How many times has it been? Four? Five? Are those the only ones she can fully remember? In her defense, trying to remember how many times she's done this is near impossible at the moment, her mind hyper-focused on what's happening around her. What's happening to her.
Anyone with any remote sense for the supernatural will feel something distinctly wrong where she is, as if something had created a circle of complete silence around the area. At the epicenter of this is a woman, hunched over, long, golden hair spilling over her shoulders. Unassuming and easy to miss, anyone with enough sense, or who is tied to the events that would end their world will recognize her immediately. The unfortunate who will bring about the apocalypse with a simple song.
The villain of this particular story.
Doubled over on herself, trembling from pain and excursion both, Hibiki takes shallow, gasped breaths. Hands hovering over her heart, darkness spreading from that spot and threading between her fingers. Running up her hands and arms, it moves like blood in her veins. The corruption travels through these tributaries, engulfing her hands, her forearms and turning them black as night. Storm-plagued eyes wide as she desperately tries to push that darkness back into herself, the cold, lifeless burn igniting her body as she digs deep, biting her lip until it bleeds. Don't scream, Hibiki. Focus on pushing that, not on the indescribable pain.
She can't excise it. She can't cut this blight out of her body, face it on her own. She has to push it back in, before it makes its way to her head or her heart. Eyes stinging, her vision obscured by tears, there's no way she'll see someone come across her in this state. Even that sixth sense would be useless here; she can't split her focus. She needs to keep this thing at bay. ]
[ From Joonghyuk's perspective, the first time was the worst—the world just ended with no grand fanfare when he was sleeping in his bed at home. The screams and sound of buildings crumbling woke him up. A couple of minutes after dashing out of the building, darkness enveloped everything. It was supposed to be the end, and yet...
When he woke up in his bed, it felt like a bad dream until seeing the date. Sitting in his bed, three months before the apocalypse would happen left him at a loss at first. Brushing it off would be convenient, but what if history repeats itself yet again with him doing absolutely nothing to prevent the destruction of the world?
This world is by no means perfect. For every good thing, there's a much worse one. Nonetheless, Joonghyuk knows he wants to protect it with everything he has.
Working with absolutely no clues resulted in a rather fruitless investigation. At some point, it became clear that waiting for the day of the apocalypse was his best bet, even if he hated that with a passion. During that round, he only managed to figure out that the apocalypse started somewhere in Hongdae. It wasn't much, however, it was something.
The second loop helped him narrow down the search area. It hardly could be considered much yet again, but Joonghyuk was clinging to the hope that he could prevent the apocalypse. At the same time, the fear that he might not get the chance to go back was eating at his heart.
Third time's a charm—that was when he finally found the person behind the destruction of the world. Alas, he arrived way too late. Determined to finish things in the fourth round, Joonghyuk trained his body and acquired a sword. With no one to guide him, he could only lean on his own intuition.
After four loops, he still didn't know what needed to be done to stop the apocalypse, but at the very least he knew who caused it. The finer details didn't interest him at that point, to be honest.
Hongdae, Seoul, 3:30AM. A secluded alleyway.
A man in a long, black coat announces his arrival with a cold tone. ]
Found you.
[ Pointing his sword at the woman, he steps closer slowly, prepared to counterattack at any moment. She might not seem to be capable of fighting back, yet he'd rather not make a stupid mistake right here. ]
I can make it fast and painless for you if you decide to cooperate.
[ That Joonghyuk doesn't remember everything leading up to the end is a mercy compared to the slow torture that Hibiki had to endure each cycle. Clawing, fighting, doing everything that she can to keep from losing her own humanity to the silence was useless in the end. It didn't matter; nothing she did would change the fate of this world.
Nothing would change her own fate. This thing coiled around her soul like a viper would eventually take over, ushering the end. The fact that she had to watch this happen unchanged again and again felt as if she was trapped in her own, personal Hell. Even attempting to take her own life only brought her back to the beginning. Another failure. Another world lost.
Was there really no way to break the cycle?
He may have found her, her small frame folded over as she takes shallow, high breaths--but something was different this cycle. Hibiki didn't have any of the markings that engulfed her arms. Something changed between then and now; she had become far more desperate. Yet, somehow, she still maintained her presence of mind, and hearing this stranger make an honestly humane offer, the small blonde forces herself to raise her head. ]
Won't. Matter.
[ Ah, poor thing. Even speaking to her would-be executioner is far too difficult for her. But if she lets go, if she closes her eyes and lets herself fall into that deep, comforting slumber she knows too well, then They can do all the talking. She can sleep peacefully, until--
No. That's not an option. Taking a few quick, shallow breaths, pushing hard against the presence that was trying to force its way out, to finally swallow her whole, Hibiki locks eyes with Joonghyuk. But instead of looking at him in trepidation of fear, steadfast determination shines through smoke-colored eyes. ]
That. Won't stop it. Already tried. Failed.
