Quiet Mounds: heart game

[flamingprick]

[So you fell asleep! It's okay, that happens. Everyone's gotta sleep, after all.

But what's important here is that, instead of waking up wherever you were, you will wake up in a rather dark hallway. There are no windows, so the only light comes from the occasional chandelier hanging down from the tall ceiling, casting long shadows that may look like they're moving if you catch them out of the corner of your eye.

Despite how long this hallway is, there are only five doors in total. Two on the left, two on the right, and one right at the end of the hallway. On the left there is a simple wooden door with '1-F' written on it, and a little further down is a sliding rice paper door. On the right there is a steel gate leading to what looks like a dark forest, and then further down is a wooden door with a cross on it. The door at the end of the hall looks like it's made of gold, and there is a bloody handprint on it.

The first four doors are unlocked, but the fifth can't be opened for the time being. You also can't go backwards down the hall, it will eventually end in a solid wall.

Where do you go?]

((OOC: the first four rooms can be explored in any order, so feel free to go about this in whatever way you want! There will be differences depending on the order in which you explore things though.))

Comments

[flamingprick]

[As soon as the sword is lifted up, bright blue flames erupt from it. They quickly spread, flashing over Kevin's body and to the entire room itself, threatening to turn the entire building and everything in it to ash.

Except the fire, it isn't hot. It's...warm.

When the memory is done playing, the fires flash brightly once more before dying out entirely. Kevin will find himself back in the hallway once more, but this time the sword comes with him instead of disappearing. It does have a strap on it too, so he can carry it on his shoulder and free up his hands for more puzzle-solving. How lucky!]

[rightwingman]

You have some good friends, don't you?

[straps the sword to his back and leaves the shrine, heading back to the main building]

[flamingprick]

[He really, really does.

Kevin won't be able to go back to the temple, though, because he is back in the hallway at the start once more. There are two more doors for exploring, though!]

[rightwingman]

Ah! Let's see...

[going to the steel gate]

[flamingprick]

[Sorry, no backtracking allowed in this heartgame. 'Keep Moving Forward' and all.

The gate opens up into a forest that is right near what looks like a small city built up on itself. It's hard to see through the trees, but Kevin can catch glimpses of it if he's looking carefully.

It's pretty dark in there, what with it being nighttime and the trees blocking most of the light pollution from the nearby city. But he is on a path through the forest, and said path forks in front of him, so the most obvious ways to go are left or right. Though he's not limited specifically to that, since this is a forest and he can probably handle any nasty demons lurking in the trees.

Those are definitely around, by the way. Keep an eye out!]

[rightwingman]

[He's not paying much attention to the lurking woods at all. He's got a cool new sword, he'll be fineeeeee.]

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, is it?

[taking the right fork]

[flamingprick]

[YOU KNOW IT'S FUNNY YOU SAY THAT...

But anyway, before he can get too far down the path, a rather strange-looking fellow shows up. Normally this is where there would be a description about how creepy and weird this guy is, but Kevin is an angel so we get to bypass all of that.

It'a Amaimon. Probably not the Amaimon Kevin might or might not be familiar with, depending on how many high-ranking demons he's come across in his life but yeah. It's Amaimon walking around in a human body being creepy as shit because that's generally what he does.

And now he's taken an interest in Kevin.]

"You made it pretty far already. I didn't expect anyone to move through his mind so quickly."

[rightwingman]

[he's familiar with most all of the high-ranking demons, but he's not great at recognizing them when they're in disguise or possessing a host. But if he's phased, he's not showing it.]

I don't like to dawdle. Should I take my time, see the sights?

[flamingprick]

"No. I can't fight him when he's like this. And I can't get him out of where he is either, so you should go do it for me instead."

[He's phrasing that as a direction, not a request.]

[rightwingman]

That was my plan anyways. It's time for him to wake up soon.

[flamingprick]

"It is. My brother shouldn't get to have all the fun with him."

[Amaimon is relatively emotionless, but somehow he sounds a bit worked up at the thought of his brother 'getting all the fun'. ]

[rightwingman]

Your brother? Who would that be?

[flamingprick]

"The second-oldest one."

[As if that is descriptive enough. Though it might be, if the demon hierarchy is the same in Kevin's world.

Amaimon bites down on the sucker he had been sucking on, crushing it between his teeth.]

"Go rescue Okumura. I need someone to bother, and all the figments in his mind are boring. They just disappear anytime I try to torment them."

[rightwingman]

[Second oldest Nephilim, second oldest Fallen angel, second oldest pure-born demon... He has too many lists to sort through.]

Aren't you also a figment?

[flamingprick]

[That sure is a creepy grin spreading across his face.]

"That's how I can get to him. He's full of self-loathing, it's so easy to bring up memories that upset him. It's so exciting!"

[YEAH...]

[rightwingman]

You know I can't approve of that.

[flamingprick]

"What choice do you have? You can't leave until he's free anyway."

[rightwingman]

I could remove you while I'm here.

[flamingprick]

"You could. But I would just come back."

[rightwingman]

[sighs, disappointed]

That's true... Our fears and self-doubts always rear their nasty heads back up.

[flamingprick]

"Yep~"

[He sounds entirely too happy about that.

But oh look, further down the path into the dark forest, there's the flickering of blue lights! Which catches Amaimon's attention, actually.]

"Ah, that is waiting for you. If you figured out the swords then you should be able to figure out that one too. But be quick about it, I'm getting impatient."

[rightwingman]

I'm getting to it.

[starts heading down the path again]

Do I need to make a full introduction to Rin, or are you that dumb on your own to take a tone like that with an archangel?

[flamingprick]

[Amaimon just grins in response.

Yeah, he's that dumb on his own. And that bloodthirsty, at least in Rin's mind.]

[rightwingman]

[sighs. demons.]

[waves him off, ignoring Amaimon now]

[flamingprick]

[It's probably for the best. Amaimon is pretty annoying, though his older brother is definitely worse.

But anyway, if Kevin follows the blue lights, he'll eventually find the source of them. Plain white candles have been left around the path, and each candle has a blue flame dancing at its wick. The further along the path Kevin goes, the more candles he will see.

Will he keep going, or will he inspect the candles?]