - Oscillation)
5̵͍̭̟̬͘͘͜ ̵̢̩̹͊̈́́̓̿͘E̸̹̙̅̂̀̚͘R̵̲̹̀̔̾͘R̸̛̪̯̥̾͛̉̒̓ͅO̷̧̘̳̿̈́̋̅͝R̸̻͔͒ ̴͇̂̂̚-̵̢̤̺͓̍̑̎̓ ̸̛̯̲̣̳͕̽T̸̙̗͉͎͐͋͗͊̓̈h̷̜̮̝̮̎ͅê̸̩̰̠̰̞̪͌̇͘͝ ̵̡͎̊̔͛c̴̤̣͍͔͕̗͊̐̀͒͊͠ű̴̖̞͉͚̗̙̆ŗ̶͍̞͇̺̾͒̉ͅr̷͙͖̈́̋̚ė̴̼̒̿̀̐̄ń̴̜̝̺́̄̐̐̆͜ț̶̨̹̜̮̋̇̇͘ ̷̭̜̳̻͗̓́͊͆͘p̴̛̯̙͍̪͔̐͝ǫ̴̦̪̩̘̠̀̽̒́̀s̶̘̞̫̅͌̚͜͝͝i̴̤̤̻͛͋̇͂̑t̷͇̱̗̋̑̕͜͝i̶̭̫͖̋̊͊o̷͓̰͍͉͓͌̅̇n̵̢̬̯͍̉̅ ̸̹͊̍͝ō̴̢̡͕̣͔̂͜͝͝f̶̜̉́̃̍͠͝ ̸͖̭͂̈́̚t̷͕̯̑͝͝͝h̶̨̢̙̹̭͋͘e̸̡̡̖̤̾̐́̾͋ ̴͍̟̜͓̽̊̆̆͜p̶̹͈͐͌́l̶̳̺̘̣̿̄͛͒͐͝a̸̰͕̳̺̤͔͗́̈́̓ỷ̷̨̲͊̄̑ȩ̴͖͚̪̳͙͘͝r̶̝̬̱͕̀͒̿̌ ̷̭̠͕͂̾́̚ċ̸̤̣̥̎̀h̵̩̞̒ȁ̴̧̦͔̞͂͆͊r̶̖̥̯̉͑͊̿͆͋͜͜ä̶̖̫̥͙́͗͊c̸̦̩̰̜̻̿̔̚͘ͅt̵̖͙͓̊̔͘ͅe̶̘̮̻͇͍̍̃͗̋͝r̶͑̕̚͜͜ͅ ̶̥̅͌í̷̡̤̝̥̈́́̾s̷͇̲̯̯͉̓̊̔̈́͝ ̵̡̲̉͜͜u̷̢͓̦̜̻̽͗͋̑͒n̵̩͎̲̜̙͂̂r̵̡̻͔̤̫͔͂̂͆̚ë̷̞̞̼̻́̒̓̍͜͠c̴̯̜̈́̃̅̈́̉̎ͅơ̷͉̗͍͙̯̍̾̂͒g̴̺͕̱̮̻̋̿̀̏́͘n̸̘̘̭̍̈́͌̉̈͜ȋ̸̧̭͓̀̏̑̈́̕ͅz̵̡̨̼̟̬̭̑̓̀́̅e̷̢̡̧͈͎͈̅d̸̟̻͍̱̲̠̊ (Perfect Perspective)
-shakes head skeletally- Be careful with this one, guys. I'd rather not turn him loose on all of you, but it's safer than allowing it to roam randomly. I... I don't get the impression it's malicious, just very, very driven. And young. Part of it's got that "ageless cosmic horror" vibe going on, but part of it feels like it was literally born yesterday. Still ain't the strangest Conscript I've ever let go though, haha!
Now that's a story worth telling. Later though, after I stop tasting static in my memories of mom's home cooking. Yeesh.
