blueteamnovel 502. Lull-A-Goodbye
502. Lull-A-Goodbye
502. Lull-A-Goodbye
The patters of their footsteps eventually transitioned to the sound of thumping metal. The ground turned to a dull grey as they approached the passive entity. Frost stowed away the Lantern as she ordered Azure to leave her be. Her form disappeared following a respectful bow, leaving only Frost to deal with the Corrupted.
This resonates with you?
She mentally asked.
“I don’t understand it myself.” Nav was unable to describe what she felt, the cogs within her spinning in a manner that left her dumbfounded. “It is the first chapter in the Book of Dreaming Mortality. Can you describe what you are seeing?”
Frost relayed everything she could. The Corrupted in question was split into two parts. The first was a figure resembling a woman who was attached to the base of a pale tree. The tree in question had little leaves and was curved into arch that hung overhead where a small, glimmer of light dangled.
Wire-like vines extended from the bark and dug into her limbs, pumping strange fluids into her body.
The colors of her eyes were indescribable, her hair long and combed flawlessly. She wore a dress made of light and in her hands as she sat on her knees was a children’s book.
The Cradle
AFFINITY : Desire
LEVEL : 50ORIGIN : Trauma
HP : 30,000
ATT : 150 MAG ATT : 150ATT DEF : 100MAG DEF : 100
MP : 10,000
RESIST : 100 AGI : 5
The other figure was a child that wore the exact same face as Frost’s. It was uncanny. The child wore innocent, crimson eyes that absorbed the dark world around them, smiling happily at the woman whose lips tenderly curled upwards.
The Child
AFFINITY : Desire
LEVEL : 0 ORIGIN : Folklore
HP : 300
ATT : 0 MAG ATT : 0ATT DEF : 0MAG DEF : 0
MP : 0
RESIST : 0 AGI : 10
She also wore a similar dress to the ethereal figure. They stood twenty meters apart, separated by darkness. Suddenly, The Cradle’s lips parted, and she began reading from the children’s book.
< [Goodnight] >
< “Let me read the words from a world of imagination.” >
“Indeed. And Frost. Please don’t be alarmed –”
“I know.” She answered with curled fists. “That child is supposed to be me. I don’t remember any of this either. Couldn’t this also be the Star Child?”
“The Star Child also wonders. She draws equations and question marks. She’s with me now, sharing a cup of tea with the Archivist.”
The Child dozed off into a long sleep, receiving the Sleeping Condition as the illusions disappeared and were quickly replaced by The Cradle.
< “They were hungry. So they destroyed your chocolate kingdom.” >
< “The dreams were all I had. My caretaker made sure I wasn’t hurt whenever I went to sleep. It was always loud outside. I imagined what kind of world was out there, beyond the repetitive grey halls and look-a-likes.” >
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Nav finally relayed the Conditions. She endlessly questioned the sensations she felt, and the memories that trickled into her head as her chest continued to ache.
< CONDITION: Lull-A-Goodbye cannot take damage exceeding 30,000 per cycle. The Child will grow stronger when its illusions are allowed to propagate. When The Child’s LEVEL reaches 10 before the end of the cycle, The Child will be targeted by an unavoidable attack. Inflict Mechanical Despair to The Cradle. The Cradle will become vulnerable to damage once Mechanical Despair is applied to it >
< CONDITION CONTINUED: If The Child’s LEVEL is less than 10 at the end of the cycle, inflict Mechanical Relief to The Cradle. The Cradle will remain invulnerable to damage. But Lull-A-Goodbye will still be able to be damaged >
< SUPPRESSION REQUIREMENT: Alternatively, if The Child’s LEVEL exceeds 10 and survives, then inflict Lull-A-Goodbye with Mechanical Hope >
< SUBJUGATION REQUIREMENT: Lull-A-Goodbye is defeated when either it or The Cradle’s HP reaches 0 >
“I’ve never seen so many variations before. What kind of complex Corrupted is this?” Frost wondered if there was more to it, because despite all of this, defeating the Corrupted was straight forward.
She quite literally had to do nothing to make The Cradle vulnerable. If she wanted to defeat Lull-A-Goodbye itself, then she’d have to wait three times as long, which was odd to her.
< I feel the aspiration. It’s constricting. But I too empathize with this Corrupted. Because for the longest time, I also wondered what the world was like >