I've had enough, I can't take it

[twohares]

Coming back to his world after dying was like a dream—even more so when the worlds were reunited and the people who were trapped in the system were able to come with them to the new world. It brought its own set of complications, true, but the benefits outweighed all of that.

That said, when people came over, maybe it made sense that other aspects of the system ended up displaced as well. Whether this new structure was truly part of the system or it was simply displaced from their planet's own timeline was a mystery. The large building's architecture was reminiscent of both Mizuho's and what he saw of Japan's, so in this case, it really could go either way.

There had been other people who dropped in to investigate it, but there hadn't been any official reports on it yet.

All of that should have meant that they should stay away from it, but Genis's magic was stronger than ever, and he knew Takakage's had experienced a boost, too. While Lloyd was away on his own business and Raine was kept busy with hers, Genis didn't doubt that just the two of them could make a great team. Takakage's defensive spells always proved useful considering Genis's were all fire power.

Standing before the looming castle, Genis was pretty confident. "Are you ready?"

Comments

[twohares]

That's not at all foreboding.

"...There are two of us, though, so it should be easier for us to get to the top. Your magic has gotten stronger since you got here, too, right?"

Strength, they had that. They had supplies, too, if they needed them. Maybe they should have looked into the nature of this tower a little more, but even with Takakage's experience, this wasn't going to be easy to prepare for. They might not have any time to bandage themselves up, much less make something to eat.

With that in mind, Genis pulls a small pouch of gels from his pocket and holds it out to Takakage.

"Here, take these when you're hurt."

There aren't many - gels are expensive - but he trusts that Takakage won't just eat them like candy.

As for the spectres...they really didn't have any choice in that. But they were just facsimiles and nothing more. Genis could handle that.

[thirdarrow]

"It has." He affirms quickly. "The previous time I visited, I was with only a handful of soldiers. They had no magical ability, and did not fare as well against the spirits." Especially since not all of them were good at crowd-clearing. "Since we are both mages, it would make things much easier."

The strategist takes the gel with a nod, placing the pouch in the pocket sewn into the back of his jacket.

"Thank you." The downsides to being unable to heal meant that one had to rely heavily on items. But he should be alright, if he calculated things correctly.

"Shall we?"

The portal hisses subtly when they approach it, staring to spit out mist - but it's a harmless one. Not everything here wants to kill them.

[twohares]

Besides that, spiritual enemies tended to be resistant to physical attacks; magic really would be more effective. It all made sense.

As much as Genis hated gels, they were useful in situations like this. Ideally, however, he simply wouldn't get hit and would keep his mana consumption to a reasonable enough level.

Walking towards the portal, Genis nodded. "Let's go."

[thirdarrow]

As they step into the portal, the mist shoots upwards and envelops them. There is the slightest sense of disorientation before it recedes again - their immediate surroundings do not seem to have changed, but the number scrawled on the wall did. It now said '40'.

Takakage's eyes flick up to the number, to where the stairway was, which has been replaced by a corridor, and to the descending stairs that are where the open doorway would be.

"... interesting." He indicated the floor number. "The highest I made it to was around the high fifties. We came pretty far up."