K̶̯̫̤̱͉̗͙̪̞̦͍̩̇͆̂̚͜N̴̲̩͈̤̼̞̫͙̟̮̙̽͐͛͆̋̕͘O̵̼̔̐͑͆̑̕͝͝͝͝͠Ẃ̴͔͔̟̬̤̝̻̒̈́̆̎͊͜N̵̡̨̧̯̞̤̭̤̫͖̣͍͙̿̈́̀̄̀͂̋̈̒̀̌ ̵̘̜̔̀̍̆͛̂̏̑͆̏͌̚̕͘͝͝Ŝ̶̨̢̢̞͔̟̪̪͙̣̠̖̃̈́͜ͅͅP̶̰̜̬͙̠͈̪̯̦̼̥͚̦̯̼̼̑̄͂̃̋͊̽͋͗̐̎̽̿̈I̸̢̩͖̜̝͕̰̹̲̰̩̣͉͌̆̒̃̂̓͛R̷̨̢͍͛̃̀͆͗̾̔͗͠͝I̶̛̥̤̼̲̪͍̖̒͗̈́̾̅̉̏̈́̎̔́͛͆̏͋T̷̰̻̣̬̎̀̉͐̌́͑́ͅ ̸̧̡͚̙͍̗͔̭́̈́͜ͅṢ̶̨̲̤̝̊̒̃̓͂́̅̑̆̈́̌̉̄̾͆̚U̸̞͇̺̜̞̗͍̮̰̥̝̰̺͉̐̇́̓̐̆̔̿M̸̗̠͈̩̲͔̦͍̮̋̎̈́́͝M̴̨͍̦͚͕͉͕̤͙̲̐̊̃̆̔̌͝Ỏ̸̢̝N̵̨̨̮͕̣̮͎͉̝͌̉͗̎́͗̓͛̈́͛̐͌̕̕͘͝S̵̢̡͕͕͍̜̱͍̳͈̝̓͒͂̑̋̽̉͒̎͘̚͝
[SPIRIT Ą̵̳͍̜͙̟͕̺̮̗̃̍̑͊͐̍͑̑̀͜͠L̸̟͈̭̘̼̹̆͂́͊̃͝P̵͍̦͔̜̦͐̀̊̀̄͂͊̌̋͂͌̚͜͜H̶̡̜̣̘̺̬̖͎̼͚̻̒̆͆̀̇̆̌̀̇̾A̴̢̡͔͉̤̹̖̜̞̖̙̿̅ - DANGER LEVEL: 1]
This spirit takes the form of a large aquatic beast, wielding powers over both water and ice. It is resilient, with a hard shell and a long neck which allows it to swivel and attack targets in all directions. By far the least aggressive primary summon, with combat capabilities geared towards area control and removing opponent's ability to continue combat rather than causing fatalities or mass damage. Spirit Alpha will sometimes even go so far as to intercede with its summoner on the foe's behalf if it senses goodness in them. Take heed however, for while the spirit is kind-hearted and wise, if faced with imminent destruction it is capable of binding its own soul with its foe's, leading to the death of both. [NOTE]: Slow and ungainly out of water, in lake or oceanic regions this spirit becomes vastly more dangerous.
[SPIRIT B̵̡̟̙̺̝͕̠̤̬͖̮̱̏ͅȄ̸̫̖̹̈̕͠͠T̶͔͎̞͔̤̖̦͎̙͂͋͊̎͆̎̓̈́̌̾̅̓̾̽̉̋̌Ą̴̲̫͎͚̬̇̈́́̀̐̃̊͐̉̿̿͘ - DANGER LEVEL: 2]
This spirit, by far the largest and bulkiest of its trainer's standard summons, is a vast, hulking monolith of muscle well padded with absorbent blubber. It is slow and generally disinterested in fighting, preferring to sleep and lazily fight unless its trainer feeds it significant Aura. Damaging this spirit is difficult in the extreme, and it possesses fearsome regenerative capabilities. When seriously injured or provoked, or if willed so by its trainer, this spirit's combat potential can multiply tenfold in a frighteningly short time, though only sustained for short bursts of activity. [NOTE]: If you are edible, consider retreating when faced by this spirit, as the presence of anything even remotely appetizing risks awakening a gluttonous berserker rage.
[SPIRIT G̶̡̡̡̣̤̜̣̝̥͈̙̫͌̑̏͊̈́̆̐ͅḀ̵̧̳̩̜̜͈͍͙͚̩͙̙͓͈͍̓͆͊̿͗͑̃͜͝Ḿ̸̘̪͖̩͙̰̠͐͐͐̑̌͗͠M̷̺̭̈́͛̒̐A̸̳̻̼͇̓͊̅́̈͋̀̿͝ - DANGER LEVEL: 3]
It is believed to be some kind of ancestor to many Kappa-category spirit creatures, and unless provoked this spirit will usually pull its punches when facing them. A gigantic wall of armored chitin, this spirit is its trainer's best option for ranged combat. Slow and difficult to harm, the spirit uses massive cannons to launch volleys of Aura-charged water capable of corroding the vast majority of magical defenses. [NOTE]: Its huge weight allows for tectonic assaults, breaking up the earth in a large radius around itself to damage and hinder opponents. Do not assume that outmaneuvering this creature is safe.
[SPIRIT D̸̢͚̲͚͉̟̝͐̒͌͑͌̇̃̕͠Ě̵̡̞͇̲̫̓L̸͕̝̻̀̈́̈͂͒̄̄͛̒̿̌̈́̏̚͘T̵͓̭͕̰̝̺̝̻̋͑̀̈́͝Ą̵̨͙̤͇͕͔̳͖͉̜͕̝͚̣̗̈́̇̀̓̌͑͂͝ - DANGER LEVEL: 4]
A nature spirit of unknown origin, this entity is largely comprised of vegetable matter interwoven with a lizard-like central body. This spirit's very presence is toxic, and it has a tremendous abundance of control over plant matter in its vicinity. It has a calm personality but with a well-documented vicious streak, this spirit enjoys watching its foes slowly wither and die. Able to root itself into the ground for healing, to steal an opponent's Aura in order to fuel itself, and draw down vast power from the Sun, this spirit is the most flexible of its trainer's roster. Neither slow nor fast, neither weak nor strong, able to handle single powerful targets just as well as multitudes of swarming ones, Spirit Delta is commonly used when its master desires to assess an unknown foe's capabilities. [NOTE]: Do not engage in prolonged combat, Delta is a master of attrition warfare.