[ Keeping that fact a secret doesn't matter at this point. She's the only one who knows about time repeating itself, and quite honestly, Hibiki is too far gone to think about the repercussions. He'll probably think she's gone mad. Maybe she has. ]
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Date: 2023-07-02 09:49 am (UTC)How many times has it been? Four? Five? Are those the only ones she can fully remember? In her defense, trying to remember how many times she's done this is near impossible at the moment, her mind hyper-focused on what's happening around her. What's happening to her.
Anyone with any remote sense for the supernatural will feel something distinctly wrong where she is, as if something had created a circle of complete silence around the area. At the epicenter of this is a woman, hunched over, long, golden hair spilling over her shoulders. Unassuming and easy to miss, anyone with enough sense, or who is tied to the events that would end their world will recognize her immediately. The unfortunate who will bring about the apocalypse with a simple song.
The villain of this particular story.
Doubled over on herself, trembling from pain and excursion both, Hibiki takes shallow, gasped breaths. Hands hovering over her heart, darkness spreading from that spot and threading between her fingers. Running up her hands and arms, it moves like blood in her veins. The corruption travels through these tributaries, engulfing her hands, her forearms and turning them black as night. Storm-plagued eyes wide as she desperately tries to push that darkness back into herself, the cold, lifeless burn igniting her body as she digs deep, biting her lip until it bleeds. Don't scream, Hibiki. Focus on pushing that, not on the indescribable pain.
She can't excise it. She can't cut this blight out of her body, face it on her own. She has to push it back in, before it makes its way to her head or her heart. Eyes stinging, her vision obscured by tears, there's no way she'll see someone come across her in this state. Even that sixth sense would be useless here; she can't split her focus. She needs to keep this thing at bay. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-07-20 04:55 pm (UTC)When he woke up in his bed, it felt like a bad dream until seeing the date. Sitting in his bed, three months before the apocalypse would happen left him at a loss at first. Brushing it off would be convenient, but what if history repeats itself yet again with him doing absolutely nothing to prevent the destruction of the world?
This world is by no means perfect. For every good thing, there's a much worse one. Nonetheless, Joonghyuk knows he wants to protect it with everything he has.
Working with absolutely no clues resulted in a rather fruitless investigation. At some point, it became clear that waiting for the day of the apocalypse was his best bet, even if he hated that with a passion. During that round, he only managed to figure out that the apocalypse started somewhere in Hongdae. It wasn't much, however, it was something.
The second loop helped him narrow down the search area. It hardly could be considered much yet again, but Joonghyuk was clinging to the hope that he could prevent the apocalypse. At the same time, the fear that he might not get the chance to go back was eating at his heart.
Third time's a charm—that was when he finally found the person behind the destruction of the world. Alas, he arrived way too late. Determined to finish things in the fourth round, Joonghyuk trained his body and acquired a sword. With no one to guide him, he could only lean on his own intuition.
After four loops, he still didn't know what needed to be done to stop the apocalypse, but at the very least he knew who caused it. The finer details didn't interest him at that point, to be honest.
Hongdae, Seoul, 3:30AM. A secluded alleyway.
A man in a long, black coat announces his arrival with a cold tone. ]
Found you.
[ Pointing his sword at the woman, he steps closer slowly, prepared to counterattack at any moment. She might not seem to be capable of fighting back, yet he'd rather not make a stupid mistake right here. ]
I can make it fast and painless for you if you decide to cooperate.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-20 07:35 pm (UTC)Nothing would change her own fate. This thing coiled around her soul like a viper would eventually take over, ushering the end. The fact that she had to watch this happen unchanged again and again felt as if she was trapped in her own, personal Hell. Even attempting to take her own life only brought her back to the beginning. Another failure. Another world lost.
Was there really no way to break the cycle?
He may have found her, her small frame folded over as she takes shallow, high breaths--but something was different this cycle. Hibiki didn't have any of the markings that engulfed her arms. Something changed between then and now; she had become far more desperate. Yet, somehow, she still maintained her presence of mind, and hearing this stranger make an honestly humane offer, the small blonde forces herself to raise her head. ]
Won't. Matter.
[ Ah, poor thing. Even speaking to her would-be executioner is far too difficult for her. But if she lets go, if she closes her eyes and lets herself fall into that deep, comforting slumber she knows too well, then They can do all the talking. She can sleep peacefully, until--
No. That's not an option. Taking a few quick, shallow breaths, pushing hard against the presence that was trying to force its way out, to finally swallow her whole, Hibiki locks eyes with Joonghyuk. But instead of looking at him in trepidation of fear, steadfast determination shines through smoke-colored eyes. ]
That. Won't stop it. Already tried. Failed.
[ Keeping that fact a secret doesn't matter at this point. She's the only one who knows about time repeating itself, and quite honestly, Hibiki is too far gone to think about the repercussions. He'll probably think she's gone mad. Maybe she has. ]