[SPIRIT E̵͖̩͉̔̽̂̐̒̀͂̎̈́͋̀͛̌̈͘͝ͅP̷̨̯͚̭͖̪̩̥̬̙̻̘͈͑̇̀̐̈́͘S̸̢̧̟̼̥͚̲͓͂̐͜I̴̡͉̟̟̞̘͎̟͍̿̕͠ͅĻ̴͉͇̟̺̰͓̲͙̫͓̗͂̾̾͛̂̑̓̈́̚͘Ờ̴̹̟̗̮͙̯̏̂̿̽̒͂̀̍̄͝͠͝N̴̢̡̩͇͔̦͕̥̠̫̘̣̖͈͇̤̈́͛́̆͌̒̍̍̀͂̃̈́͗͘͜͝͝ - DANGER LEVEL: 5]
There are certain summoners which can call upon the spirits of true dragons, but this entity does not appear to be one of them, despite all appearances. Spirit Epsilon is draconic in nature, a mighty winged beast whose offensive capabilities are almost unparalleled on the team. It seems to lack all concept of fear or self-preservation, swooping in for the kill without detectable hesitation. As it fights its rage grows, boosting the efficiency of the trainer's Aura donations the closer this spirit is to dissipation. By fire, by fang, by wingblasts or by brutal diving charges, this spirit will always go above and beyond when deployed in battle. The spirit is also the most erratic summon, frequently acting of its own initiative when fighting and extremely hard to predict, occasionally even appearing to ignore orders given to it in favor of its own opinions. [NOTE]: Spirit Epsilon is the most mobile of all the summons, fast both on land and when airborne, able to pursue opponents over great distances should they flee. It too has a long neck, permitting few blind spots in combat.
[SPIRIT Z̸̢̛̯̪̟̝̥͓̬̲̰̞͖̀͌̿́̾̃͌͋̈́̑̓̕E̸̪͉̹͚̟̾T̵͚̝̼̰̠̎͒̒̈́̂Ă̸̠̩̦̬͓͔̺͖̬̖̩͇͌͑̅̇̌̚ͅ - DANGER LEVEL: D̶̹̳̝̰̲̙͚͂̉̓́̀͆͒̑͜O̷̻̪͓̻̿͌͐̿̈́̓̔̚ ̷̦͗̇͊̈́̾̈́̽̐̀̈́͝N̵̨̛͔̣͖̺̥̖͔̰̘̭̮̭̦̂̉̀̈̓͘̚ͅͅǪ̶͉̲̼͍͚̘̮͖̯̻̃͆̏̾̀̐̕͜͝ͅT̶̡̼͇̦͙̪̥͓̠̠̼̓̆̎͑̐̀̈̚ ̵̤̠̀͑̈́̚E̵̡̜͓͙̜̘̖͍̩͊̔̏̓̍́̄̆̓̅͜N̴̢̧͖͚̮̞̟͉̣̠̞̟̺̥͍̻͓̂́̏̄̉̔͘̕Ġ̶͕̗̦̪̳̖͕̥̤̬̲͌̎̈́̆̎͋̑̈͛̀̀̀͘A̷̭̳̙̭̠̹̞̓͋̏̄̀̉̍̚͝G̶̡̧̩͕̖̘͓̗̻̲̻͒̔͌̓̈̕͘͝ͅȨ̶̛̛͎̹̪͎͉̫̠̟̗͙͚̫̺̝͂͒̑̄̈̄͋̀͐̿̌͋͋͐̚]
This spirit takes the form of a small, yellowish rodent-like creature. Little is known about it, for its trainer rarely calls upon its powers. It is frequently seen walking beside him, eagerly observing the world, and seems to have its trainer's curious nature in equal measure. It is known to have electromagnetic powers, the full scope of which has yet to be seen. Though initially appearing the smallest, weakest and friendliest of all his summons by far, Spirit Zeta is a resonator beyond compare. The merest wisp of Aura sent from master to companion becomes magnified catastrophically, creating overwhelming firepower. Spirit Zeta's borrows almost all its Aura from its summoner, Zeta's true strength is its willpower. The entity has never yet been seen to fall in battle. Perhaps it can be killed, but it seems impossible to force Zeta to simply submit, fighting on far beyond the point of madness if faced with a truly relentless foe. [NOTE]: Zeta seems to have a sense of intelligence and honor well beyond the other summons, most of its battles end with a gesture of friendship or respect to a strong combatant. It is recommended to accept the fight's end should Zeta offer; its trainer seems to grow agitated and increasingly inhuman the more damage Zeta endures.